Tuesday, March 06, 2007

classes in sl

my audience research class had a guest speaker today - in SL. It went very well - took folks about 15 minutes to find the amphitheatre and get seated but considering that was their first time as a group on the island, that wasn't too bad.

Smiddy Smalls from Text100 was our speaker. The company works with many technology companies such as IBM adn Xerox. They help the customers know where their customers are and where they're having conversations by looking at peer to peer media. Text100 sees SecondLife as the next big thing in peer to peer platforms - they've been in world since August 2006. He sees companies using SL to solicit feedback on new products. It's good for education and thinking/communicating in 3D. It's even good for group meetings. He mentioned that the Rochester office met in SL when they were all trapped at home in a recent snow storm.

Companies are in SL for a variety of reasons. One is to get included in press coverage of SL. ANother is to connect with their customers. Text 100 wants to help their customers get into SL for hte long haul - planning events, not just one shot deals.

He offered some advice to the students as they think about their futures. He encouraged the studnets to become well-versed in new media and consumer generated content. he said it was vital to know about wiki's and blogs and lots of social networks.

Here are some pictures of the event. We are sitting in the outdoor amphitheatre on the Park island.

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