3 Strategies to Help Virtual Reality and Augmented Rearlity Overcome Hurdles.

Notas do Editor

1. Slide 1: VR Hurdles When I volunteered to speak about VR tonight, I had no idea what to talk about. Soon after I mentioned to my brother that VR was not ready for “prime time” and he was defensive. After that, I could see what I needed to talk about. But then I was forced to think about why I believed VR was not ready for prime time. That set me on a journey where I began to think about ways we could improve VR and AR. I hope to challenge your thinking about VR and provide you with some helpful strategies. But strategies don’t win wars, people do. And in the war for the future of VR, you are the font line. So maybe all of us together, can jump over some of the the biggest hurdles VR and AR so it is ready for prime time. 
2. Slide 2: You can connect with me on Twitter at @startpivoting 
3. Slide 3: Here’s part where I build credibility by telling you about myself and why you should listen to me. So here’s a little bit about my history. I found myself involved in a startup at a very young age. 
4. Slide 4: That’s Ash 0.3 It was a mess of an MVP. 
5. Slide 5: But my parents continued to be heavy invested in my success… 
6. Slide 6: And despite an early merger attempt which fell through, my family remained active investors. Until finally one day a group of guys and I got together to formed a fully functional disruptive startup. 
7. Slide 7: We called it Ash 1.0 Basically, it was a bunch of guys disrupting class and annoying teachers. But seriously, why should you listen to me? Well, I’ve been in this tech game for a long time. I’ve been a part of many tech start ups. Some were huge successes, like weather.com and (if you saw my fuckup nights speech) some were failures. But perhaps the most best reason to take me seriously, is that I’m often the guy investors call to sit in on meetings across the table from people pitching products. I’m one of the guys who will either advise my client to invest or not. 
8. Slide 8: So now for a warning: I’ll probably slip up and use imprecise language. There will def be graphic images (designer joke) But most of all, I will tell you the brutally honest truth. Before you conclude that I’m the enemy of VR, I would just like to state for the record that I’m the friend of these technologies and a big supporter. I’ve been quoted many times in support of augmented and virtual reality. I’m on record having said… 
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12. Slide 12: So let’s have an honest talk about reality… No, not that reality…
13. Slide 13: Not that one either… 
14. Slide 14: That one. Reality, Reality. And despite really positive news from people like PlayStation, Apple and others… I think we can all agree, VR is not ready for prime time. By primetime I mean, “a television in every home, an iPhone in every pocket,” primetime. But why? As a creative strategist, it’s my job to analyze products and business models, figure out what’s not working, and find strategic solutions. 
15. Slide 15: But VR is such a broad subject, it was hard to wrap my brain around the product itself. Ask people what VR is and you get a variety of answers. So I started thinking about Virtual Reality as if it were a company: VR, inc. How could Pivot Creative Strategy help VR, Inc., improve its product and grow? 
16. Slide 16: Whenever we start out with a new client, the first thing we ask what’s the problem? For VR, Inc., the problem is simple: not enough customers. The second question is what problem does VR, Inc., solve? When researching this question with various VR companies, we received mixed answers, sometimes even self-contradicting. One thing the research showed: There is a lack of clarity around the problem that VR is solving.
17. Slide 17: Many VR Companies we spoke with told us “What” their VR/AR product does. We even heard some “How.” 
18. Slide 18: But we didn’t hear “Why.” Why VR? Just think about that. Why do we need VR? For those who think the problem VR solves is boredom, our question to you is: are people really that bored? And if you’re solving the problem of boredom, you are swimming in the entertainment industry—which is a red ocean packed with competitors ranging from movie theaters, televisions, computers, friends, etc. 
19. Slide 19: It is the framework which changes with each new technology and not just the picture within the frame. Take a moment to digest that. Because much of this presentation focusses on the framework. 
20. Slide 20: Which brings us to the “elephant in the room.” 
21. Slide 21: And it’s not just the list of crazy symptoms which is a problem. 
22. Slide 22: To understand the problem, you need to take a journey back in time… 
23. Slide 23: To a world of imagination when we dreamed about the possibilities of the future… And the birthplace of of Virtual Reality. 
24. Slide 24: 1838. That’s right. 1838. The Stereoscope invented by Charles Wheatsone. 11 years later was the next big innovation in VR. 
25. Slide 25: The Lenticular Stereoscope. Now people could use goggles to have VR experiences. 
26. Slide 26: Fast forward 80 years to 1929, when a man name Link had a truly revolutionary idea. Why not use this technology to simulate flight and train pilots? He saved many lives and planes and scaled a training program with manufacturing practices that would have made the Japanese proud. The future of VR was bright… 
27. Slide 27: But 10 years later, we are back to entertainment with goggles.
28. Slide 28: In 1950 a cinematographer and inventor created the Sensorama. An immersive full-sensory experience. Morton Heilig next big thing came in the 1950s where he invented… 
29. Slide 29: Goggles 
30. Slide 30: Finally, in 1987 Jaron Lanier coined the phrase “Virtual Reality." Cool name. Go 80s! (By the way, if you’re under 30 years old, this name is older than you are.) 
31. Slide 31: And the rest is history… Except… there’s a little problem. 
32. Slide 32: In the almost 170 years since 1849, communication has gone from… 
33. Slide 32: This… 
34. Slide 34: To this…
35. Slide 35: To this. Music has gone from… 
36. Slide 36: This… and Franz Liszt… 
37. Slide 37: To this…
38. Slide 38: To this. Transportation has gone from… 
39. Slide 39: This… 
40. Slide 40: To this… 
41. Slide 41: To this… 
42. Slide 42: To this! And in almost 170 years… VR has gone from this…. 
43. Slide 43: This…
44. Slide 44: To this.  
45. Slide 45: Which brings us back to this guy and his quote… It is the framework which changes with each new technology and not just the picture within the frame. Which means we never really a new technology or else our framework would be vastly different. Instead, we’ve been focusing on the picture in the frame. 
46. Slide 46: Marshall McLuhan also said, ”Our Age of Anxiety is, in great part, the result of trying to do TODAY’S JOBS with YESTERDAY’S TOOLS!” How can we move past this point of using yesterday tools to do today’s jobs? 
47. Slide 47: A good strategy has 2 key components: Positioning and Segmentation First, VR, Inc., has to position VR and AR in the minds of consumers. Second, VR, Inc., needs to segment those consumers so we can best identify and solve their problems. Here are 3 strategies and a few tactics that VR, Inc., become more broadly accepted. 
48. Slide 48: Strategy 1: Rename VR, Inc. 
49. Slide 49: Language is how we unify around a common idea. In a way, language means agreement. If I’m holding an apple and call it a rabbit, there will be a disagreement. Imagine if we called the moon, the big rock floating out in the sky. Luckily we don’t, we call it the Moon. We use the word moon so casually that we forget that it’s actually a measurement of time. Moon comes from the word meaning “month.” 
50. Slide 50: Virtual and Reality don’t go well together. Reading the original definition above virtual means, almost or nearly as described. I’ve never met anyone who has been interesting in going out and having almost or nearly a good time with friends. So already, there is a break in the contract of what VR promises, almost nearly reality, but not reality. Except there’s a second problem. The subconscious perceives experience as reality whether it’s ”virtual” or not. Reality for the subconscious is just reality. Third problem. Virtual Reality is a 30 year-old name, which is trying to make new promises and about innovation. 
51. Slide 51: Sorry AR guys and gals, you’re not excused from the name game. Augmented is also a poor choice of words. It’s often associated with cosmetic surgery. Google augmentation or augmented. Here’s one of the tamer images you’ll find.  So are there any examples of successfully branding technologies that are a part of other technologies? 
52. Slide 52: Yes. THX masterfully branded their technology to be a part of other technologies. VR and AR need a brand makeover.  But what should we call it? In our interviews, we asked VR companies to describe their product to us. Spoiler: Nobody used the word, “Virtual.” No one. The one word that we heard repeatedly was… 
53. Slide 53: Immersion.  What about the unfortunately named Augmented Reality? One solution is to just say what it is… 
54. Slide 54: It assist. 
55. Slide 55: Once we have settled on a rebranding strategy, it’s time for Strategy 2. 
56. Slide 56: Strategy 2: Segmentation. It sounds boring but this is the part you can really get excited about. 
57. Slide 57: Once you begin to segment the technology the door opens to a real world of market possibilities. Possibilities like, gaining a better understanding of your audience. The opportunity to address real problems. Clearer identification of your unique selling proposition (USP). And the chance to form exciting partnerships. Partners like… 
58. Slide 58: Robotics and Immersive Reality Imagine being able to repair a broken pipe from the inside with a tiny robot being controlled by a technician. Or robots constructing skyscrapers on the 100th floor without any risk of personal injury. When Immersive Reality segments into categories hundreds of new opportunities appear. 
59. Slide 59: Better segmentation means you can start solving real problems. What if you could people overcome phobias with Immersive psychotherapy? Or how about performing open-heart surgery from the other side of the planet? Now instead of doctors without borders, you can have robots without borders. What if you didn’t have to mix chemicals with slides and microscopes, but instead you had an immersive environment where you could experiment with life size molecules. 
60. Slide 60: How about an immersive government system: iGv Like Google earth and Sim City combined, you could see the real time crisis's of cities all over the world and donate or offer resources to rebuild. Perhaps there could be a civilian NATO. Governments go to war, not people. What if civilians could meet people from all over the world with the goal of peaceful resolution? Ranking and right to speak is based on how many problems they’ve resolved. 
61. Slide 61: Strategy 3: Organize 
62. Slide 62: Stop living in the Wild West! When technologies get hyped people think the rules go out the window. But every endeavor requires a level of organization to survive. 
63. Slide 63: As mentioned earlier, strategies don’t win wars, people do. The IR / AR industry needs to organize itself in 3 ways: Unified Guidelines (Khronos.org) Unified Software (like Photoshop for IR and AR) Unified Community (VR Hub, VR Playground, etc., ) We don’t know what the future will be for IR and AR, but hopefully if we check back in on VR, Inc., in 170 years, the future will look a lot less like… 
64. Slide 64: This. And a lot more like… 
65. Slide 65: This! Thank you. 