👩‍🎤 Facebook's metaverse office

...the avatar colleagues are coming in VR
 

Good morning team, who wants a VR bagel? [Luis Alvarez/DigitalVision via GettyImages]

 
Yesterday's Market Moves
 
Dow Jones
34,894 (-0.19%)		S&P 500
4,406 (+0.13%)		Nasdaq
14,542 (+0.11%)		Bitcoin
$46,658 (+3.75%)
Dow Jones
34,894 (-0.19%)		S&P 500
4,406 (+0.13%)
Nasdaq
14,542 (+0.11%)		Bitcoin
$46,658 (+3.75%)

Hey Snackers,

If you want to make a statement this weekend, you could polish your nails with "the ugliest color in the world." It contains tones of "organic drab" and "baroque mulch." Cuuute.

Stock indexes barely budged as investors weighed Delta concerns and the Fed's latest meeting.

Sims

Facebook launches a Sims-like virtual reality office — but it's really a door to the metaverse

Your 3rd grade dream come true... Spending the entire day as an avatar — minus the desk job. Yesterday, Facebook launched an open test of a virtual-reality remote work app: "Horizon Workspaces." Think The Sims — but instead of swimming in giant pools and proposing to strangers, avatars are reviewing sales decks and doing accounting. Zuck's avatar is... interesting.

  • How it works: You need a pair of $300 Oculus Quest 2 headsets to access the free workspace as an avatar — If not, you'll appear as a videoconference square (#awk).
  • What you do: Meet in VR conference rooms with your avatar colleagues, collab on whiteboards and files, and bring your computer into VR as you sit in front of it IRL (#meta).

Shoulda called it "Meta Meets"... Facebook calls Workspaces "a step to the metaverse," which Zuck believes is the future of the internet. Instead of something you look at on a screen, the metaverse is an internet you can be inside of. Think: hanging out in VR with your friends' avatars instead of DM'ing, and entering VR stores where you can shop "in person" and online at the same time.

  • FB has invested heavily in virtual and augmented reality, laying the foundations for its role in the metaverse. And it's not the only one...
  • Roblox, the tween-favorite platform that allows users to build their own games, sees itself as a potential hub for immersive metaverse experiences like concerts and games.
  • Microsoft intro'd Microsoft Mesh, a "mixed-reality" service that displays life-size 3D avatars and content through smart glasses.
THE TAKEAWAY

The future of work could be meta... The metaverse concept emerged from sci-fi novels like "Snow Crash" and "Ready Player One" — but the first place it could become reality is the office. Hybrid and remote-work environments are here to stay, and FB wants its metaverse to be a big part of that future. But a lack of trust in FB's brand could keep people skeptical. Plus, VR still requires expensive, and sometimes problematic, headsets — which could slow or limit adoption.

Decor

The seasonal House Hype has arrived: less paint and tiles, more $1K skeletons

Jack-o'-lanterns are back... with a vengeance. This week, Home Depot put Halloween decorations for sale earlier than usual (think: 12-foot-skeletons) — and said it sold out almost "immediately." But it's not all rainbows and candy corn: Home Depot's shares tumbled Tuesday after it said sales are slowing quicker than expected, especially in the DIY department.

Already picked out the X-mas tree... Pandemic-era House Hype is going through a makeover. People are showing signs of being less focused on painting and beautifying their new WFH offices and 24/7 biodomes. Instead, they're focused on preparing for seasonal social events that didn't feel appropriate last year. The shift is already affecting businesses:

  • Done retiling the bathroom... after doing it five times. DIY sales are down, not just at Home Depot. Sales at home improvement-focused Lowe's fell last quarter, and paint legend Sherwin Williams came in short of expectations.
  • Ready to impress the neighborhood... Home Depot, Walmart, and Target all expect a surge in spending on holiday decor this year. And sales at celebration-focused Party City more than doubled last quarter from 2020.
THE TAKEAWAY

House Hype just got festive... Pandemic trends aren't all disappearing; instead, they're evolving. As the Delta variant delays return-to-work plans, many people are (still) spending lots of time at home. But with 73% of US adults vaccinated, people want this year to feel more "normal" than last. House Hype used to be about making houses more liveable — now, it's also about making them more fun.

What else we're Snackin'
  • Remask: As Delta spreads, Washington became the latest state to reimpose mask mandates — joining Nevada, Louisiana, Oregon, and Hawaii.
  • Again: After its original complaint was dismissed in June, the FTC filed a renewed antitrust complaint against Facebook.
  • Brakes: Toyota says it'll cut global car production by 40% next month due to the spread of Covid in Southeast Asia.
  • PrimeIRL: Amazon plans to open department stores as its latest experiment in physical retail, according to the WSJ's sources.
  • Crypto: SEC Chairman Gensler said that blockchain-based decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms aren't immune to regulation.
  • Inception: Macy's is partnering with the owner of Toys 'R' Us to launch 400 mini toy shops inside of Macy's locations next year (#InceptionRetail).

🍪 Thanks for Snacking with us! Want to share the Snacks? Invite your friends to sign up here.

Friday
  • Earnings expected from John Deere and Foot Locker

Authors of this Snacks own shares of: Amazon, Walmart, and Microsoft

ID: 1

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