Reality is Relative

Once again Sam Harrelson talks me into a late night look at Next-Gen Marketing with a few practical examples over at Revenews. Long one- so good time to change the oil on the car (time shift) and listen…some might find it very relevant- no matter what reality you exist in, or think you do.

Sam says: “The podcast runs about 90 minutes and we discuss Wayne’s conception of Next Gen marketing and possible futures of online and affiliate marketing.”

Wayne says: “As usual, this podcast runs about 90 minutes and we discuss science fiction books, Next-Gen, games, my experience with ARGs, multi-verses, engagement from twitter to Second Life, Sam finds value in an OPML file, engagement metrics, incubation of fan bases, engaging smart people, Twitter, personalities, a bunch of books like: The Book of Zines, The Adventures of the The Stainless Steel Rat, Media Virus, etc. Not that many would care, but for the observant we also plod into Assyriology, cuneiform, ancient civilizations and why that crap is important to us. As usual I interrupt too often (why does he always catch me tired?), but we move along and didn’t even touch Mobile Marketing or iPhone stuff or blending it with RSS. At any rate this is sort of what “industry insiders” talk about…sort of.”

Stainless Steel Rats MP3 File

Another good cast, and Pinnacle Best Blog Award Winner- Sam Harrelson, speaks (what are you cloned or what?) at AffiliateFortuneCookies.com giving more clarity as Next-Gen, Virtual, Affiliate, and A Whole Bunch of Stuff Most Can’t Even See are heading for a whacked out, giant ajax-style real-world mashup collision thing. Maybe.

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Well only for a few perhaps, and we are far from it, but let’s look to the future through the eye’s of a futurist…

Virtual reality and reality to merge says Ray Kurzweil.

“Computers the size of blood cells will create fully immersive virtual realities by 2033,” leading inventor Ray Kurzweil has predicted. If so this sucks for me. I am to late. Death = phail.

“Today you can put a pea-sized computer inside your brain, if you have Parkinson’s disease and want to replace the biological neurons that were destroyed by the disease.”

He said a billion-fold increase in computing performance and capability over the next 25 years coupled with the 100,000 fold shrinking, would lead to “blood cell-size devices… that can go inside our bodies and keep us healthy and inside our brain and expand our intelligence”.

He said the blood cell computers would be able to “produce full immersion virtual reality from inside the nervous system”. People have more freedom in virtual worlds. He said the games industry had to be thinking about the future development of computing now.

“The games industry fits in well with the acceleration of progress; in no other industry do you feel that more than games.” Mr Kurzweil, who invented the flat bed scanner and text-to-speech synthesis, said the virtual world was a misnomer.

“In virtual worlds we do real romance, real learning, real business. Virtual reality is real reality.”

He added: “Games are the cutting edge of what is happening - we are going to spend more of our time in virtual reality environments. “Fully emergent games is really where we want to go. We will do most of our learning through these massively parallel interactions.”
“Play is how we principally learn and principally create,” he said.

Mergers Take Time

The merger is already occurring…in very small steps. Here we get a glimpse of conversation on discordant issues. Avatar to Avatar or human to avatar- anyway you want to slice it.

…often cannot be measured, let alone seen. We can only measure some of the after images.

Many messages are never heard because they do not rebound back or recurse to the media in a plain or readable format…nor can the impact be measured accurately due to hidden impediments. No other commentary from me. This is a hidden conversation made open. Anonymity assured. Tiny alterations made. You normally would never hear any of it. You would only see the after images… I am not going to make any comment on what it means. e.g. FIC.

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Andrew Wee makes an interesting observation about Facebook and how painful it can be to face mountains of invitations for applications, which he likens to Google Adsense blindness.

Being hit by irrelevant application invites, and with Facebook system where multiple people can keep sending you invites to the same app over and over again, and the best part is that you have to deny/ignore each application request one at a time, means you could be spending 15 - 30 minutes each day just getting rid of application requests…

So is this effective social marketing?

Should you still go out and develop a facebook app?

Effective? For the short-term- yes. Long term- no. Should you develop an application? Yes, but Facebook should be more astute and take a lesson from Dunbar…

Andrew notes that I like a certain game and asks for feedback:

Social marketers, I’m keen to hear what you’ve to say, maybe Jim Kukral, Sam Harrelson, Wayne Porter (whom I know is addicted to a particular insidious Facebook game…), Stephanie “Internet Geek Girl” Agresta, Robyn “Sleepyblogger” Tippins, Shawn Collins, or if you the reader might like to weigh in, drop a comment below…

Ironically the same game Andrew mentions I am addicted too is a game he had already mastered. Who knew we shared an interest in a certain insidious Facebook game?

Dunbar’s Number

I get many invites to groups, games and friend requests, and I don’t think I am near Andrew’s friend count of over 300. That is a significant being double that of Dunbar’s number. Dunbar’s number, approximately 150, represents a theorized cognitive limit to the number of individuals that one person can maintain stable social relationships, the kind of relationships that go with knowing who each person is and how each person relates socially to every other person.

Coevolution of neocortical size, group size and language in humans. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 16 (4): 681-735 .Dunbar used the correlation observed for non-human primates to predict a social group size for humans. He predicted a human “mean group size” of 148 (casually represented as 150), a result he considered exploratory due to the large error measure (a 95% confidence interval of 100 to 230). Note it is exploratory because of the margin for error and this should serve as a caveat. Christoper Allen does some deep analysis and notes that 150 is probably on the high end if one is looking for group cohesion.

“hovers somewhere between 25-80, but is best around 45-50. Anything more than this and the group has to spend too much time “grooming” to keep group cohesion”

The rise of MMORPGs, digital worlds, Second Life and social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace has lead to more scrutiny on group size. Again Christopher Allen’s: Dunbar, Altruistic Punishment, and Meta-Moderation and Dunbar Triage: Too Many Connections (Allen offers up some good cultural and technological strategies).

At any rate I simply ignore or delete the requests- unless I find them interesting. There is a handy link at the top of my Facebook sidebar called “Ignore All”. A cheap form of keeping my “Dunbar pressure” in check.

What I do find interesting is “who” sends me “what” as it is very telling and provides insight into an individual’s persona and one’s overall network.

Language and Groups

For the record I think “addicted” is a bit dramatic…ok perhaps not…but I need to get my gold/lumber! I have an incentive. I have found that when I put a personal message in a request I tend to get a higher return on participation. Perhaps, as Dunbar put forth, language is a “cheap” form of social grooming. Tacking on a note is about as cheap as one can get.

For example, with invites to Dark Art of the Ancients I sent out a request and explained how I found the cooperative aspects of the game interesting and more players signed up than when I just selected twenty…I would love to see some metrics, perhaps public, (likened to CJ’s EPC) on request conversion by category, incentive and cap (number of invites).

That might be a better metric than overall installations or percentage of people with number installed…and perhaps Facebook would be wise to place a cap on invitations dynamically. Application developers could do this as well, and some do, but it still falls back to Facebook who must maintain stewardship of the platform long-term.

I do think we are in for a new age of metrics and social networking sites should pay attention to the stress network size can have on individuals as this could lead to “application blindness”. Sure, we have control of our network size, but people really don’t want to reject others, we would rather ignore the message.

Bigger is Not Always Better

It makes me think back to the early days of affiliate marketing were success was placed on the number of affiliates one gained and little attention paid to quality or relationship efficacy. That has changed- at least from an affiliate force size standpoint. I feel there is still too much emphasis placed on “big hitters” and marketers lose by not working with micro-sized players who really can influence people. Then again, the marketer gets all the stress of too many relationships.

Glory and Money

This is illustrated by a form of recruiting new players in a web based battle game my son and I play..they give a linking option that humorously underscores the reckless attitudes that some marketers continue to embrace, yet I cannot help but chuckle when I read it…

To recruit gladiators, who will then fight for you in the arena, you have to place your trap link somewhere in the internet and wait until someone clicks on it:

http://s5.gladiatus.com/game/c.php?uid=92111

Tip: you can place this link into your homepage, use it in your forum signature or send it to your friends. Someone will be mugged by you as soon as the link is clicked. You will receive money and glory through this!

“You will receive money and glory through this!” does sounds much like affiliate pitches from a few years ago. “Mugged”…at least they are honest and didn’t try to throw in honor.

We Aren’t Meant to Scale

The real value from social networking platforms are the relationships forged and conversations to be had and Facebook applications or RPGs are great for this, but one should keep Dunbar’s number in mind. This is especially prudent in high immersion environments, like Second Life, where nothing seems to scale.

Social network quality is limited by design and Allen’s adjustments make more sense.

Andrew I will see you at the Summit so I guess we can continue the conversation at some point. If you are bored try Gladiatus- I will get money and glory through this and you can take a break from Facebook before you lose all of your vision.

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The quick recap of one of my usual winding posts that go on and on….but really worth thinking about. The short version Chev summed up in an insult , yes it is true but the mnemonic is far more succinct. (For those late to the game- we are one and the same, only the avatar version does not always behave as predicted and generally denies I exist.)

- Chev, our rogue knight, wonders out loud in twitter after viewing a Caledonian island covenant.

- Helpful Pfanderson steps up to guide the knight with some information.

- I follow-up via e-mail and ask three questions of Mr. Drinkwater, esteemed and humble resident of Caledon. Carried to him via the helpful Lady Anderson.

- Later this pm, after many e-mails, Tweets, Skypes, etc from folks, and judging by unique visitors on my steampunk’o'meter I find it thrilling to say Caledonians enjoy reading long windy posts. That does not excuse my poor writing, only that I believe that Caledonians will read anything with a vigor that is not quite human.

I received a letter from Mr. JJ Drinkwater. I have not replied back to Mr. Drinkwater, although I shall, and it is not for being at a loss for words, but because after reading it…I felt intruding would be like- well- interrupting a very nice play.

Upon Mr. Porter’s Questions on Caledon, its history, and boons.

These were brokered to Mr. Drinkwater through the quill of Ms. Anderson and I report below. Enjoy and savor fair reader, to use a word from Mr. Drinkwater, the “zest” in this reply. I have made small edits to links for purpose of aesthetics and other slight changes, otherwise this is the text as sent from the good fellow. I shall attempt commentary later, for now my hope is that more Caledonians send me letters so that I may digest them first, then share them. It is rather selfish, but I am a rogue and it is a stingy pleasure.

My Dear Sir.

You raise some extraordinarily interesting questions, indeed….some of which I cannot even presented to answer, but can query in their turn. Before I begin, however, I should like to say that, devoted as the Caledon Library is to our fair nation, we cannot pretend to stand in for Caledon’s sundry Founders, Historians, and Pundits, many of whom, I am entirely convinced, will make themselves heard on ths matter, either at this estimable table, or from their own Podia.

1) Does the Caledonian citizen’s interests in literature influence how well curated the history of the build seems to be?

That is a dangerous question to ask a Librarian, sir, as we are apt to place literature at the centre of all things, and to see all things by its light. However, since you have asked…

Caledon was created to be a 19th-century environment—but Caledon is very far from being a historical re-creation. I like to say that when one comes to Caledon, rather than entering the 19th century, one enters the 19th century imagination. The world of Caledon has as much in it of Ivanhoe and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea as it does of *The Mayor of Casterbridge*, *Hard Times*, or even *The Pickwick Papers*. This means that Caledon draws on a very large body of literature and history, instead of (like many other RP regions) a single created world, or body of mythology. Moreover, although it is nowhere stated, the implicit story is (arguably) that Caledon is British, or is Britain, as seen through some appropriate looking-glass.This means that the flourishing of the English-language novel in the 19th century gives Caledon—and its library—a rich source of material to draw on.

During a most edifying conversation, on Orange, this week, the following was said (with much edited out inbetween)

[12:40] Sin Trenton: When “pure” Victorians meet “pure” Steampunkers. In other groups in the past, there is alienation.. In Caledon forums, people promptly decided they wanted to learn more about the other side
(snip)
[12:40] Ordinal Malaprop: Yes, actually, I did want to mention stylistic divisions - not in terms of drama necessarily
(snip)
[12:42] JJ Drinkwater has it categorized into the imaginary 19th century of….. Dickens/Hardy/Thackeray, Verne/Wells, and Scott/Rackham

I suppose I should have said the Imaginary 19th *centuries*, for each of those groups of authors deals in a particular genre of imagination. In Caledon, indeed, the Masters of Technology are not on Mars, they are flying overhead in something brass-riveted and steam-powered, and Fairies are not at the bottom of the garden, they are next door throwing a rout and waltzing for dear life. But what *is* a literature, if it is not how a group of persons…a community, a nation, or what have you…conceives of itself and its surrounds, and pases that conception between themselves, and so on to the larger world, and perhaps to the world that is removed from what they limn, in time as well as space?

I must confess my brain (known for its inelasticity, it is true) will not stretch to encompass the idea of Caledon as a build, unless you are using “build” as a shorthand for “the constructed evidence of a community”? In which case, there is indeed a great consonance between the sundry literacies of Caledon-the-c0mmunity (and how Caledonians read such literatures as inspire them) and manner in which they have depicted, and commemorated, what has struck them about Caledon-the-place

2) Are there any specialized tools or processes that a community can use to “keep its identity”. Regain its identity?

Here I am beyond my depth, as I am but poorly acquainted with the thinking of Archivists, who ( if I am not mistaken, which I may well be) ask us to conceive that what a culture creates, and preserves, is the stuff it will use to understand its own nature, or identity, or, if you like, its geist or spirit or soul.

However, from my own little experience, I can say that what Caledon seems to use are tools that are scarcely specializied, but to use them in a manner which is informed by the will and desire to be a community, indeed, perhapse even to be a People.

The Caledon Forums, and the Caledon Aethero-blogo-sphere, to which Sir Edward has graciously pointed us, uses blogs and wikis and discussion threads and suchlike, it seems to me, to instantiate the vast fluctuating wonder that is the identity of Caledon. They do this by sustaining, and making available, over time, a conversation posessing a thousand topics, but through which runs a submerged thread of “Is this Caledon?” “How is this Caledon” “How is this important to Caledon?” “How is this useful to Caledon?” &c. We speak of many matters, but they are all, somehow, matters of Caledon, and it is through this long and multfaceted conversation that the identity of Caledon comes forward to meet the eye.

I consulted long-time Caledon Steward Serra Anansi on this point, and she put in neatly into the following nutshell: “Every joy, trial, cause or flame war links us all for better or worse…”
I would add that it is not only Caledon’s numerous accomplished builders, but also its cultural institutions….its galleries and theatre and musical venues, perhaps even its library…that feed the delight we all take in this. Every time Radio Riel gives us another day of music from Miss Austen’s era or dances us gaily through a Burns Night Supper (http://radioriel.blogspot.com/2008/01/robbie-burns-and-music-of-scotland.html), every time we see our own images reflected in an exhibit of portraits we enrich our sense of community, and its pleasures.

3) How has having a “history” helped the overall community at Caledon?

This, I believe, is a question for the Historians of Caledon, among which honoured company I dare not place myself.

However, I will speculate that it is as something in the nature of a shared narrative, a set of stories we may tell and retell one another, and by our actions extend indefinitely, that Caledon’s “history” has helped us bond into a community.

We are, of course, making it up as we go along, when we perform the daily duties and pleasures that make up the life of Caledon….only, we are not making it up out of whole cloth. Rather, we are elaborating, each of us in our own way, the stories we already know. We have, as it were, a body of images and devices and motifs, and therefore both our stock of Caledon Characters and our skeleton bits of business ready to hand, and, like the players in the Commedia dell’arte, with their Lazzi and Scenarios, we are ready to charge onto the stage and improvise for all we are worth, and to the enjoyment of all concerned.

That we needn’t guess, or rely on our own fallible memories, for what has made up Caledon, but may rather contemplate the evidence of Caledon’s Caledonian-ness in a variety of places, I would think, only serves to facilitate the zest with which we go about the thing.

I am, sir, your most humble etc etc

JJ Drinkwater

It is I who must thank you Mr. Drinkwater and other Caledonians that I am sure debated the issue in some chamber far away. It is rare to get a response that is not only entertaining and humble and yet so courteous I am want to give up being a wandering knight, a long story really how that occured, and sit still in my classroom chair and read proper. Then again, who would Caledonians make merry over? I can serve, if anything, as a bad example of knighthood and will continue to poorly question any Caledonian who would waste time with this Chevalier.

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Steampunk, Caledon and Second Life History

I should focus on more relevant and perhaps interesting events like Second Life hitting G3 Phones, concepts of cross reality synchronization, the new viewer but I find myself drawn back to Steampunk- think Victorian fantasy hybrids? (For no good reason I want to think China Mieville however he is not Steampunk, but rather “New Weird”.)

I became more aware of Caledon while visiting with the Duchess of Carntaigh…(The knight Chev still humbly apologizes for not attending the New Year’s Ball- as he was off on a quest and all that.)

The Caledonian builds (there are many sims both low and high prim density) tied in directly with some of the experiments I had conducted at Monolith Eight and DarkWood…e.g. How do we “preserve” virtual worlds? Should we even bother?

.
Twitter and Polite Librarians

Thanks to Patricia Anderson (University of Michigan) who got back to the mad knight Chev via twitter as he has been spending some time studying the history of Caledon after his dance ticket. His interest piqued after reading the Covenant. In Second Life a Covenant usually spells out the tier (tax or rent), rules, ratings, etc.

Taken to heart- it is a serious bilateral promise to do or not do something specified in an agreement- a promise. Rather than the typical covenant read he got an entire history lesson on Caledon instead. Later he wondered out loud in Twitter- “Caledon amazes me- what amazes me more is the history of Caledon. Must talk to librarians.”

They came to him with help. If you know anything of Caledon you understand that politeness and courtesy are the cornerstones of behavior. Ironically Chev had just been muted, ejected and banned in the span of five minutes by Prok, but that that is another tale.

Patricia informed me, in typical polite Caledon fashion, that Master JJ Drinkwater, Head of all the Caledonian Libraries was presenting to their group on Friday of this week. There is actually a group email for the Caledon Librarians! I am now wondering if Master JJ Drinkwater is the same person who curates The Hermenautic Circle?

The Hermenautic Circle is a select and secretive web enclave of 100 thinkers, writers, editors, journalists, bloggers, artists, designers, musicians, multimedia producers, activists, grad school refugees, and other friends. Hosted by Joshua Glenn. The group is not accepting new members.

I sort of hope so, because secretive enclaves are the kind of things that attract a Chev. Closed or not…

Patricia also, rather sagely, pointed out to me in an e-mail that I have truncated for maximum “sageness”:

For my own two cents, I am a fan of preserving widely and broadly…. however
there are other ways to preserve bits of the flavor of the time and culture
of a place — chatlogs, snapshots, machinma and such.

We are still getting fragments of history, but I suppose that is what history really is. Reconstructed fragments.

Preserving Pixels

I too am a fan of preservation, but preservering the virtual is far trickier than it looks.

I became very interested in the preservation of virtual worlds after Chev bought “land” at Darkwood. Darkwood, I believe, was one of the first fantasy RPG sims in Second Life and I’ll have Chev put the history up somewhere. It seemed a shame for a land baron to be holding a large parcel at an outrageous price to only let the community become littered with Darleks and the like.

I say community because there is a definite, and in Second Life terms, elder community at Darkwood…it was one of the first places a neighbor actually came out to greet Chev- thank you lady Rhiannon Chatnoir for doing that. As the tale goes Chev, out of sheer stubbornness, went ahead and paid the outrageous rate and declared Darkwood free.

He had wanted to curate the previous build, for sake of history, but that is another story entirely. In the end, it was wiped and some talented builders worked it back to a shop for wizards and the like, and an underground cavern full of monsters. Angus Mesmer being one the developers. I believe, if the words of royalty be true, he is a Caledonian well known and highly regarded for his talent and passion. He is one of few people that I know that uses a quill pen and ink and believes it is more efficient- he is also a habitual “prim trimmer”, his work is magnificient no less and if rumors are true- his latest creations are taking shape in “Dancing” located here.

From this thought and experience Chev formed a group, oviously poking fun at himself and Harry Potter a little because the thought of Corwin sitting still in a university or college setting is rather laughable. The group essentially focuses on asking the right questions- are we even doing so? One was surprised by the number of people who joined and some of the questions they brought up…should we preserve these worlds? If so- how? Authentication, DNA, genetics, etc…and we keep questioning.

Caledon and Keys

At any rate Caledon holds a lot of the keys to questions I have so I asked Patricia to send these to Master Drinkwater if she would be so kind. I have many more, but three was a good start, and I was really tired. I think I know the answers, but better to get it from experts.

Questions for the Caledonian Librarians

1) Does the Caledonian citizen’s interests in literature influence how well curated the history of the build seems to be?

2) Are there any specialized tools or processes that a community can use to “keep its identity”. Regain its identity?

3) How has having a “history” helped the overall community at Caledon?

Community and Beyond

If you think about about Caledon, about its citizens, their DNA, and covenant it isn’t that surprising we see a lush history- although it seems a bit scattered about the Web. Moreover, it doesn’t matter if Second Life were to go down tomorrow- the community, the fan base, the people are there and united. They are quite solid and capable of a journey to any virtual destination needed, to erect a new Caledon should disaster strike.

I think Caledon is a big deal if you think about what it really means. Brands, agencies, marketers, pundits and new media evangelists should pay attention to steampunk on the grid.

Caledon is a community, a community with a history and therefore a community with an identity, and if you have spent any time in the deep digital jungles of Second Life or other worlds you will know that idenity is everything…or nothing?

Addendum:

Mr. Edward Pearse, Earl of Primbroke, kindly directed my attention,via the comment thread, to the following websites. I feel they may be of interest to readers:

The Caledon Wiki

as well as a “*mostly* Caledon collection of blogs:” Caledon Blog Collection

I would enjoy hearing from any other Caledonians on their state and I do thank the Earl for the information.

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Having a history analyzing data and metrics for real world charities I was very interested in how virtual worlds, in particular Second Life, have or are using lindens to do the same.

One stellar success sticks out- http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/relay/. Here is an official blog post from avatar, Fayandria Foley on relayforlife.orgin Second Life. As I understand it they raised $140,000 US last year. That is quite an accomplishment and one worthy of note.

I started thinking on how non-virtual entities leverage the web to generate funds, the performance marketing industry in general, and some quick bullet points came to mind as raw ideas. I realize some of these tactics have been probably been used before, like items created by “top content creators” in a vendor, but I feel it could be more efficacious to activate the content creators who tell me- “I would never sell this- it is personal- but I would get involved if it raised funds for a charity I believed in.” I also understand that if you do not have a background in online advertising or marketing that some of this can be confusing. Don’t worry- focus on the larger concepts.

I, and others, noted AM Radio’s success. In a previous post about AM Radio’s The Far Away how many avatars told me they would 50L (lindens- a form of fiat currency) for the identical item priced at 10L if it went to a worthy cause. IDENTICAL. The Second Life group is a giving bunch…so I put together some quick bullets and what might be accomplish by adopting or experimenting with some of these ideas.

Caveat- some of these concepts are based on many years of real world experience, however one or two years is not enough time for me to study what all that has or can be done in a metaverse. Also let it stand that some of it is purely anecdote and not scientific.

1. Pay More - Give More: People will pay for a digital item, and more for it if it is for a charity or cause they believe in. Pay more is really- give more.

2. Release Dark Content: In my talks with some content creators, both “top guns” and “lesser knowns” (that produce quality none-the-less) many tell me never sell their items or intend to. However, if it were to benefit a cause- they would be inclined to do so. This is great because great content or ideas that might never see the light of day enters into the marketplace and raises the bar. It also helps galvanize a diverse world around causes which is important as the world seems to disagree on so many things. Altruism and good will are aspects avatars seem to be in sync with. I call this the release of “dark content”. The content exists, most never see it. This adds value to the world and attracts new people. Sustainable builds means less population attrition as more time is allocated to teaching or indoctrination.

3. Bi-lateral Exchange & WOM (Word of Mouth Advertising) over Time: There is a tangible value exchange beyond altruism in the form of a digital item or “gift”. This does not weaken the altruistic spirit, but serves as a reminder or a viral “totem” to propagate the cause through word of mouth as this item moves into virtual space. After all, much interaction occurs in small group clusters inside of residences or small parties. The item itself could be scripted so that anyone can make a donation at any time. There are other risks, but I am positive they can be solved. At the very least you have a contextually significant virtual item injected into the discussion mix.

4. Old Systems Adapted to New Metrics: To do this you would need robust tracking vendors that can analyze the efficacy of campaigns and goods. Useful metrics can be produced, in a non-invasive manner, that would provide insight into future deployment. This is something I have been working on with Bleys and we are very near completion of two of the last primary components- gifting an item and multiple splits.

5. Sustaining the Sustainer: I raise the issue of multiple splits because some charities may allow or enable content creators to split revenue on their creations- thus solving another problem, or helping solve it. I call it bi-lateral altruism others might call it brand equity transference. The content creator, can help sustain their build, adding longevity to a world in flux and this makes the build or exhibit sustainable. In turn it lowers the churn in a system by imparting a boost from the brand equity of a charity to the creator- a fair exchange. Some merchants, like Amazon, have rejected this on the web, but I don’t see it being a problem in a metaverse on a micro-content scale. Also many large name merchants have no problem with this e.g. Wal-mart. I plan to talk to igive and upromise when I attend Affiliate Summit this month.

6. Metrics with Meaning: We would now have granular metrics with meaning. For example some creators may only wish to donate a portion of an item’s proceeds to a cause. We designed it so it was web based in control (color, shape, reload, kill, title change, FPS delta, etc) and merchants (fund raisers) can run metrics, at least metrics I CAN’T FIND, on efficacy.

For example, The average spend from an avatar of greater than two years age from a single prim vendor in a plot size less than 2000 m2 or the average Earnings Per Teleport (EPT) on a set of thematically created content residing on mainland versus estate. There are so many missing pieces to the puzzle it is difficult to make decisions or plans. This is because Virtual worlds are young, but I am seeing the exact pattern in CPA/CPS (Cost Per Action - Cost Per Sale) driven Performance industry that is now a multi-billion dollar powerhouse.

EPC Calibration Tangent: I realized the value of not only performance metrics but engagement metrics years ago while developing EPC calibration (earnings per click), a technique to select placement of merchant relationships on performance by comparing return to a median eCPC (effective cost per click) in a thematic shopping vertical- for example many flower merchants. (The article is archived at CJ University- perhaps I can talk them into liberating it as it was commissioned). Merchants falling below the “calibrated EPC” could be retained by renegotiating either coupon or commission raise. It set a meaningful bar for negotiation. Some, like Tim Storm, took this to a dynamic level and used it on the fly! It also led to other concepts like network concentration risk or merchant mix concentration risk.

7. Evangelism of a Platform: This process advances many other needed causes in a digital world struggling to prove its worth to the outside. Insiders get it- they are indoctrinated- outsiders do not and it is completely alien. Anyone can get behind goodwill and for avatars the added benefit of what I called earlier “dark content”, more interaction, sense of personal involvement beyond giving lindens and moving on, and the production of thematic and contextual items that are aligned with a particular niche or “land”.

8. Uniting on a Personal Level: Because content creation is not limited to few, but many, and control lies in the hand of the charity, there is far less potential for brand damage or non-alignment, yet the system scales and again a metaverse is more united and on a more personal level. I not only gave- I gave something even more valuable- time, a creation, a piece of one’s DNA- legacy. Giving to a world attaches one to a world.

9. Diversity is Strength: We now have Virtual World involvement on many different levels. Content creators, artists, singers, music creators, essay writers, performers, can choose to participate on a level they desire and they are the subject matter experts. Charities can select brand equity transferral or not. The more diverse the offering, the more robust the market and the more money will change hands- it is bi-lateral.

10. Terrain that Blends: Obviously this sets the stage for a web (HTTP) blend or terrain cross-over. I have seen nothing of this, or very, very little in the virtual world and that is probably because concepts of Signature Tracking, Flex Tracking or SID* usage are all new to them. They speak a language all their own. Some argue not breaking the “magic circle”, I argue the circle is as large as we make it and metaverses are not isolated. Right now we see their trails like comets, the particles are tweets, Flickr photo streams, and forums. (*The tracking systems above are proprietary mechanisms used by major networks to match transactions in charity, cash-back, or point systems.)

11. The Door Opens: These are ideas not only for RFL, but for other charities that are entering the virtul like Kiva and another lady I was speaking before my client crashed (please feel free to contact me).

12. Reset The Market: This is where we can start an important “reset” and possibly alter a model in a way that sustains the sustainer, grows virtual worlds, and enhances our existence or life- no matter what number you give or what you give. I know networks are interested in this as I have talked to their executives about it, yet the virtual terrain is so alien to them they don’t know where to begin. Executives- you will know where to find me in February.

Anyone else is welcome to contact me about these ideas or leave their comments, or educate me. wporter@gmail.com or skype wporter. In world Corwin Chevalier (notecard please) or linkedin.

P.S. Yes Tim Storm- that is what that e-mail was about- and hopefully I will see you at the summit. $140,000 is a powerful proof for an emerging virtual world, but knowing that much more can be done and that charities can enable the very pioneers of a struggling digital space is a compelling value proposition in my eyes. These worlds are educational, they break open new ideas, fuse new relationships and they are on the horizon.

Addendum: I heard colleague Jiminy Roo on the RLFL cast- so Mr. Roo- expect an IM on this buddy and I am glad you are leading the technological team.

Addendum Two: Additional edits made for clarity, and some explanation of acronyms.

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On to the Association of Virtual Worlds.comredux

The Association of Virtual Worlds believes that virtual worlds represent a major information and technological revolution in how we work, play and live per the site. I think any long-time user agrees, despite setbacks, these pocket universes are major market disrupters. “The Association mission is to serve those companies and individuals who are dedicated to the advancement of this multi-billion dollar global industry and reach out to those who have not yet found virtual worlds.”

I might add I’d like to see more of the “multi” going out to the content creators, where the rubber meets the road. Like it or not scripting will in many ways become commoditized for common applications, and builds will be prefabricated or modular. However, the story tellers, the community facilitators, the people who know WHAT tools and HOW to use them effectively and creatively…are getting left out in the cold and their work, coupled with builders and scripters makes a world. Otherwise we have static code and primitive objects. We need bards, and we must value their work and time. Because the work is virtual does not make it less valuable.

This revolution started with people decades ago and it needs to get back to people. That is the essence of the “virtual world” or “web 2.0″, or any name you want to place on this compressed, immersive and fast paced media consumption and interaction. Think about it- no matter how immersive I am willing to be the majority of time users spend- chatting and talking. The visual element provides “presence”

The Goals of The Association of Virtual Worlds are:

1. To create a forum for the discussion of issues affecting the industry
2. To assist in the development of industry procedures and standards
3. To promote the virtual worlds industry, its interest and developments
4. To educate on the benefits of virtual worlds to enhance work and play
5. To offer business and social networking opportunities
6. To connect the public and consumers with members of the virtual worlds industry
7. To participate in the determination of the collective interests of the industry
8. To further the common interests of the industry
9. To provide leadership for the betterment of the industry
10. To recognize accomplishment within the virtual worlds industry

I had a long discussion about the history of various virtual worlds with Timeless Prototype. He joined and I hope will be committed as any group needs DNA from elder thought shapers. We had some discussion about direction and what compelled me to get involved on a deeper level was the agnostic focus and the need, as Time called it, for a “bridge component”- in short a second wave person of varied skillsets who had NOT been indoctrinated into the old system. I can see wisdom in this. I am second wave, and I do see things differently and I certainly have different ideas.

I am passionate about the future of these spaces, their preserveration and what they can do for humanity. I also realize they are very immature in their development. That is ok- this means we are ahead of the curve and a good thing too- they are not as easy as they look. Get started now.

To address the goals, or my personal thoughts on them.

1. There are many forums. Each has its distinct flavor and place. However, I rarely find people who want to interact using their surname. I would like to see that in a professional forum- accountability.

2. To assist in the development of industry procedures and standards. This is sorely needed. In every aspect from media standards to privacy disclosures and well- to about everything. This is a big deal, and I don’t think it is an easy task. People must be sure they don’t give up their rights and rants and raves are not going to protect them.

3. To promote the virtual worlds industry, its interest and developments. Evangelism. Pure and simple, an emerging industry needs wins and good examples to point out. In business this means measureable ROI or a sound promise of ROI down the road. ROI doesn’t always mean immediate dollars. These worlds are here to stay, I believe that and it requires unlearning some things and learning new ones- the time to get started in earnest is now. Nor does this all fall on Second Life’s shoulders. There are many promising candidates that are up and coming.

4. To educate on the benefits of virtual worlds to enhance work and play. In my opinion this is where lines have really gotten crossed. We have went horribly wrong when our work is no longer enjoyable, when people must work extreme hours in miserable environments to survive or for commendation. We have went astray as humans if we have kicked play out of our work.

Play is that creative spark that causes breakthroughs in our work. I recall doing research on unicode and domain name redirection and wondering if unicode could be injected into twitter. To be honest I was looking for an offensive sign to express disgust in a compressed fashion. I ended up with a pack of playing cards and concept of betting via twitter which Ev, the CEO, seemed to like. I did too. Look at the hand I drew. This was work, but it evolved into play that, if I can get Bleys motivated to finish it up, could provide a means to completely subvert the micro-blogging channel for a completely different purpose- relaxation and entertainment. Healthy work can be play, and play is healthy work.

5. To offer business and social networking opportunities. Oddly enough I find myself often socializing with my closest friends via skype paired with the Second Life client. The same bonding took place for affiliatesummit.com or RSA where I have worked virtually in e-commerce, and security for ten years. Networking opportunities, especially face to face, are important steps in a relationship. Virtual worlds do seem to accelerate these relationships, but they are often cemented face to face. This is how I knew Dave was in earnest from the day he told me liked the concept of “flying” to when I met him in Chicago. Virtual world users know it is a powerful tool, but not a complete replacement.

6. To connect the public and consumers with members of the virtual worlds industry. This is a good thing, because the media likes to beat the drum of the fringe and the negative. The fringe was always there. It was in USENET, it was and still is in IRC and it will be in virtual worlds. That does not devalue the medium.

7. To participate in the determination of the collective interests of the industry. Right now that is a priority, alot is needed and hopefully this won’t get mired down in muck. However, again let’s use Linden Labs (I stress Labs and not Second Life- they are a lab.)- they simply cannot solve all the problems. A concerted effort, and probably compromise will be needed, on behalf of users. The status quo has not pushed it ahead quickly enough. It is our world and our imagination- people must dispense of the idea that Lindens are gods, and that they are people like us and systematically work towards change. It will take time, in the last two industry births I witnessed and took part this meant years. I see the same pattern. People are people. Mistakes are made. We move on, we only fail if we do not learn from them.

8. To further the common interests of the industry. At this point I think recognizing and proving it is really viable, and it needs some turns and twists to get back to that direction. Campers to gather traffic is a poor tactical push. Land you “buy” is a rather shaky concept. Viability means people staying. People staying means there is community. Communities are viable. Big brands who want lift need only sponsor wholesome things and learn by interacting through the builds. That is step one. This is not a fast fused turn around. Go buy CPC and hope a botnet doesn’t tear you apart.

9. To provide leadership for the betterment of the industry. Here one has to be careful that leadership does not become agenda laden. Personally I like the idea of leaders with stewardship. It should should have a diverse mix of age and discipline expertise.

10. To recognize accomplishment within the virtual worlds industry. This is needed too. For example, Second Life is really a “closed community” and if you are not in the circle- it is dizzying. Everyone is eager to point out faults, but let’s look at the strides. Everyday I look back at the evolution of the PC and think “wow- I can’t believe I can do this now”. It annoys me that I am trying to run viability tests in a medium that breaks down frequently, but I know that risk going in. Those who accomplish something realize this and either move on to safer ground or stay at high risk.

I’ll leave you with what Dave posted:

Yes, Wayne, I do love to fly. No question about it. Since our first meeting, though, I’ve dug a bit deeper.

Seems that virtual worlds do a very good job at simulating real life experiences. So, flying inside of a virtual world feels like flying. Meeting up with some avatars in a virtual world feels like a real life, in-person interaction. Recently, I was spending time with an avatar while we watched a third putting up a structure in front of us. Despite the fact that my friend was in Edmonton, I was in Colorado, and the builder was physically at her desk in China, it felt only slightly different than standing with a friend peeking into a construction site. Amazing.

I understand that this feeling of being together is called “presence” or “co-presence” and to my knowledge, other more traditional communications media don’t capture this effect nearly as well as virtual worlds do. As someone who’s worked in long distance situations for years, I believe strongly that the workplace could benefit significantly from this effect – which, by the way, is inexpensively achieved and “green.”

How long before we forego air travel and corporate real estate to work together in virtual worlds? Well, it’s happening to a minor extent today, but it’s bound to increase dramatically and soon. Consider Forrester Research’s recent report “Getting Real Work Done in Virtual Worlds,” which recommends experimentation with virtual worlds now, because they may be as important for work as the web is, in five years time. In any event, the Association is here, in part to get this message out to the public. Exciting stuff. Thanks.

I do find it exciting. I am ready to participate and see where ALL these virtual worlds might lead. Conflict I imagine, but that is the normal course of things. Change always brings conflicts, it is how they are resolved they test our mettle as people- or avatars.

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I’m looking for bugs. Insects, spiders, creepy crawlys, little flying things. I figured instead of shopping, though, that I’d open up a little competition for friends and then figured why shouldn’t everyone have a chance to earn some Lindens. The insects will be used on a sim that isn’t yet open. Creators will keep full rights to their work, all I ask is the right to use them on my sim, and promise not to resell.

Pick up a copy of the rules here:

Dusan- why not pay each bug or creature creator a US Dollar bounty, let them retain full rights, a credit on the work, and make the bugs actively purchasable on the SIM (or in a shop on sim)? This is one blend of commerce I am doing at the “Primula Rasa” experiment…let people purchase parts they like, to help sustain the sim, gauge interest, and also gather information on engagement and sustainability.

Several ways to vend really…

a) Multi-Prim Vendors

b) Single Prim Vendors

c) Standalone Product

d) Standalone with Sign

Standalone works great, especially if you have auto-return turned off. We have vendors for all the situations, even SLX integration, (and you can easily change from web or add sub affiliates), but we need to write scripting for stand alone products. I don’t know if it that “bugs your plans” but rather than contests where only one benefits- many get a stipend and the real contest is on performance- well their bug does in the micro-transaction races. Data is very useful…and this is definitely “interest” data.

BTW- just what size is an insect? I know we have a whole range of horrible things, insects, and what not… Very curious.

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Two divergent, yet similar posts came in, one from Skype, one via e-mail. Both from trusted sources and sources I follow and interact with on Twitter as well as in Second Life- odd overlaps.

For those who don’t “get” Twitter- you probably won’t. (Note to EV we are still working on that blackjack game.)

I’d feel worse about my inability to convey to others any level of understanding of why Twitter is important but in comparison to some explanations I’ve seen and heard, I do a decent job. But, unfortunately, we all fail because we drift into explaining Twitter by telling how we use it. But the most amazing thing about Twitter is this: everyone uses it differently.

It’s a little like trying to explain the telephone by describing what people talk about on the phone. “Telephones are devices that teenagers use to spread gossip.” “Telephones are the devices people use to contact police when bad things happen.” “Telephones are the devices you use to call the 7-11 to ask if they have Prince Albert in a can.”

The Electric Sheep company talk about the value of virtual worlds and how all of us in the “know” know they are still quite immature. That is o.k. People, serious adults, like to laugh at a name like Twitter or a concept like being able to “fly”. It is odd that my kids don’t. They are little kids they haven’t closed down their minds and lost their magical thinking. To play- to do. That is where innovation, interaction and real learning happen.

Sheep say-

Marketing gurus have always said that word of mouth is the best form of advertising (”where did you get that dress?”) but under a broadcast advertising model that was hard to tap into. Both virtual worlds and product review systems allow your customers to engage with each other directly and become your best sales people.

I continue to believe that word of mouth doesn’t work well across the social graph, i.e. across multiple degrees of separation. Word of mouth online (where you cannot see or respond to the actual dress someone is wearing) is derived from trust and trust is derived from shared experience. Shared experience is real time, and the best form of real time communication online today is virtual worlds.

Four Keys to Twitter and Virtual Worlds

As a “so-called” marketing guru I can sum up how I see it. Twitter and virtual worlds are very simple on the surface.

- Trust

- Communication

- Being Human

- Connecting with Others

That is why I am not so concerned about the scalability of Second Life at the moment. People have meaningful, serious interactions inside the Grid and develop trust. Take one look at Flickr or Twitter and you will see Second Life is really a powerful engine that shoots out a lot of interaction, and some friction, but it is very meaningful. Look at how the output scales on other terrain!

Communication, Conduits, Catalysts and Connections

Because people have developed trust, they are communicating as open human beings and making connections. Twitter, Second Life, Facebook, etc are all just conduits and catalysts for this rather wholesome process. Don’t worry about the purpose, or getting it just right (there are better approaches, but just play a bit, you don’t even have to be you and other people will help you along)- you really can’t screw it up too bad because the platforms are used in radically different forms from person to person. Like Second Life- just stop mass marketing- start creating or sponsoring wholesome and good things and let nature take its course. Evangelists, fans and friends will form if you are just receptive and make an investment into the people. Loosen up- let them have control.

I could sit and count all day the revelations made between these two diverse terrains, but I won’t. You’ll just have to find me there and communicate and discover I am a human {with good and bad traits} that enjoys connecting and hopefully trust will follow and I can connect you to someone and vice versa. Social chain reactions are real and Twitter like-conduits should be in EVERY enterprise. Less time meeting, more time knowing.

What am I doing right now?

Evangelizing…

There is no magic spell or “mumbo jumbo”…don’t take it too serious and have fun. Caveat- don’t be flip and forget the importance of communication.

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I caught this from Dave Elchoness’ linkedin profile and checked it out- have not pinged him yet. I met David very early on in his foray into the Second Life grid, and without revealing his old profession, I asked him what would make him leave the comforts of a hard won corporate ladder climb to enter into the wild and ever-changing high velocity ride of virtual worlds- Second Life in particular.

His answer, I felt, was a revealing and earnest one- and I liked him right away. I’ll paraphrase as it was sometime ago.

“I like it because I can fly.”

Pretty simple. Defiance of physics and other trappings is certainly a strong appeal. I liked it.

The Association of Virtual Worlds is where virtual worlds, the people who share the vision, and those who wish to experiment and explore virtual worlds technology, come together. The virtual worlds industry is now part of a multi-billion dollar industry representing hundreds of millions of members. This Internet segment is growing at lightning speed where capabilities and technology advance in the blink of an eye. The Association for Virtual Worlds is where we can all meet to establish an agenda, discuss issues, and introduce newcomers to this exciting technology.

The rapid growth of virtual worlds has resulted in issues and questions that need to be considered and addressed by the industry as a whole. Global regulatory issues, taxation, intellectual property, safety, marketing, and virtual economies are among those coming to the forefront with massive implications. They need to be discussed and the Association will strive to bring interested parties together to develop and offer positions in response to these questions. Similarly, the public needs additional information about virtual worlds to ensure that virtual worlds becomes a primary communications medium of the future. The Association will reach out to the public in this regard.

Mission Statement

The Association of Virtual Worlds believes that virtual worlds represent a major information and technological revolution in how we work, play and live. The Association mission is to serve those companies and individuals who are dedicated to the advancement of this multi-billion dollar global industry and reach out to those who have not yet found virtual worlds.

The Goals of The Association of Virtual Worlds are:

1. To create a forum for the discussion of issues affecting the industry
2. To assist in the development of industry procedures and standards
3. To promote the virtual worlds industry, its interest and developments
4. To educate on the benefits of virtual worlds to enhance work and play
5. To offer business and social networking opportunities
6. To connect the public and consumers with members of the virtual worlds industry
7. To participate in the determination of the collective interests of the industry
8. To further the common interests of the industry
9. To provide leadership for the betterment of the industry
10. To recognize accomplishment within the virtual worlds industry

Edita Kaye
Founder
edita@associationofvirtualworlds.com

David Elchoness
Executive Director
dave@associationofvirtualworlds.com

I believe in the mission statement and have always liked David’s vision and after meeting in Chicago I knew he was in earnest. However, the simple conviction that being able to meet diverse people, try new ideas and simply appreciating the ability to “fly” is really all the spark you need to change a life course is pretty compelling- so I am willing to participate and see where it goes. Afterall many of the relationships, ideas, experiences and intelligent people I have met “in world” are certainly shaping my course- and it is an exciting time in which to live.

Association of Virtual Worlds

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Audio tool developer Vivox has announced that Metaversum, Simutronics and Stratics have all selected Vivox’s voice integration services for their respective technology, and the company has also added enhanced features.

German based Metaversum has integrated Vivox voice services into its Twinity virtual world, enabling users to speak to one another in 3D spatial audio in groups or on private channels. They bill Twinity as:

Twinity mashes up the real with the virtual world. In Twinity you can create your virtual self, meet real people and make new friends. Create your own apartment or build your dream home anywhere in the world. Drop in on your friends and go out and have fun!

Metaversum also has yumondo in private beta testing.

Yumondo is an online platform where you can discover your city’s best-kept secrets, organize your free time, and exchange ideas with other urban trendsetters all over the world. We call it urban stylesharing.

Catchy- urban stylesharing.

Simutronics will now offer the Vivox Precision Studio SDK (Software Development Kit0 as an embedded technology option within its HeroEngine MMO development platform now Vivox’s voice solutions are open to developers in in MMO development. A small player promising deep immersion and live game masters they offer DragonRealms, Gemstone IV, Hero’s Journey, Modus Operandi, Allianceof heroes and Cyberstrike 2. I like the live game mastering element, who wouldn’t want to be a paid DM…hell I did it for free for over twenty-five years, but they dangle the carror that writers may get paid as the game goes live and progresses.

Stratics, an MMO portal, will provide Vivox services to its reported 500,000 subscribers, including voice, buddy lists, and presence indicators.

MMO, MMO,…get ready to hear it a lot over the next year.

Vivox is no boot strapper either nabbing almost 8 million in Series B funding.

From the November release…Benchmark Capital Leads Round, Joins Vivox Board of Directors

Vivox, the leading provider of integrated voice services for online games and virtual worlds, today announced that it has secured $7.8 million in a second round of equity financing. Benchmark Capital led the round. Strong support was also received from the Company’s existing investors, Canaan Partners and GrandBanks Capital.

“The proliferation of virtual worlds and online games has created a tremendous opportunity for the Vivox communications platform,” said Mitch Lasky, general partner of Benchmark Capital and newly appointed Vivox board member. “Voice is a transformative feature in games, creating an entirely new level of engagement and social connection among players. Vivox is uniquely positioned to deliver scalable, carrier-grade voice services through its industry-leading technologies and expertise.”

“We are incredibly excited to have Benchmark Capital and Mitch Lasky involved with Vivox,” said Rob Seaver, founder and CEO of Vivox. “Benchmark’s clear visions and track record in the sector, and Mitch’s successful background in senior roles with Disney, Activision, JAMDAT and Electronic Arts are tremendous assets to Vivox.”

“Vivox’s technology and operational expertise have established them as a unique service in the market,” said Ryan Moore, general partner and member of the Vivox Board from GrandBanks Capital. “We see first-hand the positive impact Vivox has on online games and virtual worlds with operational excellence and innovative functionality and have no doubt they will continue to play a major role in shaping online communities.”

Proceeds from the round will fund product development, sales support and marketing as the Company extends its technology and market lead. Vivox offers the only integrated platform and managed service available today to enable online games and virtual worlds to connect their communities with cutting edge features and functionality on a massive scale.

“We continue to invest in digital media companies that are changing the way people work and live,” said Warren Lee, Vivox board member and principal at Canaan Partners. “We’re thrilled to invest again in Vivox and believe the company is poised for tremendous growth in the rapidly expanding gaming and virtual world market.”

Vivox customers and partners include online game and virtual world leaders 1GPN, Inc., Alpha Innovation, BigWorld Technology, CCP Games, The Electric Sheep Company, FWD International, IBM, Icarus Studios, Illusion Factory, K2 Network, LanguageLab.com, Linden Lab, Monumental Games, Pixel Mine and Wizards of the Coast.

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To spare you a lengthy background story check out TheGridLive.com for photos, and some additional clues. (Yes Stone…you are on the right track.) The story line below is the first arc, or perhaps a prologue. More to come as we prepare the official Primula Rasa blog.

To quote TheGridLive.com on the Primula Rasa Second Life build…

What happens when a well known, experienced and multi-talented Second Life avatar squares off against a well known real-world security and e-commerce guru whose connections go all the way to film? Something is brewing in SpellCaster next to Primula Rasa, first mentioned here. “Tensions mount as Federated Funds are cutoff. Techno Wizards, Spell Casters, and Magicians collide, cast and spread their fiery magic, armed with the arcane tools, runes, relics and stones thought long forgotten.” Are you ready to choose sides?

If only I was as formidable as Timeless Prototype…This is not quite a virtual war, think of this simulation more as two schools of thought locked in contest. Currently the sims (islands) are not complete, but moving steadily, however feel free to tour around the beta status (or if you have any input, grand ideas and are skilled at execution- let us know- via notecard- IMs in world are obviously to many to manage.). More answers are to come…for now here is the introduction.

Message to Recipients

You have been selected, if you so choose, to participate, as much as you wish, in an epic experiment and you will be asked to make a selection…choosing either the side of science (Prototypers- lead by Timeless Prototype or the Chevalians- lead by Corwin Chevalier)- these are actual avatars who also serve as character archetypes. The experience is ongoing and will span four sims or more during an unknown length of time.
The project is is still under beta build status now. At this point you need take no action, but if you choose just let either individual General or their aids of your interest. This is a primarily non-violent simulation, in real-time, using symbols, song, art and immersion to model different ways educators and businesses can utilize 3D worlds. Goals are to study system dynamics, micro-transactions and other aspects of 3D media immersion.

Back Story Credits: Corwin Chevalier, Vladimir Petrichor

The Prototypers and the Chevaliens have traveled to this world (Delphic) to study the evolution of knowledge as it occurs in “less advanced” people capable of developing “functional” intelligence, in an effort to further their own understanding of how the “great civilizations” of the universe came to be.

In essence, they seek to discover clues as to “how” and “why” they have advanced to such a high stage in evolution, while so many others remain nothing more than what some would consider primitives…or animals at best. A ruling was put forth by the Council of the Galactic Consortium of Lemnus in order to end the rivalry that, based on Seldone Entropical Theory, could cause serious unrest and economic upheaval.

This task, upon completion, would determine which of the two schools of thought would be next in line to lead all advanced life of the known metaverse and access to the rare and precious Genetadox vaccine. The Consortium power structure, by law, must change hands once a millennium. These laws were enacted through the passing of the Genetic Longevity Caste Act due to the much longer life spans granted after genome mapping was completed and stem cell mining was legalized leading to the creation of Genetadox. Also, perhaps, in the process, solve one of the greatest mysteries of all time.

(Pragulus Rex, the prolific philosopher, interjects that as human, we must often wonder and debate as to how we have developed our self proclaimed intellectual superiority over that of other life forms. It might be reasonable to believe that species more advanced than our own, e.g. intellectually, would be even further removed from this knowledge as it pertains to their own species.)

As the two competing power houses via for control of the next 100 years, the Chevaliens and Prototypers are well known for their sometimes greatly opposing viewpoints as to what the true determining aspects of knowledge may be. Not to mention the winning party would gain access to the rare Genetadox vaccine granting that group an abnormally long life span.

Well known for their unsurpassed technological advancements, the Prototypers, archetypal scientists, eagerly hypothesize that it is the advancement of logic and scientific deduction that comprise the true semblance of knowledge. Long have they held to the theory of the Great Algorithm of the Universe, and believe that this research will bring them leaps and bounds closer to writing the final proofs needed to explain it all.

The Chevaliens are believers and crusaders…in every essence of the word. Their faith and mystical approach to the universe has led them to uncover secrets that cannot be imagined or understood by outsiders. It is supposedly drawn from the lore of Earth’s ancient Sumer and a deity named Tiamiat. Tiamiat is a dragon and one of their primary power symbols. In their eyes the mind is more than a collection of neurons and cranial fluid capable of incredible calculation, but perhaps the vessel for things less tangible and supernatural. They believe that while science is worthy a chivalric “moral code” and spreading of this code is more important above all else. Not even one’s death should stop its replication and some say that the code can be modified to ensure it can survive.

For both, a singularity exists. Every answer often uncovers twice as many questions…whether the means to such answers are those of science or mysticism.

And so, the two parties sought out a primitive place of proper potential- Project Primula Rasa in the far flung Delphic System. Working hand in hand with one another, yet competing all the same…as they via to be the one party who could discover the answers to the origins of knowledge would gain control over the consortium and therefore the funding and political power of the entire metaverse as a whole and longevity.
Small, pink and vaguely simian were their candidates- or so believed. Simple tool users- still living in caves, or huts, spear fishing, and having just discovered the basic secrets of fire…a perfect specimen with which to begin their study over the evolution of knowledge. Yet life on Primula Rasa wasn’t quite that simple…

Pragulus Rex

Additional notations of Pragulus Rex postulate the theory that as thinking beings evolve from their base and primitive state, they first past through a period of “knowledge through faith”. During this stage of intellectual evolution a species will invariably determine the things that are “known” through intense belief in facets of reality that cannot be directly proven.

To some this may seem a simple example of primitive ignorance, however, during this stage a species will also be much more capable of attuning to the less explainable and tangible aspects of existence.

As the species progresses, it is likely, though not absolute, that they will develop a greater logical understanding of the world around them. Such logical understanding often leads to a drastic waning of belief in things that cannot be proven in a logical manner. Logic coincides with a sense of skepticism that in turn generates doubt toward aspe