Good times for the research agencies. As more and more depends on predicting the outcomes of hypes and trends in the ever increasing phase of internet developments, companies become more and more insecure whether their investments are well spend. R&D departments need a more convincing pitch as they are competing amongst each other, - should [...]

Posted on: June 23, 2008 | 2 Comments »

Isn’t it ironic the industry which consistently struggles to monetize its digital content is the business with the highest potential to do so. Everyone producing content is starting to make money from it it seems, with the exception of the music industry who clamps desperately its retail model. They watch their income only drop on [...]

Posted on: June 19, 2008 | 2 Comments »

When I talk about ‘the immersion in virtual worlds’ it’s not uncommon I get a questioning look. Most of the time I use a simplified example of the Matrix - The Matrix illustrates complete, 100% artificial ‘immersion’ into virtuality. At first I get a smile and something along the lines of: “yes, but we don’t [...]

Posted on: June 10, 2008 | 4 Comments »

Part of an equally intriguing as confusing project called ‘SpaceCollective‘, an open platform to share revolutionary ideas on a global (universal) scale, comes the following video I found to be an impressive presentation of the Experience Economy:

The website is really a must see, with numerous inspirational ideas, discussions and visuals (especially the gallery is impressive). [...]

Posted on: May 22, 2008 | No Comments »

Every time I see digital technology move away from our traditional desk top set up (desk, chair, PC, 17′+ monitor) I get excited about the new opportunities of breaking this static environment of interaction with data. When the Wii introduced a mainstream audience to alternative ways to interact with applications I was shocked at how [...]

Posted on: May 14, 2008 | No Comments »

The movie and cartoon giant Disney is on a quest to bind their audience to them in a series of Virtual Worlds developed for kids in different (consecutive) age ranges, growing up inside the fantasy world as Disney creates it. Disney became a serious player in the virtual worlds industry with their acquisition of the [...]

Posted on: May 5, 2008 | 3 Comments »

Some more updates on the interaction design front of Linden Labs. The focuspoint is the introduction to Second Life, and it’s steep learning curve. After Linden Labs announced their new User Experience Program, and one of the main targets of the new CEO seems to be to really improve the experience of Second Life over [...]

Posted on: April 28, 2008 | 6 Comments »

The Association of Virtual Worlds released a useful 40 page eBook listing all Virtual Worlds available, completely free for download:
The Blue Book: A Consumer Guide to Virtual Worlds Is Now Available Free from the Association of Virtual Worlds
The Association of Virtual Worlds has just released its new title The Blue Book: A Consumer Guide [...]

Posted on: April 26, 2008 | 1 Comment »