👋 Spatial Software, 5 Months in...
Welcome to Digital Place—a space to discuss the future of social media and digital spaces.Â
It's been 5 months since John Palmer dropped his essay on "Spatial Software."
I read it again last night. He plots the future of spatial software as shown by Muze, Figma, and Online Town.
For me, it was an eye-opener. It put in words thoughts I've had about digital cities for two years. While building BlockCities, I really got into city design and architecture... started reading Jane Jacobs and learned the origins of leading cities like New York and Dubai.
I even moved to New York City, I wanted to be in the action—in one of the greatest cities on earth. When it came to digital cities, I thought that was far off... until I read John's essay.
I realized, you could build a primitive digital city here and now. We don't have to wait for the metaverse, we can start building micro-verses.
So, we pivoted our isometric, blockchain-powered city-game into a 3D social space. It looked like this:
It's beautiful, magical, but I have no idea what to do with it. Do you?
I realized...
It’s too soon for 3D
Users need to build the space to "own" it
Users need "work" and a return for their work
Social apps do these well, but hard to do in spatial.
Too Soon
3D spaces are the most immersive media on our phones. They're beautiful but demanding. You have to move forward, backward, side to side, while controlling your viewpoint—which usually takes two hands.
Compared to the one-finger scroll we're all used to...this feels like a lot of work, and adds up over time.
And given that phones are portrait mode, my field of view is seriously limited. We're much more accustomed to look side to side than up and down.
It’s like starring up at a highrise.
They're also hard to build.
Let me Build
Users need to build the space to "own" it.
Most spaces on spatial apps are pre-built. Eternal, Online Town, Branch, and others do this. You have no say over what your space looks like or what's in your space.
I know this is on their roadmap, but I think it's essential. If I can't design the space, I'll never feel like its my own. The colors, forms, objects, and layout will always reflect the intuitions of someone else.
Our spaces reflect how we think, how we work, and who we are. It's a core function of our identity. We display photos of loved ones, art we like, paint walls colors that give us peace, and arrange furniture for "optimal flow."
Give me Work
Work is essential to feed ourselves, but more than that, it frames our life. It gives us purpose. If we don't have meaningful work, whether in the home or the marketplace, we have nothing to build.
This is often missed in "virtual worlds." The space is already built and all I can do is hangout...that's a pretty sad existence.
Social apps give us something to do. There are photos to be taken, videos to record, and thoughts to capture in 280 characters.
Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter all give me a return on this work in the form new introductions, social status, and opportunities.
If there's no work, then there's no return, and your app is of no use to me.
Interesting people won't be there. They'll be working elsewhere, and the space won't be interesting.
Clubhouse works because it gives me access to people I otherwise wouldn't. Balaji, Marc Andreeson... people I'll never run into but would love to hear from. All because, Clubhouse gave interesting people a return on their speech.
Building Manhattan
NYC started as a fur trading center by the Dutch in 1624. A settlement built up around it. It became a crucial sea port.
The British took over. The Americans took over.
It became the capital of the US.
It became the business and cultural capital of the world.
All from a fur trading post on Governor's Island.
Spatial apps are trying to build Manhattan on day one. Even Apple shipped its first computer in a wooden box. It didn't have a screen. Honda's first vehicle was a bicycle with a motor attached. Nintendo's first product was playing cards.
The single most important thing we can do to build digital cities is build something useful on day one, that can grow into the metaverse we all want. That first thing will likely look silly, a "toy", and "will never amount to anything."
The metaverse has to start as something stupid.
A place that's easy to build...
Where I can work and be rewarded…
Where I can make new internet friends...
Do you want this place? I sure do.
Thanks for talking,
Preston
Photos by Sean Pollock and Jermaine EeÂ