Small business owners Chris Lester and Andrew Griffiths discuss their experience in and with small businesses in Australia. Both men discuss what is needed to succeed in small business and their tips for keeping on top in tough economic times.
At the LeWeb conference, German startup Club Cooee showed off its desktop 3D instant messaging service as part of the Microsoft BizSpark program. According to Club Cooee Managing Director Stefan Lemper, the application, "...enriches text-based messaging with a full, 3D virtual world and a real-time community." Club Cooee is attempting to turn chat into a more personal experience by using avatars to add the subtle emotions text lacks...
Evolver is an online resource to create avatars and export them to multiple worlds and platforms. This video from Botgirl shows how.
Avatrian beta tests the Blue Mars environment. Blue Mars is a 3D virtual world created by Honolulu-based Avatar Reality. Its main feature is a 3D graphics engine powered by Crytek. This virtual world is arranged as a network of "cities" on different servers. At present, Avatrian is evaluating content creation options as an MDC in this platform.
At a recent panel discussion in Second Life, hosted by the US Department of State, experts from industry and the non-profit world pondered some fairly topical questions: to tele-commute OR not to tele-commute? Are 3D worlds a good place to do serious work? Are Avatars with yellow faces a provocation for management? Draxtor Despres was on site, expecting answers...
