Social media is the archetypal web2 application: the enabler of the “user-generated web.” But that does not mean that it will disappear with the appearance of the metaverse and web3. In the metaverse, the features and functionality we’ve all grown accustomed to (“likes,” “shares,” and the “for you” page) are no longer limited to social apps. They are there when we are playing, working, learning or any other activity that we carry out within connected virtual worlds.

And just as social media is one of the foundations on which the metaverse will be built, the metaverse, in turn, will affect how we think about and use social media. If you’ve tried Meta’s Horizons, you’ll appreciate that many of the…