When one looks at the names of the some of the current corporate players who have large stakes or tie-ins to virtual worlds, from the likes of CBS, Cisco, Disney, IBM, Intel, MTV, Sony, Warner Brothers, Wells Fargo, and even Virgin Airlines' Richard Branson, two large Internet giants stand out for not making the list: Microsoft and Google.
Now, Microsoft does have a presence in Second Life and has made successful and active use of that virtual world holding two job fairs there to date. But overall, given the reputation of this company, that use seems rather understated. Hence, the anticipatory buzz concerning a forthcoming Microsoft virtual world seems almost taken for granted in that it will happen; it's just the details about how this might shape up that we are waiting to hear about. Would it be a Virtual Earth extension or would it be a Games For Windows extension, or something altogether different?
But whatever it brings to the table, Microsoft, like any leader whose presence is felt to be both pervasive and at times domineering, will face challenges. And one company that seems to have mastered Microsoft, at least to date, in capturing whatever it sets its eye on is Google. Google Earth, already successful and popular in its own right, has been posed to usher Google into the mainstream of virtual world offerings. Two reports I read this morning from VWN and The Times, suggest that we are likely to see this equally anticipated foray by end of year in a product called MyWorld.
This alleged product, if it is indeed based on Google Earth, already brings with it an active user community and, due to some clever acquisitions on Google's part, it also brings in some nice creation tools. SketchUp, though not as powerful and nuanced a tool as that already found in Second Life, still provides a good baseline which can be extended and, following Google's community contributor approach, has a lot of downloads available. But my guess is that any content creation on this more intimate scale is likely to be something different, leaving SketchUp to the current use of Google Earth, but possibly taking aspects of it forward into new forms while leveraging the extensive and active user community of Google Earth.
I for one am looking forward to all such virtual world offerings, Microsoft's included, and am eager to try MyWorld out. Given how much I use and appreciate the well-crafted user design and elegance of the Google browser and Google Earth, I cannot help but wonder if my next virtual world might not be MyWorld, at least in part.
Now, Microsoft does have a presence in Second Life and has made successful and active use of that virtual world holding two job fairs there to date. But overall, given the reputation of this company, that use seems rather understated. Hence, the anticipatory buzz concerning a forthcoming Microsoft virtual world seems almost taken for granted in that it will happen; it's just the details about how this might shape up that we are waiting to hear about. Would it be a Virtual Earth extension or would it be a Games For Windows extension, or something altogether different?
But whatever it brings to the table, Microsoft, like any leader whose presence is felt to be both pervasive and at times domineering, will face challenges. And one company that seems to have mastered Microsoft, at least to date, in capturing whatever it sets its eye on is Google. Google Earth, already successful and popular in its own right, has been posed to usher Google into the mainstream of virtual world offerings. Two reports I read this morning from VWN and The Times, suggest that we are likely to see this equally anticipated foray by end of year in a product called MyWorld.
This alleged product, if it is indeed based on Google Earth, already brings with it an active user community and, due to some clever acquisitions on Google's part, it also brings in some nice creation tools. SketchUp, though not as powerful and nuanced a tool as that already found in Second Life, still provides a good baseline which can be extended and, following Google's community contributor approach, has a lot of downloads available. But my guess is that any content creation on this more intimate scale is likely to be something different, leaving SketchUp to the current use of Google Earth, but possibly taking aspects of it forward into new forms while leveraging the extensive and active user community of Google Earth.
I for one am looking forward to all such virtual world offerings, Microsoft's included, and am eager to try MyWorld out. Given how much I use and appreciate the well-crafted user design and elegance of the Google browser and Google Earth, I cannot help but wonder if my next virtual world might not be MyWorld, at least in part.
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