The hype cycle for virtual worlds seems to have come and gone for many marketers and members of the media. For those dismissive of virtual worlds I have one thing to say, hold on tight, the future is upon us!
Last October I wrote a post entitled, "6 Thing That Second Life and Facebook Have In Common". I was intentionally being provocative and got a little bit of pushback on these claims. Well, I am back with similar thinking and wish to reiterate the some definition of the word "virtual" that I laid out in the comments section of the aforementioned post:
- Adj. Computer Science Created, simulated, or carried on by means of a computer or computer network: virtual conversations in a chatroom.
- Existing or resulting in essence or effect though not in actual fact, form, or name
As you can see, the word "virtual" has no inextricable connection to 3D graphics, persistence or Furries :) (look it up if you have to)
Get To The Point Sir!
A partnership has been announced by two bleeding edge companies; SeeSaw and LocaModa. The result it an even more bleeding edge media reality (and a tremendous amount of opportunity for marketers)!
SeeSaw defines itself as:
SeeSaw is the most extensive network of digital out-of-home media having aggregated 36 digital signage networks across 25 different categories of locations into a comprehensive national network with 22,000 venues nationally and growing.
LocaModa defines itself as:
LocaModa connects people and places. The company's social platform enables people to access and control media in their favorite places, bringing location experiences to the web and web experiences to locations. LocaModa connects people in bars, cafes, colleges, public spaces and conferences.
Combined the two companies aim to marry digital out of home with mobile social networking; creating an experiential platform for consumers and marketer's alike.
According to Monte Zweben, co-founder and chairman of the board of SeeSaw Networks;
"The mixture of digital signage, the Web and mobile devices extends an advertiser's investment in impressions to engage a larger community of people through viral marketing opportunities on social networks...with LocaModa's mobile social platform, an impression on a digital sign can turn into a conversation among the people at a location, the people monitoring a location online, and ultimately through the people connected as friends on social networks."
When combining all of these factors, the result is nothing short of a basic definition on virtual world, only this experience does not take place in a purely digital environment. This experience is housed by the physical world. While I am sure I can get into examples of the tremendous opportunities this creates for marketers, I will hold off for now. I would however love to hear your thoughts.
In Other Virtual World News
Sociotown has launched a browser based virtual world. Other virtual worlds such as Second Life suffer from high barriers to entry due to heavy clients and the necessity for a large amount of computing power. Perhaps the browser based virtual world will be able to capture more attention due to it's ease of access.
Tags: virtual world, mobile, LocaModa, SeeSaw, SocioTown, second life, mobile, social, social network