An obituary for the Metaverse, the latest fad to join the tech graveyard

Hi, I'm Matt Turner, the editor in chief of business at Insider. Welcome back to Insider Today's Sunday edition, a roundup of some of our top stories.

On the agenda today:

• An obituary for the metaverse, the latest fad to join the tech graveyard.
• Why are rents so expensive? Because people ditched their roommates.
• Microsoft instructed managers to give fewer "exceptional rewards." We've got the leaked email.
• BlackRock is wrestling with who could succeed Larry Fink. Here's who's in the running.

But first: I break down some of our most recent award-winning journalism below.

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Award-winning work

Insider won in seven categories at the New York Press Club Awards last week. Here's a recap of some of our award-winning journalism:

• Linette Lopez was recognized for her commentary predicting a stock-market washout. The Nasdaq finished 2022 down more than 20%.
• Andy Dunn won for his reporting on a gene therapy that's out of reach for the kids who need it.
• Insider's video on the Ukrainian mountain weavers who refuse to surrender their traditions won in the video category.
• In the spot-photography category, a searing portrait of a month of terror in Bucha, Ukraine, was recognized.
• Annie Fu's infographic on America's lost Chinatowns was awarded.
• Kelsey Vlamis won in the travel category for her story on the disaster on Denali.
• Bradford William Davis won for his story revealing that Major League Baseball used at least two types of balls, and possibly a third.

RIP metaverse

After just three years, the metaverse has died — and ChatGPT killed it.

It was once the buzzy obsession of the tech world, Ed Zitron writes. But a lack of a coherent vision for the product put it on a downward trajectory. Then, when the next big wave of excitement washed over the industry — generative artificial intelligence — the metaverse's fate was sealed.

Despite its short life and ignominious death, the metaverse offers us a glaring indictment of the industry that birthed it.

Read the metaverse's obituary.

Sky-high rent

At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, rents were in free fall as people fled crowded urban centers. But almost as quickly as they fell, prices began soaring again.

Residents are now asking the question: If so many people left, why is my rent still so expensive? New research has a startling answer: People got sick of living with each other.

Why rents are still high.

Also read:

• Home prices are falling fastest in these 28 cities as affordability gradually improves

Who will succeed Larry Fink?

Wall Street has long been fascinated by succession stories. One of the most pressing is at the investment giant BlackRock.

CEO Larry Fink, now 70-years old, has the rare distinction of leading a Wall Street behemoth he helped found.

Insiders view a group of roughly seven executives as possible replacements, including a couple of under-the-radar candidates.

Inside BlackRock's succession saga

Also read:

• ORG CHART: The 150 most powerful people under Larry Fink at BlackRock
• Hedge fund carnage as the once lush index-rebalance strategy dries up

Microsoft leak

An internal email from CEO Satya Nadella showed Microsoft planning to halt raises and cut its bonus and stock-awards budget.

In a separate leaked email, Microsoft's chief people officer, Kathleen Hogan, instructed managers to give fewer employees "exceptional rewards," adding that "more will need to be at the middle of the range."

Read Hogan's full email here.

Plus, also check out:

• Nadella's original email in full.

This week's quote:

"It was an unmitigated disaster."

• A former CNN executive who was granted anonymity to speak openly about the network's town hall with former President Donald Trump.

More of this week's top reads:

• Google just showed how Big Tech will win again in AI.
• Sixteen top healthcare bankers share predictions for the future of digital health.
• How an ex-police officer made $12 million in three years after buying ATMs.
• Elon Musk is handing a truckload of mess to Twitter's new CEO.
• Airbnb's Brian Chesky says many CEOs calling staffers back will be in the Hamptons.
• "I left Miami for Pakistan — and my quality of life here is infinitely better."
• So, Mark Zuckerberg is shredded now.
• How rich Americans give homes to their children and save big on estate tax.

Curated by Matt Turner. Edited by Hallam Bullock and Lisa Ryan. Get in touch: insidertoday@insider.com