Business in Virtual Worlds News Roundup – Mar 9-15 2009
Headlines about virtual worlds just from the last week. See the archive page for past weeks.
This was the week of non-news news. There were more stories about nothing of significance than I have ever seen. I’ve done my best not to post any of them. I may have failed here and there. Apologies.
Oh, and for those of you who had been celebrating it on Saturday, I hope you had a happy Pi Day!
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:
- Virtual Heroes And Nortel Combine Thin, Web Client With Training And Tools Expertise
- Offerpal Media Adds Aeria Games To Managed Offer Platform
- Vindicia And Merchant E-Solutions Partner In New Payment Solution
- Stardoll Acquiring Piczo, Rebranding For Tweens
SuperSecret closes first funding round of $10 million for its virtual world
Another kids world with some unique features gains big development capital.
Worlds.com CEO: We’re ‘Absolutely’ Going To Sue Second Life And World Of Warcraft
Yes, Worlds.com is actually filing lawsuits over ownership of the concept of virtual worlds. No, Worlds.com is not making any friends anywhere on planet Earth. Yes, there are more opinions about this whole thing than you can shake a stick at… no point in augmenting the pile with mine.
Second Life: Celebrate Library Careers in Children’s Literature
The American Library Association’s (ALA) continues its investigations into virtual worlds.
Branded Virtual Goods Boost Purchase Intent By 20% Or More On Social Networks
Kind of a vague, niched statistic but the implication is Virtual Goods = Sales.
Events
“Virtual Worlds – Best Practices in Education” Conference: March 27-29, 2009
I wouldn’t normally link to an individual event, preferring to talk about the industry itself, but this should be a good one. Good luck and best wishes to the organizers!
Virtual business meetings etiquette
Not really directly about virtual worlds, but the principals hold true.
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
Second Life a tool for teaching in 3-D
University of Western Ontario does some Psych classes in SL. Nice overview at Canada.com, but I’m mostly linking it for the picture of these photogenic fellas. Smile!
Second Life brings virtual world to students
University of Nebraska-Lincoln enters SL.
Government and Military
US Rep. Kucinich blasts touring virtual reality game used for Army recruiting
Worried it glorifies killing. You know what… I gotta admit, it looks like fun.
Marketing
Hip-Hop Artist DMC Welcomes All To His Virtual World
Props go to the marketing team that wrangled this story out of NY1.
Webcam Brings 3-D to Topps Sports Cards
Ok, that’s a pretty cool gimmick. I might even buy some baseball cards this year. Haven’t done that since I was a kid!
Gaming
SOE Introducing LiveGamer RMT Service To Vanguard
So basically, you can now buy yourself the super-powerful character and equipment you always wanted with a little USD. Anybody have word on community backlash here?
Nerds Only
5 Open Source Virtual Worlds Set to Duke it Out in 2009
It’s a nerd’s paradise out there.
Hands Free 3D
A 3D camera is used as an interface for Second Life. Neat.
Newbs Only
Second Life dating- reality or fantasy?
This subject has been rehashed so often it is officially “Newbs Only” now.
Virtual dealings in Second Life pose real-life privacy risks: study
Whoops, it’s the year 2000 again and we’re all talking about this fancy dancy new “e-Commerce” stuff.
Second Life Still Gets Great Press, Even When It’s Dying
Whoops, Fast Company just confused itself with a third-rate tech blog.
Sociological Oddities
No, There Were No “Terrorists”
The Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) drops the whole notion of terrorists in virtual spaces. See the official report (PDF). I remember being completely baffled by all of these people warning of terrorists in virtual spaces back when it was in vogue to scream “everybody panic”! Glad its over.
paidContent.org – The New Virtual Red-Light District: Second Life Tackles Its Sex Problem
The official announcement went out this week and it’s all anyone can talk about it seems. Reasons this is a cue to sigh and roll one’s eyes:
- Sorry, there’s a problem?
- Isn’t this already dealt with by private islands?
- The press won’t care that this is a “fix”. They’ll go wherever the smut is. Thanks for calling more attention to it and making it easier to find.
Did I miss an important story? Got feedback? Leave a comment below, or email me at
info [at] calebbooker.com