Launching ideas on the cheap (virtually)

Jenny McCoy, — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 21:29:31 GMT

My company is using the virtual world platform to promote a new comic book series. It's definitely the way of the future and companies can no long settle for just having a web site. The web site needs to be interative and it needs to engage visitors and take them on a journey.

Launching ideas on the cheap (virtually)

Rightasrain Rimbaud — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 08:50:40 GMT

SL is great place for rapid prototyping and market testing--but learning how to make stuff inworld at high quality and attracting sample groups is difficult! We are using SL to test entertainment brands and media content. For example creating graphic novels and machinimas that can be used outside of SL on the web to reach larger audiences.

Launching ideas on the cheap (virtually)

Greg Milliken, Richardson, TX — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 17:44:58 GMT

Great post.

My company Altadyn develops a web3D platform called 3DXplorer for allowing companies to quickly create 3D spaces like this.

A key aspect of 3DXplorer is that it is plug-in-less and browser-based. For non-technology buffs, that means you just click a link while surfing the Internet and you can visit a 3D space or world right in your usual web browser without downloading or installing any additional software.

SL is cool, but it requires you to install a large application and join to become a "resident" of Second Life. This isn't even possible in most business environments where companies prevent installation of non-standard software. Imagine a 3D web where any site can be 3D and anyone can visit it by just clicking a link.

To give an idea of the potential, consider that SL has maybe a little over 1 million "active" residents. As a result, anything done in Second life is pretty much limited to that small community, or the new members you can convince to join, which is hard, as pointed out in the comment above. There are 1.5 billion people with access to the Internet.

Making 3D accessible to all these Internet users versus trying to convince them into joining a special community and installing a proprietary application is sort of like the difference in speaking to the entire world or speaking to a Star Trek convention.

The comment above about the difficulty in learning how to make high-quality stuff inworld is right on. Ideally, one could just import any data that had already been creaed by people using common modeling applications like CAD for architecture, residential home builders, imaginary 3D worlds, products like the toy mentioned in the original post, etc. Google's 3D Warehouse alone has many thousands of free models that can be used.

Here are a couple of links to 3D spaces created using this free existing 3D data:

Green Home by Michelle Kaufmann:
http://www.3dxplorer.com/download_file/mkLotus5.html

Benaroya Hall in Seatle:
http://www.3dxplorer.com/download_file/worlds/index_benaroyagrandlobby5.html

3D on the web is available to anyone today. Check it out at www.3dxplorer.com.

Launching ideas on the cheap (virtually)

Elsbeth Writer — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 12:27:34 GMT

I'd like to clarify something in Greg's post. Second Life is free to everyone. Yes, you need to "join" to get a login, just like any other web site, but it does not cost anything.

And Second Life is not a small community. It's residents come from every country in the world. And include people from all walks of life, all social cultures, all genders, all races, all - everything!

Launching ideas on the cheap (virtually)

Jeremy, Chicago, IL — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 13:59:08 GMT

This is probably the most retarded thing I have ever heard

Launching ideas on the cheap (virtually)

Greg Shelton, Bartlett, TN — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 16:40:51 GMT

It seems to me that you would protect yourself by getting a copyrght or patent of your ideal or product before you go and give it out on a web site.

Launching ideas on the cheap (virtually)

Luke — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 15:49:01 GMT

I agree with Greg in Tennessee. In this day and age of ethical conduct, there is no way I would expose any idea for a product or service that I might have to a virtual world where anyone can basically hijack it. If people were trustworthy, it might be a different case but the age of handshakes is behind us.

Launching ideas on the cheap (virtually)

Greg, Madison, WI — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 15:38:34 GMT

The problem is that SL, and other vitual reality worlds are viewed by the majority of society as a "game" based platform, thus making it unacceptable for traditional business purposes. I do know, and understand that there are people out there making a living with e-commerce on virtual reality sites such as SL, selling everything from virtual real estate to makeovers for your avatar. More power to them.

This will never be a viable mainstream source of income for the majority of our population, nor any other population for that matter. It is what you would call a niche market, and it certainly will sustain several specialty or boutique ventures, but nothing more than that.

Serious 3-D modeling applications for major manufacturing will continue to happen outside of the "game" world of virtual reality, as it it just not mainstream acceptable in the business culture at this moment in time.

Now please excuse me, I have to go back and finish battling a rogue band of pirates who wish to relinquish me of the command of my ship!