There’s a great deal of press about the Virtual Worlds Expo and Conference that’s taking place this week in San Jose, Calif. The theme of this event is, “The Future of Media and Communication.” The organizers have drawn a great deal of support, and report that companies have invested a billion dollars in virtual worlds this year alone.
An underlying effort to bridge virtual worlds seems to be part of the agenda, with an initial foray into the ability to port avatars between worlds. That’s a good goal, as 30 virtual world platform companies are participating, and I’m sure this number is only growing.
Microsoft for one was present, and they indicated a development effort that will harness their Virtual Earth platform with their Xbox gaming platform and mobile business. Google is there as well with their move to allow virtual earth creators to tap into Google Maps and Google Earth.
Among the stated benefits for the use of virtual worlds in the workplace:
- Connect global workforces, enhancing communication
- Foster new ways to collaborate and interact with coworkers
- Save on travel time and meeting costs
- Cut down on carbon emissions due to lack of commute
- Allow for interesting and creative meeting settings that enhance the experience
- Offer good training and recruiting environments
- Provide venues for marketing and sales
Media companies are also working hard to understand the entertainment and marketing possibilities of these platforms. There’s a great clamor to get into this space from companies such as Disney, The Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, Turner Broadcasting, etc. As media continues to evolve, none of these companies can afford to sit back and wait to see what new mediums take hold.
One interesting prediction that I gleaned from all the coverage is that Gartner research firm predicts that by 2011, 80 percent of the people using the internet will have alter egos in virtual worlds. I guess I’d better go create one.
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all now present in virtual realities (interacting with web content) are none alter egos, and I dont think anybody really needs an ALTER ego, since we all represent ourselves.
Virtual World again give much more with identity. It is about our presence. In my opinion this will give the biggest ‘hit’ for web-community. Being conscious of being in the same place or situation with some other user will make web much more social than before.