Category: Creative Practice & Strategy

This Wednesday you can attend this event inside of Second Life:

“In World” Panel Discussion (Re-run)
29 August @ 9.30am – 10.30am
 
One of the fastest growing online communities today is the virtual world of Second Life. With more than 6 million users worldwide, many big corporate including IBM, Toyota, Dell, Telstra, Sun Microsystems and the ABC have already set up a presence in Second Life.

 On 29th August from 9.30am – 10.30am, the Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA) is holding it’s rescheduled panel discussion event where key industry experts will provide insights into this virtual world, which analysts predict will become an essential part of online life within the next four years. The panel will also address the critical question for marketers.

Panelists include:

Lisa Romano, Project Manager, Strategic Development, ABC Innovation – ABC
Lisa will discuss ABC’s Business and Marketing Objectives and achievements to date with its Second Life Island, and building virtual communities
 
Kelly Yeoh, Virtual Worlds Engineer, IBM
Kelly has been involved in several of IBMs high profile Second Life builds including the Australian Open.  She will discuss IBM’s presence in SL and the importance of open standards within virtual worlds and the need for scalability and security.
 
Mandy Salomon, Senior Researcher, User Environments, Smart Internet Technology CRC – Swinburne University of Technology
Mandy will discuss what threats and opportunities exist in setting up a presence and doing business in Second Life.
 
Grace Roberts, Founding Director – Second Life TV Network & Cattle Puppy Productions
Grace will bring an innovative perspective to real business opportunities taking place in this virtual world, and how collaborative partnerships and building global networks is a key attribute to these worlds.
 
Nick Abrahams, Leader of Technology Media & Telecommunications Group – Deacons
With a GDP of US0 million, Second Life is a significant economy. Like all economies there are capital inflows and outflows and participants investing in these Virtual Worlds need to have transparency and certainty about the way these economies are run. Nick will discuss the risks, legal and otherwise, for corporates when they create their Virtual World presence.
 
Moderator – David Holloway, Director – SLOz
SLOz is a site devoted to bringing an Aussie slant to the Second Life experience. Launched in November 2006, SLOz believes that Second Life at the very least may bring a new approach to internet-based interaction, and we want to cover the fun ride to be had along the way. 

Details on how to get the teleport location at their website

I’m not one for fear-driven motivation, but this is funny:

Picture by Paul Cleghorn at Flickr

Yesterday the Official Serenity Ship Papers went on sale at Quantum Mechanix. The papers are replicas of the authorisation materials used by the fictional characters of Joss Whedon’s Firefly/Serenity verse.

The Ship Papers set includes 13 full-color sheets of various sizes up to 8-1/2″ x 14″. Certificates are hand stamped with the official seals of the Alliance, and are hand signed in English and Chinese by the appropriate Alliance officials. The documents contain endorsements required to operate a variety of ship’s systems, and also include system maps, operating licenses, safety inspections, and a wealth of background material covering all manner of information on what it takes to operate a Firefly-Class Transport in an increasingly bureaucratic and restrictive ‘Verse.
 
Those documents come wrapped up in a handcrafted leather wallet with brass fittings and a handmade screw-down plate. The Official Serenity Ship Papers are designed to pass muster with the most ornery Alliance thug and the most discriminating Browncoat.

It is these sorts of props that represent what I argue is an emerging compelling type of merchandise: ‘exported fictional artefacts’. I spoke about exported and imported fictional artefacts recently at a presentation I gave to the Australian publishing industry.  Exported Fictional Artefacts are, quite simply, products that exist within the fictional world. Harry Potter’s wand, for instance has this trait, but a towel that features Harry Potter the character does not. A few years ago I hypothesized that any product which has this trait would be more popular with fans. The main reason is the ‘immersive’ effect of these products: they bring the fan closer to the fictional world and raise the immersive feel of it.

Anyway, check out the Serenity papers, it is a limited-edition run with 1250 of the 1500 available already sold.