Electric Sheep Company's resident futurist Jerry Paffendorf sat down with bureau chief Adam Reuters for an interview on Sunday from the South by Southwest Interactive festival.Jerry talked about the Metaverse Roadmap, lifeblogging, and what's to come for Second Life this year. Click play below to hear the interview.
Game developer and Areae founder Raph Koster sat down for an interview with bureau chief Adam Reuters on Sunday at the South by Southwest Interactive festival on Sunday. He talked about the state of the metaverse, what's to come for Second Life, and a few tantalizing details about his forthcoming virtual world. Click play below to hear the interview.
Anshe Chung Studios, the giant Second Life property development firm which has also expanded into metaverse services, confirmed on Thursday it has sold 10 percent of itself to a German venture capital firm.
Not to be outdone by Electric Sheep Company’s $7 million round of financing from CBS and Gladwyne Partners, Millions of Us boss Rueben Steiger gets a massive publicity boost from the Associated Press story, “Virtual Designers Busy in Online Worlds.”
Advanced Micro Devices opens its virtual doors on the AMD Dev Central Pavilion on AMD Dev Central Island located within the Second Life metaverse today, part of a coordinated effort to extend its Developer Outreach programs into a virtual space for meetings, lectures, training courses and networking opportunities for developers.
Reader Steve Rubel tipped us to the virtual presence of an eerily familiar retail environment inside the Second Life metaverse. In this virtual Apple Store, you can belly up to the Genius Bar, or browse the imaginary products on the not-really-there shelves -- and yes, Laurie, that's a Cube there on the bar.
The Metaverse Stock Exchange is merging with the rival World Stock Exchange, which was launched by LukeConnell Vandeverre’s Hope Capital last month but has been beset by technical problems that have frustrated traders and investors.
HiI am sick of having to use camp chairs, paying money to people who don't spend the money at my stores. So I want to get together a list of promotional resources to help promote the businesses & projects I operate in SecondLife.Anyone have any ideas? I dont mind how wild or out there they are, let me know ;)I have Metaverse Messenger, Events and SL related Blogs, Booths at popular places, any others you can think of? Off-world promotional resources which work for SL projects would be of interest too :DLuvStaceyxxxP.S. We all want quality traffic. I believe in a few campers, its good to help newbies earn a little extra cash to 1) gamble 2) buy stuff and to generate that extra bit of traffic to get further up the listings. However, with open source SL clients, people have manipulated the viewer to bring in 10-20 bots to suck up the camp chair revenues. I'd love to stamp this out and get some quality traffic :rolleyes:
http://secondlife.reuters.com/stories/2007/01/12/hope-capital-launches-r... Capital launches rival to Metaverse Stock ExchangeFri Jan 12, 2007 10:01am PST By Adam ReutersSECOND LIFE, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Australian entrepreneur Luke Connell LukeConnell Vandeverre in Second Life is set to open on Friday the World Stock Exchange, an automated trading floor that allows companies to sell shares to the public, taking on the established Metaverse Stock Exchange.The WSE is part of Hope Capital Ltd, Connells Second Life financial services firm (SLurl), which also includes a foreign exchange market and a retail bank that will begin offering home, business and consumer loans on Feb. 1. The WSE allows companies to automatically submit an application to offer shares and to set a price for their offering, charging a 3 percent commission.The new stock exchange is launching despite the mixed track record of the Metaverse Stock Exchange, which only has one listed company a year and a half after the initial public offering of Cyberland in July, 2005. Cyberland, now known as Second Life Solutions, is run by Chief Executive Shaun Altman and its holdings include the exchange itself.With the growth of the economy in Second Life and other virtual worlds, there is increasing interest in virtual world finance. SLNN reported this week that a Canadian firm is looking to launch a business that links Second Life finance with real-world banking, and the makers of the MMO Entropia Universe are auctioning five licenses to integrate real world banking systems into the virtual world.Connell is a 23-year old Melbourne resident whose website states his goal of running an investment portfolio of $1 billion by age 35. He has sold shares in Hope Capital to several dozen investors (a share register is listed online here), and prepared a lengthy financial prospectus for the company.He has only been in Second Life since Nov. 29, purchasing the World Currency Exchange from founder Adam Constantineau in December.One obvious roadblock for financial services in Second Life is the lack of contract law and regulation, meaning that all investments be they shares, deposits with banks, or other ventures carry some degree of risk that a company will walk away with its investors money.There is no protection for shareholders if the founder of a company whom everyone thought was a good investment decided to vanish, Connell said. In an attempt to prevent financial skulduggery, the WSE will regulate listed companies by monitoring adherence with listing rules.Companies are required to meet the listing rules and adhere to the constitution of the WSE. The WSE can disapprove of a listing if it suspects foul play their listing can be removed immediately or frozen, he said. We wouldnt allow a company to list on the exchange if we felt they were questionable.There might be an opportunity to work closely with Linden Lab with regards to fraud, he added, as fraud is a breach of the Terms of Service.Hope Capitals bank, OurBank, will offer interest rates that are relatively modest compared to rivals like Ginko, Midas and SL Bank, offering 6.5 percent per year for the standard savings account, calculated daily and paid fortnightly.I was under pressure by citizens of SL to offer higher interest rates but its risky and therefore Im sticking to the fundamental rules of banking, Connell said.From Feb. 1, OurBank will offer automated consumer loans of up to L$1,000 to verified residents with at least 5 profile points and two months in Second Life, charging 20 percent interest per year with a minimum monthly payment of 10 percent.Business and home loans will require collateral in the form of land, with the bank taking possession until the loan is repaid.
clipped by: invictus
clipper's remarks: Looks like it was the first big political clash at Second Life... Very likely, more to come in upcoming weeks and months.
