Take a look around and what do you see? People on smartphones, laptops, tablets, and other networked devices. You could be at the airport, in a cafe, or riding the subway. It’s all the same. People are just as invested in virtual worlds as they are the physical. Times have changed.
For centuries, nation states have divided our world along physical lines. First, geography, and then less tangibly but no less keenly by language, culture, and politics. You wouldn’t know the tribe on the other side of the mountain any more than the one across the ocean or desert.
Technology, however, has erased the boundaries of the nation state, giving rise to the network state. Distance means nothing when you can communicate at the speed of light. Language and culture are no longer a mystery when you can learn them for free anytime, anywhere.
How the network state affects you
The network state is “a highly aligned online community with a capacity for collective action that crowdfunds territory around the world and eventually gains diplomatic recognition from pre-existing states,” says Balaji Srinivasan in *The Network State(*1). But what does that mean?
In short, it reflects a change in how we conceptualize our world. When the physical no longer determines the boundaries of a nation, what remains is inside our minds. A network state is, therefore, an online community that shares a common interest or goal, a virtual nation.
While a network state loses many limitations imposed by geography and distance, it gains a critical problem: centralization. Since big tech controls the technology that enables the network state, or virtual nation, it controls its future. Rove, however, wants to put you in control.
The pernicious influence of Big Tech
Big tech companies like Alphabet (Google), Microsoft, and Meta (Facebook) have built enormous, sprawling enterprises upon a centralized business model. At first, these platforms appear friendly, helpful, and collaborative to attract customers and their hard-earned dollars.
But when growth slows, attitudes shift.
You don’t need to look far to read stories of censorship (2), spying (3), and illegal use of customer data (4). It’s the classic bait and switch: The platform pulls you in with something free (or cheap) only for the real cost to be clear later, when you’ve already paid and can’t do much about it.
The irony of drafting this article on Google Docs isn’t lost on us, either. Big tech is so entrenched in our lives that we rely on its infrastructure for almost everything we do. But we have no control over what it does. No one elected Google or Meta to build and control our network states.
And yet they have and do.
In a spectacular example of sleight-of-hand, big tech companies have taken control of the infrastructure you use to work, play, and socialize. They can censor ideas or de-platform members, throttle or modify access, and algorithmically sway community thought.
What began as tools for a better future have become instruments of control. What your community does now and in the future depends on what big tech permits.
But it doesn’t have to be this way.
Returning power to the people
As history has proven, centralization commonly leads to abuses of power. The network state, or metaverse, however, is a decentralized concept. It belongs to its citizens in the same way a community belongs to its members, so should be self-governing and democratized.
We’ve been building the infrastructure that powers multiple community-owned metaverses. In just a few minutes, you can build a virtual nation without knowing a single line of code. Think virtual land, architecture, objects, materials, and the foundations of a digital economy.
Your community controls your metaverse and governs according to its shared interests. Create NFT-gated communities, for example, boost NFT utility, and innovate in 3D-rich environments. AkiStory, Penguin Karts, and Portalgeads have chosen Rove to build their communities.
Isn’t it time you did too?
Why build your 3D community on Rove
Escape the clutches of big tech and the limits of 2D environments. Build a safe space for your community using decentralized tools, owned and maintained by you, where you can foster relationships and innovation in immersive 3D spaces. Bring your virtual nation to life.
Exclusive to your community
Create an NFT-gated space where only NFT holders can buy land and other assets. Make the metaverse a truly community-owned world. NFT holders can mint land and architecture.
Adds utility to your NFTs and projects
Creating a space is the first step to exploring the metaverse. You can deck the walls with your NFTs and show them to the world. You can also sell your NFTs from your 3D home and pay no commission on your sale. Host exhibitions, invite friends, and sell your NFTs in-platform.
Creates space to build relationships
Equipped with voice chat, screen-sharing, and invitations, you can throw a party, movie night, or even a community assembly. The Polygon community, for example, built a clubhouse, learning center, virtual concert, park, playground, drone racing field, and more. Soon, members can schedule events and meet together in 3D.
Grants property rights
The Rove metaverse is decentralized, interoperable, open, and owned by the communities that build and maintain it. We’re working hard to deliver more key building blocks to the metaverse, including trading, virtual land, homes, creating objects, or building 3D monetization templates.
Works with all blockchains
Bring your 3D avatars and assets to Rove. No workarounds required, just seamless integration with your chosen identities.
How to build your community in the metaverse
View our video tutorial or follow the steps below.
- Create your metaverse
- Go to rove.to/imo/init and complete the form.
- Click Create a metaverse.
2. Invite your community
- Invite your community members to claim lands, build homes, and throw the first party in space.
- View the tutorial here.
3. Mind your land and home
- Choose empty land to mind.
- Add your collection token ID to verify NFT ownership and mint.
- Enter the land you’ve minted.
- Click Upgrade your space to build your first home.
- Choose a template you like.
- Enjoy your forever home — now you can display NFTs, host parties, and hang out with friends.
Tap into the power of collectives and explore the possibilities of web3 and NFTs.
Additional resources
You can build any community you can think of on Rove:
- Community assemblies on Rove: meeting in 3d is way more fun and interactive. [link] (2)
- Build an art gallery and promote NFT creatives. [link] (4)
- Community playground: Enter drone racing events and explore mysterious places to compete and have fun with others. [link] (5)
- Sell and buy land [link] (6)
- Expand and customize your world [link] (7)
- Bring your 3D avatars to the metaverse. We’ve partnered with MeebitsDAO to bridge the gap between the physical and virtual worlds. (8)
Talk to us on Discord: http://discord.gg/rove-to
(1) https://thenetworkstate.com/the-network-state-in-one-sentence
(2) https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/jun/04/microsoft-bing-tiananmen-tank-man-results
(3) https://www.consumerwatchdog.org/privacy-technology/how-google-and-amazon-are-spying-you
(4) https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/04/us/politics/cambridge-analytica-scandal-fallout.html
About Rove
Rove provides building blocks for NFT communities and creators to build, own and have fun in the 3D worlds.
We understand it’s not easy to build a metaverse from scratch, let alone make it thrive.
Therefore, we want to make it very easy for communities and creators to build their own virtual nations: create unique and immersive experiences, forge communities of like-minded people in interactive environments and exciting activities. Erect cities, host parties, have AMAs and fly through space together. Your world, your people, your rules.
Browser: rove.to
AppStore: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/rove-a-new-way-to-metaverse/id1617794489
PlayStore: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=to.rove.app.mobile