UgoTrade

Click to watch an episode on YouTube.

The Perfect Storm began with blogs, large and small, everyone from Salon, BoingBoing, Chris Pirillo, Huffington Post, Daily Kos, Doc Searls, to Canadian Shanagans (who was still waiting for his first link) joined the flow of energy. Here are the first 25 blogs to link (taken from technorati) - justkate, Charles Sheehan-Miles, Neverwonderland, SineQuaNon’s Journal, It’s all One Thing, Planet Identity, Beet.TV, PerthNorg, Visiopoetics, Joho The Blog, The S.n.a.f.u principle, Panzerfaust, Growabrain, Keith Snyder, Iava Blog, Smith Magazine, I Like Motorcycles, Tom Paine, TIG Blogs, Waterfall’s Paranormal Life, Pop + Politics, Mr V’s, Fun Vampires, notes from somewhere bizarre, and many many more!

Then the blog and YouTube video comments started to roll in! Here are three of most recent YouTube video comments. I did not select for particular content. But, these give a flavor of how an online debate has begun to grow. Click to find more on YouTube.

Then the YouTube editors came on board featuring Hometown Baghdad, making them a content partner, and one editor vowed “to build as much momentum and buzz for you (HTB) as I can. Keep me posted of any other press ops/events you have coming up so we can try to build a perfect storm around your content.”

And, yesterday, a video made it to the front page of Digg’s Video Section which translated into thousands of hits and enormous buzz among netizens.

Now, Michael Dibenedetto reports, the “old” media is picking up the story too. Hometown Baghdad has been talked and written about around the world. We have been seen in or will be seen in: the lead article on Le Monde’s website; a full page article in Germany’s largest newspaper, FAZ; an article in a major Austrian newspaper; a piece on a German youth radio station; another piece on a major German radio station; and a feature article in one of Argentina’s largest newspapers.” And, look out for upcoming feature in Rolling Stone, “On the Web” column that points to the web’s most
interesting sites.

Fady one of the Iraqi producers wrote this very moving note of thanks.

Dear all -

I am extremely moved and inspired by all the warm feedback that we are getting on several blogs and websites. It is giving me energy and strength to bear the nightmares that I am living and the ones I dream of at night. It was an honor for me to help in bringing out these messages from Baghdad to the outer world, despite of all the dangers we face everyday.
Thank you, Mike, for keep sending me the feedback.

Best,
Fady
Baghdad

Congratulations to everyone, producers and netizens! This amazing project is, in my view, a huge step toward developing a world of peace and tolerance. And, it has only just begun. There are still many more webisodes to come, so keep watching, blogging, digging, stumbling upon, video commenting, and spreading the word. This is Wikimocracy in action!

The latest episode.

Mike notes, that the conversations that have sprung up in the blog’s comments, both argumentative and friendly, tell us that we need dialogue and understanding.

I am tempted to start expounding on how the “brand” of “democracy,” has been seriously devalued worldwide, not by users but by governments. But, I will restrain myself because I want Ugotrade to be a place that focuses on imagining worlds that are yet to be imagined, not about writing history.

And, I am excited. I have seen a blue print for Wikimocracy 3.D, (here’s the 2D prototype). Wikimocracy 3D is a big idea through which users will soon be reinventing the “brand” of democracy, and adding much needed value to this tired, misused, work horse. 3Dpointcom and other futurists have been pioneering an “idea factory.” Their post “Clocking in at the idea factory,” features a wonderful hand written plan for a metaversal idea factory by Bill Ward. Click to see the full plan on Flickr.

Mark Wallace, from 3pointD elaborates on a jawboning session on the topic. He also calls for input on a new name. I agree, perhaps” idea factory doesn’t really capture the potential scope of this vision.

One of the key points collected by Bill Ward that drew my attention was this: “The Idea Factory concept roots in the Metaverse today, but the concepts that we’re introducing are universal in nature. We’ll be able to take this construct out and apply it to other issues. I know other volunteer coordination Web sites exist, but will they be able to do what we’ve discussed here? Do they have the expertise to do it?” Lots to think about here! And, there is a place to share your thoughts at 3pedia.

True to the Ugotrade mission, in upcoming posts, I will always mix visionary thinking with a look at how people are actually using new technologies for positive global development around the world.

And, I have been continuing my on the ground exploration of the developing virtual world of Second Life. Yesterday, I visited Aleister Kronos to begin investigating “law and governance” in virtual worlds. I met Aleister on the piece of land he rents in SL, a magical setting filled with his art. And, mostly, on this first visit, I just enjoyed his art and talking with a friend of his Elizabeth Rookward who stopped by. I know people are fond of putting value tags on Second Life - how many customers, flows of Linden Dollars, land sales, size of the economy etc., etc.. But, the value of Second Life as art, and the art of Second Life is one of the aspects often missed in the rush to calculate ROI.

Tags: Hometown Baghdad | Baghdad | Viral Video | Social Media | Social Networks | Peace | blogging | You Tube | Social Media Convergence | Web 3.D | Web 3.0 | Web 2.0 | Virtual World | Positive Global Development | Visionary | Vlog | Second Life | Web 2.0 |

Even though I live in New York City, I think I will go, on Saturday, to Podcamp’s, “unconference within the unconference in virtual space.” 3pointD suggests that podcasters’ meetups might be especially fun. And, I will miss a chance to hand out those delightful Moo Cards! But, I suspect, on Second Life I may meet a more international group. And, perhaps, I will find some people with some interesting things to say on the topic from the PodCamp site that tweeked my interest.

“As various flavors of social media collide, maintaining a consistent digital persona across various platforms becomes a challenge.”

Enter Podcamp NYC in Second Life @Morpheum

“Nail” House Settlement!

For a report go to Chinese Content Bridge Blogger ESWN
But, “At this time, both parties claim fatigue and are refusing press interviews for now.”

And, if you do follow the link to ESWN check out: An Idiot’s Guide to watching movies online in China. This is a really interesting post from Peering.Into.the.Interior.   And, for more on video websites in China see Danwei.

Tags: Second Life | Web 2.0 | Social Media | Web 3.D | Web 3.0 | Virtual Worlds | Virtual Reality | Metaverse | social networking | pod casting | pod camp | blogging | meet ups |

Everyone I met at Virtual Worlds 2007 seemed to agree this conference, the first of its kind, marked a “Tipping Point”. Of course, people love to talk about Tipping Points. It is one of those ideas that adds a little excitement to an occasion regardless of accuracy. But, the buzz and excitement was tangible at VW ‘07, even bordering on an innovation feeding frenzy at times. And, there was general agreement that virtual worlds were about to change our lives in ways we have barely begun to imagine.

But, there are some differences of vision. On the one hand, there is open virtual space (a concept pioneered by Philip Rosedale) that offers us vast possibilities to reinvent our world. This is an idea so big that we cannot understand it fully now, Philip Rosedale points out. (Click here to listen to Philip Rosedale’s remarks on the role Second Life can play in positive global development.) On the other hand, traditional media providers want to serve up virtual worlds as highly polished products, “where, if content is king, context is emperor.” In this vision, narratives, often already popular in broadcast TV, are taken to interactive 3D environments offering a limited range of customization, to “deepen” viewer engagement. Then there are the virtual worlds that are both a highly polished product, and highly customizable, but only offered as enterprise applications, e.g the virtual world products of Forterra, and Proton Media. Also, with a strong presence at VW ‘o7, was Multiverse, a different approach to virtual worlds pioneered by veterans of Netscape

But, can the model of unbounded virtual space exemplified in the vision of Second Life survive? (Gwyn’s post was an April Fool’s Day special, which the rest of my post is not. But, many a true word is spoken in jest!) The recent announcement of Microsoft Metaverse (April Fool!) and link to Virtual Worlds research division, cnet, Microsoft Live labs, and techcrunch’s rumor of a Google Metaverse create an April Fool’s vision - where fiction and fact blend seamlessly. Gwyneth points out “the battle for the Metaverse (MS or not) has begun.” Well it may not be MS or not, at least at the moment. But, it is true to say that competing visions of the metaverse(s) have begun to strut there stuff.

Many different 3D environments are called virtual worlds. The entertainment model of interactive 3DTV, while it is, in the words of the MTV speaker, Jeffrey Yapp, an example of “social networking on steroids, i.e., social interaction in intense wicked hot locations,” has little to do with imagining the next generation of the web that Second Life futurists envision.

Even a virtual world like Entropia that boasts, “it is the first virtual universe with a real cash economy,” is much more restricted than Second Life. In Entropia, user generation is more aptly termed customization. Locked down worlds are shopped to big corporations as places where they can market their brand without fear that it will be reinvented, or even horror of horrors, to a billion dollar company, devalued. The many hip marketing notions of ways users can add value to brands in user generated virtual worlds are only just beginning to penetrate corporate culture, where fear of loss of brand control is prevalent. But, the Adidas in Second Life team, and others, presented a number of ways that people interacting with a brand in a virtual world delivers marketing gold, e.g., producing “brand evangelists.”

And, not all big companies are putting their bets on the locked down interpretation of a virtual world that broadcast media giants clearly seem to favor. IBM is quite clearly not going to be caught napping this time. They are full on with their research and a presence on Second Life. And, the speaker from IBM, Colin Parris, offered some of the broadest imaginings of virtual worlds at the conference. But, it is not necessary to go to big business research to get an excellent understanding of the potential of virtual worlds.

The Singapore blogs are a good place to learn what is truly revolutionary about an open virtual space like Second Life, from the perspective of a community of enterprising individuals deeply engaged in exploring its potential. As Global Voices Online points out:

“decent broadband Infrastructure and familiarity with online technologies makes Singaporeans avid experimenters of emerging technological trends. It is not uncommon to find Singaporean blogger topping Technorati’s listing once every couple of months and Singapore based meetup groups often have more members than the ones from bigger cities. Second Life, the three dimensional virtual world created by Linden Labs is fast becoming the new hangout of Singaporeans.”

The video grab at the beginning of this post is from Rinaz, a Singapore resident on Second Life. Rinaz will welcome you into her rose garden and give you a video tour of her home which she also uses as a market place for her virtual wares. Check out her super cute frogs!

Also see Kevin at theory.isthereason’s introduction to Second Life (and the video, Bollywood in Second Life!). This response to a post about Linden Lab’s CTO visiting Singapore was taken from Singapore’s blog aggregator Tomorrow.sg (Global Voices Online). It is an excellent primer into the difference between more locked down and open ended virtual worlds. Kevin writes:

“Just to set the record straight, Second Life (SL) isn’t a game. There are no missions, no quests, no experience points to earn. Unlike games like World of Warcraft, you don’t get told what to do…”

“Think of these MMORPGs as like renting a fully furnished apartment. Everything is in there and you just need to mix and match items and strategies to navigate your world. Now think of Second Life as like buying an empty house. It’s not much fun when you start out, but you get to ultimately have full control over how you want it to turn out (you make more choices). In other words, SL is fun in a different respect… one where the canvas is larger and one’s creativity is almost unbound.”

“I personally see these metaverses as the “New Web”. Since Second Life is ever-changing thanks to constantly user-generated content, SL makes the case where it exists as the most feature rich multi-user virtual environment (MUVE) I’ve seen so far. It’s applications have gone into the realm of education, research (e.g. sociology, psychology), business, etc. Still, SL isn’t the “be all end all”. Just as when Mosaic first gave us the means to experience the visual web, I see Second Life as giving us the first glimpse at a tangible online social space. There should be more competition in this genre in time to come.”

Vantan also blogs about and posts images from the first “in-world” Singapore Second Life gathering.

Following emerging technologies in this era of user innovation (the user generated revolution extends well beyond content) involves burning the candle at both ends and peering into images that flicker in these flames. In the age of Wikinomics, what is happening on on the ground, i.e., the new and innovative ways people are using emerging technologies is as least, perhaps, more important than looking at which horses the researchers, corporations, and those with big investment dollars are backing. And, there is also an important futurist, visionary component. Innovation circulates in the imagination long before it manifests in hardware, software and metaware.

I came back from VW 2007 with a recommended reading list including, The Fourth Turning, Wikinomics, Cultural Convergence (Henry Jenkins) - some big idea wheeling here, I suspect! And, I will give them a look when I finish Neil Stephenson’s “The Diamond Age.”

Stephenson’s Snow Crash, made the first extensive reference to the term “avatar” to describe one’s representation in a virtual world. Avatar based marketing was a very hot topic at the conference, as it is elsewhere. See, Paul Hemp’s Avatar Based Marketing in Harvard Business Review and some quibbles with his argument here.

But, in my view, the most interesting questions about avatars were not necessarily only those posed by the marketing theorists who ask: “How does a marketing message get transformed as it passes through an avatar?” And, hotly debated: “Are Avatars distinct from their creators?” Or, “Do Avatars represent hidden aspects of the consumer?” Hemp pointed out that whether or not these alter egos were what was displayed by the avatar, advertising has always targeted alter egos - hip, attractive alter egos that were just waiting to come out with the advertisers help. For me, some of the most interesting questions about avatars were raised by some of the organizations like CDC - Center For Disease Control (for more on CDC’s presence on SL see Spare Change), and Sundance on SL who in developing their presence on Second Life are not looking at ROI merely in terms of monetorization. They are asking questions about human development and social investment, such as: “How do we get people to go out and make a difference?”

Perhaps, the most energetic debate in the conference came when an educator in the audience challenged a speaker from the business community with the question: “How do we get business investing in education through virtual worlds?” “If we can figure out the application of virtual worlds in education then you have the attention of every child and parent.”

But, the potential virtual worlds have for education is well recognized. Linden Labs points out that Second Life Educators have a vibrant community and for every one entertainment company there are 100 educators. It is clear that virtual worlds offer a far more energizing medium for distance learning than web based e-learning.

Adam Reuter on The Second Life reported in October, 2006: “Indiana University Professor Edward Castronova has made a name for himself as an economist who studies virtual worlds. Now he’s been awarded a US$240,000 grant to create one himself, based on the world of William Shakespeare…..The grant to Castronova is part of $50 million in grants for the study of digital media and learning from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.”

“Some are afraid that young people spending more time in Virtual Worlds will create generations of “mouse potatoes” whose social skills turn to mush.” The Electric Sheep futurist, Jerry Paffendorf noted. But, this fear has not be born out in research on massively multi-player online games, he said. And, there are many optimistic outcomes that virtual worlds may bring about in terms of facilitating work and education over vast distances of geography, and with on the fly translation, language will no longer be a barrier to collaboration, work, learning and cultural exchange.

It is not just pesky “immersionists” who may be finished off when new levels of collaboration and participation in open virtual worlds come of age. Who knows, those even peskier divisive forces of nationalism worldwide may finally meet their match. Calling all netizens!

Tags: Second Life | Philip Rosedale | Linden Labs | Web3D | Virtual Hills | Web 2.0 | Web 3.0 | Virtual Reality | Virtual Worlds | Virtual Worlds 2007 | Interactive TV | 3D TV | The Tipping Point | global development | bridge blogging | wikinomics | avatar based marketing | education | netizens |