Virtual worlds have survived their initial success and have become more grounded in the minds of the increasing number of people who use them. As such, it makes sense that businesses, ,non-profit organizations and even governments would be interested in how to leverage these synthetic worlds to their own purposes.
There are many lively weblogs to read on the topics of virtual worlds. Some are fan sites, and some tease at the importance of aspects of virtual worlds as diversely as the authors approach them. This can be very confusing to follow for someone who may not have time to follow the google or yahoo of hyperlinks scattered across another synthetic world of perspectives propped up with observation and opinion of many authors. There should be an easier way for someone unfamiliar with virtual worlds to get an idea of what is important for them to know.
Enter Virtual Worlds: A Business Guide.
As one would expect, the synthetic world of Second Life® occupies a large portion of the work - roughly half of it. This is because, at this point, Second Life is the leading synthetic world when it comes to business - some say that this is even to the detriment of Second Life, though whether that is a widely accepted opinion is different to gauge. Many residents do not actively participate in discussion on the Internet, and so their own opinions may be lost in the flotsam and jetsam of opinion tossed out into the blogosphere by those, such as myself and others, who do.
Second Life, though, is not alone. The future virtual worlds of Webkinz, Disney and Nickelodeon are discussed even before World of Warcraft, Amazon.com's secretive Questville, There.com, ActiveWorlds and Myst Online. Virtual world mashups, such as augmenting reality through your mobile phone, gain mention. In all, the reader who is an alien to virtual worlds gains a perspective on not only specific virtual worlds but also an idea of the entire metaverse.
Weighing in at 41 pages, this report is not one for those already familiar with virtual worlds. This is, as demonstrable by the $249 price tag, a report for professionals who wish to assess when and how to bring their organizations into virtual worlds be they for profit or not. As such, it is a great overview that can save one traipsing through the blogosphere where much of the same information is scattered to the four winds.
Where most virtual world users may not see the need of this report, as someone who consults on virtual worlds I encounter the divide almost every time I interact with a potential client. The disconnect is readily apparent, and that divide can be an abysmal chasm. Virtual world users speak a different language and have a different culture - indeed, virtual worlds are made up of so many cultures of the mind that the majority of the world which does not yet use them can only make it more confusing to generalize when they do come into these worlds.
It is an excellent primer, and one I would recommend to organizations that intend to spend a lot of money on a presence within virtual worlds. To me, given my own experiences as a virtual world user, consultant and solution developer, I find it a little lacking in one particular area: Knowing how to create the presence itself or picking people to assist in creating the presence. Perhaps that will be in another report1.
Overall, I will give Virtual Worlds: A Business Guide an 8 of a possible 10 on the KnowProSE.com scale2. It is an excellent primer and delves into possible futures of virtual worlds that many can agree on and communicates very important aspects of virtual worlds to the unindoctrinated.
1 Hint, hint. And I could write that one. It might save me a lot of typing elsewhere.
2This rating is specifically for business; individuals who are not involved in business have no reason to buy this. Individuals interested in starting Second Life may find Making Your Mark in Second Life: Business, Land, and Money more useful - and more budget sensitive.
Technorati Tags: 
Post new comment