Once a signifier of luxury or novelty, custom products and services are now within reach of the everyday consumer, thanks to the rise of artificial intelligence, algorithm-led platforms, and the COVID-era digitisation boom. Today, everyone wants to be the main character of their brand experience.

With concerns around data security and censorship driving a growing sense of dissatisfaction with Big Tech, some people are searching for ways to communicate, socialise, and organise online outside of mainstream social media platforms. How will this shift transform the digital space?

Rebranding as a ‘metaverse’ company, Facebook as a parent company is changing its name to ‘Meta’. As well as outlining the new frontier of innovation, the rebrand offers a potential opportunity to rebuild trust for the company, but cynical reactions online threaten the chances.

The Sandbox’s partnership with Snoop Dogg has introduced a previously detached community to the blockchain, NFTs, and the metaverse. With emerging metaverses competing for users as interest grows, how important will established celebrities, brands, and intellectual property be?

Within the gaming industry, innovation is often discussed in the context of new hardware, with players and critics tending to focus on the aesthetic advances afforded by new graphics cards and virtual reality. But how might the introduction of blockchain tech reshape the sector as a whole?