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I think the author is stretching the separation of the online world from the 'real world' to support the bifurcation thesis. The online world isn't a separate reality or separate world.

'This is a place with no need for traditional money, or traditional art; the native solution is obviously superior. To put it another way, “None of this real world stuff has any digital world value” — the critique goes both ways.'

The Metaverse isn't a computer game, or at least isn't only a computer game made up of entirely imagined content. As an extension of the internet it's primary purpose is to do away with the physical separation and distance between real world people and resources.

Fundamentally networks are communication systems, whether it's a telephone network, the Web or the Metaverse. It's about taking resources that are physically distributed all around the world and making them function as though they were right next to each other, re-composing them in different ways.

The first phase was to allow you to log on to a server anywhere in the world, instead of only the one in your building. The next step with the Web 1.0 was to link and re-compose documents regardless of what server they were located on. The next step with web 2.0 was to give access to applications running on any server anywhere, rather than just applications installed on your local computer. Social media was another phase which did for interpersonal relationships and communication what the original web did for documents.

The Metaverse doesn't really add any new capabilities here, it's just a new user interface. It's a VR browser instead of a web browser. It's not a new world anymore than the combination of facebook and twitter are a new world, they're not, they're just a way for real world people to talk to each other. With the Metaverse they will virtually stand next to each other instead. My kids already do this in Minecraft, Valorant and LoL.

The bifurcation thesis works in terms of businesses, and that's what Stratechery is about, but the article doesn't actually analyse the business implications of any of this.

> It's a VR browser instead of a web browser

Does this actually exist? My impression is that the Met*verse is just a marketing term for something that doesn't exist yet

> Before COVID, I would never dream of calling my daughter in the next room, but now I do it all the time - not (only) because I am lazy, but because the call or text is less intrusive than knocking on the door and therefore has better UX.

Back in the mid-to-late 20th century, it used to be a luxury to have a whole-home intercom system. Eventually, the functionality was subsumed by cordless telephone systems.

Texting someone in the next room over just feels like the next step in the evolution of intercom.

It wasn't until you mentioned texting your daughter in the next room that I realized that I've been doing the same with my wife. On several occasions I'll be in the living room, she'll be in the bedroom, and we'll text each other about what to eat for dinner. It never occurred to me to ponder about that sudden change in behavior.

I had been doing this way before the pandemic. Sometimes family members are wearing headphones and such, it just seemed polite.

On the other hand, knocking on my door is the only way to get my attention when I'm at my desk. Typically, I'll have my headphones on and my phone out of view (but not in my pocket).

COVID-driven bifurcation is still uncertain in how "sticky" it will be. With much of the initial panic over and many people getting vaccinated, there's already a little backtracking to old habits, along with the people who never changed their habits much in the first place through their resistance to COVID precautions.

I'd be surprised if we ever went fully back to a pre-COVID status quo, but I think the changes will be significantly slower.