Nike gets "metaverse-ready" with acquisition of virtual sneaker company RTFKT

Sportswear brand Nike has announced its acquisition of RTFKT, a digital design studio producing trainers and other collectibles that can be worn across different online environments.

Buying RTFKT could help Nike ramp up its own production of virtual wearables without having to rely on outside help. RTFKT's products include neon-coloured platforms that it created with The Fabricant.

At the same time, Nike is hoping to provide the start-up with the funding to further explore the possibilities presented by the metaverse, the emerging digital universe where people can experience a parallel life to their real-world existence.

Top image: RTFKT joins Jordan and Converse in Nike's stable of brands. Above: virtual trainers created with The Fabricant

"This acquisition is another step that accelerates Nike's digital transformation and allows us to serve athletes and creators at the intersection of sport, creativity, gaming and culture," said Nike CEO and president John Donahoe.

"Our plan is to invest in the RTFKT brand, serve and grow their innovative and creative community and extend Nike's digital footprint and capabilities."

The companies did not disclose the terms of the deal.

RTFKT, which was founded by Benoit Pagotto, Chris Le and Steven Vasilev in January 2020, creates "metaverse-ready sneakers and collectibles" with the aim of bringing the scarcity culture of streetwear and limited-edition drops to the digital world.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by RTFKT Studios (@rtfktstudios)

The Fabricant x RTFKT trainer was sold as an NFT

"Since we started, we always looked up to Nike, with the goal to create the Nike born on the metaverse," Pagotto tweeted.

So far, the company has released a virtual sneaker in collaboration with crypto artist FEWOCiOUS that sold out in just under seven minutes, as well as working with artist Takashi Murakami to create a series of rare avatars that can be used across games and augmented reality applications.

[

Read:

Virtual fashion will allow people to "go completely crazy" online says Amber Jae Slooten of The Fabricant

](https://www.dezeen.com/2020/10/23/virtual-fashion-amber-jae-slooten-the-fabricant/)

Unlike the virtual trainers released by Gucci and Buffalo London earlier this year, which are not truly owned by the buyer as they cannot be sold on, each RTFKT product is backed by a non-fungible token (NFTs).

This blockchain-based certificate of ownership is linked to a digital asset to verify its authenticity and chain of custody, meaning that it can be collected, traded and sold on for profit, much like a real trainer.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by RTFKT Studios (@rtfktstudios)

RTFKT has created avatars in collaboration with Takashi Murakami

At only two years old, RTFKT is the youngest brand in Nike's roster, which otherwise includes only other legacy footwear brands such as Converse and Jordan.

The news comes after Nike trademarked the use of its logos and slogans for digital wearables last month and launched its own virtual Nikeland world within the online game Roblox, where players could buy branded products for their avatars.

A slew of other fashion brands has begun investing in the metaverse including Louis Vuitton and Balenciaga, both of which have released video games to supplement their real-life catwalk shows.

The post Nike gets "metaverse-ready" with acquisition of virtual sneaker company RTFKT appeared first on Dezeen.

#fashion #all #design #news #trainers #footwear #digitaldesign #nike #digitalfashion #businessnews #metaverse #rtfkt

Web2 vs. Web3, Alex Stamos vs. Chris Dixon

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“In web2, you are just borrowing things — until the actual owners change their mind.”

In web3, you own something until a 17 year-old in St. Petersburg borrows your 32 byte private key (shorter than this tweet) for 100ms and steals your entire life savings with no recourse.

🧵 Thread by Alex Stamos: https://nitter.net/alexstamos/status/1470583102699307008

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I have personal opinions regarding this exchange (and about the topic being debated)

(particularly that there is no single monolithic web2, nor is there a monolithic web3),

...but I'm going to keep them to myself for now. Let it marinate for a bit first.

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Stamos thread copy-pasted below:

December 14:

cdixon:
“In web2, you are just borrowing things — until the actual owners change their mind.”

alexstamos:
In web3, you own something until a 17 year-old in St. Petersburg borrows your 32 byte private key (shorter than this tweet) for 100ms and steals your entire life savings with no recourse.

I’m writing something longer on this but the continued willful ignorance of the entire sordid history of software and information security by the otherwise smart people funding web3 is both infuriating and creates a great market opportunity for those with appropriate paranoia.

“A thousand years of common law underlying dispute resolution is just silly overheard that we can replace with our belief in the ability to write code that behaves perfectly predictably in the presence of an adversary” is the principle behind much of web3 and so so stupid.

I’m not sure the web3 kids or the VCs throwing money into the crypto dog fighting pits understand how abnormal this kind of story was for… most of human history. We don’t actually live in Ocean’s 11: the ability to easily steal $100M+ is totally new! [theblockcrypto.com/post/127270/...]

I’ve done defense and IR for a couple of decades, and it was hard enough dealing with attackers making state salaries or getting away with $500k wire transfers. The TAM for offensive skills has grown 1000x thanks to cryptocurrencies and we won’t understand the impact for years.

I shouldn’t be complaining; the market for infosec expertise will explode as legal recourses fade away and hundreds of millions of people are exposed to the prodsec risks large orgs used to handle for them. Just not sure being the old hacker in a cyberpunk novel is worth it.

The best long play is probably crypto forensics companies and Moscow Maserati dealerships.

Today, Dec. 15 (Dixon blocks Stamos):

alexstamos:
It’s unfortunate that one cannot just click block on the risk one is accruing on behalf of LPs and normal users.

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Stamos thread was in reply to Chris Dixon tweet: https://nitter.net/cdixon/status/1470374120055615488

Original context, NY Times article \u0026 tweet:

Thea-Mai Baumann's Instagram handle was (at)metaverse. “You are now a millionaire,” one person messaged her when Facebook announced it was changing its name. \"Fb isn’t gonna buy it, they’re gonna take it,” said another.

And that's exactly what happened. http://nyti.ms/31UVs7U

📑 Her Instagram handle was 'Metaverse'. Last month it vanished. - NY Times - http://nyti.ms/31UVs7U

.
.
.
#fz_links #fz_currentEvents / #metaverse #web3 #NFT #blockchain #DecentralisedFinance #cryptocurrency

#Facebook et son diabolique #METAVERSE - [IDRISS ABERKANE]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rhnng_u5ZnU
#informatique #net #web #pc #smartphone #os #linux #libre #IdrissAberkane

What Will #Work Look Like in #2022? (Hint: Not the #Metaverse)

source: https://www.wired.com/story/the-future-of-work-2022/

For most knowledge-worker companies, hybrid work will become the central model, ...

...

#Remote working will no longer be seen just as a temporary #solution to #pandemic lockdowns or as an employee #benefit but as a hedge against #future #crises, ...

What makes me question economics and #capitalism is the fact that before the pandemic, entire #software teams were flying hundreds of kilometres across the US every week just to do on-site #programming for clients. All this could have been done remotely before the pandemic too and it would have been cheaper and more environmentally friendly.

#Development #labour #change #environment #economy #online #internet #news

● NEWS ● #CounterPunch ☞ Totalitarian Cyber-Creep: Mark# Zuckerberg in the #Metaverse https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/11/26/totalitarian-cyber-creep-mark-zuckerberg-in-the-metaverse-2/

Why we should reject Mark Zuckerberg's dehumanizing vision of a "Metaverse"

https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/11/24/why-we-should-reject-mark-zuckerbergs-dehumanizing-vision-of-a-metaverse/

"The true path forward is to #reconnect with the #beauty of our #planetary #home and the #natural #world or, in the words of #cultural #historian #MorrisBerman, to “ #re-enchant the world.” We need to somehow, through the seemingly unstoppable momentum of runaway technology, find a way to #return to a way of #living that retains the use of #limited and #intelligent #technology where appropriate without allowing it to run roughshod over the #core #values of #humanity we still #cherish."

#tomvalovic #reject #markzuckerberg's #dehumanizing #vision #metaverse #meta #bigtech #coup #wef #profit #surveillance

● NEWS ● #DanielMiessler #Privacy #Surveillance ☞ Why The #Metaverse Will Succeed: The metaverse as humanity's escape hatch https://danielmiessler.com/blog/why-metaverse-succeed/

A Tale of Two Metas: Help DiEM25’s mέta cancel Zuckerberg’s dystopic Meta | DiEM25

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8m0mBfqse6M

Help #DiEM25's #mέta cancel #Zuckerberg's #dystopic #Meta

Join: http://diem25.org/join
Donate: http://diem25.org/donate
Support @metacpc: http://metacpc.org/en

#yanisvaroufakis #humanity #metaverse #postcapitalism #digital #world #techno-feudal #dystopia

● NEWS ● #JacobinMag #Surveillance #Privacy ☞ #Facebook ’s #Metaverse Must Be Stopped https://jacobinmag.com/2021/11/facebook-metaverse-mark-zuckerberg-play-to-earn-surveillance-tech-industry/ "Silicon Valley has a long history of big dreams that are not realized"

Facebook’s “Metaverse” Must Be Stopped

https://www.jacobinmag.com/2021/11/facebook-metaverse-mark-zuckerberg-play-to-earn-surveillance-tech-industry

' #Facebook founder #MarkZuckerberg's #metaverse is no #utopian #vision — it's another opportunity for #BigTech to #colonize our #lives in the name of #profit. #SiliconValley tends to feel it can do whatever it wants. Its major companies have ignored #regulations with little consequence and shaped how we #communicate to #increase #profits despite causing #social #harm. We should instead imagine how #tech can be developed for the #public #good.'

#virtual #worlds #environment #surveillance #technology #industry #science #video #games #internet #workers #rights

Are Stephen And Jon Batiste In The #Facebook #Metaverse Right Now? - Invidious ⚓ https://yewtu.be/watch?v=7Em8ajNYLV0

Actual reality is infinitely preferable to the dystopian augmented reality of the Metaverse

https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2021/11/17/actual-reality-is-infinitely-preferable-to-the-dystopian-augmented-reality-of-the-metaverse/

'Why would you don headsets and visit virtual reality when you could go somewhere as stunning as #Iceland? Why choose #fake #reality over #life?'

#evabartlett #bartlett #dystopian #metaverse #markzuckerberg #icelandverse #virtual #worlds #ar #technology #darpa #military #whitneywebb #ryancristian

#Benefits for #Facebook #employees

watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdxOKlNX7t0&t=560s

That is true and not satire!

#fail #song #music #staff #company #metaverse #meta #omg #wtf

The Metaverse Is Big Brother in Disguise: Freedom Meted Out by Technological Tyrants

#Metaverse #Freedom #Technological_Tyrants

Ethan Zuckerman to Mark Zuckerberg: Hey, Facebook, I Made a Metaverse 27 Years Ago, It was terrible then, and it’s terrible now

In a booth at Ted’s Fish Fry, in Troy, New York, my friend Daniel Beck and I sketched out our plans for the metaverse. It was November 1994, just as the graphical web was becoming a thing, and we thought that the 3-D web could be just a few tweaks down the road. In our version of the metaverse, a server would track the identity of objects and their location in virtual space, but you’d render the objects locally, loaded to your hard drive off of a CD-ROM.

So, after watching metaverses spring up and crumble for 27 years, and after building one myself, I feel fairly well equipped to offer context for what Mark Zuckerberg is trying to do with his firm’s pivot to “Meta.”

Zuckerberg isn’t building the metaverse because he has a remarkable new vision of how things could be. There’s not an original thought in his video, including the business model. Thirty-eight minutes in, Zuckerberg gets serious, talking about how humbling the past few years have been for him and his business. Remember, he’s not humbled by the problem of Russian disinformation, or the spread of anti-vax misinformation, or the challenge of how Instagram affects teen body image. No, he’s humbled by how hard it is to fight against Apple and Google.

Facebook can claim originality in at least one thing. Its combination of scale and irresponsibility has unleashed a set of diverse and fascinating sociopolitical challenges that it will take lawmakers, scholars, and activists at least a generation to fix.

So in summary, Facebook (Meta) could again be unleashing something they have no way of managing, and will likely create all sorts of new issues for them... Even VR already exists for Second Life, but no doubt Meta will make it popular now.

Read his full text at Hey, Facebook, I Made a Metaverse 27 Years Ago

#technology #metaverse #Meta #facebook

It was terrible then, and it’s terrible now.

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https://gadgeteer.co.za/ethan-zuckerman-mark-zuckerberg-hey-facebook-i-made-metaverse-27-years-ago-it-was-terrible-then-and

Project EchoVoice – A Social Impact Return on Investment

It's been a while since I've posted. We are launching a #TechForGood GoFundMe campaign and appreciate any help folks can offer even if only to get the word out and make it viral on all social media platforms. (I've provided supporting social science and health research on the GoFundMe page for those who would like to see just how much the need exists.) Here's the situation:

Virtual Worlds are the heart of the free Metaverse.

People are the soul of the free Metaverse.

Using free online voice communications in the Metaverse has helped lift people up for over 15 years. The OpenSimulator Virtual World community alone has an estimated 16,000 unique users. Most currently use free voice communication from Vivox and most are women, seniors, students, and the disabled living in poverty or on fixed incomes.

The problem we want to solve…

Free voice communication for all Operating Systems is going away.

The whole of the Metaverse will be diminished without a replacement system for users of all Operating Systems in OpenSimulator Virtual Worlds.

The Metaverse is growing and so is the need.

We're raising money to develop EchoVoice: a freeware/open-source software solution for all supported OpenSimulator server and viewer versions. Find us on GoFundMe!

https://www.gofundme.com/f/give-people-free-internet-voice-communication

#echovoice #freevoice #metaversedepot #virtualworlds #virtualreality #socialvr #desktopvr #metaverse #hyperverse #ima #infinitemetaverse #infinitemetaversealliance

The markets are crazy! #NFT are just jpegs! Dog coins! Cat coins! #Tesla ! #GameStop!

Everyone is going to get burned! Don't they realize about discounted cash flows?!!! These #people are ruining everything! #Green #energy?!

source: https://www.pingthread.com/thread/1454612829248630790

#Crypto is a bubble! Tech is a bubble! VC is a bubble! Biotech is a bubble! Passive investing is a bubble! Web 3.0 is a bubble! Green energy is a bubble! The #Metaverse is insanity! Cant they see??!! They are all wrong!

#money #news #twitter #problem #society #capitalism #environment #climate #future #economy #internet #bitcoins

John Carmack Issues Some Words of Warning For Meta and Its Metaverse Plans | Slashdot

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica:
Oculus consulting CTO John Carmack has been bullish on the idea of "the metaverse" for a long time, as he'll be among the first to point out. But the id Software co-founder spent a good chunk of his wide-ranging Connect keynote Thursday sounding pretty skeptical of plans by the newly rebranded Meta (formerly Facebook) to actually build that metaverse. "I really do care about [the metaverse], and I buy into the vision," Carmack said, before quickly adding, "I have been pretty actively arguing against every single metaverse effort that we have tried to spin up internally in the company from even pre-acquisition times." The reason for that seeming contradiction is a somewhat ironic one, as Carmack puts it: "I have pretty good reasons to believe that setting out to build the metaverse is not actually the best way to wind up with the metaverse."

#technology #tech #facebook #Meta #metaverse

https://m.slashdot.org/story/392103

● NEWS ● #Stratechery #Privacy #Surveillance ☞ An Interview with Mark #Zuckerberg about the #Metaverse https://stratechery.com/2021/an-interview-with-mark-zuckerberg-about-the-metaverse/ "my choice to focus on the company’s new vision and not the current controversies about Facebook."

"Whitney and Ryan Cristian discuss the recent news of #Facebook rebranding as a “metaverse” company and provide important background on what the #metaverse is and what its ambitions really are." https://unlimitedhangout.com/2021/10/press/facebook-and-the-metaverse-with-ryan-cristian/