Kzero

New movies and avatar interaction

There's a couple of new movies on the scene with interesting concepts relating to avatars. The first is Gamer, based on a futuristic game show allowing people to control others. The second is Surrogates, where humans live in isolation and remotely control robot versions of themselves. It's not a rosey ...

Proving the Point (Cloud mapping with Earthmine)

An interesting video of 'Stereo' image capture and point-cloud mapping from Earthmine. Looking it this another way, it's an alternative solution for Mirror Worlds.

Mobile AR GPS system

The type of demo shown in the video below from Occipital is a great early example of augmented reality without markers. Kinda makes you start to think that hardware will become less and less important in the not so distant future.

Hands free with Natal

Another E3 demo worth checking it is Project Natal for the XBox. It's a controller-free gaming interface. What's really important here is the fact that brand-new categories and genres of games are on the horizon. Here's a selection of videos showcasing Natal. So much for gamers (that's all of us) turning ...

USPS AR box ap

OK, it's marker-based but the concept works. This is a shipping box sizer app for USPS. (Cheesy one-liner about thinking inside the box).

Franktown Votes!

Music-based VW Franktown Rocks recently conducted some light polling into their user base. Voting took place in a dedicated room, which turned out to be rather popular apparently. Here's some of the results...

We are ARtobots

Well, actually Autobots. This is a nice tactical app from Total Immersion using facial recognition to augment Optimus Prime onto your head. It doesn't work with cats - we tried it. The video is below and the link to try it yourself is here.

Project Milo

'Milo' is a concept from Lionhead Studios, a UK-based game developer. The application (if that's the right word) was recently demo'd at E3.

Mobile is Dead (and it has to be brought back to life)

Robert Rice tells it how it is for augmented reality - his presentation from Mobile Monday in Amsterdam.

User analysis for Football Superstars

Football Superstars now has 336,000 total registered accounts. Here's some analysis of those users. Firstly the country breakdown. It's not surprising that the UK is top (I vaguely remember that we invented the game) with 49%. Brazil didn't invent football but they're rather good at it AND the Brazilians LOVE virtual worlds ...

Augmented Reality video round-up

Star Trek Cards Markerless Feature Tracking K'Nex Avatar control

“We’re targeting girls and boys aged 3 - 14″

Oh really? You think? We get a stack of business cases every week at KZero for new virtual worlds. Obviously a critical element of any plan is the target market, so here's some actual extracts from some recent business cases: 'Targeting boys aged 5 to 12' 'Targeting boys aged 6 to 15' Targeting girls ...

A record month for KZero

April is shaping up to be a record sales month for us, already beating our previous best months for new client wins (and we're not even half way through the month yet) We don't just produce pretty-looking graphs you know.... Our published client list only tells half the KZero story to ...

Market sizing and addressable markets (Asia)

The third (of three) posts in this series showing the addressable markets for virtual world owners, this time showing Asia (here's Europe and the Americas). The interesting thing with some of the Asia countries is the difference between the overall population and the internet penetration rate. This is best demonstrated with ...

Market sizing and addressable markets (North/South America)

So, the second of three posts laying out some metrics for the addressable market of internet users available to companies with virtual worlds (Europe is here). Starting with the five to nine year old segment (shown right). To be clear, please don't expect any surprises here - these posts are intended ...

Market sizing and addressable markets (Europe)

I'll be writing a post later this week about the importance of target market analysis and criteria for companies developing new virtual worlds. This post (and two subsequent ones) will serve as data-points and reference. As the number of virtual worlds increases and new worlds are launched outside of North American ...

Kids, tweens & teens in virtual worlds: Updated

We've just updated our most popular case study - Kids, tweens and teens in virtual worlds. This case study now has insights and assessments of over 50 virtual worlds, as well as strategies for marketers wishing to enter the space. You can order the free case study here.

When augmented reality and virtual worlds collide…

...this happens World Builder from Bruce Branit on Vimeo. Props to Bruce Branit

Virtual world logos - updated

Just a little update on the range of virtual world logos.

Toyota levels-up (from VW’s) to AR

I like Toyota. They've done Second Life and also battled in WoW. Now it's augmented reality.

AR video round-up

A nice collection of videos from Microsoft showing their views on the future of technology in 2019, which is basically centred around augmented reality (but you ain't getting this with markers ;) ). General overview Banking Retail (but no reference to diminishing contextualisation) Manufacturing Healthcare

Share of market analysis

Slicing and dicing the Universe chart on a total registered account basis throws out some interesting datapoints. The charts below, by age segment show the heavy hitters in the virtual worlds space as well as the challenges facing start-ups in the space. With 40m total accounts in Q1 2009, Poptropica accounts ...

Updated Radar chart for Q1 2009

This is the chart and segments showing virtual worlds by category. As usual, email us for high-res or master versions. Sports, Media and Content Creation Music, Fashion/lifestyle and Education Toy/games, Fantasty and Mirror Worlds Chat, Casual gaming and Misc

Updated KZero Universe chart for Q1 2009

The Q1 2009 Universe chart has been updated. Lots more VW's catering to younger kids and also an emerging trend for more worlds targeting slightly older markets. Expect this to be a continuing trend. The full set of charts can be seen here. Email us if you'd like high-res versions. These ...

Augmented reality video round-up

Coca-Cola - Avatar (Sneak Peek) | Super Bowl Ads | SPIKE.com

Where in the world is everyone?

Just a little map showing the head office locations of companies operating virtual worlds. Here's the direct link for the map URL.

Trend watch: Virtual world search terms

We've taken a look at this before - search terms landing on the K Zero website. Here's some interesting searches from Jan.... opposite of interoperability adult virtual worlds second life demographics virtual worlds for 11 year olds second life interesting places second life makeup all tween virtual worlds augmented reality future there Vs second life adult habbo hotel virtual world ...

DM News covers L’Oreal Paris campaign

It's been over for a few months now but interest in the campaign we created for L'Oreal Paris in Second Life continues. DM News is running a feature on the approach we took. Full article here.

Puma in Football Superstars: Virtual store and goods

Football Superstars is now live and doing rather well with over 250k registered users already (more about this over on VWN's). Puma is one of the lead brands in-world at the moment (with Reebok) and is deploying a virtual goods strategy. Here's some imagery from the campaign.

Ancient virtual worlds

Well, not all ancient, but certainly historic. As a follow-up to this post about the potential for mirror worlds to re-create times gone by, here's some machinima showing early demonstrations of this concept. The Forbidden City IBM project: Slightly different this time, the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World: a Virtual Satellite ...

Are Mirror Worlds the answer for greater VW adoption?

We all know that virtual worlds catering to KT&T segments are hot property right now - lot's of worlds already launched and plenty in development. That's all well and good but I've been thinking a lot about us grown-ups and the opportunities and factors influencing greater take-up in the adults space. To be ...

The importance of branding in a recession (for KT&T VW’s)

How is the global recession going to impact virtual worlds in the kids, tween and teen virtual world sectors? A question in the minds of dozens of management teams of these worlds. One early and obvious casualty from these economic times is a reduction in marketing budgets from advertisers. Marketers are being forced to ...

100 Rules of Second Life

This made me smile. Prad Prathivi over on the Metaversally Speaking blog has a list of 100 Rules of Second Life. Here's the first 50 and second 50. Arguably NSFW. My favourites: 2. If her breasts are bigger than your head, she’s a man in RL. 17. Yes and No are perfectly acceptable ...

Opportunities and growth in the educational sector

We get asked a lot to offer our thoughts on growth areas in the virtual worlds space. This presentation, delivered at the London VW Expo from the end of last year outlines at a high level where we see this growth coming from. Specifically for the educational sector, I've just done ...

Predictions for 2009: Real world brands

The success of real world brands such as Mattel, Buildabearville and Disney creating virtual worlds coupled with pending launches from Lego and others confirms our believe in high growth potential for this category. Here's a link to a press release from Mattel specifically about their digital plans in 2009. Companies with ...

The Mattel Digital Network

Mattel announced today at the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) Kids@Play Summit that it will be transforming the company’s online strategy from brand Web site platform to interactive programming and content provider. The aggressive initiative is called the Mattel Digital Network, a new online destination for kids and families that ...

Predictions for 2009: Education and Personal Development

The majority of new virtual world launches in 2008 have been in the casual gaming space. We anticipate an emerging sub-sector in this demographic segment in 2009 for worlds based around education and development. Although a common view shared when considering educational spaces is that kids/tweens are unwilling to participate/engage with ...

Franktown Rocks with 100k beta accounts

Music-themed virtual world Franktown Rocks (incidentally my kids favourite virtual world) has come out of beta with 100k registered accounts. Here's the press release: Nashville-based Brainwave Studios has announced a successful completion of the beta phase for their music-based virtual world for kids: Franktown Rocks (franktownrocks.com). According ...

European Funding & Investment Summit for virtual worlds

I'll be in London this Friday (5th Dec) at the European Funding & Investment Summit for virtual worlds. Here's a link to the registration site if you're interested in attending and here's the session run-down. 1.30 - 2pm: Data and Trends. Focus on the Growth and Opportunity in Casual Online Games, MMOs ...

November marketing news

Come on in. Digital Dollhouse opens the door to a brand-new ‘old’ type of fun. Offering a brand new world of fun, charm and creativity, Digital Dollhouse will open its doors today. Aimed at girls of all ages, Digital Dollhouse is an online ‘Playspace’ enabling children to combine the ...

GAX’s “Working Worlds 3.0″ VWs Job Fair

Most subscribers to our K Zero blog, virtual worlds residents and professionals alike, will know something of the challenges facing agencies in implementing successful in-world campaigns for real world clients, even when brand and product line seem optimally suited. But further complexify such ordinary project demands by working from one of the most ...

Black holes in the VW universe

In the virtual worlds universe we see new planets created all the time, but not so many disappearing. Following this analogy, black holes (closed/closing VW's) are now shown in the K Zero universe chart. This week we saw Google Lively planning for closure and going back in time a little, Faketown ...

Clan shopping with Far Cry 2

Gaming isn't really a sector we cover here (although I'm a gamer, well, a COD nut), but every once and while something creative hits the inbox. Thanks for Frank Dellario from ILL Clan Animation Studios for tossing this one over. We need more of this a. advertising and b. creativity in the ...

Goodbye IMV2 aka Google Lively

So, Google Lively is closing down at the end of the year. Does it matter? Not really. Although many people spoke about 'validation' in the industry by Google entering the VW space, there was no fundamental strategy in place. And validation isn't really important because it's the kids using the other popular ...

Minority Report and little green monsters: Augmented reality video update

Via DVICE Via Offworld �

K Zero in The Guardian

The rise and rise of virtual worlds. From virtual cities to virtual conferences and football matches, online worlds are the way of the future. Nov 14, 2008. Full article here.

Looking back to look forward: 20 trends defining virtual worlds in 2007

Just over a year ago Techdigest did a great job of live-blogging the Virtual Worlds Forum event in London. They also came up with a list of 20 trends defining virtual worlds in 2007. Now then, a year is a long long time in the virtual worlds space so let's ...

Habbo Global Youth Survey - Tri-country analysis

So, the full Habbo report is here and shown below is comparative data for the UK, Spain and Germany. Bear in mind that this is not a 100% snapshot of the member bases but instead analysis derived from 58,500 survey respondents (however I will use the term 'users' when detailing the findings). First up ...

Running the numbers: Habbo Germany

...and following the UK and Spain, it's only right to include Germany in this mix. �

Running the numbers: Habbo Spain

Following on from this post showing the Global Habbo Youth Survey for UK members, below is Spain. Some interesting nuances are coming out. And on a related note, here's some insight into Spanish Second Life residents from last year.

Socnet data

It's all about networking right! Here's some of my socnet data: LinkedIn Twitter Slideshare Flickr

Metanomics show video

Here's the link to the Metanomics show (Unpredictable Spaces) from earlier this week. �

Running the numbers: Habbo UK

As part of the Global Habbo Youth Survey, 58,500 teenagers between the ages of 11 and 18 from 31 countries were questioned in terms of their profiles and usage patterns. The research examines the interests, values, attitudes and media habits. These reports are compiled into a report that helps build ...

IMVU goes musical

Not content with having the worlds largest set of virtual items, IMVU has decided to up the ante and introduce a social music aspect to their virtual world. I've been a big fan of IMVU (and their business model) for quite a while and encouragingly the company is introducing this new ...

Appearing on Metanomics (Unpredictable Spaces) today

I'll be appearing on my second Metanomics show today (12pm PST/SLT, 8pm GMT). The show is featuring Jon Himoff from Rezzable Productions. We used the Greenies Kitchen as part of the L'Oreal campaign and I'll be on the show to offer my thoughts on brand placement in Second Life. More ...

Revolution Magazine features K Zero

The November edition of Revolution Magazine carries a three page article this month on marketing in virtual worlds. Part of the Masterclass series, I'm one of the panel along with Ian Hughes (IBM / Eightbar) and Alistair Williams (Habbo UK). Hughes: "I began with a private island in April 2006 and ...

Digital Dollhouse media pack now available

For brands and organisations interested in developing revenue streams and brand marketing campaigns from virtual goods, K Zero has developed a media pack explaining the benefits of Digital Dollhouse. The media pack explains the rationale and benefits for brands to develop a virtual goods strategy and is particularly suited to companies ...

Come on in. Digital Dollhouse opens the door to a brand-new ‘old’ type of fun.

Offering a brand new world of fun, charm and creativity, Digital Dollhouse will open its doors today. Aimed at girls of all ages, Digital Dollhouse is an online ‘Playspace’ enabling children to combine the traditional dollhouse play with the latest technologies associated with immersive communities and creativity. Based in Los Angeles, Digital ...

VW’s by sector - Radar updated

The Radar chart showing live and in-dev VW's by sector has been updated for Q4. Like the Universe chart, the Radar now has a permanent home, here. Here's the segment showing chat, casual gaming and misc virtual worlds.

Mycosm beta screenshots

Here's some screenshots from Mycosm for anyone who didn't see the demo's in LA and London recently. �

October marketing news

Published a little early but I'm traveling for the next two weeks. Introducing the Myrl Index: Since entering open beta about a month ago, Myrl is going from strength to strength, now with 19 different virtual worlds integrated. Part of the product roadmap here is to include registration API’s for all worlds within the Myrl ...

Flashback - the Second Life brand map

Remember the days when brands were rushing into Second Life? Seems like a very long time ago.......and of course, we tracked it.

Augmented reality video round-up

Frosties with added calcium and adverts The hair is inside the hat Books brought to life The sequel

Mobile devices: the red herring or the diamond in the rough?

Using mobile devices to access virtual worlds pops up every now and again on the radar. For example companies like Vollee and Sun have developed applications allowing Second Life on a phone. That's all well and good but.... I'm just not sold on this idea and just because you can doesn't ...

Growth areas in 2009 for virtual worlds: 25+

Rounding off this series of expanding on the points from the VW London presentation, here's the potential growth areas in the 25+ age group. Mirror worlds as time machines There is in my opinion a catch 22 with mirror worlds - the more realistic they become (visually) the less impact they have. ...

Virtual worlds logo’s

After a long week of presenting, discussing and predicting, on a much lighter note, here are the logo's for a range of virtual worlds. Services for Virtual World companies.

Growth areas in 2009 for virtual worlds: 15 to 25

The 15 to 25 year old segment is nowhere near as hectic as the 5 to 15 space in terms of virtual worlds but nevertheless contains companies with impressive user numbers - IMVU and Gaia being great examples. This segment also has some high value characteristics, such as: Higher and more ...

Growth areas in 2009 for virtual worlds: 5 to 15

Following the Virtual Worlds London Expo earlier this week, as promised I'm going into greater detail in terms of offering my thoughts on growth areas. This post covers virtual worlds with average age ranges between 5 and 15 years old. The actual presentation delivered can be seen here. Also, the K ...

Presentation from Virtual Worlds London

Fresh from the stage, here's the presentation I've just delivered in the Numbers and Growth panel from Virtual Worlds London. I'll be expanding on all of these points (for age-segmented growth areas and market issues) in posts this week. Update: growth areas for 5 to 15 VW's London, K Zero View SlideShare presentation ...

Avatart

Sticking with the Italian theme, the Museum of Natural History at the University of Florence is running a Festival of Creativity from Oct 21 - Jan 7. What's interesting here is that part of this festival is focussing on art created in, or using imagery from virtual worlds for their Virtual ...

Cross-world gaming explained

K Zero client Myrl has a plan - to create a cross-world gaming platform enabling multiple VW's, avatars, mobile devices and even brands to come together to create the next phase of metaverse entertainment. The schematic shown is a nifty overview created by Francesco D'Orazio explaining how cross-world gaming will work using the ...

Panels at VW London next week

I'll be on three panels next week at Virtual Worlds London. 1. Trends and Numbers - Where Is It All Going? This session lays the groundwork giving you the numbers you need to understand how to take advantage of Virtual Worlds today. We'll also look at forecasts for where Virtual Worlds are ...

Forbes says: A ‘Virtual’ Escape From Economic Pain

'The Dow plummeted below 9,000 points to a five-year low Thursday. Worldwide, economies are slowing and consumers are worried sick about their future. Despite all the doom and gloom, one tiny sector is offering a glimmer of hope: virtual worlds', says Forbes in a recent article. This ties back to the Cinema ...

The FT says: Virtual goods networks could rival ads

Nice little article from the FT about how virtual goods revenues could offset online advertising. My view is that it isn't about offsetting revenues in turbulent times - virtual goods will in time be a dominant income stream for brands and companies regardless of the economic situation. A view shared I'm sure ...

Kzero

New movies and avatar interaction

Proving the Point (Cloud mapping with Earthmine)

Mobile AR GPS system

Hands free with Natal

USPS AR box ap

Franktown Votes!

We are ARtobots

Project Milo

Mobile is Dead (and it has to be brought back to life)

User analysis for Football Superstars

Augmented Reality video round-up

“We’re targeting girls and boys aged 3 - 14″

A record month for KZero

Market sizing and addressable markets (Asia)

Market sizing and addressable markets (North/South America)

Market sizing and addressable markets (Europe)

Kids, tweens & teens in virtual worlds: Updated

When augmented reality and virtual worlds collide…

Virtual world logos - updated

Toyota levels-up (from VW’s) to AR

AR video round-up

Share of market analysis

Updated Radar chart for Q1 2009

Updated KZero Universe chart for Q1 2009

More AR videos

Augmented reality video round-up

Where in the world is everyone?

Trend watch: Virtual world search terms

DM News covers L’Oreal Paris campaign

Puma in Football Superstars: Virtual store and goods

Ancient virtual worlds

Are Mirror Worlds the answer for greater VW adoption?

The importance of branding in a recession (for KT&T VW’s)

100 Rules of Second Life

Opportunities and growth in the educational sector

Predictions for 2009: Real world brands

The Mattel Digital Network

Predictions for 2009: Education and Personal Development

Franktown Rocks with 100k beta accounts

European Funding & Investment Summit for virtual worlds

November marketing news

GAX’s “Working Worlds 3.0″ VWs Job Fair

Black holes in the VW universe

Clan shopping with Far Cry 2

Goodbye IMV2 aka Google Lively

Minority Report and little green monsters: Augmented reality video update

K Zero in The Guardian

Looking back to look forward: 20 trends defining virtual worlds in 2007

Habbo Global Youth Survey - Tri-country analysis

Running the numbers: Habbo Germany

Running the numbers: Habbo Spain

Socnet data

Metanomics show video

Running the numbers: Habbo UK

IMVU goes musical

Appearing on Metanomics (Unpredictable Spaces) today

Revolution Magazine features K Zero

Digital Dollhouse media pack now available

Come on in. Digital Dollhouse opens the door to a brand-new ‘old’ type of fun.

VW’s by sector - Radar updated

Mycosm beta screenshots

October marketing news

Flashback - the Second Life brand map

Augmented reality video round-up

Mobile devices: the red herring or the diamond in the rough?

Growth areas in 2009 for virtual worlds: 25+

Virtual worlds logo’s

Growth areas in 2009 for virtual worlds: 15 to 25

Growth areas in 2009 for virtual worlds: 5 to 15

Presentation from Virtual Worlds London

Avatart

Cross-world gaming explained

Panels at VW London next week

Forbes says: A ‘Virtual’ Escape From Economic Pain

The FT says: Virtual goods networks could rival ads