Now this…
…can’t be boring.
Virtual humans are the hot shots in town!
Hello my friends,
Time for a quick intro to the next 14 posts (and onwards). I’m here to talk business, technology, disruption, cool stuff, and crazy shit. The idea is to start on Medium and complement with Substack, Podcasts, and whatever other content you want to see from me and my business partner.
For now, it will all begin with the next 14 posts. It’s a test, a quick validation, if you will, of a trailing hypothesis that I have which is that – There are so many great things happening as we speak and not enough light is shone on them.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I am, by no means, an expert content curator, nor an ultra successful startup founder, but I do aspire to reach that and if you hang tight you might see the process in action or as it is referred to — you might see me “Building in Public.”
My business partner and I have decided to make that premise central to our startup because building shit is hard and we want to make sure we hold ourselves accountable to each other and to you, our consumer, reader, listener, and like-minded tribe member.
Alright, first off, let’s set the tone baby!
I’m a big time Melomaniac, so I need my music.
If you ever need a good lounge/disco/techno playlist to focus, lounge to, or simply jam on, check this one that I’ve prepared on Spotify.
And here’s my favourite song to start my shuffle with.
That said, let’s get into it!
What’s on call for today?
The topic is one and only one: Virtual Humans.
Here come’s the cliché reference — Ready Player One. Have you watched it? If not, get out of here!…and go watch it. If you have, then you know it’s a great movie!
What I loved about it was the idea that something like Oasis and it’s avatars could exist and be part of our day-to-day lives. To my surprise and joy, we are getting closer to something similar with each passing day. The major advancement I’m seeing is on the Virtual Humans industry.
What are virtual Humans? Virtual humans are digitally created characters that are made as a representation of a real-life human being. Justin Bieber has recently been sponsored by Amazon to create his digital doppelgänger and perform “Rockin Around the Christmas Tree” this past December. Prior to that, Travis Scott held a digital concert on Fortnite where a virtual human of himself took over the stage. This marketing skit locked him over $20 million in 9 minutes, while his Astroworld tour of 56 stops generated a “mere” $53.5 million. Money aside, spending a few months of negotiation and pre-recording is clearly a much less gruelling experience for the artist than doing a tour of 56 stops in a few months and performing multiple nights of the week to thousands of cheering fans. Simply thinking of the latter makes me tired.
Now take it a step further and imagine the creation of digital characters that blend into society through a virtual life on our real-life social platforms and even on physical representations. It is happening as we speak, as well! Digital influencers and Vtubers are being created by companies with a strong inclination to the creation of metaverse. Lil Miquela, Shadu Gram, Imma, and even KFC’s Colonel Sanders are being created by company like Aww.inc from Tokyo to take over the digital realm and disrupt all conceptions of marketing, influence, and FOMO! Aww.Inc’s most famed creation is Imma and she came in swinging. Her sponsorships include Ikea and they have locked her a spot in Poland’s Forbes Top 100 Most Influential Women of 2020. Can you imagine? I virtual human among real-life humans in a list that qualifies the influence and value of a HUMAN!
Like Imma, we have Lil Miquela created by Brud records and who has taken the influencer industry by storm. She holds a 2.9M follower count on Instagram and brings upwards of $100 million per year for its creators. Her marketability and quasi-human popularity engagement has caught the eye of top brands like Dior, Supreme, Offwhite, Nike, and Gucci to name a few. Famous real-life humans have made collaborations with Lil Miquela and profited from doing so in growth of follower count, diversification of their audience, revenues, and social appreciation for their forward-thinking approach.
What will the world hold for the future of media, fashion, influece, society, and even politics? Don’t be surprised when the next presidential candidate comes up with a virtual human representation of him or herself. Their real self and their virtual human could have a dialogue and conversation that, despite it being one person’s message, it’ll be perceived as if it’s coming from two distinct beings. Both will influence in different forms, scales, and different people, which will result in greater reach and a more diversified following. Life as we know it will cease to exist and a parallel dimension of life will permeate our world, influence our decision, mold our behaviours, and determine our future in this planet.
Wherever we are headed, I must admit, may sound unsettling, but I am extremely excited to be part of it and to see it come to fruition. No doubt, these topics must be discussed in greater extent and we should set the norms, ethics, and boundaries that will constitute the new reality we are headed to.
I, for one, can’t wait and on that note, I bid you adieu.
Oh, and before I forget — here’s a look at Lil Miquela’s favourite collabs.
Cheers!
FM
