Here's an anecdote that your comments reminded me of. When Valve started, they made half life, counterstrike, and other games. We all thought Valve was out of their minds when they launched cs1.6 and Steam. We all thought (by we I mean my friends at the time, avid gamers) Valve was making a huge mistake moving into virtual game selling. Fast forward 18 years and they are the most dominant platform and are worth 10 billion.

I think FB and oculus will be like Valve circa 03. Sure other major players will develop VR similar to Steam's competition but FB will be light years ahead.

Indeed. If Meta can retain its dominance of social media and engagement (other superficial ADHD-based platforms notwithstanding), it will be a simple matter of folding one's existing social network into "the next paradigm".

I am already playing games in VR space with real people I know, and the experience is miles ahead of anything else I've ever seen. Joining a "chat party" links your real voice to other players regardless of where they are... making it a seamless social experience. It keeps the connection active even while booting up a game, negotiating menus, browsing, updating software, etc. Very cool and convenient.

Metaverse communication is the difference between sitting at a typewriter vs. commanding the bridge of your own personal starship... going wherever you want, with whomever you want, holodecks and communications screens at the ready.

This is absolutely the future. Our phones are becoming glasses, and the metaverse is where it all plugs in. Ready Player One for real. Believe it.

If you think it can't/won't happen, it already is. The smartphone changed the landscape so profoundly we can hardly remember what life was like before it. The same will apply to this. A VAST paradigm shift awaits.

It may even have its own currency, culture, etc. We make our tools, and then our tools make us.

I can't think of anything that I am less interested in than this new paradigm. My son has an "oculus" which he loves, and which has replaced for the most part his PS4, et al. It's neat, but there is no way in hell I would want to be using that thing on a daily basis. And the monitoring and monetization that's built in. Facebook will try to gather data about every move you make, and put ads in every corner. I guess I'm getting old; I'd rather move to Montana

I almost feel like going all in on Facebook stock,I think it will be the next Tesla.

It is addictive. That being said, I care less about the social aspect than the technical aspect. I know that I don't want walled gardens, or incentives to prevent openess, which is exactly what FB / Oculus have been doing since the beginning, so I moved away from them. It is not lost on me that most people are all about social mediums, but like you say, many will dismiss it because of the hardware wearing on your face, but really for the most immersiveness, we aren't going to get away from that any time soon.

And before someone tries to say 'that isn't their plan' again, it is indeed their plan. That was always the plan, they were pretty up front about it, and how they planned to pay for selling the hardware below cost. After the announcement a few weeks ago about requiring log in accounts so they could spam ads and track user data, their was massive backlash. It really does surprise me they rolled over so quickly. Will be interesting to see what their workaround is, because, you know they have a plan B. Where they definitely have the advantage is the money they have to throw behind it.

As for their stock...I cannot say. Given all the government review right now, I think it will be burdened for a bit. The VR part is still a pretty small area for them.

It's already valued close to Tesla. It had a market cap higher than Tesla before last week.

They appear to be in trouble right now. They are keenly aware that no young people are joining up - it's only us old farts who have years of photos on there. But Instagram and TikTok have taken over their new users. Facebook is SUPER annoying to use any more - I can't say I blame the millenials / Gen Z who are looking to other things. My kid is 12 and he has never even for a second even considered creating a Facebook account - EXCEPT because of the Oculus. I think that was their big plan to get younger users, but how does that translate? They bought Instagram but even that is bleeding users.

and if FB starts the VR world. It will be like Ready player one, started off, with IOI started off with owning the oasis from the beginning.

I think the Metaverse was the plan for Facebook since the beginning.Im not the sharpest knife in the drawer,but I’m starting to think it will actually be even bigger than most of us can imagine,like the next step in the evolution of mankind or something.Where man will merge with machine and becomes a creator of worlds almost like a god.Is that what the singularity is?

I would agree. I just think we are a long ways from it (VR wise). Especially since the lowest common denominator is what continues to hold us back.

Please, no! Skynet approaches

Amazon sidewalk is the real life version of Skynet!

Oh crap, you are so right! LOL we are doomed!

Thank God for stop losses!

If it has a camera it is watching, if it has a microphone, it is listening. Edward Snowden showed us this years ago. I can't wait for the VR plug in chip, neuro link shit, that always knows what we are thinking!

I like Montana too, virtual Montana!

It will be. Porn specifically will be the rocket that launches VR into mainstream..

and those tied in FB status updates. lol.

There are two tech like companies who have made automatic jerk off machines that sync with your favorite videos. That tech plus VR will only get better.

Don't ask me how I know this just assume the worst!

As internet corporations like Facebook experiment with “brain-reading” technology, Klaus Schwab predicts brain microchips are fast becoming a reality.

The Great Reset leader and World Economic Forum executive chairman, predicts Big Tech firms will increasingly pursue implanted microchips and other “transhumanist” technologies.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is already working on his very own robot helper called Jarvis, who is promised to not only serve him but even be his “intellectual partner.”

“First you have the personalized robots,” Schwab said. “I saw that Mr. [Mark] Zuckerberg predicted that at the end of year he will have his robot, his personalized butler–that is at his disposal.”

Schwab believes delegating work to robots and letting people pursue “really human” interests like “love” will start a new technological revolution.

I want a robot

Good podcast with Tim Ferris and Eric Schmidt from Google about AI and the future. Schmidt seems to think everyone will have an AI assistant. If you are mega rich, you'll have a baller ass robot, AI, assistant. If you are poor, you'll have a worse one. The podcast was really interesting.

So if you had $5K to throw on a single or couple sticks/efts/etc tomorrow, what would you put it on?

Tesla is a sure bet,it still has massive growth potential.All in on that one stock has many people millionaires in a very short time.
Concerning monetary policy I don’t believe the old rules apply anymore,I believe that this market will continue to sky rocket higher while the real economy continues to decline.Nothing makes sense.We are witnessing the greatest transfer of wealth in the history of the world,and quickly are becoming a two tiered society of the extreme haves and the extreme have nots.

Companies like Amazon,Alphabet,Facebook,Apple,and Tesla all seem like safe can’t miss companies to own long term.

OJ futures

What are the stock ticker symbols of these two "tech-like companies" or, are they private? Did any of the Shark Tank investors back them?

Jackie treehorn treats objects like women

They weren't publicly traded at the time I was reading about them, a few months ago. I was bummed too.

Like Sam Kinison said 30 years ago, you know there's a team of inventors working on it. When they get it right, they'll all be multi-millionaires....

I want a love robot!

Imagine a world were we don't have to engage with anyone we don't want to!

I agree, the current VR experience is pretty impressive, and the fact that the adoption rate is still really low despite that fact is precisely my point. It will get more popular because of the metaverse, but not to some crazy extent.

Now robot butlers, there's something that people might actually buy. Though it's all speculative until someone actually releases something. At least the robot isn't standing on your head the whole time, weighing you down, I'm assuming.

... but do anyway!

In case anyone was worried. I am still all in on gamestop.

I pulled some of my money out of LUCID earlier in the week (the stuff in after tax accounts I can day trade in) and put the money in Gamestop. I don't think I'm a long term believer in it, but do see a high chance of it ballooning 10% in the next few days thanks to Wall Street Bets. I will probably jump back in next week if the price dips a little again, or possibly go after Ford.

The parking lot I park in has a ton of high income people that park there, and I would say that one in 60 cars parked there is a Tesla, but of the 300 or so spaces there are now 3 Ford Mustang Mach E electric cars in the lot. I don't see them unseating TESLA anytime soon, but they are actually getting their cars out in numbers around here (Maryland). May take money out of GME and put it in Ford instead of LUCID... or may split it.

You are correct, but it is possible to make greater than average returns (with more risk). I invested in AAPL in a big way in 2009 and Google now they are both $2T companies today. My bet on APPLE is up 20x in the time S&P500 maybe up 5x.

Example: (mid 2009)
$20K in S&P500 = $110K
$20K in APPL = $450K

I am not saying the S&P is bad but AAPL has gained 4x more in the past 12 years and most of S&P gains are from a handful of special stocks (AMZN, AAPL, FB, MSFT, Goog etc).

I do invest in the S&P500 a lot but have placed some bets on other stocks that maybe have been lucky but have done well for me. I am not talking about Stonks like GME or AMC which you can make money on but are much more speculative, I have had great success with household names that dominate their sector.

Finally the reopening is here....talks of Covid disappearing is gaining traction. I think we're going to mark up some good gains before the end of year.

Boeing finally moving, LVS, MGM, WYNN, DIS, DAL all going higher.

20K in Netflix in 2017 nets you $100K. I passively index my fund in my 401k. I've done really well compared to the averages. 4/5th of my net worth is in index funds. 2/3rds of my 1/5th is in dividend paying individual stocks. The other 1/3rd is my "gambling" plays.

Will I get super rich off of my gambling plays? No. But will I ever lose money? No. Warren Buffett rule 1: never lose money.

My goal long term is to multiply my gambling money so when the market shits, I can buy a boat load of company __ and wait. Just like your post above. That's the get rich game.

Real Estate? You can have it. Wealth is having fat stacks in 401k, Roth, having a paid off house, no debt, GOOD HEALTH, family, a job you like. Fuck fancy cars, 10K pinball machines, yachts and all that other shit. You keep them. You'll be dead sooner than me anyways.

*Edit when I say you, I don't mean any one person, I mean all of pinside & and your mothers!

Did any of you follow me on this? Currently at $852.46. I didn't get it at $700, but glad I got in where I did. For all of you guys talking Metaverse, this is the company that builds the machines that build the chips.

Speaking of metaverse
Here’s the currency linked to the biggest existing metaverse, as you can guess when FB announcement was.

712D33A8-0DFC-4817-831B-48F5179D13A7 (resized).png

The US economy added 531,000 jobs in October, September and August's job numbers were upgraded, turns out they were stronger than originally reported. Unemployment has dropped to it's lowest point since the pandemic started. Restaurants, hotels, theaters and other companies in the hospitality business created 164,000 of the new jobs last month to lead the way. Employment also increased by 100,000 at white-collar professional businesses, 60,000 in manufacturing, 54,000 in transportation and 44,000 in construction.

The demand for labor is forcing businesses to compete for workers and entice them with higher pay. Average hourly wages rose 11 cents to $30.96 in October. The 4.9% increase in wages over the past 12 months is the fastest since the government adopted new tracking measures in 2006.

“Today’s jobs report shows a strong rebound in U.S. employment despite a continuing labor shortage that is pushing wages higher and spurring inflation,” said Tony Bedikian, head of global markets at Citizens. “The virus is still weighing on the U.S. jobs recovery, but today’s report could be a sign that the economy has turned a corner.”

It's a good time to have your money in the Market.

Pfizer is jumping close to 8% today with the news about it's new anti-viral pill. LVS up 6.5%, all the Vegas stocks look up around 7% on the great economic news today.

I keep pumping NET, but I'm now up 140% on it. It went up 9% after beating earnings, there's a nice sell off dip right now. I expect this one to keep going.

The whole Metaverse/VR conversation convinced me to start picking up some FB today. I'm also seriously thinking about selling off Paypal, it continues to drop, I'm down over 10% on it now and if the earnings statement next week isn't stellar, I think it will continue it's trajectory downwards.

DOCN was $105 yesterday after the earnings report.

Wish I had gone all in on it at IPO instead of play money.

BROS is having a brutal week after a month of steady growth

Our economies GDP as a percentage is shrinking at its fastest pace on record.Debts and deficits will continue to boom,it’s not going to stop.Inflation will surge out of control as the Fed creates it by design,their issuing debit through one door and buying it back through another door.This process is going on 24hrs a day over an over and is massively inflationary.The Fed will continue to buy assets at a historic pace creating distortions across the spectrum of asset classes like you can’t possibly believe,all by design a massive wealth transfer effect is going on right now and the middle class is being eliminated.

It's been decided this a cheaper alternative to rescuing crashed Pension Funds.
So far it's working.

I agree on PYPL, it's eating me alive. I'm down at least 15% since I bought it two months ago. Either insiders are expecting bad earnings next week, or the squeamish have been selling out too low. If no joy next week, I'm dumping and probably losing most of my 2021 gains eating up that humiliating loss.