ANNIE ZHANG
The Product Pro Demystifying the Metaverse
Annie Zhang, senior product manager at Roblox and founder of the “Hello Metaverse” podcast, is fascinated by “major cultural shifts,” and how they can potentially impact the way people live their lives. She uses her work to champion greater online freedom, to explore the future of the Metaverse, and to examine how the shift to Web3 will address issues of ownership, control and privacy. “Gen Z is getting older and there are new needs that aren’t being served,” she said in a recent television interview. “Social media has been toxic for them because it’s so public-facing. They care more about an experience that is private and more community-driven.” As a student at University of Science and Technology of China, Annie, who grew up playing violin, was able to develop a band of seven robotic instrumentalists that performed a symphony automatically. It’s that ability to imagine what’s possible and to then turn it into a reality that she hopes everyone will one day experience in a fair, creatively free metaverse.
Projects
Annie Zhang’s work as senior product manager at Roblox allows her to continuously find ways for users to socialize and interact more naturally in a virtual setting. In 2020, Lil Nas X performed to an audience of 33 million Roblox users for the platform’s first metaverse concert. The identical shows starred a motion-captured incarnation of Lil Nas X, styled to fit in with a world that shifted to match each of the four songs he performed. Annie also helped Gucci expand it’s virtual luxury arm with Gucci Town — a place to discover more about the House and its heritage that included “pop-ups” like a virtual two-week art installation.
