Until now, I've avoided virtual worlds like the plague but today I relented. Craig Cmehil invited me to attend a 1 hour session organised by Metaversed. Setting up an account was easy enough but slow going. Creating an avatar was entertaining but again a slow process. My avatar is called AccMan Mighty. (yes, silly I know.)
Once I'd got that done, I 'teleported' direct to the meeting location. I was surprised so many people turned up and lost count of the number of attendees once I reached 50 - someone will have the exact numbers.
This get together was designed to explore what companies are doing with SL and discuss the barriers to adoption. Representative from Sun, SAP, Amazon and Xerox acted as panelists and the audience got to ask a wide variety of questions. I learned:
- SL is still in early stage
- Where it is being actively used - Sun was the standout example - they are seeing huge ROI in things like improved communications
- Getting out to SL from behind the firewall is a big showstopper. To overcome this, Amazon's Jeff Barr arranged a get together at his house
- Setting up a credible presence is not a trivial undertaking and you will either need to hire in help or be prepared to grapple with SLs tools.
- .The environment still needs a bit of work for people to feel truly comfortable but it is getting there.
- Companies that are working with SL are finding that people 'get it' instantly and want more
- SL is probably not the place to be holding 100 person meetings but groups of 20-30 operate well
From a professional perspective, I see it as a great opportunity to provide clients with all sorts of value add services. An example might be post-Budget commentary with Q&A. Another might be bite sized software teaching sessions.
I'm hooked and will turn up at the next event.
Technorati Tags: Amazon, SAP, SAP SDN, second life, Xerox
Innovation
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