Understanding MetaHugs
Building for Gen Z and Gen Alpha is difficult as brands hire expensive agencies that adults dominate to build gamified experiences for kids instead of creating experiences for other kids. Thus, companies with correct concepts might fail due to wrong executions. Nevertheless, with the increasing popularity of Roblox – 48.2 million users, it is an exciting journey for brands to leverage this new frontier. However, where and how to start is a problem; how do they get kids to build this experience? How would kids react to their gamified experiences, and how do they leverage Web3 and metaverse for their marketing?
Another problem in this current dispensation is that the current business models for any global educational classes worth listening to are paid, such as LinkedIn learning or masterclass. With the popularity of the metaverse, this model is poised to continue with even fancier delivery methods and more expensive courses. Additionally, digital learning and certifications are costly, especially for people from low-income families. Therefore, this category will be left out of the opportunities in web3 unless the model changes or there is a special consideration. So, how do we help kids reimagine their lives and meet up with the current trend? How do we carry them along as the major future workforce starting this decade?
Additionally, watching TV, playing video games, and doing other activities before a screen increase sedentary lifestyles without dissipating much energy. On average, American children spend 3 hours a day on the TV screen and 5 to 7 hours a day on all screens. This excessive screen time causes sleep difficulty at night, increase the risk for anxiety, depression, and attention problems, and also increases the risk for obesity. Although computers help kids with homework, too much screen time is unhealthy. Therefore, screen time is either for entertainment or valuable outcomes. Rarely both. Watching TV, TikTok, or gaming is entertaining. Learning to code, doing your online math homework, or doing taxes are valuable.
According to a Business Insider report in 2018, the U.S. ranked 38th in math scores and 24th in science. Globally, 2/3rds of children in school will not reach the minimum proficiency in reading. Also, 60% of school adolescents do not grasp what they are learning, and 40% of children with disabilities in low and middle-income countries cannot read correctly. Since education is correlated with the economy, how can developing countries benefit from this new frontier? How do we gamify screen time to be both entertaining and valuable? How can we harness the opportunities of screen time to build gamified learning for kids? These and many more are the concepts of MetaHug.
Introducing MetaHugs
Metahug
Verb
meta \ ˈhəg \
MetaHugs is an unconditional, circumstantial kindness transferred to a stranger. It is an act founded on the belief that if we treat everyone like we're all connected, it will transform lives. The first constant we know is that the world embraces a hug – a universal connection, whether online or offline, rich or poor, black or white, young or old. Humanity is the foundation for learning: Metahug.
Justifying screen time
There is a significant need to justify screen time beyond just having fun for the gaming industry to expand. The gaming industry is bigger than the music and movie industries combined, with cultures overlapping the physical and non-physical worlds – Metaverse. A new Play2Learn industry is being created to utilize player engagement in a game to valuable skills, focusing on content delivery that genuinely motivates the player/learner. Nearly 50 million kids play Roblox daily, having fun but not learning anything. Imagine if we leveraged those players into learners to help them learn more about what is and isn't taught in school. Web3 education most likely isn’t taught at the local elementary school, so there is a considerable gap yet to be filled, knowing this is the framework for the future internet. Other topics like sustainability might be taught but not engaging enough to cause excitement for kids to think of creative ideas to one day change the world.
MetaHugs make screen time valuable by providing a safe and engaging environment. Parents that don’t allow kids screen time will feel safe in the metahug world environment that is highly curated for safety and education, limiting the kids to age 25. Brands are the incentivizing mechanism to allow this model free. Parents should not fret if a child’s report card has an F in a particular discipline. We are shifting the paradigm of report cards to be more integrated into real-world value. So the motivation helps propel the action, e.g., The chemistry class needs a fresh, fun way to learn in a Roblox game with friends and metahug incentives, rewarded by brands for coffee from Starbucks or shoes from Nike.
Kids creating experiences for other kids; providing education for the less privilege
MetaHug Dao is a cost-effective kid’s creative agency and development shop with a SaaS model that creates experiences and games for brands in the MetaHug Roblox World. This Roblox world has the adult supervision of Play2Learn, with tools similar to hub spot or salesforce for gaming and metaverse-inspired platforms. Roblox is the first integration, but Minecraft, Fortnite, Decentraland, and Sandbox are next.
We understand that educating teams to build a game about a product is time-consuming. However, getting the target demographic and current user base to build a game by rethinking what is possible and tackling the problem with fresh eyes and unbiased young minds is much easier. In addition, this will save time with less iteration since the target demo is creating the R&D feedback loop.
The business model shift will benefit developing countries. YouTube has millions of hours of education, but the structure isn’t there. MIT and Harvard’s classes are open online, but a document proving a kid passed the exam is expensive. So MetaHugs, proving the gamified marketing exam was aced, is valuable for the kid in India or Africa to be hired on Upwork or Fiverr.
The free gamified education path underwritten by brands helps developing countries that can’t afford it—the lowest hanging fruit selling the first government after a 12-month sale cycle and trial. The same model can be sold to developed countries with funds that don’t want brands to incentivize learning but create internal rewards. Understanding gamified education is exponentially more efficient than the majority of most current education systems. The USA is a prime target for Metahug as the standard is unwelcome. Knowing the future of the internet is web3, even the height of education in Finland could devote 5% of their curriculum to web3 gamified education, knowing it connects them to the rest of the world learning what they don’t know.
Motivating kids to learn
Learning is fun and exciting when kids play with friends in the Roblox MetaHug world and can earn metahugs. You can earn an NFT per game won when learning is 100% correct with the leaderboard and community organized on Discord. Additionally, brands can add weight to metahug's power through incentives, which are redeemed like kids playing a game at an arcade, winning tickets (social tokens) for beating the game, and redeeming candy or a ball. As children grow older, the play remains important for learning and development; it is an important part of learning, and parents can help. Therefore, we set targets for parents, kids, brands, and schools in launching this game. Each target has its objectives for the platform, and a ‘learn, play, and earn’ set up to understand its target market's goal.
How metaHug works
MetaHug DAO is for parents and kids. First, the parents motivate the families to be more productive as a collective unit by incentivizing children without a parent. Families unite in learning; you might both be learning subjects for the first time to make learning fun for the whole family with truly valuable lessons. The second target of the platform is kids with some parents reading or learning. Kids need to get ready for a new way to have fun and learn new things that were never taught in school. They can compare notes with friends to play together; gaming has never seen anything like this. Additionally, metahugs will help kids create more by giving metahugs once kids accomplish any task.
MetaHug DAO will host a series of Roblox education on how to build and create inside Roblox. The target of this event is to help kids have easy access and gain knowledge in playing Roblox. This event is a weekly webinar that is designed to be peer-to-peer taught, with its foundation of student-led education. The main objective of this event is to host FREE design and code education and give the child an opportunity to learn, play, and earn with our DAO. As they join and sign up for the website, they help to co-create this new world. We empower kids to take charge of their learning and explore the topics they love through the power of play –democratizing play. Through our DAO, our live, small groups of classes and dynamic teachers help kids build genuine friendships.
As parents, they recognize the potential of their children better than anyone else. By giving the children the opportunity to be part of the MetaHug DAO, we show them the fulfillment of living in a collaborative and independent world. We are only as strong as our weakest fellow human friends, where voice matters in creating a more connected world through gamified education.
Lastly, MetaHugs will have a show in Roblox with a twice-a-month audience (1st and 3rd Monday of each month) in the Metahug Roblox world. In the metahug world, our unique concept is the dance moves in the performance by the main talent on stage, which the audience members can also perform with a few clicks, and they can record themselves and post on their social media platforms. However, this concept of dancing and screen recording homemade music videos is already happening in Roblox but not combined with known names performing. Kpop mixes are a popular genre with young people on Roblox creating their music videos as the creator economy thrives; this creative thinking is a priority and a large focus that mixes well with dancing in the metaverse starting with Roblox.
Conclusion
MetaHug DAO is a community-driven platform created to help children with limited resources and reimagine their lives with new children-centric directions. We support their journey by introducing innovative technology such as Web3 education. Our first initiatives will be played out in our world in Roblox MetaHug World.
