Start Small
Welcome to Digital Place—A space to discuss the future of social media and digital spaces.
best when read alongside Selah by Kanye
It’s hard to see the small, the important, the best first step.
It’s easy to see the big picture. Obvious even.
It’s obvious to see that a “metaverse” will happen—an infinite virtual world.
You do everything there. You visit friends, harvest digital goods, create digital objects, start a digital business.
You earn money, spend money on digital objects. You fly from city to city, ride bikes, and play games.
We see this play out in scifi novels. It seems obvious, inevitable.
But how do we start?
We start small.
But how we make something small lead to the big thing overtime?
Starting small is one big bet. You have to be right.
“Audio only, no video”
“Mobile only, no web”
Starting big is a jumbled mess of small bets.
“Audio and video AND chat”
“Mobile, web, desktop”
So we start small.
This is what I’ve been thinking of for awhile. What is the “first” step to a digital world?
It’s not land. Not avatars and wearables, not digital currency. These are ingredients.
It’s not a Zoom replacement, not a virtual office, not conferences. This is copy/paste of IRL into digital.
I think... it’s the basics of human interaction—voice and movement.
That’s it. Nothing to it.
The entire value of in-person experiences can be summed to these innate qualities—the ability to watch people move about, see their facial expressions, and hear their voice.
This simplicity of function will enable vast benefits and meaningful use cases. Imagine a product, dedicated exclusively to this.
Not selling digital merch.
No gameplay.
No “achievements.”
No being stuck in a video box.
Going on a walk with a friend? Yep
Listening to music together?
Sitting by the fire?
By the ocean?
Under giant swaying trees?
Yep.
We can start here, and it will be magical ✨
Speak soon,
Preston
photos by Ken Cheung & Nicolas Lobos