Robin Teigland, Paul Di Gangi, and Zeynep Yetis recently finished an academic paper based on their research of the OpenSim Community. Below is the abstract. If you have any questions about their research, please do not hesistate to contact them.Setting the Stage: Exploring Sustainability of a Private-collective Community
Abstract
While the nature of the firm has long been established as the dominant form of organizing for value creation, emergent forms of organizing such as the private-collective community model have recently gained attention from researchers and practitioners. Little is known about how such communities, where private goods from stakeholders are shared and freely distributed among a public collective, sustain themselves. The purpose of this research is to examine how the resources, stakeholders, and overarching network structure in which these are embedded influence the sustainability of the community. Using semi-structured interviews, archival data, and social network analysis, we explore these items in detail and provide initial findings from an ongoing research study of the OpenSim community. We conclude with future directions, expected contributions, and the limitations of this line of research.
Archives for 2012
Rod Humble (and I) talk SL on Australian radio about Second Life
An interesting morning, with Linden Lab CEO Rod Humble and myself being invited to appear on the Kyle and Jackie O show.
For Australian readers, you’ve probably heard about Kyle Sandilands in particular, so I went into the interview with eyes wide open on how balanced the interview would be.
As expected it was a predictable angle, paraphrased as “Hey, look at those freaky people who give up their life to go into Second Life”. That said, Kyle Sandilands was the comparative voice of reason out of the two hosts, at least keeping an open mind.
It’s worth a listen to hear how Linden Lab’s CEO deals with a tabloid approach to Second Life. Not surprisingly the piece opens with Sissy, a self-proclaimed SL addict. Have a listen for yourself and here’s a link to 2Day FM’s podcast of 17th January. It did make the cut – as predicted, sex pose balls make for good listening in the tabloid world.
A Publisher’s Perspective on Ebooks | American Libraries Magazine
It was a rainy afternoon just before Thanksgiving in 2007 when I stood on a New York City sidewalk clutching my first e-reading device. I had just come from Amazon’s press conference where Jeff Bezos announced the launch of Kindle, a new e-reader designed to wirelessly deliver book content directly to customers in as little as 30 seconds. The device used E Ink technology, which provided a more true-to-print reading experience and allowed for longer battery life. An e-reader could store hundreds of books and run for hours on a single charge, all without use of a computer. Paired with the vast book, newspaper, and magazine content that Amazon had amassed and the ease with which customers could access that content, many predicted that Kindle would forever change the print-media landscape.
Via americanlibrariesmagazine.org
3D GUI for iOS Devices on the way
On January 12, 2012, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals an exciting new 3D GUI for iOS mobile devices. The new UI will work with proximity sensor arrays and will respond to hovering gestures. The Crazy Ones in Cupertino have been working on advanced 3D GUIs for some time now. We first learned of a major 3D GUI project back in 2009 that involved using head tracking technology. Then in early 2010 we learned of Apple’s first project relating to a 3D GUI for iOS devices. Later that year Apple 3D multifunctional widgets and over time revealed advanced 3D and hovering based gesturing for CAD users on an iPad. With twenty times the GPU power coming to iOS devices over the next year, Apple appears to paving the way for a new 3D GUI for mobile devices in the not-too-distant future.
Via www.patentlyapple.com
Chinese writers sue Apple for allegedly hosting pirated ebooks | Macworld
A group of Chinese writers has filed a lawsuit against Apple, alleging that the company’s App Store sells pirated versions of the authors’ works.The lawsuit demands Apple compensate the writers for 11.9 million yuan ($1.88 million) and cease selling the products. Beijing Second Intermediate People’s Court has accepted the case, according to Bei Zhicheng, executive for the writer’s group.The lawsuit, filed on behalf of nine writers, involves 37 different literary works that have allegedly been sold as pirated copies on Apple’s App Store, which takes a 30 percent cut from app sales on the platform.The group began contacting Apple since last July, asking the company to remove the pirated products from the App Store. But Apple has refused to remove them, stating that the group did not provide enough evidence to confirm the works were unlicensed, according to Bei.
Via www.macworld.com
Trying on your clothes for Virtual Size
Online shoppers may be able to buy clothes in their pajamas, but they never know just how well those purchases will actually fit.That problem may soon be history — thanks to a breakthrough piece of augmented reality technology from Bodymetrics.The company has partnered with PrimeSense on a 3D body-mapping product to be revealed this week at CES 2012. The product uses PrimeSense 3D sensors, much like those used for Microsoft Kinect, to scan a user’s height and waist size, as well as the other shapes and curves that make a body unique. After creating an account, users will be able to virtually try on clothes from partner retailers to get a true sense of how potential purchases fit.The 3D body-mapping will be available for preview at CES, but Bodymetrics is still fine-tuning its business model — including its final price, which the company said will be approximately $150.
Via mashable.com
Court Rules That Rights Belong to Bethesda
The following is a selection from the Press Release surrounding the court’s ruling that Bethesda (makers of Fallout 3 and The Elder Scrolls series) and ZeniMax Media have reclaimed sole rights to create a Fallout IP MMO. No longer will Interplay be able to create an online game based on the Fallout IP, as that right now exclusively lies in ZeniMax and Bethesda’s hands. Whether that means we’ll actually be seeing a Bethesda Fallout Online anytime real soon is another story, but come on… that’s kind of the point, right?
Via www.mmorpg.com
North Korea from 30,000 feet | Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
The first publicly available overhead imagery that suggested North Korea was constructing a new nuclear reactor at its Yongbyon complex appeared on November 4, 2010. Charles L. Pritchard, a former special envoy for negotiations with North Korea and the president of the Korea Economic Institute, along with a delegation from the institute provided the first confirmation of this construction after a visit to Yongbyon that week. The following week, Yongbyon officials told PDF Stanford University’s John W. Lewis and two authors of this article (Hecker and Carlin) that the reactor was designed to be an experimental pressurized light water reactor (100 megawatts thermal, or 25-30 megawatts electric) to be fueled with low-enriched uranium fuel produced in a newly constructed centrifuge plant at the nearby Yongbyon fuel fabrication plant. The new reactor is being constructed on the former site of a cooling tower for a now-disabled, 5-megawatt electric, gas-cooled, graphite-moderated reactor that had been used to produce plutonium; the tower was demolished in 2008 as a step toward an eventual denuclearization agreement.
Via www.thebulletin.org
American Library Association’s SL Island Closes
Libraries, librarians and library associations have historically been some of the most active nonprofit groups in Second Life, establishing an entire archipelago of library-related islands during their heyday. The American Library Association is one of the most prestigious and well-known library associations, and so their island closing is a major loss to the virtual world.See their blog for some history and background on ALA’s activities in Second Life. We’ll approach them for a comment on why they decided to close the island after all these years.
Via www.betterverse.org
Game companies raise $1.54B in 2011
Game fundings destroyed the record book for fundings this year as 145 companies raised more than $1.540 billion in 2011, not counting initial public offerings.In 2011, games took center stage. Game investment changed fundamentally during the year, as investors shifted their money into social, mobile and online games as they chased after users who were embracing the newest platforms for games.The total game investment number is up more than 47 percent from the $1.05 billion raised by 91 companies a year ago, based on VentureBeat’s own research. By comparison, 115 game companies raised a total of $663.1 million in 2009. And in 2008, 112 game companies raised $936.8 million.
Via venturebeat.com
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