Daniel Terdiman of CNet has always done well by SL. He writes with honesty and compassion, which is always refreshing when it comes to SL. So, in the deluge of new books coming out on SL, I'm glad he's taken the time to write one of his own. It's called The Entrepreneur's Guide to Second Life: Making Money in the Metaverse. It's geared toward analyzing businesses that work in SL, and how you can create a business that will become successful.
In the referring article, Daniel says that while it's true he's not an SL entrepreneur, he does qualify to some degree in being an authority on his subject. In fact, I'd argue that by not being an entrepreneur himself, he brings a much-needed perspective to the subject. And in seven months, too; that's pretty damned quick. Go check this book out here, and its related blog here.
CNet has its coverage of SLCC 2007 right here, and focuses on how LL needs to step up and look at things through non-colored glasses. When I first began reading the piece, I got to thinking 'Well, of course people are looking hopeful; what kind of convention would it be if all they did was moan?' But I see the point. LL, and Philip in particular, have crowed about SL's progress and numbers and new features, when perhaps they should have been focusing on stability and UI improvements. Well, now is the time to buckle down and start this process.
The Electric Sheep's Sibley Verbeck said something at once scary and dead-on (from the article): 'This is kind of a scary term, but we kind of need to 'AOL-ify' the experience here a little bit...push a button, and you get in there, and immediately you've never seen that thing before but all of a sudden you've got mail, and that's really nice, and people are sending you things, (and there's) some entertainment, some information, some learning right there in front of you.'
He's absolutely right, and the article goes on to say how. We could use a little more direction for the new users so we don't keep seeing inflated numbers without retention. It's time to AOL-ify SL, Philip! You're man enough to do it, too; I've seen your codpiece! *shudder*
This CNet article asks the question 'Are people more polite in virtual worlds?' And before I'd even read the piece, I started laughing aloud. By the time I got to the part where Jaron Lanier says 'I don't see people getting into petty interpersonal knots with each other', I was on the floor pounding with my fists, helpless with laughter (or OTFPWMFHWL).
Okay, come on, now. As much as I love social interaction in SL, one thing I can always count on finding is rude behavior. And before you all comment on how nice YOUR circle of friends is, let me just say that I'm talking about personal experience. It may be because many people I run into have an 'OMG a Furry' reaction, which frequently turns into swearing and abuse. And then there are the Welcome Areas, about which the less said the better.
And interpersonal knots? It's the main reason I'm on SL Sabbatical™! People don't stop being people just 'cause they're in a virtual space. Drama abounds. Ask anyone. In fact, ask anyone who's involved with organizing the SLCC, this year or past; you'll get some great stories, let me tell you.
In general, I'd have to say that civility and politeness aren't typically features I associate with SL. Your mileage may vary, but it's not a concern of mine. Eventually I'll swallow my bitterness and return, but until then, I'll politely turn the other cheek.
For those of you who have been complaining that you could create a better world than SL, now's your chance. CNet's Daniel Terdiman reports that Multiverse has just announced Version 1.0 of its virtual world development platform at last.
Use of the development software is free, and Multiverse asks a mere 10% of any revenue gained from whatever product is created with its software. I got really excited about this until I remembered that I'm an incredibly lazy creature. You guys make something and I'll go play in it. Thanks.
This Thursday, the 12th of July, will see the launch of Manpower, Inc.'s new island in SL. To celebrate this new virtual office, Manpower will host a moderated panel discussion on the topic "The World of Virtual Work". From the press release:
"The world of work is changing - it seems as though each new day brings a new and innovative tool for businesses and employees to communicate and interact in the virtual workplace – from telecommuting to outsourcing and, more recently, virtual worlds such as Second Life. But as the novelty of the virtualized workforce wears off and real business starts to get done, big questions call for a response: What does success look like in this emerging "World of Virtual Work?" What are the opportunities, what are the risks? And what are the rules of engagement for employers, employees, entrepreneurs, customers and job seekers?"
Featured on the panel, and moderated by CNet's Daniel Terdiman, will be Manpower's Tammy Johns, IBM's Colin Parris, Quest G's Algis Leveckis, The Magicians' Kimberly Rufer-Bach, and Shiny Things' Fallingwater Cellardoor. This is sure to be a hot event, so arrive early; the actual island won't open until an hour before the event.
Jane McGonigal was recently interviewed by CNet's Daniel Terdiman in their SL headquarters. McGonigal, Lead Designer for 42 Entertainment, was responsible for the I Love BeesAlternate Reality Game (ARG), which promoted the First Person Shooter Halo 2.
It's an interesting, if short, interview, covering a broad range of topics. However, the most interesting bit of the interview, in my mind, is the quote " ... I haven't been very successful having new social interactions in Second Life. So maybe there are people like me who like the world but need help navigating the social sphere and finding ways to contribute."
Our parent site Joystiq scooped us on a story in Second Life. Ross Miller tells us about one of the many hazards of being in Second Life. During an interview with CNET, Second Life's first Millionaire was pummeled with penises. The assault took place over a period of 15 minutes and sadly enough the assailant was able to escape. Video and images of this event are on Something Awful.
It is currently assumed that it is the result of animosity held towards Chung by many people in world. However, no matter your opinion towards others do not assault them in world, especially not with a bombardment of severed Penises. I do look forward to how this will read in the next TOS update. But remember as a general rule, never throw your penis at a millionaire.
Irving Wladawsky-Berger is the head of technical strategy and innovation at IBM. His job seems to be making sure the company catches the front end of any new technology waves. As such, he is leading IBMs efforts into Second Life. As you probably already know IBM has been setting up shop in Second Life sense the beginning of the year and is getting ready to open 12 new islands including the project with Circuit City I wrote about earlier. Joining their previous effort, the Almaden Research Center, which is basically a step 2 from orientation island.
In an in depth interview with CNET Wladawsky-Berger explains IBMs efforts to launch a new Emerging Business Opportunity in 3D Internet and virtual worlds. He seems to be very clear that IBM's interests are greater than just Second Life and extend to the concept of Virtual Worlds at large. When asked how IBM and Linden Lab work together Wladawsky-Berger responded with, "...we would like to collaborate with them more, especially in the area of standards and open source. I think it would be very good to get the various virtual-world communities to participate in efforts to define standards and to define what it means to interoperate across virtual worlds..." Is this the beginning of Second There, or maybe Virtual Laguna Hotel? Most likely not, because the structural differences in these worlds are rather large, but I would like to see smaller battles won. Like the ability to transfer characters between worlds.
Daniel Terdiman at CNet reports that founding ICANN chairman, and daughter of Freeman Dyson, Esther Dyson will be interviewed at CNet's in-world offices on Saturday, Dec. 9th, at 1 PM SL Time.
She will doubtless have some interesting insights, given that her former company EDventure Holdings specializes in analyzing the impact of emerging technologies and markets on economies and societies. Additionally, Dyson is a board member of the Long Now Foundation, which, among other pursuits, actively works to foster slower, better thinking in the face of our generation's increasing trend toward valuing faster and cheaper methods.
Given a completely artificial society, what opportunities do we have to reinvent the world? Can SL be used as a blueprint to mint a new way of life?
CNet recently debuted a podcast interview featuring employees Charlie Cooper, Daniel Terdiman, Neha Tiwari, and Leslie Katz speaking on the subject of MMOs such as Second Life and World of Warcraft (which, to this day, I can't read the name of without hearing in my head "Wheel! Of! Fortune!"). It's a rather short 'cast, with the end result being a sort of bemused, indifferent-seeming "So, why do you crazy kids like this sort of thing?" approach by the host. Given that Daniel Terdiman has been writing about these things for a while now, the whole interview seems a little disingenuous and late to the party, especially since CNet itself has created a virtual headquarters of its own in SL.
It's tantamount to asking "Okay, convince me: why are we doing this again?"
This past Monday, Philip held an interview in the new CNet Headquarters in SL, to field questions by the audience. The interview itself isn't terribly noteworthy, as Philip seems to play it vague when asked questions about growth and new features. He does definitively say, however, on the subject of griefing: "Many people have called for us to do things that would be overly restrictive, like force everyone in "Second Life" to be credit card-verified. That isn't the right direction."
He doesn't, however, say why this isn't the right direction. It would be one thing to say that with a majority of residents agreeing, but nearly everyone I've spoken with in-world about this topic agree that while it's not going to be a perfect solution, it is at least one step closer to a grief-less world. Residents are asking for this to be implemented! My guess is that Philip just doesn't want to halt the growth of SL by introducing a more restrictive registration which might keep people from trying SL at all. At the same time, however, not restricting growth is leading to a number of server issues that are increasingly irritating, forcing LL to spend more time chasing down new issues than fixing the ones we already have.
It's difficult to have faith in a deity that you know doesn't listen to you.
I'll be the first to admit that I've not been keeping up with CNet for quite a while. There are so many other, more specific sources of the kind of information that I'm interested in (Joystiq, Engadget, anyone?) that I've been weaned off the CNet all-you-can-eat experience. However, Eric Rice has posted a recent interview with Daniel Terdiman, Senior Writer for CNet, conducted by Millions Of Us CEO Reuben Steiger. Apparently, CNet finally has an office building in SL itself, while Mr. Terdiman has been writing articles about SL since 2003! Funny how little things like this can just slip right under our noses, innit?
The subsequent interview reads a little bit like advertising for Millions of Us at times, but the in-world discussion that follows it is refreshing, asking residents what sort of things they'd like to see CNet cover from here on out. Do give it a read!
Daniel Terdiman of CNet has always done well by SL. He writes with honesty and compassion, which is always refreshing when it comes to SL. So, in the deluge of new books coming out on SL, I'm glad he's taken the time to write one of his own. It's called The Entrepreneur's Guide to Second Life: Making Money in the Metaverse. It's geared toward analyzing businesses that work in SL, and how you can create a business that will become successful.
This Thursday, the 12th of July, will see the launch of Manpower, Inc.'s new island in SL. To celebrate this new virtual office, Manpower will host a moderated panel discussion on the topic "The World of Virtual Work". From the press release:
