Brad 的个人资料Booming Prairie Chicken照片日志列表更多  |  工具 帮助 |
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10月30日 The Future of ReadingThe Future of Reading
As the book changes form, the library must champion its own power base—readers
Since I entered 'Second Life' I've gained a new appreciation of librarians. I will save you the long story of how I came to meet a librarian - that is an epic of sorts - but I will say that they are among some of the most technologically savvy people I've met. The ones I've met "get it" that technology is changing the world on every level. They can see that the way we gain and give knowledge is changing as the fundamental media also changes. The librarians I've met are adapting and evolving to all of this.
10月27日 Trend Micro Launches Broad Strategy and New Solutions for Advanced Server Security Spanning Physical, Virtualized and Cloud-Based ServersTrend Micro Launches Broad Strategy and New Solutions for Advanced Server Security Spanning Physical, Virtualized and Cloud-Based Servers
This is significant; one of the concerns of any Virtual World is transaction security and this looks like a viable solution. I have a lot of respect for Trend Micro and their security products. I think we will see even more companies offering solutions that can work in Virtual Worlds.
Halloween in Second life Professors use technology to increase student involvement in learningProfessors use technology to increase student involvement in learning
The simulated environment of “Second Life” takes learning out of the classroom and onto the Internet
Back in DeadwoodBack in Deadwood
Laurie and I actually made it into Deadwood yesterday. We have been away from this town far too long. The circumstances in our life are such that we could not get out more often this year. I really do hope the economy improves enough in the coming year to allow this. Inspite of what some people are saying I don't think this recession is over with. 10月23日 No Budget, No Boundaries: It’s the Real YouNo Budget, No Boundaries: It’s the Real You
The New York Times runs a story on Second Life; inspite of the recession the virtual world thrives. There are also those who have figured out how to get a very real income from the virtual economy. 10月20日 Capitalism thrives in virtual world: Second Life gives commerce a second chanceCapitalism thrives in virtual world: Second Life gives commerce a second chance
This article asks a very important question; could virtual worlds be the next employment frontier? With the falling prices in terms of computer hardware and the rapid growth of broadband the access issue it shrinking. I wonder what would happen if a virtual world comparable to Second Life released a client program for a game machine such the Xbox? 10月16日 Kingdon describes Second Life's enterprise growth, Linden Lab's expansion, and plans for mobileKingdon describes Second Life's enterprise growth, Linden Lab's expansion, and plans for mobile
10月15日 Black hills Paranormal InvestigationsBlack Hills Paranormal Investigations
And
The Unexplained Conference
 I don't have a lot of time anymore to devote paranormal research. The sad realities of the industry I make my living in have changed all that. I still have a great deal of respect for the people I've met who do this sort of research. They don't do it for money. They do it out of a passion that most people can't understand. These are people that are willing to invest their time, and sometimes a lot of money, into finding the truth about the mysteries that surround us.
Black Hills Paranormal Investigations is one of the groups I've come to respect. They do their work with a professionalism that sometimes is neglected in the paranormal community. They have found the balance of the skeptic and open-minded learning that leads to credible research. This coming Saturday they are going to get a chance to share with the world some of what they have done. It disappoints Laurie and me that we can't be there.
If you are really interested in this sort of thing do check their blog:
Are online currencies striking gold?Are online currencies striking gold?
Is Second Life's Economy Too Big To Fail?
With our country approaching near 10% unemployment doesn't it seem logical to start looking at these new trends in economics? If close platform integration eventually takes place, and I believe it will, many of these virtual economies will start connecting. For just one moment imagine that you could go back in time. You go back in history to meet a odd young fellow by the name of Bill Gates who has this wild idea of every home having a computer and every computer needing an operating system. Knowing what you do today would you have made an investment in his upstart company? I feel this way about Virtual World technology.
10月13日 Once You Go Hybrid You’ll Never Go Back—Hybrid Event Drives Physical Event AttendanceOnce You Go Hybrid You’ll Never Go Back—Hybrid Event Drives Physical Event Attendance
Cisco Systems discovers the use of hybrid conferencing using, you guessed it, 'Second Life'.
10月12日 Your Second Life Avatar Is Dressed InappropriatelyYour Second Life Avatar Is Dressed Inappropriately
This story out of the Wall Street Journal only further confirms that Virtual World technology is again being taken seriously by business. I'm also including a link to the Gartner report that inspired all this:
Gartner Says Enterprises Must Get Control of Their Avatars
Now higher education already has a major foothold in Second Life. At last check I think there are over 150 universities and colleges active in this virtual world. Now we have schools offering degrees and programs specific to this technology:
Number of Colleges Offering Degrees in Online Worlds Skyrockets
Just another example of what this technology is capable of.
10月11日 Less than two weeks to Deadwood...Less than two weeks to Deadwood...
Yes, less than two weeks until Laurie and I are back on the road again. It has been far too long but there was no way to avoid it. Our world is rapidly changing and we have to adjust. Time off from work is becoming rare for us. At least we still have our jobs and, with some luck, eventually retirement. Right now though my mind easily wanders to the prospect of lighting a cigar at the Deadwood Tobacco Company and the splendor of the Black Hills...
10月5日 The Pressures of RealityThe Pressures of Reality
Somebody wrote me an E-mail last night concerning the dramatic format changes the Booming Prairie Chicken has gone through in the last few months. He was disappointed that I was apparently no longer covering the paranormal and our travels to Deadwood. I understand his concern. Maybe someday the focus can go back to ghosts but not now, not anytime soon.
The grim fact of the matter is that Laurie and I work in the telecommunications industry. This is a world that is seeing dramatic, sometimes ugly, changes. Jobs are vanishing as the markets consolidate, as technology changes, as the consumer preferences change. It is not good enough to know the product that is popular today; now in order to survive you must know the product that will be in demand tomorrow.
It is these same forces that have made it impossible for Laurie and me to travel over the last few months. We are just very lucky that we have retained the jobs we currently have. Right now I need to focus my efforts on an attempt to create something that can support us if our jobs do vanish. Believe it or not, the potential exists within Second Life. Does Pressure Play Into Second Life Purchasing?Does Pressure Play Into Second Life Purchasing?
Not much of a blog update this weekend; the fact of the matter is I'm sick. I doubt if I have H1N1 or anything so exotic, probably just a bad cold. It still is making it difficult and uncomfortable to get things done. This particular report and this particular website that I've referenced above is interesting. It provides some insight into what motivates people to spend real money in a virtual world. Now the Linden, the standard unit of exchange in Second Life, might seem incredible devalued but when you consider the volume of exchanges that occur then the Real Dollars start becoming apparent.
10月2日 One Billion Hours Of Sex In Second Life?One Billion Hours Of Sex In Second Life?
Second Life's virtual
economy over $500M a year
Thinking Virtually: Helping Companies Succeed in Marketing to the Metaverse
Useful article on 'Pixels and Policy' about how Real World companies can successfully use Virtual World technology. The market potential is big and getting bigger but only if you understand how to connect with the avatars that visit your sites.
So this morning I head into work and get there to discover I don't start until an hour later? I didn't bring my laptop either! So here I am doing a blog update from one of the public computers in the lunch room. I am so freaking glad its Friday at least... |
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