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Category
Deep Thoughts
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09.08.08OpenSim Developers: They Don’t BiteThe open source community says that standards arise first from code. Without the code driving things, there are no policies, standards, identity systems, content protection, or ability to tag and flag grids for their level of privacy or whether they're G or X-rated or any of that stuff - it all starts from bytes, baby, and what brilliant little bytes they are. OK, so some context, because the geeks had their own table at the recent Virtual World conference in LA. Two tables in fact - one a booth in the exhibit hall, and the second a panel discussion ...
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09.07.08Virtual Goods Worthless? Now wait a minute…Cyndy Aleo-Carreira, a contributor to the Industry Standard, writes a pretty spot-on refutation of her colleague Jordan Golson's claim that the volume of virtual goods sold on Facebook and its ilk will not be a serious contender to advertising revenue. Aleo-Carreira cites the example of Electronic Arts, who gave up the battle against the pirating of its FIFA soccer game in South Korea and chose to give it away online for free. Rather than making EA's bottom line suffer, this hurt the pirateers tenfold, and the company started to sell online customizations like outfits and enhancements starting at $1.60 a ...
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09.06.08It’s a Webby Virtuality: Future of Browser-Based WorldsHow should the Web and virtual worlds interoperate? What's the role of Flash-based efforts? Mitch Olson of SmallWorlds, Keith McCurdy of Vivaty, Daniel James of Three Rings (makers of Puzzle Pirates), Sean Ryan of Meez were led through a discussion of the integration of the Web and virtual worlds by Giff Constable of ESC at this week's virtual world conference. The panel kicked off by discussing the difference between 2.5D and 3D, noting the range of implementation within 2.5D. The motivation for launching a 2.5D game is primarily driven on the lack of friction between the user and experience. Plug-ins, installs, ...
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09.04.08Metaplace and Second Life Head-to-Head: The Future of Virtual WorldsAt a panel on the future at the Virtual Worlds conference in Los Angeles, Raph Koster joined Ginsu Yoon, VP of Business Affairs at Linden Lab. Oh, and Corey Briges of Multiverse who spoke that venture capital "spaces" talk that seems to go on and on without a real point other than to get another product plug in, and Michael Wilson of Makena Technologies who made the compelling point that virtual world companies should stop reinventing the wheel and look to the wider Web for solutions to things like social networking and security and stuff. But the perspectives of Raph and ...
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09.01.08Second Life and the User Interface: Toward Strategic ValueThe Second Life viewer could be a source of deep strategic value for Linden Lab, but like many of their tentative and opaque attempts at open source, community management and involvement, and Grid improvements it's instead a floundering off-shoot suffering from a lack of vision and direction. Now, I come at this from a bias: I've spent more time thinking about the User Interface for Second Life and OpenSim than most people - and I've long held the opinion that although there's friction created through the user interface there are far more challenging things that cause attrition in the first hour ...
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08.31.08Second Life Will Never Save the World, or Even Mobilize ItThe virtual world that will contribute to significant social change hasn't come along yet, according to Ben Rigby in an interview with tweedy Web 2.0 prof and raving ACA-Fan Henry Jenkins. Rigby, whose new book, Mobilizing Generation 2.0, tries to parse Web 2.0 tools like blogs, social networking sites, youTube and the lot as a mobilizing force for social change - or maybe, as we're seeing today, to try to get someone elected President. But when it comes to virtual worlds, they suffer from too much Snow Crash and not enough vision. He does give Second Life, the leading virtual world, ...
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08.19.08Journalism in Virtual Worlds: University of Syndey Student, 4th Estate, 2nd LifeThe Metaverse Journal highlights the work of Annabelle Boyd Jones at the University of Sydney, who is researching the role of journalism and governance in Second Life. Blogging her progress, I was intrigued (or maybe bemused?) to note her comments on the issues of studying virtual world governance because of the seeming contradiction between, well, totalitarianism and participatory democracy. She notes: "Firstly, the situation resembles (Note resembles, not is!) a totalitarian government, whereby all aspects of the ‘contituents’ lives are effectively controlled by the government, they hold absolute power over their society and can rule without any real mandate or permission ...
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08.17.08Kids on the Grid? Card ‘em. Governance, Trust and Identity in Virtual Worlds"I will not abuse report residents solely based on them saying they’re less than 18 years old, as long as I can not prove this to be true." Blog post. Who Runs Virtual Worlds I was mulling over the issue of who makes decisions: who decides how content is copied or not, how perms are managed, how virtual worlds are governed. I was trying to sidestep the issues of Creative Commons and m/c/t for now, it's not the kind of thing for a Sunday. Then, I ran across this post about abuse reporting, and it put me in mind of a discussion led off ...
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08.15.08The Avatar AfterlifeThe Long Now Foundation posts speculation that our avatars will soon be programmed with our online preferences, leading to an afterlife for our digital personas: The software used to track the online behavior of users, within in particular system (virtual worlds or social networks) could be modified to track the entirety of their online behavior, over a longer space of time – say thirty years. At the end of this period the data could be used to program an avatar. This avatar would inhabit a virtual world or worlds and be programmed with all the users personal data, preferences and potential ...
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08.08.08In Love with ChaosBy way of Adam Crowe, I just couldn't help lifting this abbreviated version, because, well, I felt like it: Do I really look like a man with a plan, Harvey? I don’t have a plan. The mob has plans, the cops have plans. You know what I am, Harvey? I’m a dog chasing cars. I wouldn’t know what to do with one if I caught one. I just DO things. I’m a wrench in the gears.... Introduce a little anarchy, you upset the established order, and everything becomes chaos. I AM AN AGENT OF ...
recent posts
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