Innovating and Investing in the Metaverse April 8
Come join us at University of California, Irvine on Tuesday evening from 6:00 -8:00 for what promises to be a truly fascinating "metaverse" panel discussion. We've gathered four stellar people - all working on enterprise initiatives in virtual spaces (two of which will be just returning from Virtual Worlds 2008):
- Christian Renaud Chief Architect, Networked Virtual Environments, Cisco Technology Center
- Denis Browne, Senior Vice President, Business User Imagineering, SAP Labs, LLC
- Mary Ellen Gordon, Founder & Managing Director, Market Truths
- Crista Lopes, Associate Professor of Information & Computer Sciences, UCI
Each will be sharing their view of the business opportunities of virtual environments. specifics of what they are working on, and we'll have a intimate chance to meet and greet and ask questions.
Try as we might, we haven't been able to organize and secure the UCI resources to stream the panel online or in a world, but we're trying for a conference number to at least provide the opportunity to listen in. I'll update this when I have teleconference info.
Here is the official description and please join the Facebook group whether you can attend or not:
Fully immersive 3D virtual worlds such as Second Life, There.com, Gaia Online and HiPiHi are seriously entertaining, and 30-40 million people are currently living, working and playing in them. In an April 2007 report, Gartner projected that 80% percent of active Internet users and Fortune 500 enterprises will be engaged in virtual worlds such as Second Life by the end of 2011.
Virtual spaces and technologies represent a serious business opportunity. More than 170 major brands in categories from automotive to consumer products, education to tourism are experimenting with the innovation, marketing and business value of virtual worlds. A recent Forrester report predicted that within five years, the 3-D Internet will be as critical a business tool as the Web is today.
What’s the opportunity for virtual world innovation and investment? Bring your questions and join our panel of digerati for an exploration of how organizations are using virtuality for collaboration, branding, R&D, recruiting and research.
The event is being sponsored by OCTANe Orange County. If you aren't familiar with the organization, it is a 15,000 member strong hub of innovation, investment and people fueling the technology and biomedical sectors in Orange County, CA. Check out their web site here.
Location details and registration link: http://www.octaneoc.org/calendar/view_event.asp?CalendarID=667
Hope some of you can make it!
April 2, 2008
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