The metaverse is bigger than color TV

6 min readDec 22, 2022

Thanks to a predicted 1.4 ratings increase over their competitors ABC and CBS, NBC went full color programming in September 1965. The color TV “revolution” was officially in full swing. Other networks scrambled to catch up as they saw that prediction coming true. By 1968, roughly 25% of American households owned a color TV; by 1971, almost 50%. (source: tvobscurities.com)

But here’s what blows my mind: color TV first broke out into the world on October 9th…

1951.

Looking back, it’s hard to imagine that color TV was ever up for debate, let alone limping along for 15 years before even beginning its exponential rise. Aside from the only two modern black-and-white productions I can think of off the top of my head — Tragedy of MacBeth (Apple TV) and Werewolf By Night (Marvel Studios) — nobody ever considers going backward.

I think we are in the early 1960’s of the metaverse. And every business must be prepared.

The Similarities

Throughout the 15 years it took to get from color TV’s first public appearance to the beginning of its takeover, heated discussions were taking place behind the scenes at the networks.

It wasn’t about if they COULD move toward color programming.
It was about if they WANTED TO.

There were weighing consumer preferences, investment cost, scalability, and more — and it wasn’t isolated to one part of the system.
They needed new hardware and expertise on the production side.
They needed to change how they did special effects, since they relied on the lack of color for so many simple effects.
They had to reimagine the artistic medium, since color added such a wildly new element to visual storytelling.
And then after all of that… consumers needed a brand new TV.

And in the same way, the metaverse is facing down the barrel of all the same challenges.

There are usability issues

Headsets are too heavy and bulky
Headsets are too “ugly” for people where to wear in public for a long time
The headset battery doesn’t last long enough

There are scaling and cost roadblocks

Products have to reach reasonable price points for mass adoption. Experts and forecasters think that $500 to $1k will be that range. We did just recently get a fantastic headset for $1500, but it is still too big and doesn’t last long enough.
Many of the most useful apps we use today are only viable due to economies of scale and the network effect. For VR multiplayer games or AR interactive geolocated painted experiences, it is only going to be fun when there are millions of people participating.

Pro Tip on this point…
If you want to make money in the metaverse, you’ll want to plan for the long term when there are millions of users on the app at the same time. But you’ll also have to live in the short term by focusing on what users can do by themselves with an XR experience.

Marketplaces aren’t quite useful enough yet. Remember the Apple App Store 15 years ago? What were useful apps? What were fun apps? There were only a handful, and no one really knew (developers included) what would work. There needs to be a trusted centralized marketplace where we can easily find apps that are interesting or useful.
There is a LOT of data involved in this big experiment. Is there enough bandwidth to handle these large 3D models being streamed? Can it keep scaling up to keep pace?

There are interoperability hurdles

Android and iOS still don’t interoperate fully with each other on emojis, pics, etc. This was originally a technical hurdle, but not anymore. Now it is a business decision, not a technical one. Metaverse software has the same problem. Will these large companies all actually employ open standards with open APIs that everyone can connect to?
How do large corporations handle con artists? Do they only care about their specific metaverse world? Or do they need to get involved in any world connected to their world, as it affects their ecosystem too?

So yes, there are issues, roadblocks, and hurdles — just like there was for color TV.

But there’s a massive difference, because unlike color TV before its big revolution, your company doesn’t have to wait to make money and increase brand awareness using the metaverse. You can do that right now.

But first, the current state of the metaverse revolution

First of all, let’s talk through where we’re at in the metaverse’s takeover. These stats (and more) were all compiled by BanklessTimes just this month (read the article here):

The majority of people are willing to spend up to $1,000 on advanced VR gear that would allow them to physically feel things they experience in the metaverse.
There are over 400 million metaverse monthly active users.
51% of the metaverse user base is 13 or younger.
74% of American adults are joining or considering joining the metaverse.
By 2026, 25% of people will spend an hour or more in the metaverse each day.
10.7 million players saw Marshmello perform live in a Fortnite concert.

And we haven’t even broken the dam yet. Those “metaverses” are all still walled-off environments, created by each company. The true Metaverse, that will be worked toward by universal standards of interoperability, will create true virtual freedom, with users bringing their “virtual selves” from sandbox to sandbox with ease.

And the most popular metaverses aren’t even fully utilizing the XR (Extended Reality) tech that truly captures the similarities to the color TV upgrade.

Virtual experiences are massively more engaging than 2D video on a screen because of the immersion factor. You wouldn’t watch your favorite movie in black and white with the sound off… but once you’ve experienced a high-quality, immersive virtual experience, you realize that XR is like adding color and sound back into that movie (but on steroids).

XR experiences mimic our reality in a whole new way, and just like color TV, they will soon be just as commonplace.

The tech is already here and the metaverse is going to see continuous exponential growth as the challenges listed previously are overcome.

For example, here a quick look at the state of metaverse tech right now:

5G networks (about 300Mbs when well-connected) are commonplace and industry is already working on the 6th generation of data networks, which will be in the multiple-gigabit-per-second for download speeds!
Mega corporations such as MSFT, Apple, Meta, Google, Samsung, Sony, etc are creating headsets. This has already meant and will continue to mean healthy competition in creating the best headset at reasonable prices. We have already seen a great MR at $1500 and within the next 18 months should see a consumer sized and priced MR/AR headset.
Many of the mega corporations such as Meta, Intel, MSFT, NVIDIA, have actually joined the open standard community, which is a foundational step toward the same kind of interoperability that made the internet possible.
The current generation of kids are already used to headsets, and they will become increasingly more versatile at handling and using them. Their usage will actually help spawn adoption across the masses.

This isn’t just a “networks” issue — it affects your company too.

Sure, NBC, CBS, and ABC were the main players in the color TV revolution. But what they ushered in changed everything for everyone else, too.

Companies had to change their ad strategies to utilize color so they could seem modern, forward-thinking, and strong. They had to come up with new ways to stand out from the crowd.

TV in general even changed the way presidential elections were run! The famously televised JFK-Nixon debate showed us how powerful media changes could be.

The same is true for your company right now. The world is moving into the metaverse, and they should be able to find you there — whether that’s through advertising, brand partnerships, or virtual experiences created by your company.

The world’s expectations are shifting as well, and your company needs to keep up with them.

The days of training by handbook, presentations, and even video are done. Employees will begin craving the immersive learning that can only be done in virtual environments.
People love human interaction and connection, but they like the comfort of their own home and saving time even more. The metaverse is opening up a HUGE area for customer interaction to be done real time from the comfort of a person’s home.
Think about how much of our interaction with others takes place through sharing Facebook posts, Instagram Reels, TikTok videos… the metaverse is going to usher in a whole new way of sharing 3D experiences… you should make your business is shareable!

As I said before, there’s money to be saved and made right now with all of these metaverse opportunities. It’s not a wild investment in a possible future that might give you a 1.4 ratings boost… it’s the clear direction of our technological future. It’s time to jump in.

Do you need further guidance on how to navigate this for your business specifically? DM me on LinkedIn and we can chat!