Virtual Worlds 2008 has come and gone and while I spent the weekend wrapping up some writing projects and searching in vain for a feed/stream/webcast of the conference, the who’s who of vw’s talked shop and engaged in some serious crystal ball gazing. Over at Virtual Worlds News they’ve got a good wrap-up of the weekends events.
When it comes to kids virtual worlds, here’s some highlights that I noted:
Digado has 10 reasons why kids worlds dominated 2008. The 10 reasons are all spot on, including (sadly) number 6: “Kids are not skeptical about branding.” I think a little more skepticism (aka critical thinking) would be something that would not hurt vws for kids and would definitely help kids.
Eric Reuters had a good wrap up of the general views on where kids’ vws are going and the opportunities that Second Life is missing out on with their Teen Grid.
One area that Linden Labs can (and are) doing well, I believe, is facilitating educational opportunities within the SL Teen Grid. Some great examples can be found at the Global Kids blog, where they are doing some innovative stuff to get kids connected with real world issues and fostering a sense of civic engagement in virtual worlds.
Overall, I’m still very optimistic on where kids’ virtual worlds are headed. Somewhere between the marketing buzz and hype seen at VW08, there is room to create a space that will engage, entertain, inform and empower young people.
Liam, wish I could’ve cloned myself to be in two places at once, since I was at CCFC at the time and discussing similar notions with Sara Grimes (Gamine Expedition) and other academic folks…trying to weigh the pros/cons of content in virtual worlds that still tend to hang on pop culture oohs & ahhs or commodification in RL environs.
Know it’s going to get even more profoundly corp./$$ driven as virtual worlds team with gamer/ad models to embed sales into the platforms, much like the new in-game advertising partnership with Double Fusion and Habbo Hotel…
“Utilizing their extensive sales experience in 2D and 3D environments, Double Fusion will work with advertisers from the entertainment industry, retail, fashion and sports arenas to create relevant and interactive brand campaigns.”
So if they’re snaggin’ two and a half million eyeballs a month and rackin’ up more consumerism just for drill, I’d say there’s a STRONG need for media literacy ‘in-world’ and creative opps for healthier content…and I sure would like to take the lead in trying to embed some of those cues in a place like Dizzywood or Zookadoo in living lab style…wanna help? I could use a sharp like-minded thinker familiar with the platforms…
We should all do an ‘oovoo’ conference video chat and brainstorm this summer or meet up at the ‘mashup’ in S.F. before YPulse?! What d’ya think?
Yeah, I found it incredibly ironic that both the CCFC summit and VW08 were happening on the same weekend. If they’d been in the same hotel, now that would have been interesting!
Count me in on helping work with the vw creators to get some positive, non-consumption-based elements into these spaces. Sounds like a great idea. I’ll be in touch.