Only five people showed up Tuesday evening to a party hosted by the European Commission’s foreign aid department in the metaverse to get young people excited about the EU.
Devex correspondent Vince Chadwick tweeted that he was eventually the only party guest left, after “initial bemused chats with the roughly five other humans who showed up.”
Apparently only a few of the 44 people who liked the official trailer were intrigued enough by the avatars dancing to house music on a tropical island to actually join the party.
I’m here at the “gala” concert in the EU foreign aid dept’s €387k metaverse (designed to attract non politically engaged 18-35 year olds — see story below). After initial bemused chats with the roughly five other humans who showed up, I am alone. t.co/ChIHeXasQP pic.twitter.com/kZWIVlKmhL
— Vince Chadwick (@vchadw) November 29, 2022
www.politico.eu/article/eu-threw-e387k-meta-gala-nobody-came-big-tech/
Video of the event below. This party was an investment in foreign aid by taxpayers.
www.devex.com/news/eu-aid-dept-s-387k-metaverse-meets-real-world-critique-104335
Discover the new #GlobalGateway digital platform – t.co/DHAdsfwbA1
Our shared digital space is the perfect place to get to know new people and reflect on global issues to make a difference for our shared future. #WhoWeAre pic.twitter.com/IAA01vIYbo
— EU International Partnerships 🇪🇺 (@EU_Partnerships) October 13, 2022
This is what you can do in their metaverse platform
Remember they just announced they had no money to help Africans from starvation.
Once logged on, users adopt an avatar resembling a multicolored paperclip and roam around a surreal tropical island. Stories about EU development cooperation are playing on video screens in various locations. There is a 24-hour beach party pumping four-on-the-floor beats while presumably computer-generated figures dance on elevated platforms. A giant red statue prepares to hurl what looks like a coronavirus molecule. Dolphins jump through the air. Drones hover, carrying multiple screens flashing words such as “education” and “public health.” There is an open book art installation on a liquid floor as a “symbol of the human journey towards knowledge”. You can walk on water.
AC