Greg Verdino

Second Life brand map

Get to the frequently updated, full size version here.  Thanks to Mark Wallace for a great find.

Jars for joost? Ummm...

A minute-long (strike one) television spot (strike two) featuring an old man (strike three) playingwith glass jars (yer out) doesn't exactly scream "future of video," does it?  I could have gotten past all of that, but the commercial doesn't even do a respectable job of telling the Joost story -- it sounds just like every other broadband video company vying for desktop dominance.

This hands-on demonstration, presented on CBS News, tells a far more compelling story. 

Earth to Joost: show, don't tell...

GV sighting: Clickz on virtual worlds

Check out Clickz's coverage from Virtual Worlds 2007.

Slo-blogging Virtual Worlds: Joe Jackson was right

You can't get what you want, 'til you know what you want - this was a recurring theme at the Virtual Worlds conference in general and on the panel I moderated in particular.  Since it just wouldn't be right to slo-blog my own panel, check out Gavin O'Malley's coverage for MediaPost (may require free registration.)

Slo-blogging Virtual Worlds: avatar wisdom

"If what you want to do in the virtual world can be done on the web, it can probably be done better on the web." - Reuben Steiger, Millions of Us.  In other words, if you are setting out to deliver the same type of flat, linear experience you are most likely delivering through your website, don't bother.  It will not work in the metaverse.  Several times during the conference, Reuben also spoke out about his believe that virtual worlds do not (and likely never will) allow for as good an e-commerce experience as the traditional 2D web store -- so engage consumers, build and harness the power of community, drive brand awareness among virtual world residents, but don't burden them with clunky 3D commerce; link them to your web storefront if they really want to follow through and make a purchase. 

"If your sim is empty after three or four weeks, it is because you haven't thought about your consumer." - Ben James, Rivers Run Red, said to emphasize the point that a virtual world presence needs to be viewed as a long term commitment rather than as a short term buzz-worthy tactic.

"The avatars are the content." - Adrienne Meisels, formerly AOL, highlighting the fact that without the people to interact with what you've built and (more importantly) with each other, your virtual world experience actually isn't an experience at all.

"What return does the consumer get on the investment they're making in time and attention." - Adam Pasick, Reuters Second Life bureau, in response to the debate over how to measure Second Life ROI.  With so much focus on return on the corporation's investment in virtual worlds, there seems to be little focus on the reality that, as in other forms of social media, it is first and foremost incumbent on the corporation to deliver value to the consumer.  Do that, and your investment in Second Life or any other virtual world will ultimately deliver value in return.

Slo-blogging Virtual Worlds: Broidino

If Second Life crashed yesterday, it was probably because my doppelganger and I met for the first time in first life. Our sincerest apologies.

See the rest of my photos from Day One of Virtual Worlds 2007.  Don't worry, this is the only picture of "the bald marketing brothers."  But for Second Life groupies, I've got shots of Philip Rosedale, Aimee Weber and Adam Passick of Reuters checking email...

Slo-blogging Virtual Worlds: from science to society

Today was Day One of the first Virtual Worlds conference.  Linden Lab CEO Philip Rosedale (pictured below) kicked off the agenda with some interesting words regarding the evolution of his thinking about virtual worlds.

At first, "Linden approached virtual worlds as a physics problem and didn't really think much about people."  He was fascinated by the notion that within the confines of a computer lies infinite space and infinite possibility.

But today, Rosedale recognizes that, "the thing that is so powerful about virtual worlds isn't that they are 3D; it's that there are other people there [with you.]  On the internet there aren't."  In other words, it's not the technology.  It's all the people (this was the key recurring theme of the day.)

Today, he believes that "virtual worlds will fundamentally change who we are as people."  Virtual worlds can provide people with transformative experiences -- they will try things and do things in the real world because they've grown accustomed to the ease with which they can do those things in the virtual world.  In essence, better Second Lives lead to better first lives.

And with this, Philip set the stage for a day of panels and keynotes that addressed virtual worlds as the next generation of digital community.  I'll be slo-blogging my thoughts and highlighting key ideas over the next few days.  If you want to read more right away, Mark Wallace and Adam Broitman have been live blogging the event -- please excuse Adam's typos. ;-)

Virtual worlds 2007: will you be there?

If you'll be at the sold out Virtual Worlds 2007 conference this week, be sure to sit in on the panel I'm moderating at 11am on Thursday:

"Integrated Marketing - Merging Virtual Activities with Real World Activities.  Never before have there been so many new outlets for marketing.  Find out from leading experts how to create a virtual worlds presence that integrates with and complements your existing marketing activities."

My panelists include Joel Greenberg from the Electric Sheep Company, Randal Moss from American Cancer Society, Roger Holzberg from Disney, and Paul Hemp from the Harvard Business Review.

I'm psyched for what promises to be a great discussion among a group of gents who clearly know their way around the metaverse (check out those links above.)  To get a sense of the ground we plan to cover, flip through the discussion guide right here.

Some of you have already let me know you'll be at the event.  If you're going, be sure to introduce yourself.  I look forward to meeting you.

But if you won't be at the event, never fear -- I've got you covered.  Check back tomorrow night for photos and my first thoughts about the event, then again over the next few days for some signature Slo-Blog posts.

The more you know

This video runs through a Powerpoint presentation created last year by Karl Fisch, director of technology for Arapahoe High School in Littleton, CO; as edited by educator Scott McLeod and posted to YouTube.  Entitled "Did You Know?" it looks at the current and future states of communications and technology.  Although it was made with a focus on what this means for today's students and the educators entrusted with helping to shape their futures, it is a must-watch for media and marketing professionals interested in understanding the next generation of technology, communications and (most importantly) people.

Last week Karl's original slides made the rounds in the marketing department of one of Digitas's largest clients, making its way to the agency and, ultimately, me.  Loaded with eye opening data, even for those of us who earn our pay by keeping our finger on the pulse of the future, here is more proof that vision and inspiration can come from anywhere.

links for 2007-03-26

• Digital Youth Research | Kids' Informal Learning with Digital Media
  Enthnographic study of how youth audiences use digital media in their everyday lives. Joint project by USC and UC Berkley.
  (tags: community future media technology trends web2.0 youth culture research digital)
• Belfast Telegraph | Scion launches dealership in virtual world
  Old news by this point, but I'm linkrolling it because I am referenced.
  (tags: secondlife business technology socialmedia emergingmedia marketing metaverse)