Just some random stuff that caught my attention today. This is a blog, so I injected my completely unjustified personal opinion.
Practical Marketing - getting the most out of your Marketing Team in Second Life - Neat overview of team management techniques for a virtual world. All hail Tateru.
Wirecard unwired - Wirecard's office is open now. Here's the SLurl: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Wirecard/128/128/0. I guess the build is a bit ugly... they built it themselves. Isn't that sweet? Still have no idea if it'll fly or flop.
There's a new MMO engine and it's called Chaos - I think Qj.net might be a bit confused. They run this little article about the "Chaos Software Group" having released a dev studio for MMOs. This is pretty weird of them because the Chaos Software group is known for dayplanner software and have no official announcement anywhere else. Unsubscribing in 3, 2, 1...
Prokofy Neva argues with csven - I often disagree with Prokofy, but I love how open and honest she is. She and I are fundamentally different in most other ways but it's things like this, where she copies/pastes an argument with ZERO deletions, that I really respect. I guess I respect it because it shows respect for the readers. As far as the actual text here... your take is as valid as mine so I'll refrain from commentary. Do make sure to be wearing something flame-retardant before entering.
Brand names blahblah - Please. Everybody. Shut up. Not one brand has ever been HARMED by brand emulation. If anything this kind of immitation legitimizes the brand in the minds of the consumers and makes it a hotter commodity. Calm down.
IBM Cutting Another 1,500 Positions - Damn.
Second Chinese dissident joins lawsuit against Yahoo - "Another jailed Chinese pro-democracy activist has joined a legal battle against Yahoo, attempting to hold the company responsible for turning over e-mails to the Chinese government that eventually landed him in prison." Yahoo... what the hell? What the bloody hell?
Microsoft Surface - A computer is able to recognize physical objects to allows hands-on, direct control of content. Surface turns an ordinary tabletop into a dynamic surface, interacting with digital content through natural gestures, touch and physical objects.
When Users Attack: How Online Communities Respond to Chaos - Covers user revolts at Facebook, Digg, MySpace, and Second Life. Very cool.
Alternate Reality Games or Fiction of the Future? - I've edited this comment back quite a bit. It was paragraphs. Let's just say this: most obvious. PR. Stunt. Ever.
Uncanny AI: Artificial Intelligence In The Uncanny Valley - Comparing advanced AI to Asperger's. Um... ok... this discussion is making me uncomfortable.
Facial recognition slipped into Google image search - Technology gives us superpowers. Sometimes though that's just creepy.
Analyst: $100 PS3 Price Cut Not Enough to Move Systems - You know Sony, I was pulling for you. Remember that... as I go buy my Wii.
Also, three BIG media buy-outs featured in Mashable!:
Mozilla Invests in Democracy TV
MySpace Announces $250M Photobucket Acquisition, But Losing the War
WOW: CBS Acquires Last.fm for $280 Million
... and that's the stuff I *didn't* think was worthy of publishing at Metaversed.com!