HOLD ONTO YOUR monocles, for we’re embarking on a spectacle of a journey into the metaverse — an arena where eyecare and pixels collide in a dance of innovation. With a career that has witnessed the evolution of lens crafting from magnifying glasses to smart lenses, I couldn’t resist sharing my two cents on this metaverse phenomenon.
Now, while my initial thought was a world where virtual reality goggles sported elegant frames that never slid down your nose, the metaverse takes things up a notch. Imagine this: optometrists as holograms, analyzing your retina while cracking virtual jokes. After all, who wouldn’t want an eye exam accompanied by a virtual stand-up routine?
But let’s not get too carried away with holographic hijinks. The real beauty lies in virtual try-ons, making frame selection a breeze — minus the accidental mirror collisions. Soon, you’ll sip digital coffee, scrolling through virtual eyewear catalogs with pixel-perfect precision.
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However, let’s not turn a blind eye to challenges. Virtual prescriptions must be sharper than a cat’s whisker, and as for virtually fitting frames, well, opticians might need lassos. And who’s to say optometry students won’t confuse the virtual eyeball for a game of Pong?
As we embrace this metaverse voyage, let’s stay whimsically pragmatic. Whether virtual aviators take flight or digital contact lenses play hide-and-seek, remember, we’ve seen the industry through bifocals, trifocals, and now, pixels. The future’s as bright as a retina scan — so let’s keep those orbs peeled.
In metaversal marvel,
* This Editor’s Note, like the accompanying vibrant yellow headshot, was generated by AI (ChatGPT and http://Dreamwave.ai , respectively.) If you read it and thought nothing was amiss, I need to work on my authenticity! If you thought I sounded off, thanks for paying attention. But with an issue focused on the metaverse, I thought it only fair to see what the virtual world was capable of. ChatGDP wrote that note in less than 10 seconds after giving it only the most basic of prompts. Dreamwave produced 250 headshots in less than 4 hours using 29 real photos of varying quality of myself as the baseline. This is the future. Are you ready?
Five Smart Tips From This Issue
- Pumpkin Spice is back at Starbucks and Christmas is out at Target. You should be thinking about scheduling your holiday events earlier too. (Manager’s To-Do, page 22)
- If my accompanying little AI experiment didn’t convince you the machines are on the rise, perhaps our take on the metaverse in eyecare will. (Big Story, page 44)
- Back to the present … it is September so that can only mean one thing … VEW! Check out our buying guide. (Special Feature, page 52)
- You must walk before you can run. Take technology baby steps by checking out how Meta’s Pixel can benefit your business. (Best of the Best, page 64)
- Speaking of the holidays coming earlier than ever, so too will FSA season be here before you know it. We’ve got some campaign inspo. (Benchmarks, page 74)
