Regarding financial analysis and what we are doing at WRLDs. I worked as a licensed broker in order to further my understanding of the markets, and am still active as an independent trader. (I worked as a broker after my faculty experience in interdisciplinary work involving art, technology and the sciences). One of my core interests in developing WRLDs, was to find a method to address the human experience of trading. The creation and dissolution of markets has such broad implications for all of us; we experience it in all aspects of our lives. In the practice of many of the sciences it seems as though interacting directly with physical materials brings researchers outside of their “looking apparatus”, (as discussed by Michel Serres). It brings in information which is unexpected, and difficult to control. In the practice of human trading, (not algorithmic), it is as though one forgets that there are at times millions of other individuals attached at the same moment, via this technological apparatus, to exchange information, (the buy and sell), in a trading transaction. My intention for this project with WRLDs, was to develop our virtual space, (The Foyer), so that one could build a virtual form with your own trading data, in real time, and use it to both gain some distance from the experience of the transaction, as well as share it with others, and transform it with others. To use the data to “build something” which could have some value, other than the “exchange value” of currency. I wondered if this occurred, if it might not be similar to what I observed in the sciences when researchers interacted with physical materials, or worked with those outside their fields, and bring new insights into trading. Our current tools for trading, all repeat the same approaches to the data, with slight refinements or variations. It seemed there had to be other methods, that used more of what Derrida might consider as an expanded form of writing as in a hieroglyph; where a single abstract symbol contains layers of meaning. This would be in contrast to a symbol such as the letter “a”, or a number, which by itself, has very little significance.

I hope this makes sense.

Another site to watch regarding virtual world interoperability is http://vwinterop.wikidot.com/ which is a consortium (including Linden Labs, IBM, Forterra, ActiveWorlds and others) working to drive real interoperability standards.