Archive

Liquid Artifacts: Architecture in Virtual Worlds

Host Robert Bloomfield welcomes Jon Brouchoud of Crescendo Design and Studio Wikitecture. The October 2008 issue of Architectural Record -- one of the world's foremost publications on architecture-- featured Brouchoud and colleague Ryan Schultz for their pioneering work in Second Life®. Jon writes the virtual world blog, The Arch. Kirsten Kiser is On the Spot to talk about her recent work with architect Frank Gehry, and her efforts to bring architects to virtual worlds through her influential online architectural magazine, arcspace.

If you are on the front page, READ MORE for the full story and lots more links! VIDEO & TRANSCRIPT now posted!

Unpredictable Spaces

Rezzable Productions claims to maintain "the largest public space in the metaverse", and are the well-respected creators of Greenies, public art, machinima, games and music. Jon Himoff, Founder and CEO of Rezzable Productions, Ltd. talks about his inworld business and his thoughts on Linden Lab®'s new pricing and policies for open space sims. Virtual worlds experts Nic Mitham of Kzero and Doug Thompson of Remedy Communications Limited and Dusan Writer's Metaverse join in to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing residents, businesses and developers.

If you are on the front page, READ MORE for the full story and lots more links! VIDEO & TRANSCRIPT now posted!

World Bank


Dahlia Khalifa, senior economist at the World Bank discusses both the World Bank’s launch into Second Life and the conclusions of the World Bank’s "Doing Business 2009" Report, which examines business conditions in regions around the (real) world. The program follows the World Bank and IFC venture inside Second Life as they launch their Doing Business 2009 report to the digital international community in an event on October 30, 2008. Also, Dorette Steenkamp of Virtual Africa and Uthango appears "On the Spot" to talk about public benefit work in South Africa.

If you are on the front page, READ MORE for the full story and lots more links! VIDEO now posted!

Dmitri Williams: Who Plays?


USC Professor Dmitri Williams talks about his terabyte-sized data set from Sony Online Entertainment. We delve into Dmitri’s survey results on who plays massively multiplayer online games, and take a look at the future directions of the research project, which has been funded by the National Science Foundation. Read more about it at Terra Nova. We kick off the show with a review of Spore, filmed inside the game by our Metanomics gaming correspondent Hydra Shaftoe.


VIDEO NOW POSTED!


If you are on the front page, READ MORE for the full story and lots more links!


Gaming is a highly social activity, and we know from media research dating back to at least the 1930’s that social context can change media effects drastically. Some games have vibrant social communities, and some have none. A massively multi-player game like ‘‘World of Warcraft’’ is as unlike a game like ‘‘Doom’’ as ‘‘Sesame Street’’ is from ‘‘The Sopranos.’’         

Testimony by Dmitri Williams to the U.S. Senate

The Credit Crisis

Maureen O'Hara of Cornell University's Johnson Graduate School of Management, an expert on real-world banking and markets, gives her take on the causes of the credit crisis and outlook for the future. We also put IntLibber Brautigan “On the Spot” to learn how Second Life’s financial markets have fared after January’s banking regulations.

VIDEO & TRANSCRIPT now posted!

Monetizing the Metaverse

Jay Geeseman of Xstreet(formerly SL Exchange) and Stevana Case of fatfoogoo talked about their business experience in Second Life® and other virtual worlds. Xstreet recently changed it's name from SL Exchange, and is perhaps the best-known Second Life®-integrated commerce website featuring real-time shopping, real estate listings, and full-fledged currency exchange. fatfoogoo is a leading provider of in-game commerce ecosystems, and is working with Project Darkstar, an open source development arena under the aegis of Sun Microsystems Laboratories. Artist, designer Eshi Otawara was "On The Spot".

If you are on the front page, READ MORE for the full story and lots more links!
VIDEO & TRANSCRIPT now posted!

Rosedale's Vision

At the Second Life Community Convention in Tampa, Florida, Robert Bloomfield was granted a rare interview with Philip Rosedale, Founder and Chairman of the Board of Linden Lab. In well over an hour of questions, a number of significant themes emerged, from the specific future of Second Life to the widespread promise of virtual worlds.




  Watch the Metanomics Archived Video Now!

Listen or download the audio. (MP3)
href="http://www.metanomics.net/transcript092908">Read the transcript.
Read the Chatbridge transcript Part 1. (Not yet posted)
Read the Chatbridge transcript Part 2. (Not yet posted)
Subscribe to the Metanomics Feed.





Over the last year, Metanomics has featured much of the upper management of Linden Lab® on Metanomics: Gene Yoon, Robin Harper, John Zdanowski, Cory Ondrejka, Zero Linden, Pathfinder Linden…even Mitch Kapor, Linden Lab’s first Chairman and a key fount of Linden’s capital. But try as I might, I couldn’t get founder and current Chairman Philip Rosedale to appear live on the show.

After a number of different approaches, I finally got a reasonable approximation of what I was looking for: a face-to-face interview with Rosedale, conducted in a small office behind the registration desk of the Second Life® Community Convention. (It was also the office with the passes for the Linden employees—sorry for keeping you from them, but thanks for being so patient while the interview went about 20 minutes longer than expected.)

We covered a lot of ground: Philip's transition from CEO to Chairman of the Board; balancing the interests of enterprise and personal users; managing the press; what it will take for virtual worlds to become mainstream; bringing Second Life to developing nations; and Linden Lab's competitive position in the industry, with specific focus a possible competitor of it's own making--Open Sim.

Since we can't bring you Philip's voice (I have permission only to publish the text of the interview, not the audio), we've had to be creative on how to make this more than just dumping a transcript into a blog post.

You would think a face-to-face interview with Philip Rosedale would be far better than one mediated by a virtual world (as we do for the weekly Metanomics series). Certainly it was nice to make the personal connection, especially someone justifiably renowned for his charisma and good looks. But a virtual world interview would have let me and my guest exploit one of the signature advantages of virtual worlds, which I call constructive cacophony. Had this interview taken place during a live Metanomics show, a simple voice interview would have been supplemented with no end of text chat: people reacting to my questions and Philip’s answers, suggesting follow-up topics, pasting links to past news stories and quotes, debating among themselves.

It’s not a free-for-all, of course. After all, the goal is constructive cacophony. We have made a lot of progress harnessing the wisdom of our crowds, while still allowing a thoughtful discussion that stays on track, and as Metanomics progresses over its second year, I hope we can create even more cacophony, while making it more constructive.

Well, now that the interview is over, and I have subjected myself to Benjamin Duranske's questions and the unpredictability of the virtual worlds chat during this first show of our new year, I still have a chance to harness the wisdom of crowds. Well, a small crowd. I have segmented the 75-minute interview into various themes, and found someone who is expert on each theme to explore Philip’s remarks more thoroughly (and point out, hopefully gently, what questions I might have asked).

For each theme, I provide the complete transcript on our site, along with a few comments of my own and a link to the expert analysis. Here’s what we have:

Thanks to this panel of experts for bringing insights I couldn’t have on my own!

Metanomics Revisited

Live from Copenhagen at Noon on Monday, September 22, we turn the tables when Benjamin Duranske, author of Virtual Law and editor of virtuallyblind.com , poses questions to Metanomics Host Robert Bloomfield about his experience producing the first year of Metanomics. We revisit the distinction between the three major subfields of virtual world economies -- immersionist, augmentationist, and experimentalist -- as we examine the inner workings of the weekly multi-world virtual event.

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VIDEO & TRANSCRIPT now posted!

KZero

A strong focus on brands sets KZero at ground zero of the most volatile hype cycle in the metaverse. KZero's Nic Mitham examines marketing hits and misfires of the past, and maps out directions for branding as new worlds come on line. We also put ThinkBalm's Erica Driver "On the Spot" to focus on enterprise uses of the immersive internet, a tortoise that is quietly and steadily overtaking the flashy hare of brand management.

If you are on the front page, READ MORE for the full story and lots more links!

VIDEO now posted!

METANOMICS: Meet Microsoft

Zain Naboulsi, Microsoft’s Developer Evangelist, comes to Metanomics on Monday, August 18th, at Noon PST, to talk about Second Life’s new role in the Microsoft Developers Network (MSDN), what the rise of virtual world technology means to Microsoft, and what Microsoft’s plans in the industry might mean for the rest of us.

If you are on the front page, READ MORE for the full story and lots more links!

VIDEO now posted!

Enhancing Your View

In this special Metanomics presentation on the Second Life viewer, ENHANCING YOUR VIEW, Dusan Writer reveals the winners of his L$800,000 contest to design a better user interface. Then Adam Frisby discusses his exploration of the viewer possibilities associated with OpenSim, including XBAP, one possible method for creating a viewer that meshes seamlessly with your browser. We also consider the future of the Second Life viewer, with an eye to the challenges developers face when trying to create an experience which works well for both new and skilled virtual world residents.

If you are on the front page, READ MORE for the full story and lots more links!

VIDEO now posted!

Language Lab

Metanomics sponsor Language Lab teaches foreign languages in Second Life. Their novel curriculum uses a staff of instructors and actor to immerse people in a foreign land, where they must use the native tongue in homes, restaurants, dance halls, job interviews and even airports. Hear the story straight from Language Lab’s Managing Director David Kaskel (Edgware Marker in SL).

Find out why Bettina Tizzy of "Not Possible in Real Life" has said "Human Resource departments all over the world will soon be ponying up and sending their corporate executives in droves to Second Life to make use of this brand."

If you are on the front page, READ MORE for the full story and lots more links!

VIDEO now posted!

Gridnauts

The collaboration between Linden Lab, IBM and an eclectic collection of software adventurers on the Open Grid may be the most direct step taken so far toward a true ‘metaverse’. IBM’s Zha Ewry and Linden Lab’s Zero Linden talk about the progress they have made, and the implications of their work.

If you are on the front page, READ MORE for the full story and lots more links!
VIDEO & TRANSCRIPT now posted!


The Virtual Chalkboard

Monday, July 28th Metanomics learned about how K-12 teachers are using Second Life® as a Virtual Chalkboard to communicate with students, colleagues and administrators. Hear superstar educator Kathy Schrock of "Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators", Teen Second Life® pioneer Peggy Sheehy, and Linden’s Boston Operations Director (and academic evangelist) Pathfinder Linden. But first, we put the grid-spanning group ISTE “On the Spot” to talk about the Second Life activities of the International Society for Technology in Education.

The Imagination Age

Rita J. King and Joshua S. Fouts of Dancing Ink Productions joined Metanomics to discuss the roles virtual worlds can play in global diplomacy and business. Find out about governmental uses of virtual worlds and one of Dancing Ink’s newest projects, “Understanding Islam Through Virtual Worlds.” Beyers Sellers put Jane2 McMahon On The Spot about the Netroots Nation in SL event, and Roland Legrand closed the show with opinions on how virtual worlds dissolve international boundaries.


  Watch the Metanomics Archived Video Now!

Listen or download the audio. (MP3)
Read the transcript.
Read the Chatbridge transcript.
Subscribe to the Metanomics Feed.



Dancing Ink Productions is "exploring the vast business potential of the metaverse." Their mission involves maintaining a stable global economy. Accoring to their Vision Statement, "people are just beginning to understand the implications of creating their own identities and narratives and inhabiting three-dimensional versions of one another’s ideas to collaborate on their development. Dancing Ink Productions is committed to fostering all aspects of the creative evolution of the Imagination Age."

"Active participants in the Imagination Age are becoming cultural ambassadors by introducing virtual strangers to unfamiliar customs, costumes, traditions, rituals and beliefs, which humanizes foreign cultures, contributes to a sense of belonging to one’s own culture and fosters an interdependent perspective on sharing the riches of all systems. Cultural transformation is a constant process, and the challenges of modernization can threaten identity, which leads to unrest and eventually, if left unchecked, to violent conflict. Under such conditions it is tempting to impose homogeneity, which undermines the highly specific systems that encompass the myriad luminosity of the human experience."


A Special Note from Our Guests



Dancing Ink Productions would like to especially invite those residents and groups in Second Life who are particularly interested in expressing religious beliefs and exploring the diversity of human cultures to attend the Metanomics event, and also to join:

to be informed of progress and to contribute to the process of producing Dancing Ink's upcoming project.


Favorite Places in Second Life

  • Al Andalus Alhambra
    The patio de los Leones

  • IslamOnline.net Virtual Hajj
    IslamOnline.net Hajj Islam Islamic Muslmi non-Muslim Education Counseling IslamOnline Haram Mecca Mosque Ramadan Religion

  • Brooklyn is Watching
    Brooklyn is Watching is a hybrid RL / SL art project. When you are here you can be viewed by visitors to the internationally known Brooklyn, NY art gallery "Jack the Pelican Presents". The gallery is open Thursday - Monday 9AM

  • Ummah of Noor
    Al Salam Alikum :) Ummah of Noor is an Island dedicated to showcase the beauties of Islam and act as a haven for all the peace lovers. All are welcomed!

  • New Babbage - A Steampunk Community
    New Babbage is a Victorian Steampunk sim based on the works of H.G. Wells, Jules Verne, William Gibson, Neal Stephenson, and Philip Pullman. Come experience life, not as it was, but as it should have been in the Age of Steam: The 19th C


Background Reading and Videos


Guest Biographies







Rita J. King is CEO and Creative Director of Dancing Ink Productions, a company that fosters the emergence of a new global culture in the Imagination Age through virtual worlds. King is a Carnegie Council Fellow at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs. For seven years while working as an award-winning investigative reporter, Rita's primary focus was reporting on corporate culture. This work culminated in her report, "Big, Easy Money: Disaster Profiteering on the American Gulf Coast," followed by a civil rights quest with the president of the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development across the Deep South to study the American journey from enslavement toward the possibility of true liberation. Rita recently completed a lengthy report for IBM, "From the Fire Pit to the Forbidden City: An Outsider's Inside Look at the Evolution of IBM's Virtual Universe Community," and her essay "The Emergence of a New Global Culture in the Imagination Age" was published in a book to celebrate the launch of the Transatlantic Network 2020, a youth leadership initiative spearheaded by the British Council to cultivate multimedia connections between young people looking to collaborate on tackling serious global issues. Peruse Rita's books and publications and read her blog for more information.






Joshua S. Fouts is Chief Global Strategist of Dancing Ink Productions, a company that fosters the emergence of a new global culture in the Imagination Age through virtual worlds. He is a Carnegie Council Fellow at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs and a Senior Fellow for Digital Media and Public Policy at the Center for the Study of the Presidency. Fouts has over 18 years of expertise in new technology innovation, international relations, journalism, government and strategic non-profit management and development. Since 2003 he has worked to help non-profits and governments worldwide (including the U.S., China and Brazil) understand and create a presence in virtual worlds and the 3-D Immersive Internet. His work has been featured in The New York Times, the Washington Post and NPR. Before joining Dancing Ink Productions, Fouts co-founded and directed the University of Southern California's Center on Public Diplomacy at the Annenberg School; previously he was director and co-founder of the USC Annenberg Online Journalism & Communication Center and in which he co-founded and was editor of OJR, the first Internet-based Online Journalism Review. Fouts spent half a decade at the U.S. Department of State (USIA) and the Voice of America launching numerous new technology and public diplomacy projects. He is on the editorial board of Place Branding (Palgrave Macmillan). Fouts is a member of the Pacific Council on International Policy, and the Public Diplomacy Council at the George Washington University.

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