Last week, three seemingly unrelated stories offered a glimpse into a perhaps hopeful version of reality. After losing over $84 billion dollars, Meta finally shut down their VR platform Horizon Worlds. Over the same span of time, other virtual platforms such as Second Life (launched in 2003) have built a hugely loyal audience. Analysts suggest Meta’s failure came down to their refusal to let creators copyright their content and their predatory commissions model only offering creators 52.5% of the revenue they create. In contrast, Second Life’s virtual economy moves roughly $650 million per year, and Linden Lab has paid out $1.1 billion to creators over the platform’s lifetime.
The other two stories both involved Amazon, where the first is about the backlash against the brand for potentially causing a financial crisis at USPS due to their refusal to negotiate rates and allegedly demanding unsustainable concessions (a well-known pattern for a brand known for using their monopoly to strong-arm partners in negotiations). The second is about the brand’s announcement that they will start offering 1 and 3 hour deliveries in some cities, which experts also warn may lead to more injuries, accidents and other “human horrors.”
What’s the theme between these stories? Well, firstly the fact that they are stories at all. Often these sorts of impacts are hidden as the cost of doing business so it’s a positive sign to see them getting so much attention. It does also point to a broader shift where companies increasingly need to answer for the human impacts of the ways that they choose to make money. For that reason alone, it’s worth paying attention to and sharing.