SOCIAL NETWORKING Socialization & Communities in a Virtual World 10/23/2007 M.Tadros New England Institute of Art Brookline, MA For more information visit: http://socialnets.wikispaces.com

Objectives Types of virtual social networking tools How does it affect us? [socially, economically etc.] Why should we care? Challenges and risks Future? 10/23/2007 M.Tadros

Types of virtual social networking tools

How does it affect us? [socially, economically etc.]

Why should we care?

Challenges and risks

Future?

Types of Software Collaborative software Social software Social metadata and/or anchortext /social bookmarking Metaverses and immersive environments 10/23/2007 M.Tadros

Collaborative software

Social software

Social metadata and/or anchortext /social bookmarking

Metaverses and immersive environments

collaborative software designed to help people involved in a common task achieve their goals. Eg. email, calendars, web conferencing, meetings etc.] Web 1.0 10/23/2007 M.Tadros

designed to help people involved in a common task achieve their goals.

Eg. email, calendars, web conferencing, meetings etc.]

Web 1.0

social software web-enabled software programs allow users to interact, share, and meet other users a virtual interaction that replaces physical interaction online networks [who you know is better than what you know – applying for jobs – accepting job applications from an HR perspective, etc.] [eg. including myspace, twitter, facebook, online dating, meetups, Craig’s List, youtube, linkedin, etc.] 10/23/2007 M.Tadros

web-enabled software programs

allow users to interact, share, and meet other users

a virtual interaction that replaces physical interaction

online networks [who you know is better than what you know – applying for jobs – accepting job applications from an HR perspective, etc.]

[eg. including myspace, twitter, facebook, online dating, meetups, Craig’s List, youtube, linkedin, etc.]

Points for discussion why are they successful? what are the risks involved? what are the challenges? What is the demographic of their usage? What are the social implications? 10/23/2007 M.Tadros

why are they successful?

what are the risks involved?

what are the challenges?

What is the demographic of their usage?

What are the social implications?

Social metadata and/or anchortext: Emerging world of social metadata a layer of programming data that describes content and helps tag it it is predicted that Web 3.0 will be about social metadata through “factoring in the opinions, naming conventions, web habits, locations, and behaviors of regular people and their "friends””. It is moving into more enhanced methods putting publicly visible metadata, in the form of reviews and descriptive details, to existing records. 10/23/2007 M.Tadros

Emerging world of social metadata

a layer of programming data that describes content and helps tag it

it is predicted that Web 3.0 will be about social metadata through “factoring in the opinions, naming conventions, web habits, locations, and behaviors of regular people and their "friends””.

It is moving into more enhanced methods putting publicly visible metadata, in the form of reviews and descriptive details, to existing records.

Metaverses or immersive environments Everyone is trying to understand its implications. Is it a simulation of the economy? of the environment? Of society? Of political and/or social landscapes? Business perspective: discussion of social networking for employees, customers/clients, branding issues This is video games meeting Web 2.0! 10/23/2007 M.Tadros

Everyone is trying to understand its implications.

Is it a simulation of the economy? of the environment? Of society? Of political and/or social landscapes?

Business perspective: discussion of social networking for employees, customers/clients, branding issues

This is video games meeting Web 2.0!

Definition It is not just interactive tv it is also immersive. An immersive 3D virtual world, that includes aspects of the physical world objects, actors, interfaces, and networks that construct and interact with virtual environments The Metaverse is the convergence of virtually-enhanced physical reality and physically persistent virtual space. It is a fusion of both, while allowing users to experience it as either. Source: metaverse roadmap 10/23/2007 M.Tadros

It is not just interactive tv it is also immersive.

An immersive 3D virtual world, that includes aspects of the physical world objects, actors, interfaces, and networks that construct and interact with virtual environments

The Metaverse is the convergence of

virtually-enhanced physical reality and

physically persistent virtual space.

It is a fusion of both, while allowing users to experience it as either.

Source: metaverse roadmap

Statistics Second Life 7 m Entropia 550 k HiPiHi There – Cyworld [south korea] Habbo hotel [in excess of 70 million downloads] Gaia 1m Virtual Laguna Beach 1m ActiveWorlds about 1m Kaneva 1m IMVU 1m Club Penguin: 12 m Neopets – 70 m Zwinky 4.7 World of Warcraft 7m MMORPG: 12-15 m total xbox live: 6 m [the virtual world of the social network of xbox users] 10/23/2007 M.Tadros

Second Life 7 m

Entropia 550 k

HiPiHi

There – Cyworld [south korea]

Habbo hotel [in excess of 70 million downloads]

Gaia 1m

Virtual Laguna Beach 1m

ActiveWorlds about 1m

Kaneva 1m

IMVU 1m

Club Penguin: 12 m

Neopets – 70 m

Zwinky 4.7

World of Warcraft 7m

MMORPG: 12-15 m total

xbox live: 6 m [the virtual world of the social network of xbox users]

250 million residents in virtual worlds by 2011: what is the potential of that? Projected: 10/23/2007 M.Tadros

250 million residents in virtual worlds by 2011: what is the potential of that?

Virtual worlds for business enterprise? Using 3d modality for meetings Workplaces are changing: real world/vs virtual world Photorealistic environments What are the key trends in a virtual environment that will impact your work? How can they be used to foster communication and communities valuable to your customers? What are the risks and business implications of investment in virtual environments? How should you protect yourself as a business? Technology evolution affects games, virtual worlds and platforms. What happens now when they are trying to make the avatars cross-platform and cross-worlds? [Gravatar] 10/23/2007 M.Tadros

Using 3d modality for meetings

Workplaces are changing: real world/vs virtual world

Photorealistic environments

What are the key trends in a virtual environment that will impact your work?

How can they be used to foster communication and communities valuable to your customers?

What are the risks and business implications of investment in virtual environments?

How should you protect yourself as a business?

Technology evolution affects games, virtual worlds and platforms. What happens now when they are trying to make the avatars cross-platform and cross-worlds? [Gravatar]

yesterday PCs GUI IM SMS internet games knowledgeable rules, immediate goals 10/23/2007 M.Tadros

PCs

GUI

IM

SMS

internet games

knowledgeable rules, immediate goals

today Wireless rich media VOip peer to peer virtual worlds that are limited and predetermined 10/23/2007 M.Tadros

Wireless

rich media

VOip

peer to peer

virtual worlds that are limited and predetermined

Tomorrow? user created content /cms potential is still wide open 10/23/2007 M.Tadros

user created content /cms

potential is still wide open

Challenges and opportunities Will enough people come to justify online presence and investment? Virtual sales versus ghost towns Commerce: pilot information sharing, link to websites, virtual stores. Identity Branding Locations: isolate private facilities; develop security measures for public sites/ watch out for malicious code. There is a trust reduction factor: distance, organization, clture, jurisdiction, technology 10/23/2007 M.Tadros

Will enough people come to justify online presence and investment? Virtual sales versus ghost towns

Commerce: pilot information sharing, link to websites, virtual stores.

Identity

Branding

Locations: isolate private facilities; develop security measures for public sites/ watch out for malicious code. There is a trust reduction factor: distance, organization, clture, jurisdiction, technology

Option 1: use available media set your own rules, controlled demographics, conventional business model you can use multiverse [a platform that allows you to create your own world – use them as platform to create your own world]. Much of it is open source. The technology is easy – but what is the problem is the idea: what is the content? what do you want to do with it? etc. Eg. Tyra's virtual studio, myspace, the hills, club penguin 10/23/2007 M.Tadros

set your own rules, controlled demographics, conventional business model

you can use multiverse [a platform that allows you to create your own world – use them as platform to create your own world]. Much of it is open source. The technology is easy – but what is the problem is the idea: what is the content? what do you want to do with it? etc.

Eg. Tyra's virtual studio, myspace, the hills, club penguin

Option 2: public worlds Second Life and There: platforms or worlds? second life is a platform – it has a good user interface that allows you to create stuff. how does an organization benefit from that? What about intellectual property. Linden labs give you IP... until they close down. They are under no obligation to keep it running for any time. 10/23/2007 M.Tadros

Second Life and There: platforms or worlds?

second life is a platform – it has a good user interface that allows you to create stuff.

how does an organization benefit from that?

What about intellectual property.

Linden labs give you IP... until they close down.

They are under no obligation to keep it running for any time.

Option 3: build a private world self hosted or serviced, inside your firewall, secure collaboration, no distractions, augment other communications. Eg. activeworlds, multiverse, torque game engine; croquet; project wonderland 10/23/2007 M.Tadros

self hosted or serviced, inside your firewall, secure collaboration, no distractions, augment other communications.

Eg. activeworlds, multiverse, torque game engine; croquet; project wonderland

Prominent examples of success UN World Food Program's food force: uses 3D gaming to teach about famine relief Game-like websites using flash or other rich clients: car, kitchen, house walk-through Unisfair virtual trade shows: trade shows and user conferences in second life for business Wells Fargo launched a 3D online financial education site for young people on the ActiveWorld platform about a year ago Sixth-graders in Wisconsin are using an avatarized virtual environment built at Harvard to learn about science [MUVEES or Multi-User Virtual Environment Experimental Simulator) 10/23/2007 M.Tadros

UN World Food Program's food force: uses 3D gaming to teach about famine relief

Game-like websites using flash or other rich clients: car, kitchen, house walk-through

Unisfair virtual trade shows: trade shows and user conferences in second life for business

Wells Fargo launched a 3D online financial education site for young people on the ActiveWorld platform about a year ago

Sixth-graders in Wisconsin are using an avatarized virtual environment built at Harvard to learn about science [MUVEES or Multi-User Virtual Environment Experimental Simulator)

Success http://www.millionsofus.com/ [a business model that helps others create virtual environments for their businesses] http://www.gse.harvard.edu/~dedech/muvees/ [a Harvard project that creates a virtual environment for education] BUT: Are your customers in MMORPGs [massive multi-player online role playing games]? 10/23/2007 M.Tadros

http://www.millionsofus.com/ [a business model that helps others create virtual environments for their businesses]

http://www.gse.harvard.edu/~dedech/muvees/ [a Harvard project that creates a virtual environment for education]

BUT: Are your customers in MMORPGs [massive multi-player online role playing games]?

Education and government nonverbal communications teaching social skills – medical and training applications one-to-one, one-to-many, several to several educational courses political canvassing civil response simulations Cyberone: law in the court of public opinion 10/23/2007 M.Tadros

nonverbal communications

teaching social skills – medical and training applications

one-to-one, one-to-many, several to several

educational courses

political canvassing

civil response simulations

Cyberone: law in the court

of public opinion

Sources http://www.joelamantia.com/blog/archives/cat_social_bookmarking.html http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/21433.wss Gartner Summit presentations – September 07 http://www.metaverseroadmap.org/overview/ 10/23/2007 M.Tadros

http://www.joelamantia.com/blog/archives/cat_social_bookmarking.html

http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/21433.wss

Gartner Summit presentations – September 07

http://www.metaverseroadmap.org/overview/