Rivers Run Red CEO Justin Boddington recently remarked that 60% of the queries they have received of late related to internal communication projects. Organisations cannot be something on the outside they are not already on the inside as many early entrants to Second Life have learned. With two of the Metaverse Development Company founders who brought many of the early entrants into Second Life awakening to this fact that is a very good thing.

PA Consulting and The Sunday Times recently teamed up to host a conference titled Getting Real About Business in Second Life. Claus Nehmzow of PA Consulting moderated a panel with Randy Sisks of Cisco, Pascal Spelier of ABN Amro and Dominic Rushe of The Sunday Times. The event was recorded and is viewable in four parts. Runtime for each video is under 10 minutes.

Part one and two provide business presentations from each of the panel on their experiences in Second Life todate. Part three covers the following topics from the Q&A – virtual worlds v video conferencing, partnering through Second Life, communication methods and integrate channels. Part four covers the following topics from the Q&A – entry costs, focus groups, confidential meetings, recruitment and the future of virtual worlds.

Over the next five years most businesses will have a virtual world presence just as they have a website today. As the above example demonstrates some of the more forward looking organisations are already experimenting with early virtual world offerings. While only at the very beginning of the beginning of our transition to a Meta Age virtual worlds represent a unique facilitation role for organisations of all sizes and sectors. Interesting times indeed.

It was good to see The Gamer Disposition by John Seely Brown & Douglas Thomas, Making Alternate Reality the New Business Reality by Jane McGonigal, The Metaverse : TV of the future? by Miklos Sarvary, Giving Avatars Emotive control by Judith Donath and Happy Metadata trails by Jan Chipchase making this years list.

All are recommended reading and food for thought as we enter the Meta Age. For those interested in linking the above ideas together I recommend listening to this podcast. Adam Pasick interviewed Mitch Kapor at Davos last week and touched on many of the above themes.

Virtual Worlds were highlighted as a core driver of DME within iN2015. Concept proposals are invited from prospective Virtual World technology providers, developers and user groups under a Request For Information (RFI) – Virtual Worlds for Singapore. Closure date for RFI submissions is January 15th 2008.

Both the public launch of China’s Recreation District (CRD) in Beijing last week and Singapore’s iN2015 reinforce the strategic imperative of Virtual Worlds within DME over the coming decade. International initiatives such as these bode well for the future of the emergent Virtual Worlds sector as it evolves. Interesting times indeed.

Of particular interest is the launch of China’s Recreation District which is the virtual equivalent to China’s “Special Economic Zones”. As someone who was fortunate enough to witness first hand the rise of the Asian Tiger economies over the last 2 decades this event heralds a new chapter in the regions evolution. Many thanks to Brendan for the invitation.

Stanford plays host to its first Metaverse Meetup this evening. Mike Liebhold from the Institute of the Future is tonights guest speaker. As one of the leading 3D Geoweb thinkers Mikes talk on 3D Data for Real World Virtual Worlds promises to be entertaining and educational. Co-ordinator Henrik Bennetsen has more details on the event here. For those who cannot make it to Stanford there will be a Second Life simulcast at Spaceport Bravo.

Saturday sees Harvard Business School play host to its annual Cyberposium. This years event has Virtual Worlds high on its agenda with Linden Lab CEO Philip Rosedale delivering one of the keynotes and a Online Games and Virtual Worlds : More Than Just Entertainment? panel in the afternoon. For those interested in attending registration is available here.

“We are entering an era known as the ‘Avatar Age’ in which people connect face to face online. Because people today trust the recommendations of friends much more than advertising, companies can now seize the opportunity to support online communities and connect more deeply with their customers through social networks rather than through traditional online advertising,” said Reuben Steiger, CEO, Millions of Us. “This financing will allow us to make necessary investments and attract the talent to continue along our rapid growth curve.”

Electric Sheep Company (ESC) were the stars of the Spring Virtual Worlds Conference in New York earlier this year. Millions Of Us (MOU) took that mantle at the Fall Virtual Worlds Conference in San Jose this week. They announced a partnership with HiPiHi and a strategic investment from Omnicom Group. Congratulations to Reuben and all the MOU team on your continued success.

Omnicom’s investment further reinforces traditional media endorsement of the Virtual Worlds space. It follows on from the CBS $7m strategic investment in ESC back in February. Back in Febuary I remarked that 2007 was shaping up to be the year of the Avatar. While I share Reuben’s sentiments on the role of avatars I do not see us entering an Avatar Age. Avatars are but a subset of the digitization of everything. Rather we are entering a Meta Age with all that it brings and holds in store. Interesting times indeed.

Metanomics 07 is off to a good start with this weeks guest speaker Sandra Kearney, Global Director of 3D Internet and VIrtual Business at IBM. Sandra gave an interesting and interactive one hour presentation on IBM’s involvement in the metaverse. VIdeo archives of all Metanomics 07 sessions are available over on the Second Life Cable Network.

Justin Ratner gave a keynote titled Virtual Worlds – The rise of the 3D Internet at the Intel Developer Forum. A webcast of his talk is available here for those interested. After Intel’s recent acquistion of Havok and partnering with Qwaq Forums on an enhanced virtual workspace product its Virtual World declarations of intent are noted.

Last but not least Sony pushed back the launch date for Home from Autumn 2007 to Spring 2008. Having followed beta developments since April 2007 it still requires work and Sony is doing the right thing. With a steadily growing PS3 online user base of 2.7M worldwide it is eagerly awaited.

This fall, WIRED Magazine is bringing its vision of a new world’s fair to Los Angeles. Experience more than 160 exciting exhibits from scientists, researchers, and inventors around the globe. WIRED NextFest features innovations in communication, design, entertainment, exploration, health, play, robots, transportation, security, and green living.

WIRED NextFest kicks off today in Los Angeles. It runs from September 13th-16th in the South Hall (J and K) at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Exhibitors are offering the opportunity to experience first hand their vision of the future. For those attending the four day event we recommend checking out Brainloop.

Brainloop is an interactive performance platform which employs an application called Brain Computer Interface (BCI) that lets users explore virtual spaces such as Google Earth simply by imagining basic movements. The exhibit is a production of Aksioma – an Institute for Contemporary Arts in Ljubljana.

Virtual experiences todate have been limited by computer peripherals such as the mouse and keyboard. Unchanged for decades these interface tools were designed primarily for a 2D world of data input. Last year Nintendo gave people a glimpse of just what is possible with the launch of its wii remote which harnessed motion sensor technology.

As Christian Renaud points out peoples perceptions of what is real and what is virtual will evolve over time. This will accelerate as more interactive performance platforms (driven by voice, motion and ultimately thoughts) to interface within 2D and 3D environments become available. Interesting times indeed.

Nick Wilson invited me to a new Second Life group called Metanomics 07′ yesterday. A link to the above video followed which offers a brief outline to a very ambitious project. Were it anyone else attempting to pull this off I would have my doubts but having watched Nick work his magic over the last 6 months it merits following.

His company Metaversed.com has partnered with Professor Robert Bloomfield at Cornell University to explore and define best practices in virtual business. Topics proposed will be of interest to businesses beginning to tune into a three-layered strategic approach of micro, macro and meta.

Lots of meta-goodness is on its way. Metaverse, metanomics and metabrands are all about to enter the business lexicon over the coming years. If you are interested in participating at the dawning of a Meta Age then Metanomics is highly recommended.

As someone who is not a fan of versioning I prefer to think about what is happening in terms of waves. The first wave was a top-down driven revolution, the second wave is a bottom-up driven counter-revolution and the third wave will be about where the two intersect and ultimately evolve – middle space. During the first and second waves our digital identity and attention identity were separable. In the third wave the two will become one with significant social, economic and political consequences.

A number of projects are attempting to build services to ride the third wave. OpenID, Particls and Project VRM are but three examples which need to be considered alongside the likes of platform contenders Facebook, Google and Linden Lab. Whereas RSS provides content, microformats provide context, Virtual Worlds provide presence – both in terms of location and self. As our understanding and interpretation of gestures improve Virtual Worlds will play an important part in providing a sandbox to enable the mind shift required in third wave thinking from linear to non-linear.

With more people experiencing Virtual Worlds first hand many are surprised to learn just how long they have actually been around. Thankfully an initiative by Bruce Damer called Virtual Worlds Timeline is at hand to help fill in the gaps. For those interested audio and accompanying slides of a March 26th 2007 presentation on the origins and evolution of Social Virtual Worlds by Bruce is available here. There are a number of gems within the presentation for those who take the time to listen to it. More to follow …

SLCC 2007 – Chicago, US, August 24th-26th 2007

This year, the 3rd Annual SLCC will be located in Chicago at the Hilton hotel. The convention has grown in size expecting upwards of 1000 attendees. This year the SLCC will be using a multi-track format to maximize on content and interaction. The four tracks are Education, Machinima, Business/Future of the Metaverse and Social/Entertainment.

Serious Virtual Worlds – Coventry, UK, Sept 13th-14th 2007

The theme for this first Serious Virtual Worlds conference is ‘The Reality of the Virtual World’ and takes a close look at how virtual worlds are now being used for serious professional purposes. Many organisations are now actively researching and deploying virtual worlds. Serious Virtual Worlds is your introduction to the serious uses of virtual worlds.

slconference 2007 – Berlin, Germany, Sept 16th-18th 2007 – CANCELLED

The conference will consist of a one-day workshop followed by a two-day conference featuring interactive sessions and workshops revolving around Business & Marketing, Education, Art, Design & Scripting and Community & Citizenship. Keynote presentations will also be a highlight of the conference as well as evening entertainment programs.

Virtual Worlds Fall – San Jose, CA, US, October 10th-11th 2007

Virtual Worlds Fall is dedicated to helping businesses harness the power of virtual worlds to engage with their customers, partners and employees. The conference has five primary tracks: Entertainment and Marketing; Virtual Worlds for the Enterprise; Business Strategy and Investment; Community and Customer Service; and Design and Development.

Virtual Worlds Forum – London, UK, October 23rd-26th 2007

This two day conference and exhibition covers both public and private virtual worlds. The conversation will range from how brands can engage with consumers in virtual worlds and on the 3D web for commercial and brand advantage, to harnessing the power of corporate collaboration and private virtual worlds.