text:
, head slung low in a self-flagellating press conference on June 16, the question on the minds of voters in New York's Ninth District has been:
The answer will come Tuesday night as , and , wait for votes to be counted in Queens and Brooklyn.
Turner has run in NY-9 once before, in 2010, and lost to Weiner, a 12-year incumbent.
Weprin is familiar to voters in New York City, after serving eight years in the City Council and losing a bid for Comptroller last year.
Now the two men are in a struggle for an oddly-shaped district that snakes from east-central Queens, through parts of the Rockaways and southern Brooklyn. Democrats have a strong registration advantage in an area that is filled with low-income and middle-class families, as well as large pockets of densely Jewish neighborhoods.
So far the race has focused largely on three things: the economy, Israel, and President Barack Obama.
Turner has strongly played up his business background, including his time as the President of Multimedia Entertainment, the company that launched He's railed against what he believes is over-taxation and government spending, and spent weeks bashing his opponent (Weprin, in an interview with the New York Daily News, was off by roughly $10 trillion).
Weprin's camp has. Early in the race he released a short small business rescue proposal that gained little traction. Since then, and assailed him for his corporate-friendly statements, including
Both candidates have tried to outdo one another in their support for Israel. Weprin, an Orthodox Jew,
Turner, on the other hand, has made hay out of Weprin's "yes" vote in the state assembly on same-sex marriage, and has staked his place on the pro-Israel end of the spectrum by collecting an endorsement from Democratic Brooklyn Assemblyman Dov Hikind.
Ultimately, this race has been run by the Republican candidate as a referendum on the presidency of Barack Obama.
Throughout the campaign, however, Turner has run on promises of trying to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, fighting against asking Israel to negotiate land swaps from its pre-1967 borders and.
Meanwhile, Weprin has been forced to backpedal somewhat from some dearly-held Democratic ideals, giving a lukewarm defense of health care reform, openly disagreeing with the president on Israel and qualifying his support for gay marriage as a civil issue rather than a personal belief.
Numerous campaign mailings and robo-calls have featured Democratic heavyweights President Bill Clinton and Gov. Andrew Cuomo, but the president's name has rarely been uttered.
The ballots will be counted once the polls close at 9 p.m. and the House of Representatives will know the name of its most junior member. Until then, it's in the hands of the voters in Brooklyn and Queens.


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Need Help with Kitchen Design
September 5, 2012 in Design Dilemma
We have picked out white cabinets and a Waterford Cambria Quartz for countertops. I would like to do a glass tile backsplash and looking for color suggestions. Also, we need floor recommendations. I don't want to do hardwoods for the kitchen as the rest of the house is hardwood. I love blue/gray slate tile floors and was thinking a blue/gray glass backsplash. Do you think that would work?
Red Egg Design Group
I love you counter top selection!
Have you ever heard of Mod Walls? They are my favorite source for glass tile. I would probably do a glass tile in a subway pattern in their Driftwood Color.
A simple but elegant gray glass tile would be beautiful with your cabinets and this Quartz countertop!
Have you ever heard of Mod Walls? They are my favorite source for glass tile. I would probably do a glass tile in a subway pattern in their Driftwood Color.
A simple but elegant gray glass tile would be beautiful with your cabinets and this Quartz countertop!
September 5, 2012 at 10:47AM Like
ct design studio
This is a personal favorite: http://www.sonomatilemakers.com/LineListDetail.aspx?prod-line-id=13&line-list-id=45&photo-id=1544&IsLineList=True
This is how our new kitchen turned out! So happy with our choices!
December 19, 2012 at 7:34AM Like
Looks great! What did you finally decide on for the floors? I can't see them in the pictures.
December 19, 2012 at 8:06AM Like
A gray porcelein tile. It tied in very well!
December 19, 2012 at 8:12AM Like
It looks wonderful! Not many people would have chosen to put a blue subway tile backsplash with blue countertops, but it turned out great! Your cabinet pulls are lovely too, by the way. Enjoy!
December 19, 2012 at 11:25AM Like
Walker Woodworking
Looks great, thanks for sharing after photos.
December 19, 2012 at 11:47AM Like
Aegean Designing Whims
I love CT design studio's color/product choice. And I love your selection of counter top. You're definitely on the right road! Chrysteen
December 19, 2012 at 12:02PM Like
I am getting white glazed cabinets do you think these countertops would match? We were also looking at rainforest and blue sahara silestone.
January 5, 2013 at 10:30AM Like
Cynthia Taylor-Luce
Yes, these countertops are great with white, mangan319
January 5, 2013 at 10:44AM Like
But the glaze makes it more of an off white and the creases have a mocha glaze
January 5, 2013 at 10:47AM Like
Cynthia Taylor-Luce
Get a sample of the quartz and look at it against your cabinets. That's the only way to tell for sure :)
January 5, 2013 at 10:48AM Like

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Posts tagged elements of money
Posts tagged elements of money
Congratulations to 1st USCU member Teresa Hester for the winning Elements of Money's Tweet for College haiku!
She has won a $250 prize and is eligible for the grand overall scholarship prize of $1,000!
Winning Tweet: Credit unions help U.S. consumers by offering GREAT banking solutions for all ages: savings, checking, loan options, etc.


text: I just picked up an 08 impreza hatch back sohc 2.5 auto, heard alot of good things but I joined the form to find out about the things to look out for and how to prevent or fix them. If you could post some links on this thread I would appreciate it. thank you all


text:
Most Popular Titles With Shi Hua Ng
- Job Types
- Movies or TV
- Genres
- Keywords
- IMDb Rating
- Instant Watch Options
- In Theaters
- On TV
- Release Year
1. The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
PG-13 | 165 min | Action, Adventure
A new menace emerges and the Dark Knight rises again to protect the city from a merciless terrorist with the help of anti-heroine Selina Kyle.
Writers: Jonathan Nolan, Christopher Nolan, David S. Goyer, Bob Kane | Director: Christopher Nolan | Stars: Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Gary Oldman
2. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
PG-13 | 124 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
After being deemed unfit for military service, Steve Rogers volunteers for a top secret research project that turns him into Captain America, a superhero dedicated to defending USA ideals.
Writers: Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely, Joe Simon, Jack Kirby | Director: Joe Johnston | Stars: Chris Evans, Hugo Weaving, Samuel L. Jackson, Hayley Atwell
3. Les Misérables (2012)
PG-13 | 158 min | Drama, Musical, Romance
In 19th-century France, Jean Valjean, who for decades has been hunted by the ruthless policeman Javert after breaking parole, agrees to care for a factory worker's daughter. The decision changes their lives for ever.
Writers: William Nicholson, Alain Boublil, Claude-Michel Schönberg, Herbert Kretzmer, Victor Hugo | Director: Tom Hooper | Stars: Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried
4. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)
PG-13 | 112 min | Action, Comedy, Romance
Scott Pilgrim must defeat his new girlfriend's seven evil exes in order to win her heart.
Writers: Michael Bacall, Edgar Wright, Bryan Lee O'Malley | Director: Edgar Wright | Stars: Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kieran Culkin, Alison Pill
5. Total Recall (I) (2012)
PG-13 | 118 min | Action, Adventure, Mystery
A factory worker, Douglas Quaid, begins to suspect that he is a spy after visiting Rekall - a company that provides its clients with implanted fake memories of a life they would like to have led - goes wrong and he finds himself on the run.
Writers: Kurt Wimmer, Mark Bomback, Ronald Shusett, Dan O'Bannon, Jon Povill, Gary Goldman | Director: Len Wiseman | Stars: Colin Farrell, Bokeem Woodbine, Bryan Cranston, Kate Beckinsale
6. John Carter (2012)
PG-13 | 132 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Transplanted to Mars, a Civil War vet discovers a lush planet inhabited by 12-foot tall barbarians. Finding himself a prisoner of these creatures, he escapes, only to encounter a princess who is in desperate need of a savior.
Writers: Andrew Stanton, Mark Andrews, Michael Chabon, Edgar Rice Burroughs | Director: Andrew Stanton | Stars: Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins, Willem Dafoe, Samantha Morton
7. Paul (2011)
R | 104 min | Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi
Two British comic-book geeks traveling across the U.S. encounter an alien outside Area 51.
Writers: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost | Director: Greg Mottola | Stars: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Seth Rogen, Mia Stallard
8. The Sorcerer's Apprentice (2010)
PG | 109 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
Master sorcerer Balthazar Blake must find and train Merlin's descendant to defeat dark sorceress Morgana le Fey.
Writers: Lawrence Konner, Mark Rosenthal, Matt Lopez, Doug Miro, Carlo Bernard | Director: Jon Turteltaub | Stars: Nicolas Cage, Jay Baruchel, Alfred Molina, Teresa Palmer
9. The Pirates! Band of Misfits (2012)
PG | 88 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Pirate Captain sets out on a mission to defeat his rivals Black Bellamy and Cutlass Liz for the Pirate of the year Award. The quest takes Captain and his crew from the shores of Blood Island to the foggy streets of Victorian London.
Writer: Gideon Defoe | Directors: Peter Lord, Jeff Newitt | Stars: Hugh Grant, Salma Hayek, Jeremy Piven, Martin Freeman


text:
We are four best friends named Denali Gillaspie, Hannah Karlsson, Nate Parish, and Nina Watkins. Together we make up the Potentially Platonic Pals and we are driving from the UK to Mongolia in the Mongol Rally to raise money for Cool Earth, Cambodian Children's Fund, and Reproductive Health Access Project and to have the wildest most adventurous time of our lives! This Spring, Nina graduated from Stanford University and the other three from COLORADO COLLEGE! Waddup! #10,000miles #twomonths #besties
Stuff I like
- When the Ruggerfest theme is dinosaurs
Get ready for a weekend of dinosaur gifs, FYWR...
- Photo via leaveall-behindPhoto via leaveall-behind
- Rucks


text:
Willing to contribute to video projects.
Go on, ask something, I dare you
#ScriptFrenzy Donation Day.
"I haven't had a lot of time to record these video blogs during Script Frenzy but I finally found a little bit of time. I'm pleased to report that I'm up to eighty-four pages at the time of recording.
"And some of you may have seen my Lego set that I made that's helped me… helped me focus on it and try to… try to get to those hundred pages.
"But a gentle reminder first of all that this is Donation Day, April twenty-sixth so it's time to take one of these, stick them in one of these, and send them off.
"Carry on."
I've repeated myself a couple of times without realising it, but at least I haven't missed anything out.
"I know that a lot of people out there in blog-land like to do NaNoWriMo every November, but I'm wondering, does anyone here do Script Frenzy?
"This'll be the first time that I've entered it. It's a competition during April, it's like NaNo but you write a hundred-page script during the month of April.
"So if you are one of those, I'll be doing it for the first time but I have a Google+ circle and you can join me on there, or Twitter, the links are in the transcription.
"Carry on."


text:
Named one of the "100 Best Tumblrs Of All-Time" by Complex magazine.
One of the "10 Sports Tumblrs You Absolutely Should Be Following" by Business Insider.
One of the "The 25 Best Sports Tumblrs" by Bleacher Report.
Holy… This has to be the coolest thing I've ever seen. Words cannot describe the awesomeness of this edit. Happy...
I love colorized photos so much and this is no exception.
Looks awesome!


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APRIL IS FAIR HOUSING MONTH "Fair Housing 2010 - Time to Act!"
As part of an "ongoing commitment" to "better assist responsible homeowners who have been affected by the economic crisis through no fault of their own," HUD and the Department of Treasury have outlined adjustments to the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) and to the FHA-insured mortgage program to "expand flexibility for mortgage servicers and originators to assist more unemployed homeowners and to help more people who owe more on their mortgage than their home is worth because their local markets saw large declines in home values." Changes "in the coming months" to HAMP include temporary mortgage assistance of up to six months to some unemployed homeowners, encourage servicers to write-down mortgage debt as part of a HAMP modification, allow more borrowers - including FHA-insured borrowers - to qualify for HAMP modification and help them move to more affordable housing when modification is not possible (HAMP details). Changes to FHA "by this fall" will "provide more opportunities for qualifying mortgage loans to be responsibly restructured and refinanced into FHA loans as long as the borrower is current on the mortgage and the lender reduces the amount owed on the original loan by at least 10 percent." (FHA details).
Noting that "responsible families across the country have found themselves unable to pay their mortgages due to unemployment or underemployment," the Department of the Treasury has announced a second round of Housing Finance Agency Hardest Hit Fund awards totaling "up to $600 million" to go to five economically distressed states with counties whose unemployment rates exceeded 12 percent in 2009. With 14 of its 36 counties at or above the rate in 2009, Oregon is one of the five states and will receive some $88 million for "innovative measures to help families stay in their homes or otherwise avoid foreclosure," including assistance to unemployed borrowers, mortgage modifications, principal or second-lien reductions and short sales. North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island and South Carolina also received Hardest Hit funds. "Our goal," says Oregon Housing & Community Services' Victor Merced, "is to distribute the resources equitably and responsibly to help Oregonians facing foreclosure."
Saying HUD should be "the kind of Federal agency that listens and responds to the needs of communities," HUD Secretary Donovan has announced changes in its definitions of what constitutes a "foreclosed" or "abandoned" property under HUD's Neighborhood Stabilization Program which helps state and local governments acquire, rehabilitate and re-sell such properties in hard-hit neighborhoods. Effective immediately, the "expanded" definitions allow more properties to more quickly qualify for the program. For more, visit website.
William Humphreys of Citizens Bancorp in Corvallis elected as chairman of Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle board. . .Daily News says Anchorage Assembly okays rules for approving projects like the one proposed by RuralCAP to buy motel "to make it a place where homeless inebriates could live without having to quit drinking". . .U.S. Department of Energy issues final rule outlining how public housing, assisted multi-family and Low-Income Tax Credit properties can be eligible for its Weatherization Assistance Program. . . Beans Café day shelter in Anchorage raises more than $100,000 through sale of hand-crafted ceramic bowls created by Clay Arts Guild. . .Multnomah County Department of Health wins HUD Healthy Homes Demonstration grant - one of only 25 nationwide - for community asthma inspection and referral system. . .Alaska Housing Finance okays $846,000 mortgage to Lumen Park Associates for 20-unit independent living complex for elderly in Anchorage. . .April 12th is deadline to respond to Oregon Housing & Community Services' on-line survey for its analysis of impediments to fair housing. . . Saying they were "making history," Washington state USDA director Mario Villanueva hands over keys to five new houses in Tulalip Reservation's Mission Highlands, the first USDA self-help housing subdivision on tribal lands. . .East Metro Association names Cathe Wiese, director of My Father's House, as Gresham's citizen of the year. . .Three months after the City of Molalla took "very unusual move" of waiving all building fees in 2010, Oregonian says "experiment appears to have worked" on news that stalled 160-unit apartment project in downtown will now go forward. . .Eight formerly-homeless families living at Bend's Bethlehem Inn graduate from Housing Works' Families Forward "ready-to-rent "program. . . Department of Veterans Affairs picks Umpqua Community Development to build 52-unit complex for homeless veterans at Roseburg VA Medical Center. . . HUD launches new Website to "allow citizens to offer comment on the design of an unprecedented national study that will examine housing discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity". . .Sixty current and prospective self-help housing groups attend Community Frameworks' SHOP Talk 2010 conference in Seattle. . .Portland ranks 12th with 80 Energy Star commercial buildings and Seattle 14th with 69, saving energy equivalent to electricity used by more than 21,000 houses.
HUD Boise and FHA's Santa Ana Homeownership Center are holding a one-day FHA Update on April 14th in Boise where lenders, real estate agents, appraisers and other industry professionals can learn everything they need to know about the how's and what's of making FHA mortgage insurance work for their home buying and home owning customers. It's free, but space is limited, Register on-line now.
Want to know how your organization can become a HUD-approved housing counseling agency? How to comply with HUD requirements once your agency is approved. Join HUD, the Rural Community Assistance Corporation the Washington Housing Finance Corporation for an all-day, "The How To's of HUD Housing Counseling Workshop" on April 14th in Seattle. Register on-line now.
For years, FHA's loss mitigation programs to help at-risk borrowers get or stay out of trouble have served as the lending industry's standard. Want to know why? Then join HUD Washington and FHA's Santa Ana Homeownership Center on April 14th in Seattle for our free How To's of FHA Loss Mitigation Workshop. Register on-line now.
Neighborhood Partners and Oregon Housing & Community Services award almost $4.4 million for Oregon Individual Development Accounts to 6 non-profits serving 29 counties. . .Alaska Housing Finance okays $1.9 million in mortgage loans Cook Inlet Housing Authority for 34 more affordable rental units at Mountain View Village in Anchorage. . .Methow Valley News says grand opening of Washington Housing Finance and HUD-funded Okanogan Behavioral Healthcares' "safe and sober" Shove House in Omak. . . Housing Authority of Portland allocates 50 project-based rental vouchers to Portland Housing Bureau's "deeply affordable" funding competition. . .Chehalis Tribe cuts ribbon on 11 unit Vosper Subdivision in Oakville. . .Register Guard says 80 social service agencies provide "one-stop help for 1,400" at Eugene's 4th annual Project Homeless Connect. . .Sequim Gazette says Serenity House, Clallam County Housing Authority and Habitat for Humanity to break ground April 8th on $3.5 million Maloney Heights Permanent Supportive Housing in Port Angeles. . .News Review says Umpqua Habitat conveys third completed home in Douglas County to a family. . . Lower Columbia Community Action Program "hoping to start a community bank that gives low-income people a low-interest lending option". . .Main Street Neighborhood Networks computer center opens for residents of Laceleaf and Smallwood in Hillsboro. . ..Pierce County Metropolitan Development Council names Mark Pereboom as president/CEO. . .King County Housing Authority puts Recovery Act funds to work, beginning exterior rehab of 42-year-old, 114-unit Valli Kee public housing in Kent.
Thanks to the 47 Northwest public housing authorities that, obligated 100 percent - yes, 100 percent - all $58.8 million in public housing capital improvement funds awarded by the Recovery Act's March deadline. Even better, the authorities have already rehabbed almost 1,800 public housing units and created 150 jobs. "It speaks to the commitment," HUD Secretary Donovan said, the authorities have "to improve public housing." Under the Act, housing authorities also are expected to have spent 60 percent of the funds by March 2011. The 47 authorities have already spent more than 47 percent. Nicely done.
. . .To 15 public housing authorities in Oregon, 12 in Washington, four in Idaho and one in Alaska that have just won a total of more than $3.1 million in HUD Family Self Sufficiency Housing Choice Voucher grants. It's good news for the authorities, but even better for public housing families because it enables the authorities to work with welfare agencies, schools, businesses, and other local partners to develop a comprehensive program to help participating individuals develop the skills and experience to enable them to obtain jobs that pay a living wage, buy a home and become economically independent. The program, says Secretary Donovan, is "needed more than ever" to help "boost job creation". . .
Want a better idea of what HUD's Family Self Sufficiency program does? Then speak with Scott and Julie Campfield of Blackfoot, Idaho. They've participated in the Idaho Housing & Finance Association's HUD-funded self-sufficiency program since 2007. From the first, Julie knew she wanted to be a nurse, hard as that might be with three kids and a tight budget. But the IHFA self-sufficiency program helped her get it done. The Campfield's also started an Individual Development Account through IHFA and its Home Partnership Foundation. Thanks to her new job, she saved the maximum IDA amount of $2,000 which, in turn, was matched by $2,000 from United Way of Treasure Valley. And - thanks to her hard work and IHFA's programs - in November she and her husband bought a home. "It's amazing," she says.
After 517,669 showers, 210,512 loads of laundry and 889,001 trips to the loo, happy 10th birthday to the Low Income Housing Alliance's Urban Rest Stop in downtown Seattle. . .Daily Astorian says Astoria's Downtown Historic District has been invited to join Oregon's Main Street program. . .West Side of Pocatello name by This Old House as one of nation's 51 "great" old house neighborhoods. . .Juneau Empire says Tlingit & Haida Tribes hope to build 5-story cultural, education and tourism center in downtown area known as "the pit". . .Bill Cook retires after 12 years as director of City of Yakima's community & economic development. . . Northwest Real Estate Capital celebrates opening of its largest Neighborhood Networks computer learning center at 40-unit Franklin Terrace in Boise. . .Mat-Su Borough wins $762,000 USDA loans and grants to upgrade water systems. . .Washington Department of Ecology says City of Spokane plans to use $200,000 grant to clean up 27.7 acre site near Gonzaga "for new economic development, business creation and increased housing density". . .Oregonian says Multnomah County's "30 Families in 30 Days" campaign "exceeds goal" by finding permanent housing for 34 homeless families. . .Kitsap Sun says Ken Balizer hired as director of Housing Resources Board Community Land Trust. . .April 29th is deadline to submit nominations of residential properties to City of Portland for its Build It! Green Home Tour. . .Bellingham, Bremerton and Eugene among just 20 cities nationally to win EPA Climate Showcase grant to "establish replicable models of sustainable community actions that generate cost-effective and persistent greenhouse gas reductions". . . SNAP serves nearly 50,000 people in Spokane County in 2009, up 33 percent from 2008 and 16 percent higher than previous record set in 2006. . .Housing Authority of Portland expands inventory and housing options, becoming general partner of The Jeffrey, a LEED-certified, 80-unit complex in downtown.
KEZI-TV reports that the Eugene/Springfield chapter of Habitat for Humanity has just broken ground on the 1,000th Habitat house in Oregon. The Meyers Estate home will be owned by Todd Wilson, Crystal Bishop and their two daughters. "A lot of hard work and a lot of amazing people have helped get us to this point," said Patricia Day TenEyck, Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity of Oregon. With thousands, maybe tens of thousands of hardworking families in substandard homes," she added, "We won't stop with 1,000 homes" and hopes to finish the next 1,000 by 2020.
Form a rescue squad and a Dalmatian, St. Bernard or German shepherd might be a smart addition. But a dachshund? Never. Unless, of course, it's Mr. Wiener, the 7-year-old pride and joy of Cathy Koentges of Blaine. The batteries in the smoke detector "near her bedroom" had gone dead but Ms. Koentges hadn't had time to change them when she went to bed a bit past 9 on February 22nd, reports The Bellingham Herald, with Mr. Wiener at the foot of the bed. She was sound asleep when "black smoke began billowing through the room." She awoke suddenly, to the sound of Mr. Wiener "barking frantically" just in time to escape with Mr. Wiener and six cats through a sliding door that led outside. Her "living room's burnt to the studs" and her "vacuum cleaner is a puddle of plastic." Investigators suspect faulty wiring in the living room wall as the cause. "That dog saved my life," Ms. Koentges said, "I would never made it out if it wasn't for the dog and the exit." Whether or not there's a dachshund in your family, have you checked the batteries in your smoke detector lately?
Though they'll probably never make the bestseller lists, HUD has released three "groundbreaking" cross-jurisdictional studies telling us lots more about the homeless - and how HUD and its partners serve them - than we've ever known before. Like the costs across the country associated with first-time homelessness. Or about what happens to homeless families after they've left transitional shelters. Or about improving the access of the homeless to mainstream services. You'll find links to all three on-line.


text:
Incumbent Innovation and Entry by Spinoff
AbstractThis paper takes a different perspective toward the escape entry incentive of incumbent firms to innovate. New entrants spawned from incumbents are not necessarily a threat; they can complement incumbents' production by commercializing knowledge incumbents are not willing or able to exploit. Accordingly, incumbent innovation determines exploitable knowledge externalities for spinoffs while, at the same time, spinoffs are expected to influence incumbent innovation. To overcome this problem of endogeneity, we apply an IV approach to analyze a rich industry-level dataset (1987–2000) for Germany. We find evidence that entry by spinoffs does, indeed, have a positive impact on incumbent innovation.
Download InfoIf you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.
Bibliographic InfoPaper provided by Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Max-Planck-Institute of Economics in its series Jena Economic Research Papers with number 2008-083.
Date of creation: 04 Nov 2008
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:jrp:jrpwrp:2008-083
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Related researchKeywords: Innovation; Entry; Spinoff;
Find related papers by JEL classification:
- O3 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Technological Change; Research and Development; Intellectual Property Rights
- L16 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Industrial Organization and Macroeconomics; Macroeconomic Industrial Structure
- M13 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting - - Business Administration - - - New Firms; Startups
This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:
- NEP-ALL-2008-11-11 (All new papers)
- NEP-COM-2008-11-11 (Industrial Competition)
- NEP-ENT-2008-11-11 (Entrepreneurship)
- NEP-INO-2008-11-11 (Innovation)
- NEP-IPR-2008-11-11 (Intellectual Property Rights)
- NEP-KNM-2008-11-11 (Knowledge Management & Knowledge Economy)
- NEP-MIC-2008-11-11 (Microeconomics)
- NEP-TID-2008-11-11 (Technology & Industrial Dynamics)
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text:
NYLO Hotels, Monscierge Offer Cloud-Based Concierge Services
Monday June 24th, 2013 - 9:49AM W
These are shortcuts to your favorite social networking and bookmark sites. Add this story to your Facebook page, del.icio.us, DiggIt, and many others!
DALLAS—NYLO Hotels LLC has introduced touch-based concierge products at all of its properties through a new partnership with Monscierge. NYLO becomes the first American boutique hotel brand to partner with the company, according to Monscierge.
Monscierge applications work by using cloud-based technology that guests can access anywhere through their iOS or Android devices. The applications are full of tips, recommendations and information provided by NYLO staff on where to go, what to do, and how to make the most of their stay.
All Monscierge applications update in real time so NYLO staff members can change or add information and alert guests to events taking place at the hotel. Once a guest has downloaded the app, it will automatically update according to which NYLO hotel the guest is visiting. Though it was designed with NYLO guests in mind, the application is free and available for download by anyone.
"We partnered with Monscierge because we wanted our guests to be able to get the very best out of their stay, 24/7," Michael Mueller, CEO of NYLO Hotels, said in a statement.
Tags: • Hospitality •
As you would expect, our annual franchising issue features several in-depth stories on prominent brand companies such as Hilton Worldwide, Hyatt Hotels Corp., and Vantage Hospitality. In addition, we also provide in this issue an updated version of our annual franchise fees listing (see p. 20).
Hyatt Agrees to Sell 38 Select-Service Hotels »
Chatham Lodging Trust Prices Public Offering of Common Shares
Main Street Hospitality Group Launches
Meliá's Paradisus Palma Real Sets $12M Renovation
Former Treasure Bayou Hotel Rebranded to Magnuson
Troy Flanagan Tapped to Lead AH&LA Advocacy for State and Local Issues
Edmonton Hotel & Convention Centre Reopens Under Radisson Brand
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text:
Before You Invest in Solar...
Jon is a member of The Motley Fool Blog Network -- entries represent the personal opinion of the blogger and are not formally edited.
Many investors want to invest in companies that affirm their personal moral values. Solar energy makes investors feel good because not only can they make money, but they can also save the planet. But investors need to be aware of one thing before investing in solar: not all solar companies are created equal.
The irrelevant solar investment
Yingli Green Energy (ADR) (NYSE: YGE) is a manufacturer of solar panels. This company's strategy is to just sell solar panels, something it's admittedly good at. One current deal involves 3 gigawatts of panels. That's enough to power up to 3 million homes, or Doc's DeLorean 2.5 times (since it needs 1.21 gigawatts...)
Unfortunately, Yingli has been a consistent loser when it comes to making a profit. In 2012, the company registered a gross profit loss of $59 million, despite revenue of $1.8 billion. To add insult to injury, revenue was also down 22% for the year.
While the aforementioned deal in China's Yunnan province will likely keep Yingli's factories busy for awhile, it's uncertain whether this will even translate into a gross profit, let alone a net profit. Razor thin margins make it very challenging to turn a profit as just a solar-industry manufacturer.
The risky solar investment
SunEdison (NYSE: SUNE) has been a four-bagger for those who got in last year when it was trading under $2.00. It has pulled back slightly from recent highs, and many investors may wonder if now is the time to get out.
SunEdison is riding the coattails of an interesting phenomena. Celebrated competitor SolarCity (NASDAQ: SCTY) got a huge boost in investor confidence due to the recent achievements of Tesla Motors (NASDAQ: TSLA).
Even if this is just a general market trend, it doesn't mean there isn't anything good going on with SunEdison. While also a solar manufacturer, the company operates very differently from Yingli. SunEdison has a second business segment that provides residential solar power solutions through what's known as solar leasing.
Solar leasing basically takes care of all the solar power logistics while the consumer gets the benefits of solar power. In exchange, the company gets recurring revenue from a contract. This kind of revenue has many upfront costs, but the revenue benefit continues for years.
As we've seen with Yingli, it is very difficult to turn a profit as a manufacturer. That's why SunEdison operates the solar business as well. Unfortunately for the company, this segment of the business is faltering with less megawatts delivered last quarter than hoped. Of those that were delivered, many were of lower-grade panels. These panels don't have the profit margin that the higher-end panels have, which also caused the manufacturing segment of SunEdison to not be as profitable as it could have been.
The safer solar investment
SolarCity -- unlike SunEdison -- only operates the solar leasing business. The company rocketed up big time from its IPO at $9 to where it sits now in the high $30's. It operates in 14 states, but as CEO Lyndon Rive said: "The market is so big, we could meet our growth targets for the next 10 years just focusing on one state." While not profitable yet, growth doesn't seem to be a future issue.
One compelling reason to consider SolarCity is its ability to solve industry problems. Most recently, the company began to explore options of power storage. Under current laws, when rooftop solar output exceeds usage, this excess is sold back to the power grid. This power could be saved, but batteries are typically cost prohibitive and somewhat inefficient.
But now SolarCity is teaming up with Tesla Motors to experiment with batteries from Tesla's cars. It will test them out at around 100 sites to see how they perform. If all goes well, these batteries could become part of standard installation by 2015. This shows me that SolarCity has been and continues to be a company that seeks answers to industry problems, which will keep it ahead of the pack.
This news is also good for Tesla. The company plans on manufacturing 21,000 cars this year. SolarCity added 7,000 customers in the first quarter alone. As SolarCity continues to ramp up installations, and if Tesla's batteries become part of the package in 2015, Tesla will actually sell more batteries to SolarCity than it installs in its vehicles. This could prove to be a decent revenue source.
I believe that SolarCity is the superior company in the solar industry. I'm only hesitant with the current valuation. It has already quadrupled this year and currently totes a market cap of nearly $3 billion. I'm not sure the market will continue supporting this.
The company expects to achieve positive cash flow in the second quarter, which could send investors into a new frenzy. But given the 2013 installation goal of 250 megawatts, I believe it will be hard to maintain positive cash flows in the latter half of the year. This could cause investors to get impatient. I'm waiting for a more significant pullback before getting in.
The Motley Fool's chief investment officer has selected his No. 1 stock for this year. Find out which stock it is in the special free report: "The Motley Fool's Top Stock for 2013." Just click here to access the report and find out the name of this under-the-radar company.
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Have you recovered from Mad Decent Block Party? Last weekend, everything musical in Phoenix paused to give space for what is arguably the largest EDM event that will happen this year. This week, the Phoenix music universe has adjusted, compensating for the overabundance of beats and turntables with ... More >>
The beautiful excited girls dancing on the TV screen were the ones who caused Lewis Ray Cammarata to go into music. That was when he was watching the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show. Cammarata remembers it likes it happened yesterday because his dad was wincing with disgust, but his mom thought the ... More >>
By Gustavo Arellano America's liberal class and MSMers are abuzz right now over Narco Cultura, a documentary about Mexico's horrific drug war and the musical movement that has risen around it. These libs (and more than a few conservatives) are telling each other and the two Mexicans they know about ... More >>
I've spent the past few weeks debating the merits of Vinyl (seven reasons) versus CD (five reasons) for those of us that still collect music (my final verdict is that both have great qualities, but CD is still better). It's been a fun little debate, but it doesn't really matter how you listen. I ... More >>
Two very different festivals this weekend: One, Desert Uprising, will fill Ak-Chin Pavilion with metalheads and hard rock fans for acts like Alice in Chians, Jane's Addiction, and Avenged Sevenfold. Lushfest, the other, will fill The Sail Inn with local music fans ready to see Future Loves Past perf ... More >>
Yeah, yeah, yeah...we get it Mondays suck (we've read Garfield). But it means the start of a new week, which means a bunch of killer shows in and around Phoenix. And here are a few of the coolest, our top five must-see shows this week.
Nick Lowe has worn more than a couple stylistic hats in his over 40 years as a songwriter, performer, and producer. He played ambling country rock with Brinsley Schwarz, ushered in pub rock, punk, and new wave with solo records and production for Stiff Records, and eased into a remarkable career as ... More >>
Blake Mills isn't a household name, but like classic sidemen of lore (David Lindley, Ry Cooder, Leon Russell), he's makes an impact wherever he shows up. As a guitarist in Fiona Apple's band (he's performing with her on Tuesday, September 18, at Mesa Arts Center), Lucinda Williams, Cass McCombs, B ... More >>
Self-taught singer/songwriter Taj Mahal has grooved with everyone from The Rolling Stones and Eric Clapton to blues progenitors like Buddy Guy, Howlin' Wolf, and Muddy Waters. Like his friend Ry Cooder, he navigated the twisting waters of the late '60s and '70s session scene of Santa Monica, before ... More >>
Want to know what new release discs and platters are moving across the Valley at local record stores? We've got you covered with another installment of What's Selling. After taking most of 2010 off, Chicago indie-pop rockers Wilco are back strong with last week's The Whole Love release taking top h ... More >>
Photo by Ellen Von Unwerth Want to know what new release discs and platters are moving across the Valley at local record stores? We've got you covered with another installment of What's Selling. Well the Red Hot Chili Peppers certainly didn't waste any time jumping to the top of Hoodlums' li ... More >>
Legendary slide guitarist Ry Cooder (he's played on records by everyone from Randy Newman to the Rolling Stones) has recorded an anti-SB 1070 song called "Quick Sand." Cooder is one of those country(ish) guys the lefties love -- not only is that track available exclusively from NPR until tom ... More >>
In the 24-hour news cycle, it can be difficult to keep up. We have the solution. Check back on Valley Fever every evening for highlights from each of New Times' blogs. Today's entries:
This Staples Singer still wants to change the world
The week's chartbusters
Ay, Candela
A man of many jams
Veteran songwriter sings his own
Blue Country Heart (Columbia)
The North Mississippi Allstars are young guys passing on an old tradition
Swamptown Girl (Captivating Music), If I Had a Horse...(All Indie)
Exploring a variety of the world's folk traditions with daring aplomb, the Chieftains continue to draw on a musical well that looks as if it may never run dry
El Cancionero: Más y Más (Warner/Rhino)
Our quarterly roundup of music books lets us get lost with Chet Baker, nasty with Bill Monroe and saved by Al Green, while Ted Nugent teaches us that happiness really is a warm gun
A set of reissues casts new light on Taj Mahal's amazing musical amalgam
Through its nods to tradition and embrace of innovation, Calexico emerges as a desert bloom
Hot Rail
The music of Arizona guitar legend Rainer Ptacek lives on with a trilogy of new releases
The I-10 Chronicles
(Back Porch)
1,161 rock stars were fatally injured in the making of The Encyclopedia of Rock Obituaries
After a lifetime backing musical legends, drummer Sam Lay has become one himself
Glory Revival pillages rock 'n' roll history to create its own unique myth
Winning Buena Vista Social Club is not for members only
May 21 - 27, 1998


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To make reservations by phone, dial freephone 0800 221 222 in the UK, 1 800 409 929 in Ireland, or view our regional telephone reservation numbers.
11 Excelsior Ave
Saratoga Springs, New York 12866
Courtyard Saratoga Springs
Airport Phone: 1 518 242 2200
Hotel direction: 46.7 km N
Take a left out of the Airport and a left at the first light. Continue straight onto Albany Shaker Road and follow signs to I-87 North. Get off at exit 15 and make a left off the exit. Make a left onto Rock and left onto Excelsior.
This hotel does not provide shuttle service.
Phone: 1-518-691-0404
182 S Broadway
Saratoga Springs, New York 12866
Phone: 1-518-587-0687


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I don't think either of these were good enough for a second movie.
Agreed. But if Tom Hiddleston is Thor 2, I'll watch it anyway.
I don't think either of these were good enough for a second movie.
Captain America whil ebeing the weakest marvel movie was obviously an origin movie and it made a shitload of money so obviously they are going to adapt more of stuff. Not to mention that Cap is a central figure of Avengers, so he will be getting movies will Avengers are made.
Thor was second best movie after iron man I, IMO, not to mention that Loki still plays a huge part in avengers and there are those "consequences" of him failing the Other mentioned when making that deal for an army. Also odin's treasure room has that certain item the mid-credits villain of Avengers is known of wanting. Not to mention that the end of Thor sort of pretty much screamed "there will be a sequel" whats with all nine realms being severed and in chaos. Also, yep, made a whole lot of money.
Barring my thoughts on paltrow being absolutely atrocious both in looks and acting capabilities and being a terrible case of miscasting, everything about her build up screams death flags or at least nothing happy.
The pregnancy storyline especially is well known for lots of angst and bad stuff happening to her and since in movie universe characters can't just come back to life, like in comic books...
uhhhh, my whole wall of text lost...grrr..anyway.
Its not a spoiler since I am clearly remembering there being a mention of her prengnacy during Avengers movie.
And they have been quite faithful to comic books with marvel movieverse.
iron Man I dealt with Iron Monger and Iron man's origins that are pretty much one by one copy of the comic book:
iron Man II had whiplash and an edited less dark less violent version of "Demon In a Bottle" storyline for Stark(that is him going off-deep-end due to ideas of mortality, resulting in alcoholism and self-destructive behavior).
And IM III is already focusing on merging armor wars(a global iron men arms race), mandarin(the rings we see in every movie on villain hands) and extremis(cyborg implants for stark) storylines.
Which brings us quite close to Civil War of Superheroes storyline which is already confirmed for Avengers III or right after Avengers III(as separate movie trilogy/duology),
at which point they either:kill her off write her off the cast due to same reasons as her change in personality in comics (miscarriage, etc) or force Paltrow to get more active role by adapting the whole story after miscarriage
which I frankly can't see happening because it requires way more acting chops than paltrow has, as well as requires her taking more active role and the whole storyline might still be too grimdark for the movieverse.
Either way they do it, the current Pepper just makes the Civil War plot not work, since it requires her to agree with Tony being a massive authoritarian douche.
Agh those comic pics already look bizarre, and I agree. I can't see her doing a role (or wearing that suit) like that. You know I've only seen her roles in IM (and vomit, glee). Okay okay I did not catch the pregnancy thing at all FUCK I want to find it. FIND IT NOWWWWWWWW


text: Republic City Dispatch - Republic City Dispatch #9: Out Of The Past republiccitydispatch: REPUBLIC CITY DISPATCH #9: "OUT OF THE PAST" BE FOREWARNED - Discussion includes Avatar: The Last Airbender, Chapters 1-9 of The Legend of Korra and could expand to include The Promise (Part One), Nick.com's "Welcome To Republic City" at any time. Hosted by Devindra Hardawar of the /Filmcast and Da7e and Matt Patches of Operation Kino. 6/10/2012 2 years ago Reblogged from Republic City Dispatch 375 notes Tagged: #episode 109 #korra #legendofkorra #operationkino


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Britain battered by strong winds
Jun 17 2012
Britain has been battered by winds of up to 56mph, forecasters said.
The run of rainy, unseasonable weather continued as blustery gales swept up the country from the south coast.
The strongest winds were in Southampton where they reached 56mph.
Brendan Jones, senior forecaster at MeteoGroup, the weather division of the Press Association, said: "That is a strong gust for the time of year. Across most of southern England and south Wales there have been gusts of 45 to 50mph which is pretty blustery."
In south west London two nine-year-old boys were suffered serious head injuries when a tree fell at a cricket ground. A third boy was treated for leg injuries.
In Blackpool, the inaugural concert by Sir Elton John at a new venue was cut short by strong winds. Nearly two hours into his set, Elton told a disappointed crowd of almost 11,000 that on police advice he had been told to stop playing.
In Bournemouth a charity 10k run due to take place on Sunday has also been hit after a thick layer of sand was blown off the beach on to the seafront course.
The seafront road was covered with up to a foot of sand, leaving Bournemouth Borough Council with insufficient time to clear it before the Cancer Research UK Race for Life events in the morning. Instead, the charity is staging two 5k runs.
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Today fernham linked to this collection of organization and union songs from the legendary Joe Hill. Hill's songs flourished during the Great Depression, and it is a good time to remember his work. You can listen to the whole album at this Spotify link.
Don't Mourn—Organize. An old time soundtrack for #OccupyWallStreet


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See and share Beautiful Nature Photos and amazing photos of interesting places
"The harder you work, the luckier you get."
Gary Player
Below is the poem entitled IRREPLACEABLE SMILE which was written by poet
Olive Eloisa
Guillermo. Please feel free to comment on this poem. However, please remember, PoetrySoup is a place of encouragement and growth.
Read Poems by
Olive Eloisa
Olive Eloisa Guillermo
i got one unique smile
noticeable even from a mile
behold me with your eyes
sure, blood rushes on my face
don't mistake my closeness
nor ever encase me in sweetness
nor am i an enchantress
as this natural me
smiling in joys and pains
as though nothing in vain
love and faith i retain
indeed, keeping me sane
***Hope you can check my personal blog as well: http://myblossomingthoughts.blogspot.com/...
Thank you so much for reading my composition…
God bless us always….. >> Olive Eloisa ?


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Flow in Jazz Move your feet on Tuesday, May 7 2013 to VintageWG. Jazz Musician Community collaborates with Vintage Wine and Grill proudly present "Flow in Jazz". Together with Troy Kurniawan, Agus Takari, Zolten Ren Aldi, Roberto J, Taufan Irianto Siswadi, Ria Jipie Guest Stars : Iwan Hasan Quintet (Iwan Hasan, Metta Legita, Victor Alam, Donna Koeswinarso, Warman) Participants : AliceLeonz, Iman Brata Trio, Fourprints There will be jam session time after guest stars. Free entry, no cover charge! Vintage Wine & Grill The Flavor Bliss blok KB-KC Alam Sutera, Tangerang 021-2900-5118 / 0812-1990-1960
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Teamwork - bolting a new route on Gozo with Kyle
Murat Sevindik, Feb 2012
© Simon Alden
Route: Rainbow Warrior
Climbers: Simon Alden, Kyle Bonnici
Camera used: Panasonic DMC-TZ9


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News from WTOP
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Mike Causey
Shows & Panels
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- The 2014 Big Picture on Cyber Security
- AFCEA Answers
- Ask the CIO
- Building the Hybrid Cloud
- CDWG/NetApp
- Connected Government: How to Build and Procure Network Services for the Future
- Continuing Diagnostics and Mitigation: Discussion of Progress and Next Steps
- Federal Executive Forum
- Federal Tech Talk
- The Future of Government Data Centers
- The Future of IT: How CIOs Can Enable the Service-Oriented Enterprise
- Government Perspectives on Mobility and the Cloud
- The Intersection: Where Technology Meets Transformation
- Maximizing ROI Through Data Center Consolidation
- Mitigating Insider Threats in Virtual & Cloud Environments
- Modern Mission Critical Series
- Moving to the Cloud. What's the best approach for me
- Navigating Tough Choices in Government Cloud Computing
- The New Generation of Database
- Reimagining the Next Generation of Government
- Satellite Communications: Acquiring SATCOM in Tight Times
- Targeting Advanced Threats: Proven Methods from Detection through Remediation
- Transformative Technology: Desktop Virtualization in Government
- The Truth About IT Opex and Software Defined Networking
- Value of Health IT
- Air Traffic Management Transformation Report
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Senate GOP blocks Hagel vote for now
Thursday - 2/14/2013, 7:19pm EST
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Republicans have, for now, blocked Chuck Hagel's nomination to become defense secretary.
The Senate came up two votes short of the 60 needed to move Hagel's nomination forward as lawmakers prepare to leave town for a week's break. Democrats hold a 55-45 edge in the Senate.
Republicans had been blocking the confirmation of their former colleague and Vietnam veteran until they received information from the White House on President Barack Obama's actions during the attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya.
The White House responded to that request earlier Thursday, saying Obama spoke with Libyans a day after the attack.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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Forza Motorsport 4: May Top Gear Pack
The newest "Forza Motorsport 4" Car Pack will be available for download starting Tuesday, May 1 on the Xbox LIVE Marketplace, adding a new crop of cars for Forza players to collect, drive, and customize. Available for 560 Microsoft Points, the May Top Gear Car Pack has something for car fans of every stripe, from emblematic examples of 1970s American style and one of the fastest automobiles in the world; to one of the coolest off-road vehicles around and the world's smallest production car. It's a grab-bag of automotive excellence that can only be found in "Forza Motorsport 4."
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Two employees at the Tesoro Gas Station on the intersection of Van Horn Road and South Cushman Street were robbed at gun point this weekend.
According to Fairbanks Police Department the robbery took place early Sunday morning between 4 to 5am.
4 individuals entered the building and one brandished a fire arm demanding money from the clerk; the 4 perpetrators made off with an undisclosed amount of money.
There were 2 clerks working, and no one was hurt in the robbery; Fairbanks Police Department is investigating and say the 4 individuals appeared to be male and wearing, what appeared to be, winter gear.
The Newscenter will have more details as they become available.


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Synchronized Punditry About Second Life
Clay Shirky, Beth Coleman, and Henry Jenkins have decided to coordinate simultaneous blog posts discussing Second Life.
Clay's post on Many-to-Many, entitled Second Life, Games, and Virtual Worlds, addresses two questions: "Will Second Life become a platform for a significant online population? And, second, what can Second Life tell us about the future of virtual worlds generally?" No, it's not an SL-bashing piece. Not in the least. What it is is a thoughtful, lengthy exploration of the questions he poses. His conclusion? That the promise of immersive virtual worlds will not be met with today's technologies, and that "as a result, games will continue to dominate the list of well-populated environments for the foreseeable future, rendering ineffectual the category of virtual worlds, and, critically, many of the predictions being attached thereunto."
Henry's post, A Second Look at Second Life, responds directly to some of Clay's previous criticisms of SL press coverage, but shifts the focus: "I care only a little bit about the future of virtual worlds. I care a great deal about the future of participatory culture. And for the moment, the debate about and the hype surrounding SL is keeping alive the idea that we might design and inhabit our own worlds and construct our own culture. That's something worth defending."
Unfortunately, Beth's post has yet to make its appearance on her site, but I'll update this post once it does.
The posts are intended to be the beginning of a coordinated conversation. According to Henry, "After corresponding with Shirky and with my colleague Beth Coleman, it was decided that we would offer some new statements about this controversy across our three blogs today and respond to each other's posts in about a week's time. We also agreed that we would post links to the other posts through our sites which would help readers navigate between the various positions." I'll certainly be watching this interchange with interest.
Comments on Synchronized Punditry About Second Life:
Two posts well worth reading. I'm looking forward to seeing Beth's contribution. I particularly liked Henry's description of SL as a "carnival" in the medieval sense. And Clay's argument that virtual worlds are well suited to games I found convincing. This other claim by Clay I found quite unconvincing:
"One of the basic promises of virtual reality, at least in its Snow Crash-inflected version, is that we will be able to re-create the full sense of being in someone's presence in a mediated environment."
That seems like a futile and pointless target to set as a goal for virtual worlds. Very much a "horseless carriage". Its like setting the target of an ultimate "horseless carriage" that will graze in the back lot overnight, and be fueled up and ready to go in the morning. We have yet to produce motor cars that do that, but they are popular anyway. Surely the point of a mediated environment is that it should do some things better than face to face, and thus offset the drawbacks?
I'd say this latter target was already reached for some people with physical limitations. They don't want to create "a full sense of people being in their presence". They want to create a fuller sense of who they are, without uncalled for limitations getting in the way. In as more limited way, SL lets you extend the range of your possessions, at the cost of physical presence and fidelity. I'll never own a castle or a yacht in the physical world, but a I can express what I would do with such possessions in the world of SL. Thats enough of an advantage for some people, but probably not mass market.
Virtual worlds will become popular when the average person can see an advantage to them that outweighs the disadvantages. The disadvantages are slowly being eroded by technical improvement. But the killer advantages are still waiting to be discovered, and that mostly require imagination. SL may be able to host those killer apps, or it may need a new platform. But I don't think they are that far off.
Posted Jan 30, 2007 12:19:02 PM | link
Well, Hellinar. The killer app is violent porn for teens. Or interesting art, but porn will probably beat art. I was in the participatory-culture camp 10 years ago, but now I doubt it. There are too many people moving throught these systems now to establish cultures that aren't bastardized pop-cultures or extremist-fetish (which are more capable of growing their own cultures due to their insular nature)... *frowns*
Of course, before you get violent porn, you'll have descriptive bloodshed. Like Age of Conan.
Posted Jan 30, 2007 1:46:10 PM | link
I've been thinking very hard about why I don't find SL very compelling. I'm an old MOO/MUSHer and so my initial reaction, "there's no reason to be there," doesn't really hold water. After all, there was no explicit game or goal in most MOOs (though, of course, we did quest in DragonMUCK). Why were PointMOOt or Opal MOO or any of the others so compelling, where SL isn't?
Ironically the answer I come up with is community engagement, a descriptor I also apply to my experiences in WoW, both in and out of guild. Those MOOs were small enough that you pretty much knew a lot of the people who were playing in them. You "saw" them regularly; you coordinated construction/programming efforts; you chatted while engaged in a sort of parallel play: working on your object and chatting about it and other things. I find SL a lot like the universe: lots of "empty space." Perhaps there is simply too much acreage for the number of people generally simultaneously logged in. It is rare for me to encounter more than three or four people in the same spot, unless I go to a "bar" (and even then the most I've seen together in one spot rarely exceeds 8 or 10 people). It feels lonely to me. Yet, I can log in to WoW at 2 a.m. my time and see a bustling Iron Forge scene. Even if I don't know a soul online at the moment, I feel a human surround. In SL, I see empty houses, vending machines and stores, stuff, stuff, stuff...like a deserted mall. Okay, maybe it's a matter of being in the right place or on at the right time, but gee, I have a tough time finding the right place and right time then.
Okay, so it's not just a meatspace. I listened to Mitch Kapor's remarks about SL at Davos and I'm still not there. The idea that people accomplish social action goals in SL doesn't impress me, because it isn't the ONLY way or prhaps even the BEST way for social goal driven groups to organize and pursue action. So, that argument doesn't do it for me. Heck, moveon.org and the meetup.com infrastructure it partly relied upon, was much more compelling in what it accomplished, even as a new app.
Frankly, though I have no interest in flying, I find VATSIM the most compelling immersive world to watch as an indicator of the future of virtual worlds. It strikes me as a bit of a mashup of the community appeal and the play appeal and the immersive eye candy appeal. It's not exactly a game; it's not just a social space. Maybe a VATSIM'er could say more about that virtual world. I'm just a tourist there.
So, I gotta go with the "attention economy" answer on this one, and modify this statement from
Virtual worlds will become popular when the average person can see an advantage to them that outweighs the disadvantages.
Virtual worlds will become popular when the average person can see a reason to be there that outweighs a reason to be somewhere else. Right now, I don't have that reason.
Does anyone find it weird that in SL, where physics is on hold, i.e., a potentially liberating space where people move around by flying (when they're not waddling), that the tendancy is toward building spaces with walls, doorways, roofs, and other obstacles to navigation?
Posted Jan 30, 2007 2:20:35 PM | link
why not take the discussion to the actual media type-----drop in friday night--youre all blogging away in textland....
and yes,years of designs with no walls or doors do exist...everything old is new again.)
vr life before second life. and vr life after it im sure.;)
Event Invitation: Gallery Opening and Reception " 15 Years of Virtual Worlds
Join us Friday night as virtual world designer/ producer Cube3 opens their
new office plaza located within the virtual world Second Life. The event
will feature an opening reception featuring live/avatar DJ Cybster Curtis as
well as the opening of the 3D gallery show documenting many of the virtual
world projects and communities developed by Cube3 team members and it's
partners over the years. The gallery show will remain up all month and be
open to all interested in virtual world's design.
When: Friday, February 2, 2007 (Reception) - VR Offices open 24/7 before and
Time: 8pm - 11pm EST (5pm - 8pm SLT , PST)
Where: Cube3 Offices in Second Life (Theta, 57, 149, 26)
(http://slurl.com/secondlife/Theta/57/149/26 )
Dress: Yes, but it's Avatar beware.
Posted Jan 30, 2007 2:51:38 PM | link
@Linda: Both the conventional houses, and the lack of people, I see as symptoms of us still being in the horseless carriage stage of virtual worlds. SL may be making the same kind of mistake Clay was making in following too closely to the physical world model. This throws away potential benefit of a programmable physics.
For example, in SL, the server could simply delete random empty lots to bring the population density to a desired level no matter how many people were online. Trade the permanence of geography for an optimum social experience. I wonder how many people would turn a "population density" dial if one was available in SL? Its something you can't do in the real world. A reason to be there rather than your local mall.
@larryr: I think Henry made some good points about the superiority of text for some kinds of conversations. Even so, I may well take up the invitation. The gallery show is something that certainly wouldn't work in text.
Posted Jan 30, 2007 3:27:16 PM | link
@Hellinar and Linda in regards to zoning and population density:
With the client being released to open source, I can foresee that a gifted programmer will create a hack that will display SL a way that will be optimum for the user and there could be a great body of apps that will transform and display everything sent by the server to whatever the user wishes.
Posted Jan 30, 2007 8:54:36 PM | link
The problem there is not that it could or couldn't happen - i think we can all accept that it could - but motivation to provide such a service. The WoW-modders, the various game mod teams, people who mod Firefox or Windows or whatever, even the linux community (which is probably more technically skilled than any other dispersed community on the planet, barring astronomers) all have a motivation to do their thing.
The WoW modders improve the WoW interface so that they enjoy playing the GAME more and to help them "win".
Game-modders are involved in improving old games or creating new ones.
Windows modders know that their operating system is badly flawed and feel they can improve the productivity and security of something they have to use.
The linux community is involved in making the "perfect" OS because doing so is to their benefit and everyone else's.
Why would anyone bother to improve Second Life to that extent? Only about 20,000 people play it regularly (by pessimistic guess, which means SAFE guess). That's not a very big pool to find that kind of dedication or skill in, especially when the environment itself is more geared toward toy-scripters and fetishists. And they seem more than happy with it the way it is, they think it's the BEST THING EVARRR! if posts from the disturbingly obsessed "residents" are anything to go by.
You can dismiss this as normal programmer's cynicism if you like but given a choice between grumpy cynicism and joyful fluffy-bunny optimism, i'll go with the one which offers a better record of being right, and there's simply no contest there.
Posted Jan 31, 2007 5:08:39 AM | link
"Does anyone find it weird that in SL, where physics is on hold, i.e., a potentially liberating space where people move around by flying (when they're not waddling), that the tendancy is toward building spaces with walls, doorways, roofs, and other obstacles to navigation?"
It's not wierd, it's about how we perceive spaces, and enjoy them. A game is an experience littered with obstacles, some people find obstacles fun. Or scenery. Some people like to "see" themselves in a house that looks like a house, or to walk round paths that look like paths. The acid-trip potential of experiencing life as an alien spore that moves by blinking along pulsing cyan TV advertising clips is beyond the context of most people. It's heuristics or something.
I enjoy "walking" around spaces. In real life as well as in virtual worlds/games/etc. I can relate to that as a bipedal human person, that fills in a lot of gaps in the simulation- easier to fool yourself what you're seeing is a little more real than it is. It's just one reason I personally hate short range teleporting (though this is actually a feature desired by most people with their McMansions or picket fence faux colonial homes).
Oh, and I don't waddle :)
Finding a good crowd can be tough. The problem is more around the finding, than the lack of good crowds though. Maybe someone will look into that.
Posted Jan 31, 2007 5:13:29 AM | link
"Why would anyone bother to improve Second Life to that extent? Only about 20,000 people play it regularly (by pessimistic guess, which means SAFE guess). That's not a very big pool to find that kind of dedication or skill in, especially when the environment itself is more geared toward toy-scripters and fetishists. And they seem more than happy with it the way it is, they think it's the BEST THING EVARRR! if posts from the disturbingly obsessed "residents" are anything to go by."
With an average concurrency of 20K (peak at 27k) SL should got 20k regular player? Strange aritmethic.
And about being happy... have u ever read am average thread in SL forum or blog?
The game played there is called shoot the linden.
By a lot of your happy, blood thirsty enraged user.
I guess a new Open Source Client developed by any of the hundreds of people creating new stuff for SL will be received with a lot of satisfaction.
An average disturbingly obsessed "resident"
Posted Jan 31, 2007 11:28:53 AM | link
It's definitely more like a sophisticated and coordinated attack, by those with tenured positions in either Web. 1.0, Web. 2.0 flat social software or Ludology 301, who evidently feel they have a great deal to lose from Web 3pointD.
Shirky's latest premise still hinges on his deep irritation with the fact that people try SL, but don't stick to it. He's still buzzing around like a black fly and pouncing on the fact that there's no real 3.5 million (like there wasn't any real 2 million when he started his critique) and that 10 percent only seem to really log on (26,000 at any one time). He studiously ignores facts like 19,000 landowners growing to 55,000 landowners just in the time it's taken him to start and continue his jihad. Land means nothing to him; it's virtual.
So because people don't stick -- at least stick in the way he wants them to stick on the things he wants them to stick on-- Shirky concludes that Teh Ppl want WoW, they want structure, and non-magic-circle "not-a-games" won't work for them. Of course, that's like saying if the Internet is used by most people for email and shopping, the use of the Internet by a minority of people for research and maintaining databases is irrelevant.
He's really resistant to the idea of virtual worlds hooking up. That's because he doesn't live in them and see they already are hooked up. People already sell their Runescape accounts at their mall in teen Second Life; meet when WoW is down for planning strategies and socializing in SL; design their WoW armour for sale in SL; sell their WoW loot to buy SL land and even bridge the worlds. The average desktop with both SL and WoW running along with Skype and Google and Outlook Express and Feed Burner seems to be something he can't accept -- the humans themselves are the links, even if the links didn't happen yet technically.
Henry Jenkins says:
"I am pretty sure that the value of the web/net lies in asynchronous communications and that real time interactions -- whether we are talking 3d or skype -- will always represent a special class of uses which competes not with the web but with other teleconferencing technologies. Most of us will find uses for virtual worlds one of these days; most of us will not "live" there nor will we conduct most of our business there."
Spoken like a man of the last century. It's just going to accelerate and spread far wider and faster than you think, as much as it seems so ideologically repugnant to admit. Bashers of SL are at a bit of a loss; they can only take a meta-relationship to a mass-culture phenom like WoW, and the ludologists of TN can only participate in this mass culture if they justify it as a kind of alternative research trip or tongue-in-cheek form of legitimate, funded play. But when they come to something decidedly and consciously elitist, or at least meant for a minority of users in its present phase, they don't embrace it as the elitists they are. They hunt around for signs of Kool-Aid drinking and mass-culture excess like the sex trade. It's a very funny cultural moment.
It's funny to read Henry Jenkins bashing Lamda MOO -- to read TN or Raph Koster, those of us who missed the magic with Lamda MOO are constantly being told to pay homage to our forbearers and appreciate the tremendous role they played in creating the grammar of virtuality. Ok, genuflect, genuflect.
But...why would it matter? There are already virtual worlds everywhere. One of the reasons virtual worlds are so attractive is that a lot of what passes for real life is virtual, you know? Can you get more virtual than things like a Dilbert cubicle, the UN, or Washington's understanding of the war in Iraq?
People already spend 8-10-12-14 hours a day online either at jobs in offices, or surfing and shopping and emailing, or playing games of all kinds. It will be a natural segue for them to have virtuality take over for not only social relationships and teleconferencing but trying on dresses or prototyping houses.
The clunkiness of the tools shouldn't distract. Group tools were horrendously clunky a year ago; today they are models of efficiency for business management, given what they are.
Ultimately, I have to give TN about a C- for their game of synchronized punditry. It would have only been a fair fight if they allowed Cory Linden, Jerry Paffendorf and some of the other thinky boosters of SL to be at the same starting gate as these three.
But they don't have to be. It will be self-evident in time that fears and memes of the past were hobbling the perception of the present.
Posted Jan 31, 2007 2:59:44 PM | link
@Prok: Um, this synchronized punditry was not intiatied by Terra Nova, or Liz in particular. Liz, I believe, is just passing on news of it (correct me if I'm wrong, Liz). You're grading us for a course in which we haven't enrolled ;).
Posted Jan 31, 2007 3:16:34 PM | link
I read Clay's piece, I thought it was well put together and might help inform the general public on how to differentiate beteen a VW and a MMOG.
I like Linda's take on it.
In the main there is a differentiation between online gamers and online VW participants in spaces like SL as well.
People inhabit those spaces for different reasons, those reasons while not entirely mutually exclusive are I would argue mostly not the same when taken out of context.
What I mean is gamers like games, those games might have some of the characteristics of a VW like SL (some component parts) and SL might have some of the characteristics of a game world but this does not mean adoption of one platform corresponds to the other platform.
Sorry this is not likely going to be real popular on TN, but thems the breaks.
For Example: Housing and Pets
Most games have one or the other or both, so does SL, but these features presence does not mean that gamers will enjoy housing and pets in SL, even though SL has housing and pets thier social utility is mostly different.
This is where MSM and people who should know better are getting confused.
The damning conclusion and end result of this (and therin lies the responsibility to help people understand and differentiate) is that when investments in (unbranded) VW's don't get the same ROI as a popular online MMOG, is that those influential people who've invested money in a VW space will write off VW's as complete bullshit.
I'm personally happy when someone writes an informative piece that elicits understanding like these authors have, I think game devs and TN should be pretty happy about this type of piece as well.
Posted Jan 31, 2007 5:31:59 PM | link
I've read all of the pieces, and I find them all strangely familiar. Little pieces from here and there throughout the real SecondLife blogosphere. Odd, that.
It's sort of like G.W. Bush discussing Iraq on a few different levels. Thats about all the energy I have after reading the related entries.
Hurrah for the three of them.
Posted Jan 31, 2007 11:36:14 PM | link
In reading the recent Second Life threads, I keep thinking about the impassioned comments that Jerry Paffendorf made during the final session of the Terra Nova gathering last December. Speaking from the floor, he respectfully suggested that many of our leading virtual world scholars are not quite grasping the significance of the developments unfolding with Second Life and affiliated technologies.
I'm paraphrasing here, but Jerry said something along the lines of: "I used to find the postings on Terra Nova to be incredibly insightful and visionary, but this is happening less and less. You guys really need to be paying attention to the many technologies that are intersecting to create a version of the metaverse that is far more interesting than World of Warcraft."
Of the many remarkable panels and presentations, Jerry's heartfelt comments are what I will remember most about that gathering. He called on all of us to step outside the parameters of our favorite virtual worlds to consider a larger vision of what the metaverse might become. I am confident that the regular authors and commenters on Terra Nova will eventually rise to the challenge. Unfortunately, we have a long way to go.
During the last few years, I have taught five semester-long courses that revolve around virtual worlds. Students in these classes have explored Everquest (2003), Second Life (2004), World of Warcraft (2005), Everquest II (2006), and now Second Life (2007). Each of these virtual worlds offered its own advantages. In the courses focused on virtual ethnography, WoW and its EQ brethren were a terrific vehicle for gaining insight into communication research methods and the larger issues associated with virtual worlds scholarship.
Because those classes also connected virtual world activities to the history of role-playing games, Second Life would not have worked as well in those situations. However, without a doubt, Second Life is currently the most exciting virtual world platform available to educators. Stan's post (in the middle of the above thread) does a marvelous job of describing the excitement that many teenagers express when confronted with the creative possibilities of the SL platform. His account resonates with my own experiences using SL in the classroom. At first, the hardcore gaming students dismiss the platform because it isn't World of Warcraft. The graphics are somewhat weak, the lag can be abysmal, and it's difficult -- at first -- to find something interesting to do. However, once they stop comparing it to the level treadmill games, many of these students become intrigued by the possibilities of building something new. From the point of view of many educators, these tools for user creation are what makes Second Life so exciting.
This semester, I'm teaching a course on virtual world promotions. In a recent discussion, after reading through the backlash articles, one student (a hard-nosed journalist type) suggested that Second Life is just the flavor of the month. "What happens, down the road, when it's replaced by something else," he asked.
And so we talked about this. In fact, for the sake of argument, our course takes it as a given that something other than Second Life will dominate the social virtual world space in 2012. And, assuming that this is the case, we discussed a series of questions:
+ Will three-dimensional user-created social virtual worlds disappear altogether?
+ Will the communities and social networks formed within Second Life disappear altogether?
+ Will the corporations, public agencies and government officials currently investing time and energy in SL have wasted their time?
+ Will these initial experiments in Second Life teach us anything that carries forward to the next stages of the metaverse?
These are the same questions that I would pose to Second Life's most vocal critics.
Before ending this comment, I'd like to make two of my own predictions for 2007.
#1. In response to popular demand, Terra Nova will invite a well-known metaverse visionary to join the list of regular contributors. (Prokofy, I never thought that you and I would agree on something, but you're 100% correct when you note that Jerry's voice should be foregrounded in this discussion.)
#2. At least five people who have publicly scoffed at Second Life in the TN comments threads will, before the end of the year, make a grudging post in which they admit that "event x" or "application y" in Second Life was pretty darned cool.
And, just to give those people an opportunity to chime in now, I would like to direct all of you to the completely awesome comic book created in Second Life by Camp Global Kids (link to medium-sized PDF is: http://www.holymeatballs.org/pdfs/campgk2006Small.pdf). This is a terrific, hype-slicing example of where things are heading.
When I read the work of these talented kids, the phrase "ponzi scheme" is the last thing that comes to mind.
Posted Jan 31, 2007 11:49:59 PM | link
+ Will three-dimensional user-created social virtual worlds disappear altogether?
Most certainly not. They very likely will, however, become much less "open" insofar as creativity will be constrained to comply more closely to the norms of the wider audience of adopters. Stability and predictability will breed wider adoption. It will also force the innovators and early adopters to themselves evolve, much like static http/html expression as communication and usenet/bbs reemerged as the more resilient and socially powerful blogosphere. Similarly, blogs are beginning a phase of corporatization and popularization, pushing some early adopters and creative communicators aside while disproportionately rewarding others. I reference the growing number of companies engaging in statistically driven, "AI" types of blog monitoring agents and, more prophetically, blog message infiltrators. Not "spam" per se, but the evolution of paid message seeding from broadcast advertising to automated viral marketing, if you will.
+ Will the communities and social networks formed within Second Life disappear altogether?
A highly unpopular position, but probably. I'm sure a few of the stronger networks will endure, probably more as meta-networks that evolve beyond the specific Second Life platform. At first, many will seem to survive, but the decay rate of internet social networks is brutal. Worse, anonymity serves to undermine most internet social networks over time. SL networks which shed anonymity have a better chance of surviving.
+ Will the corporations, public agencies and government officials currently investing time and energy in SL have wasted their time?
For most yes. But *not* because of LL or SL as a company, platform, or phenomenon. Simply because most corporations have a terrible ability to capitalize on organizational learning. From the corporation's perspective, read the shareholders perspective, it is similar to any new technology/process adoption curve. Most new learning investment by the company will walk out the door if the investment proves valuable to the individual actually acquiring the skills. The story will be if a company actually has a strong organizational learning culture and does capitalize on experience and knowledge gained from SL participation. That company will appear in a b-school hbr case.
+ Will these initial experiments in Second Life teach us anything that carries forward to the next stages of the metaverse?
If by "us" you mean non-corporate individuals, then absolutely. I'm unconvinced it is teaching anything more or less valuable than other MMO(RP)Gs. Taking a broader perspective, the broad participation of people in any MMO experience is teaching fundamentals that will probably carry some significant generational quality. The Atari Generation, the Internet Generation, the Virtual Generation, perhaps as an evolution. Speaking for myself, I suspect I'm too old to accurately predict how this will manifest itself. But I could produce another 1500 words of guesses that will be logically consistent yet ultimately wrong.
And I will be anything but "grudging" in my comments should I be proven wrong about SL's economic system. The comic book is great, something I can appreciate, but a cheap shot. I was talking about a different system, one on which these kids are supposed to be prohibited as participants. What did someone say? Buicks and Boysenberries?
Posted Feb 1, 2007 2:12:17 PM | link
Not sure if I'd call it a "cheap shot" to reference the comic book created on the teen grid, but your point about them not being part of the adult SL community is well taken.
Your comment about the short-lived nature of organizational memory is also important. However, this is an attribute of all sorts of organizations, and not just corporations. Furthermore, when individuals leave those institutions, it's not as if they vaporize into a puff of smoke. They take their knowledge with them and fold it into new collective projects.
The reference to non-corporate individuals is confusing. Are you suggesting that people who work with corporations are incapable of learning new things and incapable of building socially valuable structures in the virtual and real worlds? I don't want to put words in your mouth, so I assume that this is *not* what you are arguing.
But what does it mean to say that someone is a non-corporate individual? I'm a teacher, and I'm also a new media research. I'm also part of a start-up corporation that is active in this space. Does this make me a corporate individual? If so, what characteristics are you ascribing to me based on this identity?
Regarding the learning that occurs in Second Life as opposed to massively multiplayer games, I would encourage you to take a closer look at the range of courses that have been integrated with the different platforms. There have been a handful of classes that successfully use the game-like MMOGs, but teachers and students are deeply limited by the lack of user-creation tools. In contrast, Second Life (and other social virtual worlds) makes it possible for instructors and students to create entirely new types of learning environments.
Consider the work that Anne Beamish (UT Austin) and Terry Beaubois (Montana State University) have been doing with architecture students. Visit the New Media Consortium's site and investigate some of the innovative classroom applications pioneered by their members. Chat with students who have learned the basics of 3D modeling and scripting as a result of the Second Life development tools. Read the work of science teachers who are using social virtual worlds as a way of demonstrating science concepts. Selectively skim the Second Life educators list for its most useful and substantive postings.
This type of creativity flourishes in Second Life and There and affiliated technologies. It does not happen in WoW or Vanguard. I'm not saying that WoW can't work as a teaching tool -- simply that it's extremely limited.
Posted Feb 2, 2007 1:18:02 AM | link
Thomas, I'm sorry, but I find that a rather lame alibi. Liz Lawley is your conscripted author now on TN. So of course it's related to you all. Even if she is only reporting news, it's like announcing a seminar in the next hall your'd like your students to attend. The brighter ones will realize that they should go, even if it is not for credit.
My contribution on Beth's blog:
Posted Feb 3, 2007 11:14:27 PM | link
Of course, Prok; Liz's notice of the event constitutes an implicit approval of its significance. But it's not an alibi, because my point still stands. You said:
I have to give TN about a C- for their game of synchronized punditry. It would have only been a fair fight if they allowed Cory Linden, Jerry Paffendorf and some of the other thinky boosters of SL to be at the same starting gate as these three.
You obviously assume in this quote that TN (as a blog, officially) was in on the ground floor of planning this thing. It wasn't. Acknowledge that you were wrong and move on. Please don't take this to vague accusations when I have you dead to rights here. You know that I don't go out of my way to disagree with you.
Posted Feb 4, 2007 12:30:46 AM | link
(Note: emphasis is added in quote of Prok, above.)
Posted Feb 4, 2007 12:31:34 AM | link
Profky: It's definitely more like a sophisticated and coordinated attack, by those with tenured positions in either Web. 1.0, Web. 2.0 flat social software or Ludology 301, who evidently feel they have a great deal to lose from Web 3pointD.
I've been trying pretty darn hard over the last few years to get a coherent definition of Web 2.0, much less this new-fangled Web 3pointD (which I believe I saw demoed back in '93-'94 at CSCL). And have largely come to the conclusion that they are little more than straw-man positions taken in contrast to other fictional straw-man positions for the purpose of setting one's self up as the prophet of the future. While simultaneously ignoring the fact that the Computer-Supported Collaborative Work/Learn/Play communities have consistently held many of the same values regarding the end goals of community (however that is defined), and collaboration over the last 30 years.
The best claimed features of Web 2.0 and Web 3.D wore prototyped, explored, and developed along side the earliest HTTP/HTML specifications, and the worst claimed features of Web 1.0 as static one-many marketing have invaded collaborative systems and spaces.
Which is why I keep coming back to my repeated refrain, It's the community, not the technology, stupid. Perhaps it's because my first virtual community involved a text-based BBS that existed from approx. 1987-1995 before all this Web 1/2/3 thing. But very little of what gets described as "revolutionary" about SL/WoW sounds especially revolutionary or technology-bound to me. Of course five years ago "virtual community" did not require 3D space, and was just as valid applied to the asynchronous messaging systems you despise as game spaces.
And before we go back into yet another 'round of bashing asynchronous CMC as "last century," how in particular would advocates of virtuality address my research findings that international time zones place significant constraints on the kinds of social networks that can be constructed using synchronous virtual communication? It would seem that any advantage that synchronous communications networks have would have resulted in the elimination of asynchronous networks over a generation ago.
But they don't have to be. It will be self-evident in time that fears and memes of the past were hobbling the perception of the present.
Which is a nice way to poison the rhetorical well by insisting that those of us who consider the limitations as well as the promise of virtual worlds are motivated by "fear." I don't think there is much to fear here. The history of virtual community via asynchronous technologies spans centuries, and I'm willing to place a quarter bet that asynchronous text-based communities will be around for a while to come.
Well, I think there is a legitimate concern that the hype and posturing over web 2.0/3D will lead people to blow money on the wrong technology for the task, or blow money on technology instead of the organizational change needed to make that technology worthwhile. But that's another topic.
Posted Feb 5, 2007 10:23:55 AM | link
Aaron: He called on all of us to step outside the parameters of our favorite virtual worlds to consider a larger vision of what the metaverse might become.
Well, as a lover of the cognitive alchemy of words and texts, my favorite virtual worlds are the asynchronous systems that are Profky's scapegoats in these discussions. My opinion is that the future information ecology is going to involve a wide variety of technologies, including asynchronous knowledge-construction systems, 3D virtual spaces, geographically-aware information systems, and ubiquitous computing devices, with a high degree of information-sharing between them. For a peek into the future of the metaverse, Gmail, Flickr, wikipedia, and Nokia are as important as Second Life.
I'm not a critic of SL as it is, I'm a critic of the claim the often-repeated claim that a single form of CMC or technology interaction is ever going to gobble up the entire spectrum. But to answer your questions.
+ Will three-dimensional user-created social virtual worlds disappear altogether?
No, I don't think that 2D social spaces will either.
+ Will the communities and social networks formed within Second Life disappear altogether?
Well, it's the nature of social networks to mutate and change over time. But I have seen what happens to a community when the technological rug is pulled out from under its feet. And the community didn't survive in the same form, although many network ties still persisted in other forms. I suspect that the weaker ties will vanish from that network, and stronger cliques will fragment and find other social media.
+ Will the corporations, public agencies and government officials currently investing time and energy in SL have wasted their time?
Depends on their goals for investment to start with. I wouldn't invest in SL as the dominant online networking medium of the extended future. I would invest in SL for short and medium term social networking potential.
+ Will these initial experiments in Second Life teach us anything that carries forward to the next stages of the metaverse?
Of course, however, those lessons will be promptly dismissed and ignored by advocates of "Web 4.0" who will fixate on the most problematic features of SL.
Posted Feb 5, 2007 10:50:29 AM | link


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