Making a Metaverse That Matters
From Snow Crash & Second Life to a Virtual World Worth Fighting For
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Making a Metaverse That Matters
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Narrated by:
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Shawn Compton
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By:
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Wagner James Au
About this listen
An up-close account from the world's first metaverse-embedded reporter
In Making a Metaverse That Matters: From Snow Crash & Second Life to A Virtual World Worth Fighting For, the celebrated author of The Making of Second Life and Game Design Secrets, Wagner James Au, delivers an engrossing exploration of how nascent metaverse platforms have already captured the imagination of millions. Featuring powerful stories and dozens of incisive interviews with insiders including Metaverse creator Neal Stephenson himself, the author uses his unique, grassroots-level perspective as the first reporter embedded in a metaverse platform. Listeners will learn about: how to understand the Metaverse and cut through the many myths and misconceptions around it; a behind-the-scenes account of launching Second Life, the first metaverse platform to achieve mainstream awareness, and what its many controversies teach us; where current platforms Meta, Roblox, Fortnite, VRChat, and Lamina1, Neal Stephenson's own metaverse startup, fit in the ecosystem; and how to address the many dangers inherent in the Metaverse before it becomes central to the Internet.
Perfect for XR industry members and indie creatives, Making a Metaverse That Matters is also for tech professionals, virtual world communities, and anyone interested in the future of culture and commerce.
©2023 Wagner James Au (P)2023 Ascent AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,138
The grid is an accident of history and of culture, in no way intrinsic to how we produce, deliver and consume electrical power. Yet this is the system the United States ended up with, a jerry-built structure now so rickety and near collapse that a strong wind or a hot day can bring it to a grinding halt. The grid is now under threat from a new source: renewable and variable energy, which puts stress on its logics as much as its components.
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2 out of 5 stars
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A disappointment
- By Ronald on 09-24-16
By: Gretchen Bakke
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Slenderman
- Online Obsession, Mental Illness, and the Violent Crime of Two Midwestern Girls
- By: Kathleen Hale
- Narrated by: Therese Plummer
- Length: 9 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 376
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 331
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 331
On May 31, 2014, in the Milwaukee suburb of Waukesha, Wisconsin, two 12-year-old girls attempted to stab their classmate to death. Morgan Geyser and Anissa Weier’s violence was extreme, but what seemed even more frightening was that they committed their crime under the influence of a figure born by the internet: the so-called “Slenderman”. Yet the even more urgent aspect of the story, that the children involved suffered from undiagnosed mental illnesses, often went overlooked in coverage of the case.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Excellent narration
- By Pink Amy on 08-21-22
By: Kathleen Hale
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Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution
- 25th Anniversary Edition
- By: Steven Levy
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 20 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,951
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,726
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,722
Steven Levy's classic book traces the exploits of the computer revolution's original hackers - those brilliant and eccentric nerds from the late 1950s through the early '80s who took risks, bent the rules, and pushed the world in a radical new direction. With updated material from noteworthy hackers such as Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Richard Stallman, and Steve Wozniak, Hackers is a fascinating story that begins in early computer research labs and leads to the first home computers.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Remember Why You Got Into Computing
- By Dan Collins on 07-01-16
By: Steven Levy
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Doom Guy
- Life in First Person
- By: John Romero
- Narrated by: John Romero
- Length: 17 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 303
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 255
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Story5 out of 5 stars 255
Doom Guy: Life in First Person is the long-awaited autobiography of gaming’s original rock star and the cocreator of DOOM, Quake, and Wolfenstein—some of the most recognizable and important titles in video game history. Credited with the invention of the first-person shooter, a genre that continues to dominate the market today, he is gaming royalty. Told in remarkable detail, a byproduct of his hyperthymesia, Romero recounts his storied career.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Intimate stories of gaming history in First Person
- By Emyli on 07-28-23
By: John Romero
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Surveillance Valley
- The Secret Military History of the Internet
- By: Yasha Levine
- Narrated by: LJ Ganser
- Length: 10 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 244
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 195
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Story5 out of 5 stars 196
In this fascinating book, investigative reporter Yasha Levine uncovers the secret origins of the Internet, tracing it back to a Pentagon counterinsurgency surveillance project. With deep research, skilled storytelling, and provocative arguments, Surveillance Valley will change the way you think about the news - and the device on which you read it.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Profound look at the internet and surveillance
- By stuartjash on 04-06-18
By: Yasha Levine
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The Complete Software Developer's Career Guide
- How to Learn Programming Languages Quickly, Ace Your Programming Interview, and Land Your Software Developer Dream Job
- By: John Sonmez
- Narrated by: John Sonmez
- Length: 20 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,013
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 886
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 874
Technical knowledge alone isn't enough - increase your software development income by leveling up your soft skills Early in his software developer career, John Sonmez discovered that technical knowledge alone isn't enough to break through to the next income level - developers need "soft skills" like the ability to learn new technologies just in time, communicate clearly with management and consulting clients, negotiate a fair hourly rate, and unite teammates and coworkers in working toward a common goal.
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2 out of 5 stars
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The Complete Bro-grammer's Career Guide
- By Leels on 09-18-19
By: John Sonmez
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Glow Kids
- How Screen Addiction Is Hijacking Our Kids - and How to Break the Trance
- By: Nicholas Kardaras PhD
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
- Length: 11 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 296
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 256
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 256
In Glow Kids, Dr. Nicholas Kardaras will examine how technology - more specifically, age-inappropriate screen tech, with all of its glowing ubiquity - has profoundly affected the brains of an entire generation. Brain imaging research is showing that stimulating glowing screens are as dopaminergic (dopamine activating) to the brain’s pleasure center as sex. And a growing mountain of clinical research correlates screen tech with disorders like ADHD, addiction, anxiety, depression, increased aggression, and even psychosis.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Fear Mongering - a modern day Mazes and Monsters
- By Veronica on 11-03-20
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Prediction Machines
- The Simple Economics of Artificial Intelligence
- By: Ajay Agrawal, Joshua Gans, Avi Goldfarb
- Narrated by: LJ Ganser
- Length: 7 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,282
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,097
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Story4 out of 5 stars 1,094
Artificial intelligence does the seemingly impossible - driving cars, trading stocks, and teaching children. But facing the sea change that AI will bring can be paralyzing. How should companies set strategies, governments design policies, and people plan their lives for a world so different from what we know? In Prediction Machines, three eminent economists recast the rise of AI as a drop in the cost of prediction. With this single, masterful stroke, they lift the curtain on the AI-is-magic hype and show how basic tools from economics provide clarity about the AI revolution and a basis for action by CEOs, managers, policy makers, investors, and entrepreneurs.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Not sure what I was expecting, but underwhelmed
- By William J Brown on 09-27-18
By: Ajay Agrawal, and others
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Tesla
- Inventor of the Electrical Age
- By: W. Bernard Carlson
- Narrated by: Allan Robertson
- Length: 16 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 354
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 304
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Story4 out of 5 stars 303
Nikola Tesla was a major contributor to the electrical revolution that transformed daily life at the turn of the 20th century. His inventions, patents, and theoretical work formed the basis of modern AC electricity, and contributed to the development of radio and television. Like his competitor Thomas Edison, Tesla was one of America's first celebrity scientists, enjoying the company of New York high society and dazzling the likes of Mark Twain with his electrical demonstrations. An astute self-promoter and gifted showman, he cultivated a public image of the eccentric genius.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A detailed examination of Tesla's work
- By Jean on 02-01-14
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Super Pumped
- The Battle for Uber
- By: Mike Isaac
- Narrated by: Holter Graham, Mike Isaac
- Length: 12 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,950
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,630
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,624
A New York Times technology correspondent presents the dramatic rise and fall of Uber, set against the rapid upheaval in Silicon Valley during the mobile era. Based on hundreds of interviews with current and former Uber employees, along with previously unpublished documents, Super Pumped is a pause-resisting story of ambition and deception, obscene wealth, and bad behavior, that explores how blistering technological and financial innovation culminated in one of the most catastrophic 12-month periods in American corporate history.
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2 out of 5 stars
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A forced narrative and a bad version of Bad Blood
- By Benji on 09-09-19
By: Mike Isaac
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No Place to Hide
- Edward Snowden, the NSA, and the U.S. Surveillance State
- By: Glenn Greenwald
- Narrated by: L. J. Ganser
- Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,938
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,615
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,609
In May 2013, Glenn Greenwald set out for Hong Kong to meet an anonymous source who claimed to have astonishing evidence of pervasive government spying and insisted on communicating only through heavily encrypted channels. That source turned out to be the 29-year-old NSA contractor Edward Snowden, and his revelations about the agency’s widespread, systemic overreach proved to be some of the most explosive and consequential news in recent history, triggering a fierce debate over national security....
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3 out of 5 stars
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Best Read in Print Format
- By Alfredo Ramirez on 11-22-14
By: Glenn Greenwald
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Social Media Marketing Workbook: 2024 Edition - How to Use Social Media for Business
- By: Jason McDonald PhD
- Narrated by: Michael Goodrick
- Length: 14 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 103
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 86
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Story4 out of 5 stars 85
Learn social media marketing in plain English—step by step! Buy the workbook used at Stanford Continuing Studies to teach social media marketing for business. The 2023 updated edition—all info verified and a new chapter on TikTok, plus revisions on LinkedIn, Facebook, and other major platforms....
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great SM Reference
- By Anne on 12-31-18
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The Book of Satoshi
- The Collected Writings of Bitcoin Creator Satoshi Nakamoto, 1st Edition
- By: Phil Champagne
- Narrated by: Stephanie Murphy
- Length: 7 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 250
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 216
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 217
The Book of Satoshi, the collected writings of Satoshi Nakamoto, creator of the bitcoin. The foreword was written by Jeff Berwick.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great historic read that'll teach the blockchain
- By Peter Hanson on 05-19-16
By: Phil Champagne
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The Box
- How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger
- By: Marc Levinson
- Narrated by: Adam Lofbomm
- Length: 12 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 673
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 546
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 549
In April 1956, a refitted oil tanker carried 58 shipping containers from Newark to Houston. From that modest beginning, container shipping developed into a huge industry that made the boom in global trade possible. The Box tells the dramatic story of the container's creation, the decade of struggle before it was widely adopted, and the sweeping economic consequences of the sharp fall in transportation costs that containerization brought about.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Fascinating Topic sometimes lost in minutiae
- By zombie64 on 07-15-14
By: Marc Levinson
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Algorithms of Oppression
- How Search Engines Reinforce Racism
- By: Safiya Umoja Noble
- Narrated by: Shayna Small
- Length: 6 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 382
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 324
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 322
Run a Google search for “black girls” - what will you find? “Big Booty” and other sexually explicit terms are likely to come up as top search terms. But, if you type in “white girls”, the results are radically different. The suggested porn sites and un-moderated discussions about “why black women are so sassy” or “why black women are so angry” presents a disturbing portrait of black womanhood in modern society. In Algorithms of Oppression, Safiya Umoja Noble challenges the idea that search engines like Google offer an equal playing field for all forms of ideas, identities, and activities.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Read this book. Tell everyone you know about it.
- By Joshua Daniel-Wariya on 06-06-19
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Millennium
- From Religion to Revolution: How Civilization Has Changed over a Thousand Years
- By: Ian Mortimer
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 15 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 83
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 78
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 79
In Millennium, best-selling historian Ian Mortimer takes the listener on a whirlwind tour of the last 10 centuries of Western history. It is a journey into a past vividly brought to life and bursting with ideas, that pits one century against another in his quest to measure which century saw the greatest change. We journey from a time when there was a fair chance of your village being burned to the ground by invaders - and dried human dung was a recommended cure for cancer - to a world in which explorers sailed into the unknown and civilizations came into conflict.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Bad ending - literally
- By John Gordon on 12-14-16
By: Ian Mortimer