Business in Virtual Worlds, Deep Thoughts, Virtual World Platforms

Wall Street Confirms: Real Life Will Never Be The Same

Over on the op-ed pages of the Wall Street Journal, attorney and author Benjamin Duranske writes a quick summation and opinion piece on how the 3D Internet - virtual worlds (VWs) and 3D models - is quickly taking hold in day-to-day life, and will soon change the nature of human communications.

Duranske opens his piece describing the recent “Ponzi scheme” that occurred in Second Life, which was followed by Linden Lab’s banking ban, and how, despite the fact that people lost real money, there was no legal recourse for those who had been scammed.

This is a small tipping point for Duranske, as he then outlines how virtual worlds are seeping into mainstream consciousness, reviewing all of the big players who’ve gotten their feet wet in VWs. He cites the fact that, despite a slumping economy, $345 million was poured into VW startups in the first half of 2008 alone. Gartner Research predicts that 80% of all Internet users will have a virtual presence by 2011. Bandwidth speeds are increasing, DSL penetration is growing, and the allure of 3D models for advertisers and corporations is an easy fit, he writes.

Duranske’s facts lead, logically, to this conclusion:

If current trends hold, the Internet will evolve into a 3D space, and virtual worlds will become an integral part of human communication. Real life will never be the same.

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