Virtual worlds are weird places. This can be a problem.
Only now are we leaving behind the notion that virtual worlds are purely for games, but in truth we still don’t have everyone convinced of that. For the executive that was forced into getting an email address a few years ago and still hates having it, this all looks like a lot of fantasy nonsense. You can’t blame them.
For instance, I recently got an invitation to check out the RolePlay Market (Slurl), which is a neat mall selling all manner of unusual decor and fashion, from gothic to sci fi to pirates. It’s a pretty wild place and a good example of virtual world phenomena: the virtual goods mall.
I love it but, at the same time, its the kind of place I’m not going to be bringing executives to. Here are a couple of random images to give you a sense of it:
Imagine spending weeks badgering your company’s decision makers to at least look into virtual worlds, and the first thing they see is a bunch of demons and cat people running around castles being chased by the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Think you’ll get approval for your project?
In part this is why an office desk and workspace in your virtual world is important: it gives people something they can instantly relate to. It allows them to begin to imagine having small meetings in spaces like these, and from there you can take them further.
That first experience of the virtual world needs to be handled with care. When you bring your stakeholders in, make sure you plan exactly where they’ll be going, what they’ll be seeing, and how long its all going to take. Dress your avatar according to the company dress code. Plan a follow-up tour to places where similar companies are doing things like what you’re proposing.
It’s a question of focus. Think of virtual worlds like a city: would you bring visitors directly to the costume store? Eventually they may really need to find a costume store, but that’s not really the point.
A good rule of thumb is to watch how much work your stakeholders have put into customizing their avatars. If they’ve spent $50 USD on shopping for clothes for their avatars, they’ve gone native. You can risk sending them shopping for cat ears.
Until then, be ever-mindful that you have an uphill battle with virtual worlds. Giving them a new image in people’s minds won’t happen without some careful planning.
While the notion of art galleries in virtual spaces isn’t anything new, I felt that there was something different about the project Z gallery in Second Life. In a real sense this gallery represents a large collection of best practices meeting in one place.
Rather than spell it all out, I’ll simply encourage you to go see the place for yourself and pay special attention to the following:
The types of art selected.
The way the art is hung in the space.
The amount of open space you have.
How the layout is arranged.
How textures and shape were used in the architecture.
Far better to go and see for yourself than have me pontificate. It’s quite the learning experience, and besides, the exhibit itself is quite good.
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:
Daden Develops Virtual War Room
“[...] allows users to zoom into maps, plot geographic data, view CCTV and webcams, plot 3D data, show slides and objects, view RSS and Twitter feeds, and analyze GPS and earth-sensing data all in a shared immersive environment.”
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.
A new experience opened up recently. In a sense, Carmina (SLurl) is the virtual world rendering of the SL Things To Do blog. Don’t let that fool you into thinking that this is just a place with a bunch of landmarks. (See video below.)
Peek into the lives of two avatars, one who’s left, the other who’s left behind.
Help Burton find Carmina while collecting stamps in your special passport created for this journey. While collecting these stamps visits some of Second Life’s™ finest locations. The journey is about to begin, the ending is yet come.
To read more about this, please visit http://slthingstodo.com/main
What kind of commercial does this remind you of? It kind of sounds like an amusement park, doesn’t it?
If you’re looking at using virtual worlds for marketing purposes, study Carmina. This is fun, engaging, encourages social interaction, and creates a community around its brand. It does this by offering them a challenge that, succeed or not, is a pleasure to pursue.
This is the central strength of the virtual environment: it creates experiences. Yes, there are other hard applications (like training, fast prototyping, data visualization, etc..) but at its most basic, this is about picturing yourself somewhere else having an interaction with another person. To that end, Carmina nails it.
The person who can clearly define and bottle why Carmina does it so well precisely will make serious waves.
I *almost* linked one of those philosophical “trends in virtual worlds” articles this week telling is “what it all means”, but then my senses returned to me just in time. Close call!
Important links:
Archive page of past weeks of Business in Virtual Worlds News
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:
WB.com Goes 3D With ExitReality
Good score by ExitReality. They’re very promising, and just need to do something to make the experience a little bit smoother to take it to the next level.
Eco Gamers: Manage Energy in a Virtual World with Shaspa
While I believe I’ve linked to this energy-management software before, I just wanted to link another article to point out that the past two weeks have shown quite a bit more press about it. There’s good buzz!
Calling All Evangelists
In every company there’s one person willing to bring the big ideas forward. This is the visionary, the thought-leader that wants to bring the latest technology and business practices to their stakeholders. We call these people Corporate Evangelists. Ever think this could be you?
Events
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.
Could Sadville break the internet with nakedness?
Alright look. All anybody can write about for the past solid month is LL’s new policy on adult content. I’ve had enough of it, all right? It’s not that important! Alright? Alright… let’s call this the end of it then.
Did I miss an important story? Got feedback? Leave a comment below, or email me at info [at] calebbooker.com
