Cover: The Metaverse Handbook by QuHarrison Terry, Scott “DJ SKEE” Keeney

The Metaverse Handbook

Innovating for the Internet's Next Tectonic Shift

 

 

 

 

QuHarrison Terry

Scott “DJ SKEE” Keeney

 

 

 

 

Logo: Wiley

In memory of Jo Ann Shary and Linda Pittman

About the Authors

QuHarrison Terry is the bestselling author of The NFT Handbook, a detailed guide on how to create, sell, and buy nonfungible tokens without the need for a technical background. His work has been translated into more than seven languages and has appeared everywhere from WIRED to Forbes. In addition, QuHarrison is a four-time recipient of LinkedIn's Top Voices in Technology award.

QuHarrison is also a notable entrepreneur and growth marketer who has advised Mark Cuban and his portfolio of 200+ venture companies. He is the cohost of CNBC's primetime series No Retreat: Business Bootcamp. In 2022, he launched MetaverseQT.com, a website devoted to helping innovators and creative professionals understand the Metaverse.

Scott “DJ SKEE” Keeney has built an empire by consistently identifying the next trends in music and culture.

As a DJ, Skee is best known for introducing the world to artists including Kendrick Lamar, Lady Gaga, Post Malone, Travis Scott, and more on his TV and radio platforms. Skee has produced for defining artists of this era ranging from Snoop Dogg to Michael Jackson and composed music for top-selling video game series like HALO and Ghost Recon. As a performer, Skee has opened up and held residencies at high-profile clubs and venues globally, including XS at the Wynn/Encore in Las Vegas and US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. Skee has been honored with numerous awards and accolades including Mixtape and Radio DJ Of The Year, Billboard and Forbes “30 Under 30,” as well as a mayoral proclamation in his hometown of St. Paul, Minnesota, declaring May 26 “DJ Skee Day.” In raw numbers, Skee has generated more than four billion views and has a network of more than two million followers.

With multiple ventures under his umbrella, DJ Skee is more than a DJ. A driving force behind some of the biggest brands over the past decade like Beats By Dre, Skee has helped numerous Fortune 500 brands including Nike and Google. After spending over a decade on satellite and FM radio, Skee founded Dash and turned it into the world's largest all original digital radio platform. Skee produced the Netflix original documentary Sneakerheadz, has produced eleven number-one music videos, and hosted/produced five seasons of Skee TV on Fuse. Skee's track record as identifying trends carries over to the early-stage venture world as an early-venture investor in several unicorns, including StockX, HotelTonight (acquired by Airbnb), Thrive, WhatNot, and more. Most passionately, Skee is an active philanthropist working with numerous organizations, including the UN Foundation and Grammy Foundation.

Skee Sports is an award-winning sports content and game day entertainment group that currently works across the NFL, NBA, MLB, NASCAR, and more. The Minnesota Vikings have been awarded multiple NFL Best Game Day Entertainment honors during their several years of working together. Skee was the first-ever live DJ during a NASCAR race and has performed at the LA Coliseum's Clash At The Coliseum and Daytona 500. In November 2011, Skee performed at the biggest venue in North America and energized the University of Michigan during the programs biggest win in decades over rival Ohio State, in what was the most watched nonplayoff college football game of the decade. He also is the first DJ to perform live from the Metaverse into a stadium as he did with the Minnesota Twins during the 2020 playoffs.

Skee is an owner of Cards & Coffee in Hollywood and runs the collectible alternative asset fund Mint10 (mint10.co). Beyond being a leading figure in the cards and collectible industry, Skee released his own series with Topps in 2020 that became one of the highest-selling products of the year. He also teamed up with MLB and the Minnesota Twins alongside Herschel Supply Company for a release that sold out instantly in 2021.

Skee is a thought leader for the Metaverse, powering numerous Metaverse experiences across platforms including Roblox, Unreal Engine, Discord, and others as the founder and CEO of DXSH Studios. Skee has produced numerous Metaverse experiences including Paris World, a virtual oasis in Roblox created in collaboration with the original influencer, Paris Hilton. Skee also serves as chief metaverse officer at TSX Entertainment. He has performed virtual DJ sets for Discord's branded festival Snowsgiving, as well as Beatport using only a VR headset under his Outside the Matrix series.

Acknowledgments

With much gratitude to Wendy Souter, Keith Terry, Alexis Terry, Miles Terry, Ryan Cowdrey, Genesis Renji, Brian Trujillo, Carola Jain, Michael Potts, Brian Fannin, Adam Hashian, Rachel Levitt, Ryan Gill, Mark Studholme, Harold Hughes, Naku and Christina Mayo, Zach and LaKesha Rubin, Brent and Michelle Johnson, George and Julia McLaughlin, and my co-author Scott Keeney.

Thank you to anyone who has ever conversed with me about the Metaverse, constructed Metaverse experiences alongside me, or consulted with me about the Metaverse. All those interactions helped make this book a reality.

—QuHarrison Terry

There are far too many individuals who have helped me along my journey to list here, and I would be remiss to try to thank only those who fit on this page. Thank you to my family, friends, and associates for always supporting and being there for me. Thank you to all of those who have believed in me, given advice, or taken the time to interact. Thank you to those who I have worked with over the years and our incredible DXSH/Dash family for giving me the experience to become an expert in this space. Thank you to everyone who has inspired me from up close and afar. And thanks to everyone who has ever supported me on any level—without you I wouldn't be here. I hope you can at least take one meaningful lesson or concept from this book and framework that inspires you along your journey.

With gratitude,

—Scott “DJ SKEE” Keeney

Foreword

Six years ago, in the summer of 2016, my friend Jaeson Ma and I found ourselves at a dinner in Munich, Germany with a couple of the founders of Ethereum. I don't remember exactly what led to our going to this dinner, but I'm glad we did. It was one of the most life-changing meals I've ever had. And I'm not talking about the food, which was good. For me, it was the conversation that was memorable.

I've always considered myself forward-thinking and a bit of an undercover nerd. But when Stephan Tual (then the CCO of Ethereum) started talking about blockchain and cryptography and digital currency, I'll be honest, it mostly went over my head. I could feel his passion for it, though. I could tell that this team was building something great. And it was clear they were giving Jaeson and me a look into the future.

As soon as I got back from Germany, I bought my first bit of cryptocurrency.

The following year when I was filming my documentary The American Meme, I stumbled on another revolutionary technology. I found a company that was doing full-body, 3D scans of celebrities and turning them into digital avatars. Of course, I had myself turned into an avatar.

Honestly, by this time, I was tired of going out and the whole LA scene. So, I built this virtual world where my digital avatar could have a social life, perform DJ sets, and hang out with my friends and fans in VR. I guess you could say that I built my first Metaverse in 2018.

The next piece of the puzzle—non-fungible tokens (NFTs)—came to me in 2019. The team at Cryptograph approached me to create a piece of digital art that we would auction off and donate the money to charity. Like crypto, the idea of NFTs was hard to understand at first. But once I learned the foundation of the tech and how it made digital ownership possible, I was really curious to try it out.

So, I drew a picture of my cat, Kitty, on the iPad. We then listed the NFT on Cryptograph in March 2020. And it ended up selling for 40 ETH (which was around $17,000 at the time). As a result, I won the “Best Charity NFT” of 2020 at the NFT Awards, which was super awesome.

I consider myself genuinely lucky to have found out about these technologies before most people. Not everyone gets this type of access to the innovators or their innovations so early. But I also think about all of the other celebs or brands who were introduced to crypto or NFTs or the Metaverse when I was and didn't do anything about it. They didn't have an open mind and couldn't see how digital life was going to evolve.

When you have influence, you are supposed to show people what's next. Whether that's social influence or cultural influence, that's your job. We're supposed to be vessels for bringing trends into the mainstream. And I love having that responsibility. I love contributing to the future and setting an example for a better way forward.

But I also know the value of this power. It's not to be abused. If you're going to show people a new wave, then you have to commit to riding that wave for some time. Since my first crypto purchase, my first Metaverse, and my first NFT, I've done a lot to keep contributing to this new age of the Internet.

I've collected more than 2,000 NFTs from so many incredible artists. I helped my friend Jimmy Fallon purchase his first NFT, which was a Bored Ape. I was a virtual DJ headliner at Metaverse Festival in Decentraland. And I built Paris World in Roblox, which is my own personal virtual oasis for hosting great parties and fun experiences for my fans.

These last few years, I've had more fun being social on the computer than I ever did in real life. My husband and I hosted a New Year's party in the Paris World Metaverse this past year, and it was honestly more fun than any party I've ever thrown. After we ran the numbers, we found that we had twice the number of people ringing in the New Year with us in Paris World than Times Square did. After that, I knew that the Metaverse was the future of partying (and social life, in general).

It's been truly great connecting with my fans in this new era for the Internet through my NFTs and Metaverse spaces. And my subtle flex throughout this whole time is how WhaleShark, one of the major NFT collectors, gave me a shoutout in a Bloomberg story saying that I was the road map of how a celebrity should enter the space. That was especially validating to hear.

I've had a lot of help on my Metaverse journey. And that's what is so great about this space. As a celebrity, we often get access to resources and creators to help us innovate. But this sense of communal help and collaboration is in the DNA of this industry. Everyone is eager to help you learn the ropes and navigate these new waters.

There are so many artists, developers, marketers, and technologists who all want to have an impact on the blockchain or in the Metaverse. Connecting and building with physical strangers (but digital friends) is incredibly common. All it takes is a few days in Clubhouse rooms or Twitter Spaces to find a team to work with or an idea to run with.

It's such an exciting time to be a creator, to have an influential brand, or to have a loyal fanbase. In so many ways, the Metaverse puts the power back into the hands of creators. Creators own their creations, control the entire experience, and receive royalties forever. Fans get to support their favorite creators directly and also have the chance to share in the economic growth of that creator.

We're in a major shift in how we operate as creators, influencers, and brands. Everything is going digital. I still love putting out new fragrances and sunglasses. The physical world isn't disappearing. But the Metaverse is like an inspiration pill. Once it's in your system, it's hard to think about anything else.

Just like social media manifested a huge diversity of influential figures and entrepreneurs, the Metaverse will manifest its own prominent influencers and creators who build a following on Roblox or in Decentraland or The Sandbox. And they may not even be the same people we tune into on YouTube or follow on Instagram today.

Because I played such an instrumental role in showing the world that being an influencer can be an entire profession, I'm incredibly passionate about playing a part in this next era for Internet creators. While some people may be satisfied with being just the first influencer in real life, my mission now is to continue to celebrate, empower, and uplift creators as the Queen of the Metaverse. Are you with me?

—Paris Hilton

Introduction

The Internet has evolved to the point where we can share and communicate almost anything we want across space and time. We find love through apps. We trust our digital neighbors to give us the best suggestions for food and housing. We place our most precious photographic memories in the hands of digital giants to protect for eternity.

The Internet has become this expansive virtual, shared space for almost anything you can think of. But surely this isn't the best version of the Internet. Like any form of existence, it must continue to grow and evolve.

So, what's next?

We believe the evolution of the Internet is the Metaverse—a culmination of the Internet and the boundless possibilities in augmented and virtual reality technologies.

We wrote The Metaverse Handbook to serve as a detailed resource for anyone seeking to understand the emerging changes to the Web in order to harness new digital innovations that are inventing the next phase of the Internet. This book is one part inspiration and one part education, exemplifying well over 100 creators who are building new digital tools and outlining how you can take steps to emulate these changes to digital commerce, digital community, and digital experience.

In this book, we explore and explain arcane topics such as the following:

  • Web3 development with blockchain-based websites
  • Changes to user digital identification through blockchain wallets
  • Digital asset creation and ownership via NFTs
  • Immersive gaming and social environments
  • Building blocks of the Metaverse
  • Pitfalls preventing us from achieving the vision of the Metaverse

The Metaverse Handbook is perfect for business professionals and decision-makers who must continuously think about digital innovation and strategize on new ways to reach consumers, as well as creators who rely on monetizing their creativity on the Internet.

The Metaverse Handbook illustrates these dense, futuristic concepts with easy-to-understand examples, approachable language, and concrete practical applications so you can easily grasp and retain the foundational and advanced topics contained within.