Metanomics - Business and Policy in the Metaverse - Virtual Worlds are Serious Business

Setting the Stage: In Conversation with Mark Kingdon, CEO, Linden Lab

Dusan Writer — Fri, 01 May 2009 11:54:45 -0700

Start: May 6 2009 - 1:00pm

End: May 6 2009 - 2:00pm

NEW DAY - NEW TIME! Wednesday May 6, 1pm-2pm SL (PDT)

Closing in on one year with Linden Lab, Mark Kingdon has seen first-hand how an engaged and creative community creates rich opportunities for education, content development, architecture, exploration, enterprise, training and many other uses! But supporting an active community presents challenges and opportunities. We’ll discuss with Mark the lessons he has learned in his first year with Linden Lab, his assessment of Second Life’s economy and user base, and plans for the future.

This is a fitting start to a new season of Metanomics at its new home. Our conversation with Mark will be an ideal opportunity to take stock of where we are and where we’re going. Mark will discuss his plans for ensuring that Linden Lab remains one of the leaders in the virtual world industry, how recently announced changes (such as flagging of adult-oriented content) will impact current users, and what new features and enhancements we can look forward to in the months to come.

Spotlight Segment
The show will kick off with a Spotlight section hosted by Tony O’Driscoll who will report on the collaborative and educational uses of virtual worlds. Tony was recently the chair of the 3DTLC conference and will provide insight into trends and opportunities from the conference and elsewhere.

Research Methods: Virtual Worlds and Culture

Lynn Cullens — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 14:07:03 -0700

Start: Mar 30 2009 - 11:00am

End: Mar 30 2009 - 12:00pm

METANOMICS EVENT
11am SLT, Monday, March 30, 2009
Remedy Auditorum http://slurl.com/secondlife/Remedy/250/80/22

After a great Metanomics on March 2 with cultural anthropologists Tom Boellstorff and Celia Pearce, Metanomics host Robert Bloomfield closed with some remarks about the opportunities for experimental research to test anthropological theory using virtual worlds as a laboratory. The 20-odd comments on Dusan Writer’s post after the show suggest that there is a lot more to talk about. And talk about it we will — Tom Boellstorff, Celia Pearce and Robert Bloomfield will have a panel discussion on the following topic:

What can qualitative and experimental methods tell us about virtual worlds and culture?

The panelists will be joined by another anthropologist, Thomas Malaby Thomas Malaby of UW-Milwaukee and active author on the academic blog Terra Nova. The panel will be moderated by Roland Legrand, author of MixedRealities.com, and editor from Belgian news outlet MediaFin.

This event is a community forum and will not be broadcast nor simulcast to event partners. Forum will take place at the Remedy Auditorium

Taking on TV

Lynn Cullens — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 09:52:47 -0700

Wiz Nordberg, CEO of slcn.tv and Treet.TV, has big plans: “I would rather have 1000 programs with 100,000 viewers each than ten programs with ten million viewers.” Join host Robert Bloomfield for a wide-ranging exploration of the past and future of virtual world broadcasting. Kevin Alderman kicks off the show with an inside view of what Linden Lab’s new policies on adult content mean for Second Life’s thriving adult entertainment industry.

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Background Reading and Videos

Guest Biographies

Wiz Nordberg, CEO of SLCN TV. SLCN currently broadcasts X shows every week, with programming that is a lot more traditional than you might think. Metanomics is, of course, a standard public television-style talk show, while Tonight Live is more of a late-night style talk show. There are a number of sports programs, as well as fashion and home decorating.

Music Biz

Lynn Cullens — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 20:08:13 -0700

Noon Pacific, Monday, March 16

Metanomics looks at the business of music in Second Life™ with the Blarney Stone's Ham Rambler, JenzZa Misfit of Muse Isle Connection, DJ Doubledown Tandino, and musicians Grace McDunnough, Cylindrian Rutabaga, and Dann Numbers. On the Spot, Dizzy Banjo helps us place the conversation within the larger context of virtual world soundscapes.

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Upcoming Music Events from Our Guests

This week, a new CD release by Dann Numbers: paradiso lluvioso
Every Monday, 5 to 8 pm Pacific, Muse Isle Connection's Rock the Arena.
This week, Dann Numbers CD Release Party!
Teleport
Every Thursday, 8 to 10 am Pacific, Nu Deep Jazzy World Beat Music
with DJ Doubledown Tandino, "The RENDEZVOUS" at Muse Isle
Teleport or Listen.
Thursday, March 19, 5 to 11 pm Pacific, St Patrick’s Festival SXSW Six Hour Simulcast
Teleport
Sunday, March 21, 4 to 5 am Pacific Dann Numbers at the Lost Continent.
Teleport

Background Reading and Videos

Guest Biographies

Robert Thomas / Dizzy Banjo is a composer best known for his work on virtual world soundtracks, virtual installation art and video game soundtracks. In 2007 he created the first large scale bespoke virtual world soundtrack, for the virtual presence Mexico in Second Life - a project which was continued and expanded in 2008 over 3 sims. He also recently provided the soundtrack to Cocos Island, a 2 sim virtual tourism project commissioned by the Costa Rica tourist board. He has also created a number of soundtracks for Princeton University projects, and is currently creating a large scale interactive musical exhibit for them. Other metaversal clients include Millions of Us, Museum of Robots, Clever Zebra, Intersection Unlimited, and Scope Cleaver Design Associates.

Aside from his more conventional media composition work, Robert's work often explores experimental non linear soundtrack methods and some of his projects have pioneered new ways of tracking group behaviour in virtual worlds and creating musical soundtracks from them - including unusual uses of VOIP software and mouse gestures. In January 2008 he created PARSEC, along with designer Eshi Otawara and scripter Chase Marellan. This project created an interactive soundtrack derived from the voice conversation between a group of avatars and has since been studied by staff from MIT Media Lab, University of South California, discussed at the Metaverse U conference in Stanford University and the IGDA NY Virtual Worlds conference and cited in a forthcoming paper by Beth Coleman of MIT Media Lab.

Prior to and in parallel to working in the field of virtual worlds, Robert has also worked creating music for video games. He is currently working on a number of Wii title's with UK games developer Curve Studios. He also worked in music for advertising, radio, audiobooks and sound art installation projects. His clients in these fields include : Revlon, Czech national radio, Red Silk Arts and HRH Queen of England / Jersey Heritage Trust.

John Mahon is a professional Airline Pilot and company director who found Second Life in 2005 and was enthralled by the Social Networking and Community possibilities. His Second Life avatar, Ham Rambler, first became involved in Music in Second Life when he opened the Blarney Stone bar in 2005. When he opened Dublin a year later, he celebrated the opening with a 12 hour Live Music festival. Rambler now has seven music venues in Dublin, spread over three sims.

JenzZa Misfit is a fulltime entrepreneur in Second Life™. As co-owner of RDV Animations with business partner Valradica Vale, she markets the popular RENDEZVOUS Animator and is the ‘avateer’ for the Metanomics host and guests. Her five-island Muse Isle Connection provides Dusan Writer’s Remedy Communications with a destination for enterprise users who want to understand the resident experience in Second Life. Muse Isle, the oldest island in the complex, is one of Second Life’s original live music venues and will celebrate it’s three year birthday in mid-April.

Over the course of the past three years, Doubledown Tandino has steadily shifted to a full-time Second Life performer and entrepreneur. Currently, he owns and operate the virtual world event and production company Ravelong Productions, specializing in music and promotion. The company is ready and willing to branch out into other virtual worlds, however, current projects exist only in Second Life, Web 2.0 Social Networking Websites, and real life.

Grace is an artist, musician and virtual world experience developer. Creator of Musimmersion, founder of the Mill Pond Folk Festival and regularly performing live musician in the virtual world of Second Life, Grace is dedicated embracing virtual worlds to combine the emotional response of audio and visual immersion to deliver unique experiences around the grid.

Dann Russo is a little alt, a little classic, a smidge country and all rock. He’s a singer-songwriter with radio-ready original songs and a live show so electric, you’ll be amazed it’s just acoustic. Dann has gotten fans, following and acclaim all over the US and the UK based on his nightly explosion of music on Second Life as Dann Numbers and was the inspiration for the character Theo Christmas in the Dial (Penguin/Putnam) release of "Models Don't Eat Chocolate Cookies" by Erin Dionne. A "soon to be phenomenon" (NorthEast In-Tune Magazine),

Cylindrian is the virtual representation of Atlanta Singer/Songwriter, Grace Buford, who has been writing songs and performing in Second Life and the regional Southeastern United States with her unique blend of folk, pop, blues, and soul wrapped up into the phrase of Modern Acoustic Folk. Grace’s desire is to emotionally reach and enrich people’s lives through her music around the world one listener at a time.

Ian Hughes

Lynn Cullens — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 20:07:13 -0700

A week after leaving IBM, self-professed “tribal leader” Ian Hughes resigned his position as IBM's official Metaverse Evangelist and launched Feeding Edge, a consultancy on emerging technology. Hughes was with IBM for 18 years, from green screens to the virtual life, and discusses his move from intrapreneur to entrepreneur, and how it might change the tribe. Find out why Ian thrives on “diversity of skills, coming up with ideas on the spot and good old fashioned teamwork for a common cause”.

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Background Reading and Videos

Feeding Edge
epredator
IBM Hursley
Eightbar
Feeding Edge Logo Deveopment
ThinkBalm on Coaches Centre
Virtual World News on Coaches Centre
Eightbar on Coaches Centre
3D Printing: FABJECTORY
3D Printing: SHAPEWAYS
3D Printing: Ian's Avatar
3D Printing: Eightbar 3D Printing Category
3D Printing: 3D Printing Gets Practical
MSNBC: IBM rules govern workers in virtual worlds
Mashup epredator and Ian
Ian Hughes CV

Guest Biographies

Ian Hughes spent 18 years with IBM, and specialized in cutting edge technologies, virtual worlds and Web 2.0 as IBM's official Metaverse Evangelist. He left IBM in February 2009 to found his own consulting firm, Feeding Edge. Hughes maintains a significant presence as epredator with a reputation across many platforms as a contributor in the web 2.0 world. Hughes has blogged at epredator blogspot and with a close-knit group of IBM'ers through the Eightbar blog. Ian has a "strong wish to bring about technology and social change to benefit everyone, releasing others' innovative and creative abilities for mutual benefit."

Av-Culturation

Lynn Cullens — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 09:17:24 -0700

From the exotic to the mundane, Metanomics explores avatar culture. Anthropologists Tom Boellstorff and Celia Pearce are developing new methods and theories about human relationships in virtual worlds. Learn how the traditional practice of ethnography is being adapted to the study of online immersive environments and how virtual worlds shape identities, economies, communities and societies.

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Read the Chatbridge transcript Part 1. Part 2. Part 3.
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Background Reading and Videos

E.B. Tylor's definition of culture.
Tom Boellstorff
American Anthropologist
Tom Boellstorff in the journal of Ethnography and Game StudiesA Ludicrous Discipline?
Tom Boellstorff's book The Gay Archipelago: Sexuality and Nation in Indonesia
Tom Boellstorff's book Coming of Age in Second Life: An Anthropologist Explores the Virtually Human
Dusan Writer interviews Tom Boellstorff
Dusan Writer on Narrow Walks in Wild Gardens
Stephan Helmreich's Silicon Second Nature
Foucault on Friendship
Anthony Giddens' Modernity and Self Identity
Celia Pearce at Georgia Tech
Experimental Game Lab
Emergent Game Group
Mermaids Project
Ludica
Virtual Cultures
IndieCade
Celia Pearce & Friends (Design & Consulting)
The Truth About Baby Boomer GamersA study of over-forty computer game players.
URU
Celia Pearce's book: The Interactive Book: A Guide to the Interactive Revolution
Celia Pearce's forthcoming book: Communities of Play: Emergent Cultures in Multiplayer Games and Virtual Worlds

Guest Biographies

Tom Boellstorff is Associate Professor (GRAPHIC: Boellstorff) in the Department of Anthropology at the University of California, Irvine, and Editor-in-Chief of American Anthropologist, the flagship journal of the American Anthropological Association. He received his Ph.D. from Stanford University in 2000. His research projects have focused on questions of sexuality, globalization, nationalism, HIV/AIDS, and cybersociality.

Since 1983, Celia Pearce has worked as an interactive media and game designer, artist, researcher and teacher. She is the author of The Interactive Book: A Guide to the Interactive Revolution (Macmillan, 1997). She was instrumental in forming the Interactive Media program in the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts, as well as game studies initiatives at the University of California, Irvine. She is a co-founder of the Ludica women’s game collective. She currently holds an appointment of Assistant Professor in the School of Literature, Communication & Culture, at the Georgia Institute of Technology where she directs the Emergent Game Group in the Experimental Game Lab.

Virtual Ability

Lynn Cullens — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 07:59:24 -0700

Monday, February 23, Noon to 1 PM Pacific Time

When you can be any avatar, why wear a wheelchair? As Gentle Heron, Alice Krueger has quietly helped a community of people with disabilities to take flight in Second Life. Imagine what it means to be visually or hearing-impaired within a virtual world interface, the challenge of typing with your toes, or using voice recognition software to soar across the sims. Virtual Ability, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit, conducts individualized skills assessments, helps people use specialized hardware and software, and provides customized training and orientation to the growing number of people with disabilities exploring Second Life. The community provides a safe haven as people with diverse needs explore new ways to connect via virtual worlds. Join host Robert Bloomfield and guest Alice Krueger, as we learn about what technology offers to provide accessibility to virtual worlds.

If you are on the front page, READ MORE for the full story and lots more links! VIDEO & TRANSCRIPT now posted!

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Read the Chatbridge transcript Part 1.
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Background Reading and Videos

Guest Biographies

Fayandria Foley is event chairman for Second Life's 2009 Relay For Life, the signature fundraising event for the American Cancer Society. Fayandria founded Second Life's Cancer Survivor and Caregiver groups. Fayandria is a five-year melanoma cancer survivor in March of 2009 and has participated in the Second Life Relay For Life for the past five years as a survivor, a team captain, team management planning committee chair, co-event chair, and event chair. Fayandria was the fundraising chair of pastoral counseling center for three years and is an active weekend manager of a Ronald McDonald House in Texas. Fayandria is employed in education.

Alice Krueger is president of Virtual Ability, Inc., a US non-profit corporation, and works part time from home for an education research firm as a technical writer and editor. As a woman with Multiple Sclerosis, she found it increasingly difficult to participate in her real life community. No longer able to leave home to work, volunteer, or socialize with friends, she turned to SL to fulfill these basic human needs. Ms. Krueger is the mother of three young adults with disabilities and has been a special education teacher. She has made several RL presentations, including to the Health 2.0 conference, in which she demonstrated the benefits of SL for people with various kinds of disabilities. She enjoys working with educators, academics, librarians, artists, and the heads of SL sailing clubs to provide services to people with disabilities in Second Life that can enrich and improve their real lives. Gentle Heron is Ms. Krueger’s SL avatar. Gentle can stand and walk without crutches.

Millions of Us

Lynn Cullens — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 11:41:30 -0700

Monday, February 16, Noon to 1 PM Pacific

Reuben Steiger, CEO of Millions of Us, is actively defining the role of Social-Media Agencies for marketing and branding. From celebrity wrestling in Gaia to the highly successful Upper East Side for "Gossip Girl" in Second Life®, Millions of Us is acquainting traditional media audiences with virtual worlds. Its affiliate, Virtual Greats is responsible for a growing portfolio of copyrighted intellectual property for use in virtual worlds. Metanomics queries Reuben Steiger about the emerging principles around social-media campaigns.

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Background Reading and Videos

Guest Biographies

Reuben Steiger is the CEO of Millions of Us, a company dedicated to helping businesses understand and harness the power of virtual worlds and online communities. Prior to founding Millions of Us, Steiger was the Evangelist for Linden Lab, creators of the 3-D virtual world Second Life. In that role, he was responsible for business development efforts and bringing the first wave of corporations and commercial developers into Second Life. Until 2002, he was Chief Development Officer at OVEN Digital, where he helped build that company into the world's largest privately-owned Internet consultancy with 11 offices and 350 employees worldwide. Steiger holds a BA in English Literature from Brown University and lives in Marin County with his wife and two young children.

Tangible Evidence

Lynn Cullens — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 15:52:33 -0700

We ponder the play between private and public worlds with CEO Robert Gehorsam, of Forterra Systems, which calls itself “the leader in providing private, virtual world technology for the corporate, healthcare, government and entertainment industries.” Their recent white paper captures cost-efficiency data for virtual worlds from case studies. Find out how Forterra’s OLIVE™ software platform has evolved since Gehorsam first appeared on Metanomics.

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Click the image below for more information on the Olive Environment

Or watch the Slide Show on Olive 2.2

View more presentations from Metanomics. (tags: 2l)

Background Reading and Videos

Forterra Systems, Inc.
About Robert Gehorsam
FORTERRA Corporate Overview
FORTERRA and Collaboration
WHITE PAPER Recipe for Success
OLIVE Brochure
Transportation Incident Management:
Using 3D Virtual Worlds to Train First Responders
SCORM

Guest Biographies

Robert Gehorsam has more than 20 years of management experience in the online games and entertainment world. In recent years, he has applied that experience to leveraging commercial game technology for national security applications. Robert has participated in several government studies on this subject and speaks frequently on the topic.

Before joining Forterra Systems he served as Senior Vice President, Programming and Production at Viacom's CBS Internet Group, where he was responsible for content, creative, production and operations for CBS.com, CBSnews.com and related wholly-owned CBS internet properties. Prior to joining Viacom, he was Senior Vice President for Programming and Production at Sony Online Entertainment (SOE). In addition to business planning for SOE, he was directly responsible for all operations, product acquisition and development, and technology for The Station@sony.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , one of the world's most popular game destinations on the Internet. He oversaw the creation of a robust, highly scalable game platform that supports millions of customers of dozens of online games including, Everquest, Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! Online.

From 1985-1992 Gehorsam founded and led Prodigy's games and educational divisions, launching the first large-scale subscription- based sports simulations and nearly two dozen other online titles. He held management positions at Scholastic Inc. and consulted on entertainment and broadband strategy to Microsoft, America Online, CNET, Ziff-Davis and Children's Television Workshop. Earlier in his career he was an editor at Simon & Schuster, where he helped found its Electronic Publishing Division and published some of the first consumer applications for Macintosh.

MadPea & Loco Pocos

Lynn Cullens — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 20:44:23 -0700

Two community-conscious Second Life® organizations describe how they translate 3D design into dollars. Kiana Writer, founder of MadPea Productions, is a passionate storyteller and games developer who has solved the puzzle of making fun her business. Damien Fate of Loco Pocos Loco Pocos Island has created a whole new evolution of tiny avatars to fuel his financial goals. How can businesses thrive in Second Life?

If you are on the front page, READ MORE for the full story and lots more links! VIDEO & TRANSCRIPT now posted!

Watch the Metanomics Archived Video Now!

Listen or download the video. (MP4)
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Read the Chatbridge transcript.
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Background Reading and Videos

Tony O’Driscoll’s Learning Matters Blog
3D Training, Learning and Collaboration 3D TLC April 20-21, 2009, Washington, DC
Mad Pea Productions
About Kiana Writer
Loco Pocos
To play Within, Chapter 1
To see the Within Chapter 1 Trailer
New Mad Pea Game The KAAOS Effect
To play Firefly
To see the Firefly Trailer
Torley Linden on Loco Pocos Avatars
Sigma Aldrich in Second Life
Sigma Aldrich
Nature Publishing Group and Macmillan Publishers's expanded home in Second Life:Elucian Islands
Visit some MadPea games at Orange Island
Prokofy Neva’s Second Thoughts

Guest Biographies

Second Life finally gave Kiana Writer the graphics to the bubble she has always lived in. Rezzed as a clueless noob on June 9th, 2007 she explored the grid and got immediately addicted. On her various journeys she met inspiring people, saw things she had only seen in her dreams and her hunger grew to create the neverending pile of scribbles into something amazing to share with like-minded people. Founder of Mad Pea Productions, storywriter and games developer. Passionate about creating games for people, challenging their imagination, testing their limits, making the impossible a reality. Paranoid, complicated and lost between dimensions. When caught on SL, usually easily approachable and friendly, unless coming down from a pepsi max high.

Started Second Life® the 6th of November in 2003 as a clothing designer, moved on to Rivers Run Red with the launch of Avalon (the first privately owned sim) in 2004. Damien had developed many innovative products during that time, with a focus on new ways to display products and interactive packaging. Damien met Washu Zebrastripe during that time in Second Life, and the pair were married in real life in 2005. Damien took a two year break from Second Life to return in late 2006, when he was quickly picked up by Electric Sheep Company. Damien worked on many of ESC's biggest projects, including being heavily involved in the CSI episide and minigame machinima, and working with ILLclan, who were part of ESC at the time. When his work with ESC ended in late 2007, Damien stayed with ILLclan to work on more machinima, and launched Hairspray sim (full sim catering exclusively to Hair vendors) and Loco Pocos a brand new type of avatar customisation system, island experience and growing community in Second Life.