Business in Virtual Worlds News Roundup – Mar 2-8 2009
Headlines about virtual worlds just from the last week. See the archive page for past weeks.
A normal week, although I don’t mind telling you an article I won’t be linking to entitled “Live Gamer And GoPets On The Importance Of Training Users For Marketplaces” got under my skin. See The Coffee Test.
The only odd thing was that I didn’t find anything for the Government and Military section or the Newbs Only section. Do contact me at info [at] calebbooker.com or leave a comment if you feel something should appear here that doesn’t.
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:
- Mockingbird Announces Partnership With U.B. Funkeys, Official Launch
- fatfoogoo Powers In-Game Commerce for “CampFu(TM)”, Rebel Monkey’s(TM) Premier Online Virtual World
- Level Up! To Distribute Hello Kitty Online In Philippines
- Qube and RedBedlam partner on MMO development toolset
- GamesCampus And MOL Partner For Asian Payment Options
IBM launches Sametime 3D virtual world
A more formal integration of Sametime and OpenSim emerges. Video demo here:
Nature Publishing Group Finding Business And Education Success In Second Life
A nice case study of one publisher’s experiments in virtual spaces.
Flying around CPA Island with Tom Hood
AccountingWEB.com details an exploration of accountants in virtual spaces. This follows another post from them about teaching financial literacy in Second Life.
INTERNET LAW – Fraud and Money Laundering in Second Life Virtual Worlds
Well now, it’s been awhile since anyone fretted over “possible” money laundering in virtual spaces!
Nortel Posts Decline In Q4 Enterprise Revenue, Highlights Web.Alive For Future
Facts change but the story stays the same: despite financial troubles, the virtual world is viewed as where growth is. An interview with Nortel staff elsewhere reveals that they’re creating a consumer version of web.alive as well.
Events
Why Second Life Sucks for Meetings
The true story of how meetings in Second Life can go all wrong, and what your alternatives are.
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.
Training and Education
Ernst & Young’s Cookie Factory for Auditors
Auditors go through audit simulations in Second Life.
Second Life: Engaging Virtual Campuses
Campus Technology does a nice overview, citing specific examples.
SmartyCard Ties Learning Games To Virtual Rewards; Eight Virtual World Partners At Launch
Damn, why didn’t I get bribes for good test scores when I was a kid?
Sun And Candadian Open University Partner For Virtual World Distance Education
Sun continues to partner with educational institutions to push development of Wonderland. Good thinking over there!
Government and Military
If it happened this week I must have missed it, but leave a comment below, or email me at
info [at] calebbooker.com if you know of something that should have appeared here.
Marketing
Kaneva Hits 1.5 Million Users, Launching Push For Brands
Up to this point Kaneva has been focused very tightly on the user base, with business people unsure of where they fit in. This change in direction may mean a change in the marketing strategy of the world, or simply that they’re running out of money.
Run-DMC’s Darryl “DMC” McDaniels To Make Appearance at Engage! Expo to Preview his Virtual World
I suppose if you’re looking at creating a world for marketing purposes this makes sense. Not sure what’s in it for him though… not exactly his target audience.
Girls’ Retailer Builds Virtual World for Tweens
A good fit here, looks promising. It’s called ScapeNation, and it’s in beta. Nice graphics, and some good promotional cartoons too. Check out the art:
Gaming
Quick Stat: Yoville Hits 6.6M Monthly Uniques Across Facebook And Myspace
For the record: I succumbed to the insane amount of spamming friends of mine were sending me in the form of requests through Facebook and joined Yoville. I blocked the application less than 24 hours later. I post this article here in an effort to be diplomatic about it, but no doubt they count me as one of those 6.6M uniques.
Fun in Functional 2009
A presentation that may change the way you look at everything online.
Nerds Only
Putting MMOG research under the ethical microscope
“What should be considered public or private in these spaces? What can researchers study, record, and reproduce without informed consent or permission? Should researchers simply observe or actively participate in the online community/ies they are studying?”
Vivaty Testing Virtual Economy And Gifts, Launches Firefox Plugin
Firefox support is a BIG DEAL. I would have been a much bigger supporter of Vivaty ages ago if I didn’t have to launch IE to use it.
Newbs Only
If it happened this week I must have missed it, but leave a comment below, or email me at
info [at] calebbooker.com if you know of something that should have appeared here.
Sociological Oddities
Second Life changes the way people shop
Ah the Scion campaign – the biggest multi-platform campaign of its kind that didn’t get nearly as much credit as it deserved. K-State Collegian looks at it and gives it all meaning.
SAUDI ARABIA: Cleric delivering virtual sermons on Second Life
Why not?
Welcome to the new gold mines
A truly exceptional article from The Guardian about gold mining.
“”It is just like working in a factory, the only difference is that this is the virtual world,” says Li. “The working conditions are hard. We don’t get weekends off and I only have one day free a month”"
[...]
“Workers can expect to earn between £80-£120 a month which, given the long hours and night shifts, can amount to as little as 30p an hour. After completing his shift, Li is given a basic meal of rice, meat and vegetables and falls into a bunk bed in a room that eight other gold farmers share.”
Did I miss an important story? Got feedback? Leave a comment below, or email me at
info [at] calebbooker.com