Virtual Worlds for Enterprise & Corporate Use
November 30th, 2009
Virtual worlds for enterprise and corporate use, or as 3DTLC terms it “virtual corporate.” Is widespread enterprise adoption right around the corner for enterprise adoption of virtual worlds? My belief is that with continued tight budgets training managers will look more and more to cost effective and innovative solutions to solve training department needs. This is where 3-D virtual world based applications will continue to shine. They are cost effective (especially when compared to traditional training method offerings) and also offer a low build time from concept to implementation. And moreover, the new generation audience demands new and better training via advanced learning methodologies and technologies. CBT just doesn’t cut it anymore!
Some say to just login to Second Life and go explore the possibilities for corporate use. I disagree- it’s kind of like sending a SWAT team into a crisis situation with armed bad guys and not provisioning the SWAT team with weapons. For virtual world ‘newbie’s’ the answer is not to blindly send them into Second Life so they may aimlessly wander around for an hour, exit the application, and thus never to return nor give training in virtual worlds a second thought. I would rather place a virtual world ‘newbie,’ if you will, into a intelligently controlled virtual world environment rich in decisions and interaction with non-player characters (NPCs). This will wow the newcomer- to witness firsthand real life applications and context in a virtual world. Once experienced, a believer is made.
Many enterprise/corporate based virtual world solution providers are entering the market today, although some do have some innovative offerings- not all are created equal. There is a recent buzz around Linden Lab’s Nebraska introduction (oh I mean Second Life Enterprise)…the platform is said to support the enterprise customer. What this will actually mean… who knows as Second Life content as it stands now is all user-created. So while a company may be able to enter ‘Second Life Enterprise’ and utilize it as a virtual world for work I doubt it will be a one-size fits all 3-D training and learning environment that will satisfy all enterprise and corporation needs. One must realize that each organization’s training needs are diverse and unique, by simply creating a behind-the-firewall solution and allowing work to be done in a virtual world I cannot say that is enough to sway enterprise perspectives of what they have seen in the past from Second Life- but maybe Second Life Enterprise will prove the naysayers wrong. With the increasing success of virtual events why not virtual worlds for training as the next logical step?
Avatar…The Future of You?
November 23rd, 2009
The translation for avatar is ‘a form of self’- does your avatar really resemble you down to a “tee?” When entering virtual worlds I have seen customized avatars from robots to pandas and just about everything in between, each one a very unique representation of oneself. Avatar Customization (clothing, body proportions, hair and eye color, etc.) seems to be more and more prevalent nowadays and all too often virtual worlds are largely judged by the robustness of avatar customization options and features.
Should the ‘virtual you’ mimic ‘the real life you?’ Will the upcoming ‘Avatar’ movie change the perception of how people view avatars? What kind of name does the movie, Avatar, give the real avatar in context to a virtual world? Obviously, if someone is not familiar with an avatar character in relation to use within a virtual world one will get the wrong perception. So many questions around an avatar: Can humans really relate to an avatar? A digital rendering- is it realistic enough? Customization- is it really that important? Seriously, how important is it to be able to customize your avatar?
Virtual worlds, social networking sites and video customization are allowing some form of customization to your own and unique profile. As an example some of the faces on the Evolver website reminded me of watching America’s Most Wanted (except for the ranking of most dangerous to society). One thing is for sure, I don’t see myself as wandering around a virtual world clad in an itsy, bitsy, teeny, weenie polka dot bikini anytime soon as pictured on the Evolver home page. The program allows you to share your customized avatar with friends on social networks such as: Facebook, MySpace, Blogger and Friendster.
In recent news was an article describing how many businesses will begin adopting dress codes for avatars that are utilized by company employees. According to Gartner:
“The company predicts that by year-end 2013, 70 percent of businesses will have behavior guidelines and dress codes established for all employees who have avatars associated with the organization.” Understandably, companies don’t want their established name and reputation to be associated with a trashy avatar.
The future of avatars for virtual worlds is promising; I see many more customizing options becoming available soon with wicked realism to actual individuals. As for the term ‘Avatar,’ time will tell as to whether or not the Hollywood movie will change the general public’s perception of what an avatar is.
Related posts on Avatars:
Calling all Avatars
Avatar: A New Addition to Mankind
Speaking of Virtual Worlds…(Week of November 16-20)
November 20th, 2009
3D Virtual Worlds Becoming ‘Killer App’ for Supercomputers
Over 300 grids running OpenSim
Second Life Bows Out of Korea
Employing Standards and Basic Design Principles in Virtual Worlds
November 17th, 2009
It recently came to my attention from a post I did at Maxping that I should probably rewind and address basic virtual world design principles and standards (I guess I put the cart before the horse on this one and neglected to address this in prior posts). This ‘shiny’ VW technology is pretty cool- but without guidance, we are headed for user confusion and slow adoption of virtual world applications. Sadly, controls, navigation, avatars, and environments vary drastically from one metaverse to the next; yes, the geeks still rule.
Virtual worlds can be complex environments with steep learning curves to simply navigate and operate ‘in-world.’ This often surfaces as one of the biggest barriers to virtual world mainstream adoption. Some VWs actually employ a lack of design and concept and leave the user wanting more, or needing to create more to satisfy time in the virtual world. I realize that is the appeal of some virtual worlds, to build from the ground up. Just like house hunting- is it better to buy a house that is already built and have no say in the design rather just live with it, or are you better off designing and building it from the ground up to satisfy all of your needs.
Most designers and programmers assume that much functionality within the virtual world space should be intuitive to the user, when in fact it is not. Ever purchased a foreign made product and tried to assemble with a lack of directions- while some of the assembly process may be intuitive other processes may not. I believe that there is a certain level of functionality that we must achieve in order to make the road to adoption smoother. While many challenges relate to design, it’s ok for each virtual world to be unique within its own environment as long as basic navigation principles are agreed upon and adhered to.
So in the end all of my ranting about design principles may or may not make sense to the readers. However, in the end it boils down to the user truly grasping the principles of virtual world design in order to feel ‘at home’ and navigate with ease. I believe that employing basic design principles and standards to virtual worlds present a host of challenges and opportunities.
Speaking of Virtual Worlds…(Week of November 16-20)
November 15th, 2009
A weekly wrap-up on what’s going on within the Virtual World sphere and beyond! Click on any of the below titles to read the full story.
Second Life Duty Now Required for Penn State’s Online Advisers
Avatars Can Surreptitiously And Negatively Affect User In Video Games, Virtual Worlds
National Geographic And NDi Media Partner To Develop And Distribute ’Virtual World Of Music’ Game
From Virtual Reality to Augmented Reality
November 12th, 2009
I’ve been debating on whether or not to tackle this topic. Every other new tech article seems to address it so I thought it only fitting to bring up the topic on the blog. Let me first preface this with a disclaimer: I know very little on augmented reality.
So what is this newfangled technology? Does it really bring a new level of realism to the table, or is it all just hype? Integrating augmented reality into training applications seems to be coming more and more mainstream, so I have decided to dig a little deeper and see what I could come up with and perhaps provide you, the reader, with new found insight.
Let’s review what Augmented Reality is (thanks to Wikipedia) Augmented reality (AR) is a field of computer research which deals with the combination of real-world and computer-generated data (virtual reality), where computer graphics objects are blended into real footage in real time. The term is believed to have been coined in 1990 by Thomas Caudell, an employee of Boeing at the time[1].
At present, most AR research is concerned with the use of live video imagery which is digitally processed and “augmented” by the addition of computer-generated graphics. Advanced research includes the use of motion-tracking data, fiducial markers recognition using machine vision, and the construction of controlled environments containing any number of sensors and actuators.
Augmented reality games are becoming more common place and there is much promise for augmented reality’s future in both PC and mobile applications. So you may be asking yourself how do augmented reality and virtual worlds relate? I don’t know, for sure. Apparently, the experts are at odds, too. Could be disposable eye-candy or a very cool adjunct to VWs…
-3D
-Immersive
-Interactive
-Large range of applications (military, industrial, corporate, etc.)
Milgram’s Reality-Virtuality Continuum
Computer-generated data + Real world= Augmented Reality (AR)
Large corporations such as BMW, Adidas and Lego are all embracing the newer technology. Both desktop and mobile augmented reality has now arrived. Many new augmented reality platforms are currently in the early development stages, but do hold loads of promise for future applications. While many skeptics remain, time will tell to see what the adoption rate of the over-hyped technology will actually be.
Is There Really Mass Confusion Around the Term of ‘Virtual World’?
November 10th, 2009
The recent 3DTLC conference brought together many virtual world enthusiasts to convene and re-think the future of virtual worlds. Among one of the more talked about topics at the conference was defining (or rather redefining) the term ‘virtual world,’ is it still the correct term to use or are there better terms out there to aid in bringing virtual worlds to main stream adoption?
When I talk about what I do- do people automatically associate virtual worlds with Second Life and some of the popular kid/ tween/ teen virtual worlds? Does this put a bad taste in the mouth of potential virtual world adopters? In Thinkbalm’s recent blog post they suggest possible alternatives to be used in lieu of the term ‘virtual world.’ Among the terms are: control room, operations center, studio, and/ or collaboration space. So for the next potential client we pitch- lets go into the presentation pitching a new ‘control room’ training program. Depending upon the client I am sure they would have no clue as to what we were referring to. Why confuse virtual world skeptics when trying to sell the technology?
No longer are we in-world, rather we are in an immersive Internet environment – I think this just leads to further confusion. It’s kind of like running through a stop sign, and then re-thinking and throwing the car in reverse to back up to the stop and do it all over. You’re still going to get a ticket so is it really worth changing something that was already going down the tracks in the right direction at the risk of derailing the entire train?
And no longer are we supposed to refer to games or simulations, but rather one of these terms: practice tool, rehearsal environment, or interactive scenario. Geez, I am even more confused now then when I started writing this blog post. If someone that is immersed in the industry is confused, imagine what the decision makers are thinking. These terms seem to provide more vagueness and seem even more complex than previously adopted terminology.
According to Thinkbalm’s Crossing the Chasm, One Implementation at a Time Report when interviewing immersive internet advocates “The three major types of barriers to Immersive Internet adoption are technology, people (in particular, time and perception), and money.” With a shift to interact in 3D, new applications are in the news daily. In my humble opinion a ‘barrier’ is just an easy excuse not to adapt to a new, innovative and potentially valuable technology. In life there are many obstacles and challenges but not necessarily full of barriers. Evidence exists that some virtual worlds give others a bad name. Just because the term ‘virtual world’ is broad and encompasses a vast array of different world types (from kids to teens to serious) that is not to say that it is the wrong term. Overcoming the ‘game’ term will always be something that we as virtual world adopters and marketers will have to overcome. And yes we do realize that access and security are always a concern with any type of training program to include simulation or virtual world.
A new lexicon in the offing? I doubt it. Like it or not, virtual world is here to stay, for now. Maybe a killer VW app will change all that for the better. A girl can dream.
Speaking of Virtual Worlds… (Week of November 2-6)
November 7th, 2009
A weekly wrap-up on what’s going on within the Virtual World sphere and beyond! Click on any of the below titles to read the full story.
The Second Life Economy – Third Quarter 2009 in Detail
Journal of Virtual Worlds Research- Volume 2, Number 3: Technology, Economy and Standards
Second Life Enterprise (AKA Codename Nebraska) Launch
Homeland Security Plans Virtual World Terror Attack Simulators
The Promise and Perils of Virtual Worlds (Part 2)
November 4th, 2009
Part two of the two-part series- this post will focus exclusively on the peril of virtual worlds. When I pulled out my handy-dandy Webster’s New World Dictionary to further define my term of peril- other words that stood out were: danger, jeopardy, and exposure to harm. So I thought to myself- could virtual worlds really be so ominous? Forrester Research recently reported that “only 11% of enterprises have adopted virtual worlds to augment their work.” With all of the press on virtual worlds- is this number really accurate… it seems like such a stark contrast to the numbers previously posted in The Promise of Virtual Worlds (link to blog article here) where we stated the following numbers from K Zero:
“By the end of this year we’ll be at the 150 mark for total worlds. We forecast this number to double by the end of 2010.”
“Combine all of this and we get to our 2012 forecast of 900 virtual worlds.”
“We forecast 2012 revenues to reach $6bn and 2013 to hit $9bn.”
We’ve seen Google Lively and Weblin enter the virtual world scene and then quickly fold- will more follow suit? So does the infamous tagline from Field of Dreams- “If we build it, they will come” really stand true for all virtual worlds (well it might if they don’t go bankrupt first). First of all virtual worlds are not created equal- although most all of them hold promise in different respects, will that be enough to sustain and prosper? The primary reason for some virtual worlds closing is the lack of funds generated- if a virtual world is free to users- there must be a valid business model underpinning the endeavor. Without such a model- will virtual worlds be able to continue. Sure lots of users are in-world and building communities but that ultimately doesn’t bring home the bacon. Whereas if a virtual world company branches out- such as Second Life with branding opportunities or Blue Mars with the Smithsonian maybe success will ensue. What could possibly lead to the peril of virtual worlds as we know them? Although mainstream adoption may be a little ways out I wouldn’t say that the perils outweigh the potential of virtual worlds. If a company makes a name or carves a niche then the opportunity for high-level success is there. But in today’s economic times there are a lot more companies that go bankrupt before success is reaped. So I am sure that we will see more virtual world companies enter and then exit the scene for lack of funding.
The Promise and Perils of Virtual Worlds (Part 1)
November 2nd, 2009
This is a two- part blog post on the promise and peril of virtual worlds, this post will specifically focus on the promise of virtual worlds. Recently K Zero posted a Forecast for the Virtual Worlds Sector on their blog:
“By the end of this year we’ll be at the 150 mark for total worlds. We forecast this number to double by the end of 2010.”
“Combine all of this and we get to our 2012 forecast of 900 virtual worlds.”
“We forecast 2012 revenues to reach $6bn and 2013 to hit $9bn.”
Yes that is Billion with a capital B! But 900 virtual worlds by 2012 could this be true- a little more than 2 years away and we haven’t even hit the 150 number!? What will be the differentiating factor from one virtual world to the next with that many virtual world applications to choose from? We don’t even have that many options with social media apps. as of yet. It seems like a daunting figure- although I am all for the growth of virtual worlds- how many is too many? There are many indications that virtual worlds hold a very bright future.
So you may ask why virtual worlds?
-Reducing Training Costs
-Increasing Company Revenues
-Training / Education
-Increase in Employee Productivity
-Customer Interaction
-Product Development
-Process Optimization
-Offer an Immersive Learning Experience
-High fidelity graphics