Virtual Worlds "Second Coming" Article

Web Watch writer Tim Ferguson has penned an analysis of the current and future states of virtual enterprise in an insightful article at silicon.com. In it, he forwards the notion that the initial failure of enterprise to capitalize on the technological advantages VE can offer was due to a hasty misread of the tools' capabilities and potentials, the very same sentiment I heard at SLEDcc08 from our pal Sarah Robbins. At that Tampa, Florida conference, she said that "corporations should stop whining that there's no potential just because they didn't do it right." That's the quote to the best of my memory, and that's pretty much what Ferguson has to say today. His is a fascinating summary and well worth a read. From the article:

Organisations are discovering myriad ways to benefit from virtual worlds.

The first and perhaps most obvious is collaboration. This includes holding real-time meetings in the worlds with each member participating via an avatar. It can be a big cost saver, as it removes the need to fly workers around the globe.

Virtual worlds can also help teams spread across several locations work together and co-ordinate projects.

The virtual world Qwaq, for example, allows users to create rooms that can store documents relating to a project, and where team members can meet up to share those documents and discuss the project using their avatars, IM and even VoIP.

I took a quick look at Qwaq, and it looks like a solution for companies to isolate their involvement in the 3Dinternet to collaborational meetings (which is certainly a nice market niche, but not necessarily one that will enable broadly innovative uses of virtual environments). It's also pricey, imho, when with a little flexibility an existing platform like Second Life can be used for similar purposes. I'll investigate more fully and report out. Perhaps a Qwaq-er could comment here in response and elucidate further?

SLEDCC in Tampa

I've been neglecting my "main" blog lately due to the start of school and my amazing journey with MUVErs and the SLEDCC (Second Life Education Community Conference) in Tampa, Florida. If you're interested in that you can catch up by visiting my Second Life blog, "Oh! Virtual Learning" and the Second Life Education blog, to which I'm a contributor. The latter will be merging into the official Linden Lab blogosphere soon, and we'll see where that goes, but the carnival ride has certainly started.

I'm working on a grant proposal with my dear colleague Jennifer Ufnar at the Vanderbilt Center for Science Outreach, one that will allow for a full 3 or 4 weeks of Web2.0forUS! sessions next summer, so stay tuned for that. The very successful one week session this past summer left all of us feeling like we needed more time, hence the call for a longer session and the quest for support to facilitate it.

I'm also working on an article with Jennifer Ragan-Fore about the ups and downs of streaming video over the internet. That issues from my experiences in Tampa and should show up in an ISTE newsletter soon. The fantastic new teacher orientation option that Linden Lab is offering via its Education Programs page is terrifically exciting. If you've been sitting back and wondering what all the hubbub about Second Life for education is, this is your chance to dive in, free of charge, to the world of the 3Dinternet. ISTE and Linden Lab are working to make it easy for educators to begin using what is essentially a powerful new way to experience the internet. Think of is as a fun new browser interface. Try it. You'll like it. If you don't get off ISTE Island for weeks you could not be better served than to spend some internet time making new friends from every part of the planet.

If you're an average joe, not a teacher, you are still welcome to enter via the new education pilot point. It's safe, fun, and learning is always a good thing...

Off to work! Have a marvelous day!!!