Month: January 2007

This will be an interesting conference. I’m interested not just in the marketing of products, but of the transmedia expansions of entertainment properties (as I’ve discussed here).

Virtual Worlds Conference 2007 is the leading event for Fortune 500 businesses seeking to understand and maximize marketing and business strategies within virtual worlds.  Leading companies from Toyota to Starwood to Leo Burnett to Adidas are setting up presences in virtual worlds.  MTV has set up its own virtual world with Virtual Laguna Beach.  CBS will bring its Star Trek franchise into Second Life.

Virtual Worlds 2007 shows you how to succeed as a marketer in this rapidly growing segment of marketing, media, entertainment and commerce.  Separate buzz from success; hear from companies who’ve made the journey and learn from their experiments and activities; learn more about this technology trend and the consumers who inhabit virtual worlds.

Companies considering the following VW applications should attend: branding, entertainment, interactive television, social networking, promotion, education, ecommerce, employee collaboration, test-marketing, content generation, training, recruiting and new product development.

Check out: www.virtualworlds2007.com

Ah, nice mix.

April last year I blogged, at WRT, about a book that had an unusual online life. The ‘book’ is in a card-file type format with cool bright colours and rounded corners. It is a networked book, created by the Future of the Book. The idea is that the book is presented in a cool manner, and that people are encouraged to discuss it, whilst it is being written. The book is about game theory, indeed, it is called ‘GAM3R 7H30RY’. It is written by academic McKenzie Wark, Professor of Cultural and Media Studies at the New School in New York, and author of many books including A Hacker Manifesto. The book will be published in print format around April this year and will include comments by those online. Recently, Wark was interviewed about his online book and his game theory inside a game: Halo. He was interviewed in the ingame talk show This Spartan Life (my favourite talk show) and ended the interview with a reading of his book. A reading that many writers would either envy or fear greatly. Enjoy.

I’ve been checking out the new media initiatives that Penguin UK are running and I must say I am quite impressed. They’ve been providing audio books for a long time, and ebooks too, but they also have a blog, podcast, have a fun MyPenguin program, are now in Second Life and are running on online game to launch a book: The Malice Box Quest. The audio books provide a point of entry to stories for people who prefer or can only enjoy books aurally. Ebooks are similarly for those that prefer to read a book in that format, and want the added benefits such as searchable text. The blog keeps everyone posted on what they are doing but most importantly gets a conversation going between consumers and the company. Indeed, it personifies the company. The podcast has interviews with authors to encourage selling of books, but also provides interviews with Penguin staff to continue the conversation of the blog. MyPenguin is a great little campaign where you can buy classic books such as ‘Crime and Punishment’ that come with a different cover. No cover. Teh cover is completely blank, and you, the consumer, are encouraged to draw or paint the cover and send a picture of it back to them. They’re put the images online at the MyPenguin site and at flickr.

In Second Life (the online virtual world) they will be providing a virtual book of the Ur-text of virtual worlds: Neal Stephenson’s Snowcrash. Snowcrash is the novel that inspired Second Life. At present they only have a sample of the book, but they will be bringing in a swag of Penguin books, holding reading groups and launches in there too. I’ve been speaking with Jeremy Neumann inworld, he is always happy to chat so give him a bell (IM). The Malice Box Quest looks like a cross between the Google Da Vinci Code Quest and Perplex City:

Over 30 days you must complete a series of puzzles to locate the seven sources of red gold scattered across the earth.

By accurately mapping all seven sources of red gold, the antennae grid of the Malice Box will be disabled, allowing Robert to battle and so defeat the Malice Box.

This will also trace a shape on a map of the Earth, guiding you to the location of the Malice Box – known as the FOCAL POINT.

Only when you have made your mark on the FOCAL POINT can you complete your trials and claim your power and prizes.

I’m impressed Penguin UK. Not because they’re plonked a whole lot of new media or Web 2.0 elements into the mix, but because these are executed well. Check them out:

• audio books
• ebooks
• blog
• podcast
• MyPenguin (and at flickr)
• in Second Life
• The Malice Box Quest