Web 2.0 - The dark side?

Intersting blog by Nicholas Carr linking to some articles on how the dream of Web 2.0 may be in danger.

 

http://www.roughtype.com/archives/2006/06/hear_no_evil.php

 

Worth reading in preparation for the Identity Mash-up conference next week at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society!

Identity Mash-up Conference June 19 - Car Pool!

The Berkman Center for Internet & Society is holding a fascinating conference on Identity.  This conference will be in Boston from June 19-21.

 

Here is the link to the conference:

http://www.identitymash-up.org/

Louise Guay will be presenting MVM's Virtual Identity and MVM will be present in force.  The first 2 days of the conference, Monday and Tuesday, will be the presentations followed by discussion and debate on Wednesday. 

I am coordinating a car pool for those going down - so be sure to let me know if you want a lift by leaving a comment on this blog.  We are planning to rent atleast 1 car for departure on Sunday afternoon, June 18, to Boston and return to Montreal Wednesday late in the evening of June 21.

Reuben Steiger launches "Millions of Us"

When I first contacted "Second Life" I had the pleasure of speaking with Reuben Steiger.  When he left Linden Labs, the makers of Second Life, to found his own company I was pretty sure he was up to something special. 

 

Now it is official!  Last Thursday his new company "Millions of Us" was launched and is already in the news.  "Millions of Us" is a company to help real world companies get the upper hand in virtual communities!  Read the news article - Online spaces: The new frontier.  It is well worth your "real" time :-)

Some other companies offering avatars

Comverse <http://www.comverse.com/>, based in Wakefield, Mass., is one of the first U.S. companies to jump headlong into the avatar market.

Other sites where avatars can be obtained are:
Avatarity <http://www.avatarity.com/>,
HotAvatars.com <http://www.hotavatars.com/>,
Avatara.com <http://www.avatara.com/avatars/>.

Les mondes virtuels génèrent des emplois bien réels

Article du cyberpresse.ca sur "Second Life" en français.

Entropia: another MMORPG hyping the real world currecy exchange

 

Space Station in Entropia

Article Link: A real world cash card that allows gamers to spend money earned in a virtual universe has been launched.

 

Seems like more and more MMORPGs are attracting the attention of gamers by anouncing real world currency exchanges.

 

What I find particularly interesting is that "Currency Exchanges" remove the barrier between virtual worlds enabling users to harness their treasures and pool resources, without being totally dependant on a single silo.

 

Actually there are 6 companies that are well know Secondary Market companies that offer INTRA-METAVERSE platforms to help gamers manage their virtual fortunes (reference for MVM employees).

• IGE - Currency speculator
• Gaming Open Market - Currency exchange platform
• PlayVault - Free game to game currency transfer service
• eBay - Auction site
• PlayerAuctions.com  - Account, currency and goods trading site
• Virdaq - Account, currency and goods trading site

 

Perhaps the most interesting is PlayVault:

"One value added service provider that has formal agreements with publishers is PlayVault. Through PlayVault, players can transfer virtual currency from one game to another. With the ability to migrate their currency that they have spent hours amassing online, players are more inclined to try new games. The service is free to players. PlayVault receives a referral free from their partners."

Conference on virtual worlds!

This Thursday, May 4th, there is an SDForum conference on virtual worlds geared towards VCs, entrepreneurs and
marketers.

 

Of course, such a conference would be incomplete without it's virtual half: the event will also be streamed live on Sheep Island in Second Life!

 

Speakers:

• Linden Lab CEO Philip Rosedale will give a keynote
• Electric Sheep Company's CEO Sibley Verbeck
• New World Notes blogger James Au
  Millions of Us CEO Reuben Steiger
• Philip Torrone is making a "News from the Future"-style VW video
• Others...

 

See I'll see you on Sheep Island in Second Life for what looks like a promising conference!

BTW, my SL in world avatar name is Primo Levitt.