Clever Zebra

New White Papers Key to Virtual Worlds for Business

Caleb Booker — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 18:07:35 +0000

Clever Zebra has just released two Virtual Worlds white papers in conjunction with the sold-out July vBusiness Expo. The goal of these papers is to give businesses interested in virtual worlds a clear and simple guide to taking first steps in this new technology, and to remove some of the awful complexity involved.

The two papers provide a clear starting point for business in virtual worlds. You can get your copies in the new white papers, reports and guides section of the website, or from the brief descriptions below.

The Essential 7 Point Quick Start for Meetings Professionals

Get The Essential 7 Point Quick Start for Meetings Professionals as a first step toward learning about what Virtual Worlds mean for the meetings industry. In the guide you'll learn:

When virtual events work
How you can benefit from them
What the limitations are, and
Who's doing it already

This crucial guide will help you assess the benefits and potential pitfalls of Virtual Worlds meetings and deliver key insight into how virtual environments will shape the meetings industry over the next two years.

Download your copy now

Going Virtual: A Three Point Success Plan for Business

Get Going Virtual: A Three Point Success Plan for Business and discover how you can move forward with Virtual Worlds today.

Make complex decisions simple
Discover best practices for moving forward
Start doing rather than dithering

Getting the right people on the right side of a decision on Virtual Worlds strategy is challenging to say the least. Going Virtual is a straight-forward best practices manual for moving forward with Virtual Worlds that any organization can implement.

Download your copy now

Late Additions: Christian Renaud and John Swords

Caleb Booker — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 15:04:50 +0000

There have been some last-minute additions to the Future Of Virtual Worlds panel at the upcoming vBusiness Expo. The panel already includes:

Now, in addition to these experts on specific platforms, we'll also be joined by two of the industry's top analysts. They have not only taken a good look at what has been going on, but have gone out and experimented with the technology themselves to see what the possibilities are.

Christian Renaud - Technology Intelligence Group
Christian Renaud was Chief Architect of Networked Virtual Environments for the Cisco Technology Center. In his 12 years there he worked on technologies as diverse as remote access servers, IP telephony for the enterprise, broadband over powerlines, and networked virtual environments (avatar mediated communication).

Since then he has begun a new venture called Technology Intelligence Group, a company that aims to make access to analysis a much more fluid thing. His article "The Future Will Be Better Tomorrow" made some bold predictions about the future uses of virtual world technology, including the necessity of these environments in training and the eventual collapse of any technology that isn't compatible enough with existing standards.

John Swords - Electric Sheep Company
Swords oversees strategic partnerships at Electric Sheep Company, a leading virtual worlds development firm based in New York. Prior to his role in business development, John produced virtual world campaigns for clients such as NBC Universal and Edelman.

John is a contributor to the Metaverse Roadmap Project and is a frequent speaker at social media and virtual world conferences. As an independent media producer, he has produced hundreds of hours of recorded sessions on virtual worlds and other social technologies.

Registration Closed - We are at capacity for registrations to the vBusiness Expo. Do keep an eye on the Clever Zebra blog, however, for future announcements about the availability of the recorded sessions.

vBusiness Expo Registration CLOSED

Caleb Booker — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 01:49:39 +0000

Due to high demand and limited space, we've closed registrations to the vBusiness Expo running July 30th and 31st 2008. Those who were lucky enough to register early will be able to log into a custom 3D environment in Forterra's OLIVE platform and hear from the experts in how virtual worlds are impacting business today.

This event has set an important precedent for virtual world events in charging real prices to attend virtual world events. Registered attendees will, in addition to live access to presenting experts, receive early access to the recorded archives of the events and practical experience in an advanced 3D platform many have never seen. Those arriving at the expo will be greeted by a staff wearing Kelly Services t-shirts to help them get used to the platform. Ongoing telephone technical support will also be offered by Forterra Inc.

More announcements about the vBusiness Expo are coming, including the addition of two new panelists. Meanwhile, thank you to all who have shown your overwhelming support for the expo, and we look forward to seeing you on the 30th and 31st!

Announcing the vBusiness Expo July Agenda!

Caleb Booker — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 18:08:23 +0000

The complete agenda for the next vBusiness Expo (running July 30th - 31st) has been officially released. The expo will be held online in a virtual environment. Participants will login from around the globe to attend the second enterprise virtual worlds conference from virtual world events company Clever Zebra.

Attendees can expect to gain practical, actionable knowledge from leading experts as well as acquire key insights from companies already engaged in virtual worlds in a hands-on, fully immersive virtual event.

vBusiness Expo is proud to partner with Kelly Services and Forterra Systems for the leading virtual worlds business conference.

Not Registered?
If you've not registered for vBusiness July do so now. We're almost at capacity and will close registrations in the next 48hrs or so.

Day 1 - All Times in PDT

08:00 PDT - Virtual Worlds in Business - Are we virtually there yet?

Steve Prentice, VP at Gartner

The business of virtual worlds has grown rapidly in the last 12 months, but how relevant are the new entrants to enterprise users? During this session you'll discover answers to questions like:

Do numbers really matter?
Is a focused world better than a well populated one?
What technology changes have occurred and do they move enterprise users forward or not?
What are the applications that work, and what are the mistakes that must be avoided?

Clearly the answers to these questions will summarize the state of the virtual world business in mid 2008, and explore the opportunities and pitfalls of virtual worlds in the business.

09:30 - 10:30 PDT - Getting Started In Virtual Worlds

A discussion featuring Robert Gehorsam, President of Forterra Inc., and Nick Wilson, CEO of Clever Zebra

In this interactive session, guests at the vBusiness Expo will be able to ask the hard questions about the possibilities of building a business solution in virtual worlds. Here you'll get answers to questions like:

What is the state of Corporate Adoption of Virtual Worlds?
What is the business case for ROI in virtual worlds?
How does an organization, new to virtual worlds, get started?
How do partners play into the virtual world market?

If you're interested in getting solid answers to the tough questions, this is the session for you.

11:00 PDT - Virtual Worlds @ Work

Panel moderated by Eilif Trondsen, SRIC-BI

Find out how virtual worlds are being used in the enterprise as companies using virtual worlds in a variety of use cases discuss their experiences with SRIC-BI's Eilif Trondsen.

Special guests include:

Day 2 - All Times in PDT

08:00 PDT - From Webvolution to the i-Web Singularity: How 3D Internet Technologies are Redefining How we Live, Work and Play.

Tony O'Driscoll, North Carolina State University

How did we get here, where are we going, and how does this all affect business? In this session you'll discover:

Webvolution: What Web 1.0 was where web 2.0 took us, and what web 3D means
Routinization: An exploration of the 7 sensibilities that make 3D different, and how they impact in industry and enterprise functions
The i-web singularity: How 4 discrete technology vectors are converging on a much richer first person interface that will forever change how we live, work and play.

No view of virtual worlds is complete without a look at this scholarly perspective. Do not miss this session.

09:30 - 10:30 PDT = OLIVE Interactive Workshop

Featuring Chris Badger, VP at Forterra Inc., and Nick Wilson, CEO of Clever Zebra

For those wondering how far the technology can be pushed, this is the session for you. We'll be discovering how technologies like PowerPoint or video streaming work best in virtual worlds, and explore how standards like SCORM have a tremendous impact on how effective these spaces are as working environments.

There will also be a lengthy Q&A session with the audience, so if you've heard of an application for the use of virtual worlds and want to know more, this is a good time to ask and get the details that could save you large amounts of time and effort.

11:00 PDT - The Future of Virtual Worlds

Panel moderated by Nick Wilson, CEO of Clever Zebra

This special panel will discuss the new virtual world platforms just over the horizon, and give you advanced insight into how you can position your company using this up and coming technology. Guests include:

Register now to secure your attendance at the next expo!

vBusiness Expo Expert Panel: Virtual Worlds @ Work

Caleb Booker — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 20:05:44 +0000

For many, the practical uses of virtual worlds are a mystery. Imagine having a solid understanding of their applications, how companies have become more productive, saved time, and saved money. Eilif Trondsen of SRIC-BI leads this panel of experts with stories from the edge of technology, and a clear message to enterprise:

'Playtime is now over.' Organizations now need to demonstrate business value. This panel will discuss how how companies are doing that and what challenges they often face and how these can be overcome.

This expert panel is made up of the true visionaries in virtual worlds who are paving the way for the rest of us in discovering how to make the technology directly benefit business.

John Boring - Accelerate

John is the founder and CEO of Accelerate. A Silicon Valley veteran, he is a highly experienced organization development executive known for his abilities to source, hire and retain great talent. His expertise lies not only in Team/Organization Development and Change Management, but also in building corporate training functions. John founded Accelerate in 2004 with the aim of providing all the outsourced services of a corporate university to our clients. He has held senior positions at Atari Games, Netscape, Portal Software and Apple/Apple University, and consulted to ChevronTexaco, AT&T, Silicon Graphics, HP and Yahoo!, to name a few.

Dan Gillette, Ed.M. - Greenleaf Medical

Dan is a design principal in behavioral medicine at Greenleaf Medical, director of the Education and Behavioral Healthcare Initiative at the Greenleaf Institute, director of virtual reality products at CFG Health Systems, and a founding member of the Innovative Technology for Autism Advisory Board at Autism Speaks/Cure Autism Now. Dan has held research and teaching positions at Stanford University (product design, engineering, assistive technology), UC Berkeley (disability studies, product design), Mills College (computer science), and CSU Monterey Bay (assistive technology, curriculum development). Additionally, Dan has extensive experience as a curriculum developer and learning specialist at the middle school, high school, undergraduate, and graduate levels, both in private practice and school settings.

Anders Gronstedt, Ph.D. - The Gronstedt Group

Anders is president of a global firm specializing in improving sales and frontline performance with consulting and custom-developed virtual worlds, simulations, podcasting, and other innovative learning approaches. A former member of the graduate Integrated Marketing Communications faculty at the University of Colorado, Dr. Gronstedt is a world-renowned management consultant, speaker and author of the book The Customer Century: Lessons from world-class companies in integrated communications. His global client list includes industry leaders such as Dell, FedEx Kinko's, Avaya, Ericsson, Jamba Juice, Electrolux, Farmers Insurance, and Volvo Cars and his articles have appeared in Harvard Business Review, Marketing Management, T+D Magazine, and more.

Eilif Trondsen, Ph.D. - SRI Consulting Business Intelligence (moderator)

Eilif is the Research and Program Director of the Virtual Worlds @ Work (VWW), a research consortium at SRI Consulting Business Intelligence (SRIC-BI) in Menlo Park, California. VWW consists of large multinational companies and organizations from the Asia, Europe and North America. The focus area of his research and consulting at SRIC-BI is the use of technology for business performance improvement and learning. For ten years, Eilif held the position of Research Director of the Business Intelligence Program (now the Scan program) at SRI and also led the Learning of Demand program (focused on learning technologies) for 10 years. In his tenure at SRI and SRIC-BI, Eilif has given numerous presentations on various eCommerce, eLearning and virtual worlds topics at conferences and to SRI clients around the world. Eilif has also the author and co-author of numerous publications on eCommerce, eLearning and virtual world topics.

Discover How 3D Internet Technologies are Redefining How we Live, Work and Play

Caleb Booker — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 17:34:53 +0000

On the second day of the vBusiness Expo Dr. Tony O'Driscoll of the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University will be taking us From Webvolution to the i-Web Singularity. This is an exciting look at how we came to this point and where it's all leading us.

The technology that undergirds corporate collaboration is undergoing significant transformation. The 3Di internet, or first person interface, will have a significant impact on how societies and enterprises live, work, and play in the not so distant future. Getting ahead of the 3Di adoption curve will yield significant financial and human capital for enterprises.

If you aren't familiar with these concepts already, this is a session you cannot afford to miss. Here you'll discover:

Webvolution: How the web is evolving from Web 1.0, which was about the democratization of access, to web 2.0 which is about the democratization of participation, to web 3D which is about collaborative co-creation to drive new economic value.
Routinization: How society has traditionally applied technology to automate the past prior to the technology itself ending up changing the future. We will explore specifically the seven sensibilities that make 3D different and discuss how and where these sensibilities will have impact in industry and enterprise functions.
The i-web singularity: Four discrete technology vectors are converging on the i-web singularity. This is where KM, Learning, Collaboration and 3D converge into the IMMERNET; a much richer first person interface that will forever change how we live, work and play.

Dr. O'Driscoll works and researches in the areas of organization learning, knowledge management, change management, business strategy and corporate innovation at places like IBM and Nortel. He has in-depth knowledge and experience in optimizing and managing organizational performance and, apart from numerous ongoing journal contributions, consults with business leaders around the world on how to create sustained competitive advantage in an increasingly networked and knowledge-enabled global economy.

Seats are being reserved quickly so if you haven't already, be sure to reserve your place at the vBusiness Expo while spots are still available.

Keynote Session Revealed: Virtual Worlds in Business - Are we virtually there yet?

Caleb Booker — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 18:53:04 +0000

We are at last able to announce the first session of the vBusiness Expo. Steve Prentice, VP at Gartner, will be delving into Virtual Worlds in Business - Are we virtually there yet? Here he addresses a burning question many in the industry need an answer to immediately:

While the business of virtual worlds itself has grown rapidly in the last 12 months, how relevant are the new entrants to enterprise users?

There's no doubt that today there are more platforms and more sophisticated technologies to choose from, but the question remains: how many of them are useful to business? It turns out that this isn't an easy question to answer. Many are publishing data that may not be accurate, and sometimes it's even difficult to figure out what data matters.

Lucky for us, Prentice has been intensely researching the Consumerisation of IT, Virtual Worlds, Social Networking and Gaming and emerging technology and societal trends for some time. Few are better qualified to cut through the noise and give us some simple answers to questions like:

Do numbers really matter?
Is a focused world better than a well populated one?
What technology changes have occurred and do they move enterprise users forward or not?
What are the applications that work, and what are the mistakes that must be avoided?

Rarely does an opportunity like this present itself. Getting the answers to these questions will put you in a superior position to determine what the best move will be for your company, and give you a well-rounded understanding of the pitfalls of virtual worlds in the business.

If you haven't already, be sure to reserve your place at the vBusiness Expo while seats are still available.

Special Announcement: Extra Date Added For July vBuiness Expo

Caleb Booker — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 12:46:10 +0000

It was previously announced that the upcoming vBusiness Expo would be on July 30th. Response has been so positive, however, that we've added another day on to the schedule with even more sessions. The vBusiness Expo will now run on July 30th and 31st. Business and technology leaders from both government and enterprise have already reserved seats, but space is limited, so if you haven't already done so reserve your seat for vBusiness Expo July before it's too late!

We're very close to announcing the full schedule of events over the two day expo, but meanwhile we'll be giving complete details of individual sessions right here on the Clever Zebra blog. Clearly this is the single most exciting event for those focused on how virtual worlds will affect businesses today. Get your ticket now, and watch this space for even more details as they're released.

The Official vBusiness Expo Media Partners

Caleb Booker — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 16:49:58 +0000

ANNOUNCING the official media partners for this July's vBusiness Expo. These represent some of the best resources for information about how virtual worlds fit with enterprise, and what to look out for in the future.

Virtually Blind, edited by Benjamin Duranske, covers legal news, issues, and events that impact virtual worlds. Nowhere else on the net will you see a more up to date look at the big legal questions this technology presents.

Where people go, laws and government aren’t far behind. Will a real-world lawsuit help clarify the status of digital property? Will criminal charges result from in-world activity? Will someone’s in-world private legal system become the de facto standard? Will attorneys practicing law in-world get in trouble with real-world ethics bodies? Will someone bring a civil suit for emotional distress inflicted by an avatar?

Virtually Blind editor Benjamin Duranske is a writer and an intellectual property attorney. He is the author of Virtual Law: Navigating the Legal Landscape of Virtual Worlds, and is currently working on a mainstream book on virtual worlds and a novel.

The Virtual Worlds BusinessCast is hands down the best podcast on business in virtual worlds. Past guests have included Erica Driver of Forrester, Jeff Barr of Amazon, and most recently Qwaq's CEO Greg Nuyens.

Voices in Business investigates the increasing business usage of virtual worlds such as SecondLife, Entropia and ActiveWorlds. By way of background, [...] virtual worlds are increasingly being used for a wide range of business purposes, by participants ranging from individual entrepreneurs to global Fortune 500 brands.

Throughout this series, we speak with participants right across that spectrum, hearing unique insight from a range of individuals who are successfully using virtual worlds in a business context.

The podcast is hosted by experienced host Mike O'Hara, owner of Voices In Business, which specialises in producing sponsored interviews with recognized "thought leaders" in various business niches, delivered via podcast/webradio format.

MixedRealities is a virtual worlds blog that gives one of the best ongoing overviews of what's happening in virtual world business communities.

MixedRealities covers the intersection of virtual environments, business and philosophy. MixedRealities believes that collaboration in virtual environments is one of the most important and most spectacular aspects of globalization.

Virtual collaboration seems to correspond to the aspirations of the new generation of people who want to combine work, meaning and fun. For that reason, MixedRealities also covers more philosophical and cultural aspects of virtual environments.

The author of the blog, Roland Legrand, is a Belgian journalist in charge of Internet and New Media at the business newspapers De Tijd and L’Echo.

If you're interested in becoming a media partner, contact us or visit the Press section of the vBusiness Expo website.

Limited Places at the July vBusiness Expo Now Available

Caleb Booker — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 12:17:37 +0000

We've just opened ticket sales for the July vBusiness Expo, but that's not even the biggest news we have today. This expo will be held in Forterra's OLIVE, and those with tickets will get special instructions to log into this platform that many have never even seen.

We're also now able to announce several of the speakers and sessions that will be held. The vBusiness Expo, of course, remains focused on Virtual Worlds use cases for enterprise. For details see the post at vBusinesExpo.com.