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The Archives
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02.03.11Second Life: Metanomics with Tom BoellstorffAnthropologist Tom Boellstorff was our guest on Metanomics this past Monday. It was an exhilarating conversation, covering everything from the cultural implications of voice in Second Life to the concept of "Overlays" as a way to think about our digital lives. Tom is an incredibly engaging person with an enthusiasm that left me (and many in the audience I think) feeling exhilarated about the future of virtuality. We're just at the beginning in our understanding of what virtual worlds mean, the implications of avatar embodiment, and the larger cultural implications of our increasingly digital lives. I'll comment more soon once the transcripts ...
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01.30.11Metanomics Monday: Masterclass on Culture, Anthropology and the Meaning of LifeOK, so not much ground to cover on tomorrow's Metanomics when I host Tom Boellstorff, noted anthropologist and author of the seminal work Coming of Age in Second Life. The discussion lifts off of my previous post on the future of Second Life to which Tom graciously responded in the comments. In follow-up chats with Tom, we toyed with a show focused on the merger of the Teen and Main Grids. We thought we might discuss how our journey as avatars in a virtual world isn't unlike our journey as humans - from "noob" to "teen" to wiser and more mature (um, ...
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11.21.10Metanomics on Monday: Masterclass on Game DevelopmentGames aren't just for kids. Whether in school or at the office, an effective game can help motivate, train or educate. Game mechanics - the "rules" and technologies that support a game experience, can be used to support social networking, competition, and personal achievement. And games are increasingly being used to reach out and engage with customers. During this Masterclass on Game Development, I'll host as we go behind the scenes with a panel of guests and look at how games are developed. What IS a game, exactly? How do you develop the rules, stages and rewards in order to make a ...
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10.16.10Metanomics Monday: Virtual Goods – Acquisitions, Implications and OpportunitiesThe virtual goods industry has broken out of games and Silicon Valley and increasingly has the interest of mainstream companies and Wall Street. Michael Bobroff, who cut his teeth on the emerging markets in Russia in the 90s has brought his talents to assessing the virtual goods industry, and will be discussing his take with Robert Bloomfield on Metanomics this coming Monday. I'm particularly interested in his opinion that the virtual goods industry is ready for larger companies to get a foothold into the market through acquisitions. It's worth noting the day - Metanomics has moved to Mondays, although we made an ...
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10.06.10Geeky Goodness: The Sexy Crazy World of Research AccountingOn the most recent episode of Metanomics I interviewed none other than Robert Bloomfield himself for an in-depth discussion of economic theory, virtual economies and why people sometimes make stupid economic decisions. (OK, I'm not sure we actually talked about that, but if you listen hard enough I'm sure you'll hear it). In the very last minute of the show, news filtered in about the raise in prices for non-profits and educational users of Second Life and we briefly touched on it. As a side note, this is a "like clockwork" thing for Metanomics - invariably in the middle of a ...
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09.25.10On the Road with Metanomics: North Carolina, October 4thMetanomics is hitting the road this year with a series of local meet-ups timed to show days. Our first live meet-up will be held at Research Triangle Park in North Carolina on October 4th, 3:00 - 5:00 p.m. We'll watch and participate in a Metanomics broadcast followed by discussion and networking. For those of you who don't know the show, Metanomics broadcasts weekly and is filmed in the virtual world of Second Life in front of a studio audience. Metanomics provides insight into the changes in governance, economics, policy, enterprise, education and the nature of work facilitated by newer technologies. Guests ...
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09.25.10Metanomics Mmmmmondays: Virtual Worlds and Real-World EconomiesYes, virtual worlds have real economies too! But when Metanomics starts-up on October 4th, I'll be a special guest host interviewing none other than Robert Bloomfield himself. Our focus will be on how virtual worlds can be used to understand real-world economies. (Any comments about Madoff or pyramid schemes will be deleted - *glances at C3*). Metanomics is returning to its roots. The show started over 100 episodes ago on Mondays, back when there was still lag in Second Life, group chat didn't always work, and voice still broke down (actually, I don't think there WAS voice, so it was permanently ...
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07.08.10Metanomics Commentary: Courage to CreateWe just wrapped three episodes of the Metanomics Master Class - and I have to say, it was a really exciting series for me. First, I learned a lot, but it was also encouraging to talk with people who remain as enthusiastic as ever about the potential of virtual worlds (and Second Life). I'll have more thoughts in the coming days. In the meantime, I thought I'd post my closing commentary from yesterday's show: Last week, Alexander Macris, in talking about games, said that the challenge in creating great immersive games and stories is to remove the distance between the player and ...
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06.07.10Metanomics Mixed Reality Event: New Market DynamicsAvatars for sale, gold-farming in WoW (World of Warcraft), purchase of virtual islands, leasing of towns, recruiting avatar employees, VW (virtual world) stock exchanges and banks, exchanging WoW gold to USD – it’s just some of the new designations for commercial agencies and business which have emerged in the wake of the development of virtual worlds. But what are the characteristics of these emerging economies? A reminder that these and other topics will be explored tomorrow on a special mixed reality Metanomics tomorrow, Tuesday June 8th at 11:00 am PST/SLT. This event, hosted by Robert Bloomfield, will comprise a panel discussion between Robin ...
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05.29.10Metanomics Masterclass: Inside Virtual WorldsHmmm. I forget how to blog. I haven't had much time the past few weeks. Er, actually, I forget how to get all 'meta' or whatever it is people say I do. So let me throw some spam your way. Er, useful promotion and information. Metanomics Summer Season The summer season of Metanomics will kick off in a few weeks and I'll be jumping in to do some hosting as we take a look at some of the nuts and bolts of virtual world development. Which doesn't mean, of course, that I won't also go off on a tangent about the psychosocial meaning ...
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