Virtual Communities

Innovations That Will Change How We Work, Play and Communicate in 2007

Authored by Ned Sherman on December 28, 2006 - 9:46am.
Ned Sherman, Digital Media Wire 02 Ned Sherman, CEO & Publisher, Digital Media Wire: I had the honor of being selected as a contributing writer for an article published in the Business section of the LA Times today about innovations that will change the way we work, play and communicate in 2007. Co-authors included Microsoft's chief executive Steve Ballmer and Wired's editor in chief Chris Anderson.

Which Area Of Digital Media Will Get The Most Attention In 2007?

Authored by Jay Baage on December 21, 2006 - 12:34pm.

The Future of Social Networking According to Second Life and Habbo Hotel

Authored by Jay Baage on December 21, 2006 - 11:36am.
Social networking has been one of the hottest areas of interest since Web 2.0 took off as a concept and media buzzword. In one of the most high profile media deals of 2005, Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation bought MySpace for $580 million, a staggering amount at the time. This year, viral video has become the latest hot category with the defining Internet deal of 2006 being the sale of YouTube to Google for $1.76 billion, when the startup was less than 2-years old. So what is ahead in social networking in 2007? One of the hottest areas will most certainly be Virtual Worlds and Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOGs or MMOs).

Five Questions with Teemu Huuhtanen, President, North America, Sulake, Creator of Habbo Hotel

Authored by Jay Baage on December 21, 2006 - 11:17am.
Teemu Huuhtanen - SulakeAs the newly appointed President, North America for Sulake Corporation, Teemu Huuhtanen will be instrumental in leading the continued growth of one of world’s most popular online social networking and gaming communities for teens, Habbo.com, Sulake’s top property. Since its launch in 2000, Habbo has grown to over 7 million users worldwide, and has been launched in 29 countries on five continents. Its highly-trafficked North American sites, headed by Huuhtanen, receive over 2 million unique active users per month.

Five Questions with Philip Rosedale, Founder and CEO of Linden Lab, Creator of Second Life

Authored by Jay Baage on December 21, 2006 - 11:03am.
Philip Rosedal - CEO, Linden Lab, smallPhilip Rosedale has an extensive background in the development and pioneering of streaming technology, having built his first computer in 4th grade, and started his first software company while still in high school. In 1995 he developed FreeVue, a low bitrate video conferencing system for Internet-connected PC's, resulting in the acquisition of his company in early 1996 by RealNetworks. For three and a half years, Rosedale served at RealNetworks as Vice President and CTO, where he was responsible for the development and launch of RealVideo, RealSystem 5.0, and RealSystem G2. In 1999 Rosedale returned to San Francisco, joined Accel Partners as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence, and began the basic research that would become the technology behind Linden Lab. Rosedale holds a BS degree in Physics from the University of California at San Diego.

Former SOE Exec Forms New Virtual Worlds Developent Studio

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 18, 2006 - 2:37pm.
Areae LogoLos Angeles - Former Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) chief creative officer Raph Koster has formed a new studio, Areae, which will develop entertainment-focused virtual worlds, GameDaily.com reported. Created in July, the company has already raised backing from Crescendo Ventures and Charles River Ventures, but has not disclosed any projects or its business model.

Liberty Media Invests in Korean Online Virtual Pets Game "GoPets"

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 20, 2006 - 6:27pm.
Seoul, Korea - GoPets, a Korea-based operator of an interactive 3D online world for virtual pets, announced on Monday that it has received an undisclosed sum as a strategic investment from Liberty Media.

MTV, Nexon Partner on Multiplayer Online Games

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 9, 2006 - 2:22pm.
New York - Viacom's MTV Networks announced on Thursday that it has partnered with Korean online game publisher Nexon, to develop MTV's Neopets property and launch Nexon's casual multiplayer online games in North America.

Learning the Facts of Second Life

Authored by Scott Goldberg on November 6, 2006 - 4:37pm.
Second Life PartyPart I: Broke as a Joke
As a lifelong video gamer I’m accustomed to two things (well, far more than that, but for the sake of brevity): 1) Paying for my game; and 2) Not paying a dime after accomplishing #1. So I went into this “free” game called Second Life prepared to pay something, at some point.  But the virtual “Man” held out his virtual hand far earlier than I imagined.  I was prompted to enter a credit card number and receive, in exchange, my “Linden” dollars, practically the minute I pressed the orange “Join Now” button on the homepage.  I opted not to pay, and thus entered the game naked and without a dime.

Ben Folds to Play First MySpace Live Webcast, Chat Live in Second Life

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 19, 2006 - 2:16pm.
New York - Sony BMG/Epic Records artist Ben Folds will perform the first live webcast offered by online social network MySpace next week, to promote the release of his new album on Oct. 24. The performance will be streamed from Folds' MySpace page, and the artist will be taking requests via MySpace's instant messenger feature.

Second Lifer to Build Virtual World in Real World NY Storefront Window

Authored by Rohit Bhargava on October 11, 2006 - 9:48am.

I2m_intel_live_without_1 In one of the more interesting campaigns to come out of Ogilvy PR's Digital Influence team yet, we (Ogilvy PR) are helping Intel to launch a stunt during the Digital Life event which will place one of the top builders from Second Life, Versu Richelieu, in a storefront window in Manhattan (on 39th and 5th) for 72 hours.  We are working with Millions of Us to pull this together. We will be creating a real time event where Versu will be building something (it's still a mystery) in the virtual world and have a live feed so people can watch her doing it, either in the virtual world or the real world.  You can view the live feed at www.nyclivewindow.com starting Thursday.  At the end of the 72 hours will be a great twist and along the way she will be collaborating with other builders (including Robbie Dingo), Second Life residents, and anyone else who decides to stop by.

Note: This post originally appeared on my blog, Influential Interactive Marketing. My bio can be viewed here.

Mobile Marketing with Virtual Hugs

Authored by Rohit Bhargava on October 3, 2006 - 7:41am.
One of the more interesting reports to come out of Wired's NextFest event held in NY this past weekend was about a wearable technology company called CuteCircuit and their "hug shirt."  The shirt uses bluetooth technology or mobile messaging through SMS to relay the sensation of a hug from one wearer to another anywhere in the world.  While it might seem like yet another technology toy with limited usefulness, the concept got me thinking about a new frontier of uses for wearable technology that integrates with bluetooth technology.  The most basic benefit of this is that a huge number of mobile phones already have bluetooth and this presents lots of integration opportunities.  Bluetooth hugs are just the beginning of the potential uses for this technology.

MTV to Create Virtual Worlds Around "Laguna Beach," Other Programs

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 20, 2006 - 12:08pm.
New York - MTV Networks announced on Wednesday that it has partnered with Makena Technologies, creators of the 3D social virtual world There.com, to create a series of virtual worlds based on its programs. Launched in beta mode today, "Virtual Laguna Beach" allows viewers to create an avatar for themselves, hang out at the beach or local surf shop, and chat with one another in real-time. MTV will also premiere episodes of "Laguna Beach" in-world before they can be seen on-air; an upcoming episode in which the teens attend their Winter Formal will be followed by an in-world version of the dance, where users can select a tux or prom dress for their on-screen identities. MTV partnered with Mediavest Worldwide and OMD to develop virtual advertisements within the online worlds, and said Pepsi is among initial sponsors. Viewers in-world will be able to interact with sponsors' content and also purchase virtual as well as physical goods. The company is also working with Doppleganger on virtual music environments. Later this year, MTV Networks plans to debut a second virtual world for its Logo network for the LGBT community.