The Glow Up - Fabulous conversations with innovative minds.

Tethering the Metaverse to Real Life – Howard 702 Taylor

• Nathan C Bowser • Season 1 • Episode 6

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Howard 702 Taylor is a VR digital enthusiast and content creator who hosts "The Howard Hour," a weekly series in Horizon Worlds. Howard's mission is to bring awareness to VR, XR, and AR technologies in the metaverse, highlighting what's cool and what to avoid.Key Takeaways:

  • VR as a Platform for Connection: Howard discovered VR's potential for community building and creative expression through experiences in Horizon Worlds.
  • Tethering Virtual and Real Experiences: Howard emphasizes the importance of maintaining organic, genuine interactions in virtual spaces, recognizing the real emotions and energy people bring into VR.
  • Impact Beyond Entertainment: The Howard Hour has shown its potential to positively influence viewers' lives, even preventing potentially harmful actions.
  • Global Reach of VR Content: Howard's experience at AWE demonstrated the international impact of his work, transcending language barriers.
  • Future Focus on Mental Health: Howard plans to expand The Howard Hour to address mental health issues and create a space for authentic human experiences in the digital realm.

Howard's journey into VR began with a serendipitous experience in Horizon Worlds, where he performed his music in a virtual comedy club. This moment revealed VR's potential for creative expression and community building, inspiring the creation of The Howard Hour.

The concept of "tethering" the metaverse to real life is central to Howard's approach. He stresses the importance of maintaining genuine, organic interactions in virtual spaces, recognizing that real emotions and energy translate into VR experiences. This philosophy has led to meaningful connections and impactful moments with his audience.

A pivotal moment for Howard was when a viewer shared that The Howard Hour had prevented them from making a potentially life-altering mistake. This experience underscored the show's potential to positively influence lives beyond mere entertainment.Howard's impact was further validated at the AWE conference, where an international attendee recognized him and shared a clip from The Howard Hour, demonstrating the global reach of his content despite language barriers.

About Howard Taylor
Howard702lv is a virtual personality known for his presence on the Howard Hour Live show in the metaverse. With a charismatic and engaging personality, Howard702lv brings a unique perspective to the show, offering insightful commentary on a variety of topics ranging from technology and gaming to current events and pop culture. 

As a seasoned virtual entertainer, Howard702lv has built a loyal following of fans who tune in regularly to watch him in action on the show. His quick wit, infectious energy, and passion for engaging with his audience make him a standout figure in the metaverse entertainment scene.

A "glow up" signifies a positive transformation, reflecting the journey of becoming a better, more successful version of oneself.

At The Glow Up, we humanize the startup and innovation landscape by focusing on the essential aspects of the entrepreneurial journey. Groundbreaking ideas are often ahead of their time, making resilience and perseverance vital for founders and product leaders.

In our podcast, we engage with innovators to discuss their transformative ideas, the challenges they face, and how they create value for future success.

If you're a founder or product leader seeking your own glow up, or a seasoned entrepreneur with stories to share, we invite you to join our guest list via this link.

Nathan C:

Right, it's the Glow Up Fabulous Conversations with Innovative Minds. Today I am talking with Howard Taylor. Howard, I am so excited to connect with you and dive into your journey in innovation and technology. Can you tell us a little bit about who you are and what you're doing these days?

Howard 702 Taylor:

Oh, well, well, well, yes. He gave the intro so, so formal, but I said I do it. Do it like how I do it always. This is your boy HT how is 7 0 2? Let's get tripping. Like a kid unties his shoes. You see the vibe and you see the move. I am a VR digital content creator. Well, we say it in 21st Century. I am a VR digital enthusiast. I like to bring awareness to what's going on with VR XR and ar technology that's going around. And that's going on into the metaverse, so I bring awareness to, hey, what's cool and I think what's to stay away from in the VR aspect.

Nathan C:

Love the energy, love the intro, thank you. Since you brought it up why virtual reality? What, what got your what got you hooked there? I know that almost everybody who works in AR or VR had a moment where they just fell in love with the technology and it changed how they thought about the world. What, what was your aha moment with AR and VR?

Howard 702 Taylor:

No, I mean my I guess my Bro, I say epiphany moment with oh, this is VR? Wow. This hopped into it. I want to say like the aspect of like December of 21, my, with my lady. We're doing something and I'm getting ready to like, oh, say like the commercial for like the Oculus pops up and like, no, I've been seeing this pop up all year. Ended up getting it, got onto the aspect and at the time I ended up like going to venues and aspects like that and I stumbled across Horizon Worlds. It was like the beta program at the time and I went into there and and I went into a club or something like a comedy club and just in there was like here's some comedy and Was able to get onto the stage and like do some of my music and sat right there and I'm like, oh, okay This is a different realm. This is a different different area So, I mean, that's what made like it was like showed that this is real.

Nathan C:

I love it that there was this moment of like, a little bit of community, a little bit of creation, and you're like, alright it's for me. So, Tell me about the Howard Hour. This is a weekly series that you do in VR.

Howard 702 Taylor:

Yes, I do it every Friday night 11 central 12 eastern 9 pacific like Disney channel stats, but late at night for adults. But no I mean the Howard Hour it came about You Like, so before, again, I started this started this journey as an artist, and going around as my artist doing like the certain ins and outs, I stumbled across a podcast on there, became a host on there, and from there, like, like, just to fill in time slots in there, came up with the form like, oh, hey, Howard Hour. And at first it started off as like a radio, like, smooth personality, to like, it's like up in your face in direct type format, how I look at it now. Yeah.

Nathan C:

I'm curious, how does virtual reality and hosting and interview in, it's Horizon Worlds, yeah? How does hosting and interview in Horizon Worlds allow you to like build connections with your with your guests as, as well as interact with your audiences. I, I don't know that. Everybody who's listening has been in a an interview or a podcast in a virtual world. What's that like?

Howard 702 Taylor:

I say it in all of it's terms that we all grew up on the TV aspect, so, first off, like, what I want you to associate when you hear, like, with the Howard Hour, like, you think of, like, late night formats, so Johnny Carson, Arsenio Hall Dave Letterman, like, just all those essence elements that IRL presence. That's why I feel like I showcase with the Howard Hour and a lot of things like what I want to say with the merger with, well, I would say with the VR aspect. I'm doing it into a space where I don't have to feel like it's just like a regular question answer format. Or to the point of, I just have to be generic like, you have to tell me about your life, how you got to point A to get to point B. Now we have this whole, that's like, no, it's the accountability that I want to show, like. Organic presence can be into any, like, tethering aspect we can put in, and with the Howard Hour, I really see that tethering, that it goes way beyond just, you have to, you don't have to be in technology to be involved with the Howard Hour, or you don't have to be, like, with entertainment, or you don't even have to be on your headset now to even watch it. Like, that's, that's, This is the first approach that I want to do with the Howard Hour, just like? how I see with the growing technology that we have around.

Nathan C:

Amazing. So, you mentioned this idea of tethering. This is something that we've talked about a little bit, but I'd love to dive into this idea of tethering the metaverse to real life experiences. What does this mean to you and how are you building these ideas into the world?

Howard 702 Taylor:

Oh, well, one of the things I've really seen about like with this tethering aspect with entertainment, not entertainment, but with technology, especially with the virtual reality realm, a lot of people, because it's in an avatar state are, like, it's not like how we're looking at each other right now. Right off the bat, you will see that it has that, that illusion that it's supposed to be a game, or you're going away from your real self into real value, so you already have a little instruction of, you're getting on here to get away into an abstract, and with that abstract of showing, I guess with the tethering, how I say, The tethering part I really got with it, like, we have to be organic at times with this. When you're putting on this headset, you're having interactions with people around. You're going around others who are, like, probably going through something that happens throughout their day, or something happens and, again, somebody could be having a crappy day or so, and energy is real. So I started looking into the aspect, like, hold on. Energy is real, and that's already on the physical interaction, so I can just imagine what happens when we're just into this interface of just putting on a headset. So, I'm seeing already with that aspect, like, I'm seeing many relationships get formed, seeing many break up, seeing many dynasties build, many crumbled away, to the point now like, you're like, hold on, if there was an organic presence, like, Oh hey, like I have to come in here not as a AI mode, but as a, oh this is something I'm soaking up, just like AI do. It has to soak, adapt, and assert. And, I mean, that's what I feel like with the tethering moves that we have to do at times, that's what shows.

Nathan C:

Can you talk about a time where you learned something from your audience or your customers that changed or focused how you approach the work that you do?

Howard 702 Taylor:

Oh, good question, good question. I'll say with that aspect, what really made me like see that this goes way beyond just a brand of being lucrative steps, but a brand of, Something that's going for longevity. I had an episode that I was doing and we end up like I said, I guess that I had on there never, that never knew, never met this gentleman or anything, but ended up sitting through one of my shows and the gentleman ended up coming to me at the end of the show to tell me like, Hey I sat in here to like, didn't even know what was going on, but sat in here and I guess from the day or whatever that he was having, I kept him from doing something stupid that would've either led him in like in jail. Basically, like, in the realms of, like, in, like, in death and just from that conversation right there, and sitting there, again, it gives me chills just talking about it now, that showed me, okay, this is just going way beyond of, like, hey, you're just gonna be here and just, like, sit and talk to somebody, or, hey, you're sitting here, okay, there we Just a blab, gif or gab, but no, that shows me like, My motto is,"everybody's a somebody." And you never know what somebody's going through, you never know what somebody is looking for, too. And then so, same long run, you can have somebody that has like, again, come upon some positive energy, and change their whole aspect, change their whole mindset, change their whole like, this way of like, just thinking for that course of time, that shows me like, wait, okay, this is going way beyond just an approach of, This is about, okay, what is established with these lucrative moves. I'm, seeing, oh, this is what's needed. And that's what made me feel like with the Howard Hour, like, oh, okay, this is what's needed in the space of this emerging technology. Just like, I'm not an emerging technology, but I'm in this vast space of growing with it. So, that's what made me get that realization, like okay, hey, this is going way beyond just, hey, questions, hey, bye, what you doing?

Nathan C:

I'm I'm a little floored. My next question, was going to be about how do you know that you made it? How do you know that you're making an impact? And this is one of the, your example, how It's really, I think, a really prime example of the, what I always call the human impacts of technology that we, we almost never measure, right? We talk about engagements, we talk about the number of people in a place, we talk about the number of millions of views that you might have, the idea that creating a space where people could come together, have a conversation, have, a little fun in a virtual world, and that that maybe saved somebody's life or kept them from making a bad decision that would have put them in jail, like the human, I don't want to call it a cost, but like the value of an interaction that causes somebody to rethink the way they're going to live their life or to, to bet on themselves for another day. Like that's got, that's so incredibly powerful. And as like a creator, somebody who's trying to, to make space, that's got to be incredibly encouraging.

Howard 702 Taylor:

I mean, it's like the aspect of like, I mean, how you were just saying with that with that human, I guess that human coerce, but I'm a comic book head and a lot of times on my show I say, we have superpowers on here that we're aware of that we're, we're, we're really doing with. And one of my favorite quotes is from the Spider Man series, like Uncle Ben, and he always said, with great powers come great responsibilities. We don't look to sit here and have all these responsibilities. We don't sit here and be like, we don't expect to be out and try to be a beacon of light, because we all go through something. We are all human beings, but we are all human beings that are growing together, so we have to be in the aspect. Just like I'm going through something, somebody else is going through something. I mean, I'm in an aspect of, it can always be worse. I get cussed out for that all the time. I get put down because again, like when you have to spread positivity, it goes into a way of like, Just way beyond borders. And like you was asking earlier, one of the things that really showed me beyond with that interaction I got to go to AWE this year. And with one of the things with that, I really got to meet greats like yourself what really showed me that I really made it with this aspect. And I mean, it's just simple things that really, I love going around. Again, I'm a new scrub. I'm all in there. Like at Disneyland. Nobody knows me, I'm thinking all this. We're at the mingle the social mix mixer they had going on, like it was on a Monday. Before everything started, going through the floor and everything, and I think something happened, we had to all like sit still for a minute. Somebody looked over to me, looked down at my badge. Looked up and like you've seen the pure as excitement and Outta Nowhere Bus stop started saying Howard Hour Live! Howard Hour Live! And like, found out they're from Portugal. So, I mean, I'm not making fun of'em or whatever. Like they barely speaking any English or so, but they're definitely a demonstration and everything. But no, pulled up a clip from one of my shows that I did talking about like relations with going like overseas and everything with technology. Pulled it up, and that's right there showing me like, whoa, hold on, like, we're not even in the same, like, language barrier right now, but for you to show me that you had something from my archive to show that, hey, you either, like, digested it, learned from it, or something, that's like, Mind blowing, like, this is what this space is for, just like with this technology, with XR, AR. It has to be important, like we said earlier about with tethering, All of it has to come together. You have to have all the components to make your binary system, all the components to make their shit, like, I mean, go to a point where you have to go way beyond Just looking at the computing code. It go I guess so many that goes into the algorithm that is different that we don't compute and that's why I say like well this organic presence are really saying earlier I guess all about like the genuine interactions that I really think that really show if you make it are Either like people say like oh you have to stay away from this individual are this is not a certain party that that's with

Nathan C:

How cool to be. Notice to feel like you're a first timer and then to be noticed for the work and community that you've already been building. I, I find that, especially within the AR and VR community, You know, everybody's looking out for something interesting. Everybody's got an eye out. And there are so many kindred spirits, folks with similar passions and, and vision that, sometimes just having a place to come together can really be so powerful. The name of the show is The Glow Up, right? And a glow up is a notable transformation in appearance or success or lifestyle. So I'm curious, what are you what are you looking to glow up in your work either in the Howard Hour or otherwise? In the next six months.

Howard 702 Taylor:

I mean, just, like I said, the glow up, how I'm looking at that aspect. The glow up I'm looking at is I guess a broader brand for what's the Howard Hour. I seen about the branding that I want to go after instead of just What, I guess, demographics to go, all this and everything, I know what areas I want to go towards, so I feel like I want to touch more with mental illness, Stuff that, instead of like just political affairs and everything, that's like, Hey, how are we feeling at the end of the day with certain things? Like, I want to just bring more aspects of, it's okay to be a person in this crazy world that we're in. And one of the things especially too, with The Glow Up, Also wanted to make like more of the Howard Hour on the road. Like I say, with six months it's coming up, we got AWE that's coming up again in Europe and all that, and that was one of my goals. I said on my booking list to get to the Europe one for AWE, and hey, that's a major glow up too with that, but not even that. One of my main goals of this, with the glow up, just to show like, hey, this wasn't done the day before. But this is done the day after, and something can be done greater the day after this, so it's just a elder everlasting building of a building that's not done yet. Heh heh heh

Nathan C:

Amazing. One of the questions that I love to ask folks who are passionate about a big idea is What would you do if you knew you couldn't fail? What would your, your business your vision look like if money were no issue and you knew you'd achieve it? How big would you, you take your ideas, for community in the metaverse?

Howard 702 Taylor:

I think I'll be a generic Montell Williams. No, no, no jab, no jab. Shout out to Montell, shout out to grow up on that with aspects, but no, I think it's, like, I mean, I don't want to be like that cliche, like, oh, the struggle makes you, you know. But I feel like it's certain inventions that is supposed to, like, mold you. So I feel like going into the aspect of if I was, felt like always, always handed something with this, I don't feel like I can have that rapport of, like, hey this is a certain situation you should not feel a part of. Or, if I always felt like I'm supposed to be in every situation because, like, hey y'all, hey, I'm, I'm that businessman. I, I got money all around. I gotta do this and everything. Like, I will feel like I'm all spread out. But I see like certain intentions that make you ready for certain approach. It's just, it's a curveball. So I see like either you will have to be like a sponge and either learn or absorb, or you'll just be there in a stagnant move like, hey. Y'all, y'all supposed to know of me. I don't know, have to know of any of y'all, but you're supposed to know what I'm doing.

Nathan C:

As you're, as you're on this mission and on this hustle is there anything that you're looking for? Are there things that you're learning? Is there help that you're looking for? Is there network talent that you're trying to connect with?

Howard 702 Taylor:

I mean first off, it's like how we all want to be in the aspect of not comfortability. I see that this is my job now. So with the job, you have to go into the workplace, you have to build up, you have to, hey, bring home a check. Like, to the point, and I have, I have kids, and one thing I want to say, like, I want to show, especially with my kids, like, Do what you have to put your mind to to help it grow. Like, it's not gonna all come to one aspect. Like, I thought I was just gonna be on this journey of just talking to people who was in the VR. And all this to the aspect of, well, I'm able to talk to greats like yourself. I'm able to talk to cats like Kevin Winston. Like, this is so amazing, it goes way beyond the VR now, but it's all connected, and that's one thing I'm really seeing, like, while growing in this space, is just like when they I was always told, don't say what don't say what you couldn't do, but tell them what you won't do. And I know, I don't want to be stagnant no more. I don't want to sit here and be in the space of, like, feeling, oh, okay, that's passing me by, AR. Like, I don't want to be that old person that goes through the day like, how do you work this? No disrespect to my parents. I've seen how that goes when I already got to show my dad and everything about the metaverse, or I have to show my mom like, hey, this is what you do if you're eyeball. You're taking a selfie now. I really want to see. Like, I want to grow more with? the space. That's first and foremost. But I really want to like grow with it and like instead of growing apart from it because I'm seeing so many creators that get Tired with the space are so many people they get so mad because they put up a certain goal And he didn't get to that and I'm like Rome wasn't built in a day And it wasn't built right away, and it wasn't the lights wasn't on in a day And that's what I mean, but it still turned out great, and that's how I look at it with myself That's how I look at with my brand with the Howard Hour And I just want it to be more of a broader approach, like, hey, this is something That I came up with my own construction, imagine what you can do.

Nathan C:

That focus and passion is really admirable. How do you stay connected to your vision, especially as you know that it's not always going to be smooth sailing and that it may be a bit of a journey, right? Even though you know it's a journey, keeping focused can still be a struggle. How do you do you keep your head in the game?

Howard 702 Taylor:

I mean, I just do a little, a simple mantra That, I wake up every morning, and I say, and it's just three simple words." I know me." And when I really say, when I know me. You have to know yourself before you do anything. You, I, we are human beings. I know some days are going to be rainy, just like the weather. I know some days I want to, want to pull my hair out. Some days I want to sit there and not even want to be bothered with the world because as a person, as a mental illness, I have bipolar. So I already know that we have to go against these chemical imbalances that you're already fighting against. So I can just imagine if that's hard for me, I could just imagine like for somebody else. And I know we're not supposed to be an aspect of thinking of others when. Wearing this like this tethering aspect of growing, but no, I'm, I guess how I'm wired, I don't want somebody to feel like they're nothing, how I felt at times. I don't want ever somebody to ever challenge they self, how I challenge myself at times, because we are all shining lights, just because we get dimmed at times do not mean somebody can help us recharge, or we can't recharge ourself, and I mean, that's just, the mantra again, I say that"I am me."

Nathan C:

That that trust in yourself and in your vision is something that I hear frequently. I also, just on a personal level, really appreciate when when founders and leaders are transparent about the real human challenges, that we have. There's that statement, that you should be kind to everyone because you don't know what struggles they may be going through. And I think when we as, as leaders, as innovators can. be real about having human bodies that don't always act the way we want them to, or, that we can't just always focus on success that we also have to focus on balance and on rest and, and regeneration, that the innovation journey isn't just all technology it's about being real people and pushing the limits of what we can make together, but You gotta be human in order to do that creative, strategic, innovative kind of stuff. So thank you for bringing that human side with you. It's so important.

Howard 702 Taylor:

No, no, that organic presence, I mean, just like a flower that has to grow, like you still, I mean, it's just like with technology. I know we're not supposed to compute and everything, but this is a flower that's growing. You have to nourish it, right? You have to show love to it, right? Just like, if you know that this space is right here, either it's going to grow and go extinct, or it's just going to sit there and be to a point like either no aspect. And.

Nathan C:

Well, Howard, it's been such a pleasure to chat with you. We've blown through these questions and touched on so many more. As a as one last question. Is there a call to action that you have for the community where can people learn more?

Howard 702 Taylor:

Well, yes, yes, yes. Again, I know not to sound like generic and everything, but no, you gotta follow my journey. How they usually with how they do with all these social media handles, but with TikTok, Instagram, all under the monocular you see with the name Howard702LV. But no I do daily talks about, hey, what's going on with tech. Navi does that. I do daily talks about, hey, we have certain goals to go after. You're a human being. What are you? doing? And Navi does that. Talk to me. I'll talk back to you. Everybody has a journey. Everybody is a somebody, man. Like, just, I mean, on every aspect. So, anything that you have internet access to, type in Howard702LV and you can see the best of me,?

Nathan C:

I love it. Howard 7 0 2 LV on all the channels bring in real human innovation, tethering the metaverse back to our communities, our connections, our passions, I love that, I know me" and that this passion and surety that you are taking with you on your journey. Thank you so much for sharing it with us on the Glow Web.

Howard 702 Taylor:

Alright, thank you, thank you. And thank you for what you do for this platform again. I'm one to give flowers when we're up above this ground, you feel me? And without Pioneers, without you doing with this, we would not be able to act a fool like Ludacris, you feel me? We would not act a fool, but we would not be able to talk about our experience, our journey, and hey, the glow up. Cause you feel me? Hey, that's the only way we gon shine, you feel me?

Nathan C:

Yes, I'm going to have to record that for the new intro. Howard, thank you so much.

Howard 702 Taylor:

yes, yes.