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This Week in Business is our weekly review column, which collects statistics and quotes from recent stories, and contains some ideas (sometimes more than a bit), designed to shed light on various trends. Check back every Friday to see if there are new entries.

Soon after the column was published last week, we reported on Facebook’s trademark dispute over the use of the term “Meta”.

When we investigated it, it seemed that Meta companies-companies that claimed to infringe trademarks-sprung up almost overnight. Social media accounts and a website were apparently launched after Facebook announced the rebranding.

We did find a "Meta Company" trademark filed in 2016 that seemed to belong to the same person, but we also found another word "Meta" that dates back to 2015, and the ownership of the trademark has been transferred to the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, An organization founded by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chen. Therefore, the entire trademark dispute seems to have had little effect.

However, while we were investigating this, we also discovered the latest trademark application for the term "Meta" submitted by Facebook at the end of last month.

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(We have embedded its picture on the right so that you can read it.)

Statistics | 16,789-The word count of the word "Meta" in Facebook's surreal trademark application, used to describe the goods and services for which it requested the word.

Statistics | 22,011-The number of words in the English translation of Franz Kafka's surreal novella "The Metamorphosis". One of them woke up to find that he had become a cockroach. I would like to debate which of these works is more disturbing.

Statistics | A whole afternoon-the time I spent on the clock browsing Facebook files, and now I will try to prove it by writing it in this column.

In the attack on the idea of ​​language as a means of communication, one of the first things that impressed me (it has seven paragraphs! This column has more than that) is that all the discussions about decentralized metaverse are being discussed on Facebook. Zhou, it obviously hopes to replace almost all the functions that the Internet provides in our daily lives. Here are just some of the services that Facebook claims to provide for Meta, and what Facebook wants to replace with it.

● "Downloadable software for searching and identifying employment opportunities"-LinkedIn, Monster.com.

● "Downloadable software for online charity fundraising services and financial donation services"-GoFundMe, Patreon, Ko-fi.

● "Downloadable software that allows users to conduct e-commerce transactions through the Internet and communication networks; downloadable computer software that allows users to make payments and transfers"-PayPal, Google Pay, etc.

● "Artificial intelligence software, that is, machine learning software, visual perception software, speech or language recognition software, decision software, translation software, touch recognition software, conversation query software, software that converts natural language into machine executable commands, and digital assistants Software"-Siri, Alexa, etc.

● "Downloadable software to facilitate Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) calls, phone calls, video calls, text messages, instant messaging, and online social networking services"-Skype, Discord, Slack.

● "Home automation and home equipment integration software"-Google Nest, Internet of Things.

● "Multifunctional electronic equipment for displaying, measuring and uploading information to the Internet, including time, date, heart rate, global positioning, direction, distance, altitude, speed, number of steps taken, calories burned, navigation information, heart rate changes , Activity level, sleep time, sleep quality and silent wake-up alarm."-Fitbit, when you deploy such a function, it feels more creepy.

● "Computer search engine software" and "downloadable computer software for finding content and content publishers and subscribing to content"-Google

● "Provide phone book information through the global communication network"-Yellow Pages, because the Internet has not completely destroyed the phone book.

● "Provide concierge services for others to meet personal needs, that is, make reservations, promote personal purchases, arrange personal delivery, make personal arrangements, provide product and service recommendations, and provide customer-specific information to meet personal needs"-anything related to luxury goods All of the convenient gig economy jobs are offered at substantial discounts, because the law does not apply to application middlemen, and the “employees” are technically freelancers without any benefits or safety guarantees.

● "Application Programming Interface (API) for the development of AI (artificial intelligence) platforms, namely robots, virtual agents, and virtual assistants"-the future of customer service and spam calls. I can't wait to live in the future where these two fields reach the intersection...

● "Organize, promote and hold exhibitions, trade shows and events for commercial purposes"-because we have enjoyed virtual meetings very much in the past two years, and we all think,'If we have to wear these, it will be better. A large part of us are uncomfortable with strenuous exercise.

● "Social networking, social introduction and dating services provided by accessing computer databases and social networks, online searchable databases in the field of social introduction and dating"-just in case you see Facebook introducing your aunt to the country of fanatic conspiracy Horror cult theorists don’t think it’s a good idea to rely on these matching abilities to find a life partner for you.

● "Legal Services"-just in case you see Facebook's legal team put together this amazing trademark application and think,'Yes, I want those people to represent me in court.

Facebook is already doing a lot of things-Facebook Pay, Facebook Dating, etc.-but seeing all of this at once can be a little overwhelming.

Obviously there is also a lot of nonsense about cryptocurrency and blockchain, because the meta-universe idea pursued by Facebook and the blockchain are two fads, each of which has half the cause, and people think that pushing them together will be magical. Ground produces some substance to justify the hype and the ridiculous valuations we see in these areas.

Then there are a lot of video games and gaming-related efforts, especially showing the company's ambitions, which go far beyond live or cloud streaming on Oculus Quest and Facebook Gaming.

● "Arrange and organize competitions and entertainment activities for players of video, computer, electronic or interactive multimedia games"-they come to participate in e-sports.

● "Handheld game consoles"-If Sony hadn't monopolized this market a long time ago, I would say that Facebook is developing Vita-killer.

● "Handheld game with LCD monitor"-Come on, Zach. At least the spring of OLED!

● "Arcade video game machine"-imagine a claw machine game, but somehow more curved.

● "Games for TV receivers"-this makes sense. If someone has a worse public perception than Facebook, it may be a cable company.

● "Desktop devices used for playing video games in addition to TVs or computers"-Good luck, tilt 5.

● "Computer software used to communicate with game consoles about time, pace, speed, steps taken, motor skills, calories burned, agility, exercise, balance, coordination and flexibility"-Ring Fit Adventure, But Orwellian.

● "Retail and online retail services for software, electronic equipment and footwear, including sensors, allowing consumers to participate in virtual sports competitions and individual and group fitness classes"-Nike, but Orwellian.

● "Provide electronic bulletin boards to transfer messages between users in areas of general interest"-Facebook also has your number, any forum that survived the 90s.

There are some things that don't really belong anywhere else.

● "Christmas tree decorations"-who doesn't want an elf on a shelf and provide real-time video and audio at the North Pole/Facebook headquarters?

● "Waterproof near-eye display system, including computer hardware, electronic display interface, and software for generating and displaying virtual reality and mixed reality content"-Forget the jetpack, the future is to play Pokémon Go while diving in the deep sea.

Some overwhelming walls of nonsense are by-products of a lot of work that Facebook has already done, and it clearly wants to protect the ownership of its new names in all these areas. Of course, if it did not choose a word that has been widely known and dedicated to the metaverse concept that technicians have been particularly fascinated by for decades, then it might be easier to do so.

But when you have almost unlimited money to solve a problem, a large legal team, and a passion to reshape the world in the image of your favorite dystopian sci-fi scene, I think you don’t always need to pay attention to simple Way of doing things.

Quote | "This is driven by a lot of our own personal enthusiasm. Our executive team is a bit into this field, and then our board chairman Mark Pincus and [Board Special Advisor] Bing Gordon are also very influential."-Zynga President Bernard Kim explained why the company hired a vice president of blockchain this week.

Statistics | US$244-the cost of 1 Bitcoin in March 2015, when Mark Pincus, chairman of the Zynga board of directors, was appointed as an early investor in the blockchain mining startup 21 Inc.

Statistics | 227 USD-the cost of 1 Bitcoin in September 2015, when Kleiner Perkins (Zynga board member Bing Gordon served as chief product officer) announced that blockchain would become the investment focus of its emerging technology department.

Statistics | US$68,789.63-the highest price of 1 Bitcoin in history. This week, after many companies reported their earnings, they expressed interest in blockchain games and NFTs.

Quote | "One thing we firmly believe in is the scarcity in the market. The experience you currently have in our game is very scarce. Getting the ultimate dragon in Merge Dragons is not something every player can get. But then evaluate Value in the market is something we think will be very interesting in the future"-When asked to say what blockchain will enable Zynga to do in its games, Kim said what Zynga has already done in its games Thing. (As for evaluating it in the market, this does not require blockchain; Kim can ask Activision Blizzard Diablo 3 what the real money auction house does.)

Statistics | 100 billion yen ($883 million)-Sega has committed to a five-year plan to expand its development channels, develop its mobile and online games, and explore "emerging business areas" such as NFT.

Quote | "Thanks to everyone for all the views. We currently have no plans to publish this internal concept."-Discord founder Jason Citron, after making fun of the cryptocurrency wallet integration for the service and prompting a wave of users to unsubscribe three days later.

Quotation | "As a company, we can play a role in fighting environmental disasters. But we have a responsibility as human beings. This is a responsibility we must fulfill to ensure the future for all of us."-UKIE CEO Dr. Jo Twist here The editorial about the industry’s need to deal with climate change did not explicitly talk about blockchain, but I still put it here, because every entrepreneur, venture capitalist and CEO in the industry needs to accept this and their choice Not only affect their bank accounts.

Quote | "From the adoption of content ratings to loot boxes to harassment, all the way to hypothetical examples of futuristic detective games, the gaming industry always does a very bad job before it starts. The first task of the game has always been to create a successful thing. First of all, Then deal with completely predictable negative effects when forced by external forces."-When I wrote that sentence in this month’s column 10 years ago in August, I did not explicitly talk about blockchain, but the industry is currently The enthusiasm of the blockchain may be the best refinement of its tendency to ignore any and all worries when there may be money.

Statistics | US$51 billion-GlobalData's latest forecast of the VR market to 2030. However, most of them will be used by VR for business training, collaboration, and data visualization purposes. The company said that gaming VR has not yet taken off because it continues to look for its "semi-mythical'killer app'".

Quote | "When you are making a large game, you ask yourself,'Am I in the wrong world? Have I contributed to a bad system?' These are the questions you ask yourself when you are developing the game. "Am I just for business entertainment, or for money? Can I use the same medium to make different things? "-Former Arkane Lyon director Romuald Capron explained why he left the AAA game industry to make educational fares for PowerZ.

Quote | "There are a lot of elements that need to be dealt with that will have a negative impact on the development team. I am not eager to return to game development, this is one of the reasons. I will not miss any of those shit. I have done a lot to make money at Rockstar, but I I also sacrificed a lot for some things, yes, it made me make money, but it accounted for 95% of my life."-In our review of the recent 20th anniversary of Grand Theft Auto 3, Rockstar co-founder Jamie King talked about The impact and unsustainability of game development.

Quote | "As we work hard to make these products available for purchase again, we sincerely ask for your patience and understanding."-Konami apologizes to users because Metal Gear 2 and 3 have been discontinued because of the upcoming licensing of historical footage in the game It expires, and it didn't foresee that people might really want to buy and play its games for 15 or 20 years down. (To be honest, I am surprised that this does not happen often.)

Statistics | $1.62 billion-The amount Unity paid for the acquisition of Weta Digital, the visual effects studio behind the Lord of the Rings movies and many other special effects movies.

Statistics | At least 5%-Ubisoft is offering a salary increase to its Canadian studio employees this week as the company stepped up its efforts to retain talent after the shameful harassment scandal last year, a bunch of new Canadian studios started and wanted to hire, as well as people like Eidos Existing studios like Montreal use the benefits of working four days a week.

Quote | "Participation is our North Star. We are happy that in the third quarter, people from all ages around the world chose to spend more than 11 billion hours on Roblox."-Although a large part of its player base is literally It is composed of children, but Roblox CEO David Baszucki emphasized that allowing users to play as many games as possible is a factor that guides Roblox's decision-making.

Quote | "After the repair, there are no restrictions or restrictions on gamers. Denuvo is working hard to implement further improvements to avoid such downtime in the future."-Denuvo explained why its DRM solution got stuck last weekend, ironically What this means is that pirates can play some games, but legitimate customers can't.

Quotation | "In short, Apple’s motion is based on a selective reading of the court’s findings, ignoring all the findings in support of the injunction, that is, the initial antitrust behavior, including the abnormally high operating profit margin and its intellectual property rights The value of this initial antitrust behavior is partly the result of Apple’s reversal policy to harm competition."-U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzales Rogers denies Apple’s request for the postponement Part of her unfavorable ruling against the iPhone manufacturer in the Epic Games court case: requiring developers to link to other payment methods before December 9.

Statistics | 1 million PS5 units-According to reports, due to ongoing logistics problems hindering hardware manufacturers of all sizes, Sony's manufacturing output this fiscal year has decreased.

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