Business in Virtual Worlds News Roundup - Feb 23 - March 1
Headlines about virtual worlds just from the last week. See the archive page for past weeks.
Slow news week! Actually that’s a bit of a relief. These things have taken longer and longer to do as the recession has completely failed to bring the virtual worlds industry to any kind of slow-down.
Disclaimer: As with everything on my blog, the opinions expressed here are mine and do not reflect on Clever Zebra, the vBusiness Expo, my friends, my family, my blip channel, any of the other “Jack of All Strange” stuff that I do, etc etc etc… k here we go:
Top Stories
New partnerships and collaborations:
- UrTurn Partners With Universal Products, Receives Cash Investment
- Animax Retains Media Link For Business Development
Wii virtual bowling is great therapy for veterans
This is just great follow-up to our discussion of Medicine in Virtual Worlds.
InComm Reports 200% Growth In Prepaid Card Industry
Considering possible payment models? Prepaid cards are worth a look!
Better Business Bureau Flunks Linden; Linden Says Grade Is Outdated
Citing numerous unresolved complaints, the BBB gives Linden Lab a thumb’s down, reports The Business Insider. The link above goes to a Linden Lab rebuttal.
Metaplace: Platform for user-created virtual worlds
CNet’s timing is pretty good here. Metaplace is finally starting to look like something.
Virtual worlds: the next online banking
Covering Westpac’s exit event at the conclusion of their latest Second Life experiment. ZDNet finds the negative light. The National Business Review goes for balance.
Electric Sheep Company Cuts Five
Content creation company scales down for a few quarters.
Metaplace Investor Marc Andreessen Launching VC Fund
The new company, Andreessen Horowitz, will be investing amounts up to $1.5M.
Events
Linden Lab/IBM case-study on virtual-environment meetings
Results are largely favorable, with over $300K in savings. Here’s the direct download link: How Meeting In Second Life Transformed IBM’s Technology Elite Into Virtual World Believers (PDF)
Virtual Meetings Get A 2nd Life
CNBC covers the ROI of holding meetings in Second Life.
160-Person Second Life Event A Success For Trade Promotion Management Associates
The Trade Promotion Management Associates hold a half-day conference in Second Life.
Want to Hold a Virtual Event of Your Own?
Clever Zebra offers event support and white-label services for anyone interested in a branded gathering in a virtual space. Everything from venue setup and hosting to VIP orientation to speaker coordination. Here’s the contact page.
Training and Education
IPS Brings Immersive Virtual Reality Process to Life
Press release on the launch of a new training experience for engineers and operators.
Second Life for second time
The University of Nevada returns to Second Life for their upcoming media studies course.
Wired to learn as technology turns teacher
A nice overview of education in virtual spaces from The Sydney Morning Herald. (I have to say I really do like that paper!)
A pattern of NZ islands?
A grouping of several Second Life educational islands begin to form a “New Zealand education archipelago”.
Government and Military
Vietnam to regulate Virtual Items… Gambling & Item Trading Problems
Governments the world over are seeing that they need to take an active role in these issues.
Marketing
Meez Breaks Into Top 10 In US Engagement in January 2009
This as compared to the top 2000 sites as measured by Comscore.
Gaming
Quick Stat: Home Hits 4M+ Users
To put it another way: less than 20% of Sony’s PlayStation Network users created an account in this free to use world.
InstantAction Launching Platform For Browser-Based 3D Gaming
The claim: “it can convert any existing PC-based game to run purely in the browser after a 150k plugin download.” That’s a BOLD statement!
Nerds Only
CirculaFloor simulates 360° of movement in VR — and now goes up, too
Needs to be several times bigger and faster, but cool proof of concept anyhow. Check it out:
Nerd Showdown: Second Life vs. World of Warcraft
My hometown’s Brock U pits SL against WoW. May the nerdiest win!
OpenSim Gains Compatibility With More Viewers, VastPark To Come
Interoperability seems to be just happening.
Interview With Nic Sauriol, Venture Lead on Nortel’s web.alive Platform
Interviews aren’t news so I wouldn’t normally post them, but web.alive’s geeky coolness factor is too high at the moment to pass this one up.
Mathew Kumar on Why Virtual Worlds Miss the Mark
A very worthwhile critique, actually.
Newbs Only
Get a Second Life
The Library & Information Association of New Zealand (LIANZA) plans some overview sessions about the significance of virtual spaces.
Deathwatch: The End of Second Life
Valleywag does another nose-picking expedition about Second Life, complete with many factual errors. Again. Some blogger at Forbes steals the ideas without accreditation, hoping to look edgy. Newbs. Newbs. Newbs.
Sociological Oddities
Second Life makes classical music fans feel at home
A nice piece about how the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra’s Second Life efforts have gained them new fans and real exposure.
Playing For Real In A Virtual World
Biological sex still influences how preteen boys and girls play when they assume new identities online
Did I miss an important story? Got feedback? Leave a comment below, or email me at
info [at] calebbooker.com
