“One small step for an avatar, one giant leap for virtual worlds”
These were the closing words in a video Linden Labs and IBM created to demonstrate how an avatar can teleport between virtual worlds. If you haven’t heard, the creators of Second Life and IBM announced yesterday a major interoperability milestone. They have inched our avatars closer to mobility between different virtual world platforms. I’m not a tech wiz by all means, but even I was like, “That is just way too cool!”
Yes, Tuesday was a very momentous occasion for Linden Labs and IBM in that regard, so kudos to them! We keep hearing about the intersection betwen different virtual world platforms as the future. Glad to see that future is actually a bit closer than we think.
In other news, Google also grabbed headlines yesterday with the launch of Lively, it’s very own virtual world where you can “create an avatar and chat with your friends in rooms you design.” I haven’t visited Lively yet, but am planning to. If you’ve already been, please do share your experiences! Based on what I’ve read in the blogosphere, the reception has been anything but “lively.”
Regardless of your feelings and opinions towards this week’s news, it is a giant leap for virtual worlds.
Posted by Autumn Truong at 11:21AM PST
Aaron Uhrmacher Jul 10, 2008
I checked out Lively yesterday. I built a room and started to populate it with my RSS feeds. It will take some getting used to, and it’s a bit too early to critique, but I think the 2.5 D virtual world will appeal to many people. It’s much simpler to navigate than Second Life. Of course, it’s also less customizable. Those that participate will have different objectives, I expect.