Invitation – Mix Business with Imagination at the Big-Bit Islands Launch – itsReal

Big-Bit Launches Big-Bit Islands in the Virtual World Second Life an Entertainment, Live Performance, Attractions and Business Services hub to drive Big-Bit’s Business Strategy for 2008 – event starts at 9pm SL time February 9th 2008

Sydney Australia. February 07, 2008 — Big-Bit Australia Pty Ltd, a leading virtual worlds full service solutions provider today announced the exciting launch of Big-Bit Islands in the Virtual World Second Life. Entertainment, live performances, attractions and business services and the Big-Bit team will be on hand to guide you through the evening’s event. The event starts at 9pm SL time February 9th 2008

Image: Event Arena Big-Bit Island

Bit-Bit is a leading Virtual Worlds full service solutions provider that offers strategic advice, construction, marketing and events services to companies seeking to establish footholds in virtual worlds such as Second Life and other newly emerging worlds. Comprising a talented International team of virtual world veterans, Big-Bit has in-house building and programming expertise to execute scripting for complex projects in virtual worlds.

What SL Residents can expect ?

• Big-bit Islands Grand Opening Saturday February 9th – 2008
• Dance with our very own funky DJ – Estrelle Fauna
• A Treasure hunt for those seeking to enhance their inworld wardrobe and nab a mystery prize or two
• Grand Prize 10,000$L
• Fireworks will adorn the Big-Bit Islands skyline to welcome in a new era of services & entertainment

Visit PrimAdonna: http://slurl.com/secondlife/PrimAdonna/169/248/27

What RL People can expect ?

• Considering launching in Second Life? The Big-Bit Team will be on hand to discuss your options
• Previous projects will be highlighted on the Big Bit Island as testament to Big-Bit’s expertise in inworld development
• Bring your Business to Big-Bit Island and let Big-Bit’s imagination work for you

Visit Big-Bit Island: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Big%20Bit/163/115/27

PrimAdonna Island, part of the Big-Bit island group is home to PrimAdonna designs by Big-Bit’s Jana Gillespie also known in Second Life as Estrelle Fauna. Specialising in fashion, content creation and design, PrimAdonna offers unique style careful attention to detail and great versatility. The PrimAdonna shop offers a variety of women’s clothing from casual to formal and corporate wear for both men and women including shoes. PrimAdonna Island and shop have been magnificently rebuilt and announces it’s reopening.

Image: PrimAdonna on Big-Bit Islands

Big-Bit offers companies an innovative way for getting products launched in Virtual Worlds. For more information please contact Jana Gillespie, Big Bit Australia Pty Ltd, details below.

###

About Big-Bit Australia
Big-Bit understands that the single most important ingredient that drives humanity is the need to communicate. Without communications we would not be able to achieve even the simplest of tasks. We partner with clients to create the opportunities for them to engage with their communities in the virtual space in ways that are only limited by their desire to drive business and our imagination. In doing so, we commence on a journey with our clients that is destined to take a business into new dimensions of communication, understanding and connectivity.

For more information please contact:

Andrew Peters
The Pacific West Communications
Cell: +65-9451-9012
Email: andrew@thepacificwest.com

Jana Gillespie
Director
Big-Bit Australia Pty Ltd
Cell: +61-412-582-233
Email: jana@big-bit.net

Virtual World Marketing Gets Reality Check in 2007 – itsReal

It was a year of ups and downs for virtual worlds, as well as the companies that jumped on the bandwagon of creating virtual advertising and branded worlds. As 2007 began, the virtual world environment Second Life was riding high on a wave of interest from users and advertisers, but as time went on, many marketers and agencies began to question the return on investment of their virtual projects.”2007, especially early 2007, was the year of Second Life,” said Greg Verdino, chief strategy officer for Crayon, a marketing consultancy. “Late ’06 through ’07 was this interesting virtual world rollercoaster ride, where coming into ’07 everybody thought they had to be in Second Life, and they didn’t know why.”

By March, Second Life had over 1.3 million users, and companies ranging from Microsoft to Starwood Hotels to Reuters had launched a presence in the world. But the success of their branding efforts fell into question, as advertisers had difficulty providing the metrics needed to measure success, or simply didn’t approach the environment in the right way to promote a brand, Verdino said.

read more at Big-Bit and jon our facebook Group

For the latest in SL Designs visit this Blogsite – itsReal

Source: SC Designs
but now it’s done !!… I finished some new stuff. Today I want to show you Sc Design’s new cool Gothic Shirts for men…. but you don’t need to be a Gothic Fan to like them :-).
Get one Shirt or get the whole fat Gothic Pack … it’s your choice

 

 

TELEPORT

snowy greetings

your’s Scherina

CNN to rely on Second Life Residents for SL News – itsReal

CNN To Launch Bureau in Second Life Virtual World..

In the week of Nov. 5, the news giant is set to open a news-gathering outpost in Second Life. And unlike news service Reuters, which embedded a real reporter in the online virtual world last year, CNN will rely on Second Life “residents” to do all the legwork.

Second Life Roundup – itsReal

Publicity from Traditional Media and the Blogosphere continues to pump out, To jump onto the juggernaut just add “Second Life” to your press releases or posts and the world gets to see what you are doing…if you want a serious virtual worlds strategy…speak to me

Click-Image-to-Call APLINK from Big-Bit

Google News Alert for: “Second Life”

Second Life: Clicks and mortar
Telegraph.co.uk – United Kingdom
Adam Edwards enters the lucrative world of Second Life This summer,

a part-time administrator at Oxford University, with no publishing experience and a …

Criminals in Virtual Worlds – itsReal

By Dean Takahashi Tracking criminals in virtual worlds

I’ve been wondering what would happen if there were drug dealers or terrorists lurking in virtual worlds such as Second Life. If the FBI or National Security Agency wanted to place wiretaps on conversations in those worlds, would they be able to do it? And if they did record conversations in virtual worlds, could the people spied upon escape prosecution by saying that they were only pretending to be terrorists or drug dealers?

 

My interest is theoretical at the moment. Interpol has said there are criminal elements operating in virtual worlds, but let’s not panic. There is enough fear-mongering out there about all the trouble we can get into online.But this topic is a persistent one at conferences such as Virtual Worlds, which drew more than a thousand people to San Jose last week.

Under current laws, the authorities can’t conduct fishing expeditions. They can’t order companies to incur huge expenses building eavesdropping systems in the virtual worlds that would make it easy to reclaim conversations from a long time ago, said Jim Dempsey, policy director of the civil liberties group Center for Democracy and Technology in Washington, D.C.

In other words, the government can’t ransack an entire virtual town just to find one possible drug dealer. The Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable search and seizures hold true in cyberspace as they do in the real world.

more here

Security in Second Life – itsReal

7 Things You Need to Know About Security in Second Life

Source of: Metaversed

By Caleb Booker – Posted on October 12th, 2007

Security in a virtual world like Second Life is a major concern. There always seems to be someone around who wants to amuse themselves by making others unhappy (“griefers”), and businesses need to know what do to when that happens. According to Dharma Austin of LSD Security Inc., an in-world security company that has worked with dozens of sim owners, most well-populated sims in Second Life are completely vulnerable to attack. I asked her what people really need to know when it comes to security.

1. Don’t rely on Linden Lab to do everything. – There is a time to file abuse reports, of course, but for the most part you will be able to handle situations on your own much faster. Waiting on the customer service of a company that has tens of thousands of people using its system at any given time isn’t the best idea in an emergency. Prepare to do things on your own.

2. Train the staff. – Often staff members on a sim don’t have any idea how to deal with estate tools. They need to be walked through the buttons, made aware of how to turn on/off scripting and building, how to ban people, and even the media controls. An uninformed staff might as well not be there at all, and could potentially make things worse.

3. Get over your fear. – An avatar getting shot by guns in Second Life doesn’t kill them and explosions won’t maim them. Much of what happens in griefing attacks involves intimidation, and everyone needs to realize that they can’t actually be hurt. This is a surprisingly common mistake, and staffers have been victimized a number of times by being “held at gunpoint”.

4. Know the three types of griefers. – Type 1: Newbies who just don’t know what they’re doing and rez 10 sailboats by accident. Give them a landmark to a sandbox. Type 2: Amateur griefers with guns trying to assault people. Kick and ban them immediately. Type 3: Professional griefers there to do a bombing, sim crashings, or mass spam. They’re still not dangerous, but make sure to mute them in addition to kicking and banning them.

5. Particle spamming requires immediate and definitive action. – One quirk of Second Life allows “particles”, intangible floating graphics, to potentially fill the air. Train your staff to immediately turn scripting off in the estate tools until the problem particle generator is found and removed.

6. Beware of “alts”. – People who come to a sim with the intention of causing trouble generally don’t do so using the avatar they use every day. A well-dressed unverified avatar that’s only a few days old is a dead giveaway of an experienced Second Life resident using a new account to hide their identity. Don’t pre-emptively ban them, but be ready for trouble.

7. Security is not a popularity contest. – Banning people will always upset someone, but if you’re careful it will only be the griefer themselves. “The price I have had to pay is a bad reputation for banning people,” said Dharma, “but our sims are safe and our residents love it here.”

One thing you might have noticed about this list is that none of it involves a fix-all gadget that you install on a sim. This is about staffing your area, and making sure that they know what to do. If you’re too busy to handle this yourself there are a number of consulting companies like LSD Security Inc. out there who can run the training sessions for you and offer advice custom-tailored to your needs. No matter what you do, remember that the key here is prevention – prepare now, not after your sim is filled with spam.

Your Guide to Virtual Worlds – itsReal

Awesome report by:

Mark Glaser, of MEDIASHIFT

Second Life avatars

From time to time, I’ll give an overview of one broad MediaShift topic, annotated with online resources and plenty of tips. The idea is to help you understand the topic, learn the jargon, and take action. I’ve already covered blogs, social networking, widgets and various other topics. This week I’ll look at the growing phenomenon of virtual worlds.

Background and History

Virtual worlds are online three-dimensional spaces where you can interact with other people, collect items and build structures, and communicate via a virtual representative of yourself called an avatar. These worlds have been influenced by various science fiction writers such as William Gibson and Neal Stephenson, along with the movie, “The Matrix.”

Virtual worlds differ from massive multiplayer online games (MMOGs) because they don’t offer battles against monsters or have an overriding mission for players. For example, a resident of the virtual world Second Life might spend time in that space accumulating virtual land, rather than striving to complete quests or conquer levels as one would in many popular MMOGs such as World of Warcraft.

The origin of virtual worlds goes back to early games such as Maze War, which was developed in the early ’70s at NASA. The game included eyeballs as avatars, there were maps showing the levels, and it was one of the first games played on networked computers, and eventually over a precursor to the Internet.

Habitat scene

In 1986, LucasFilm Games developed Habitat, a more two-dimensional environment that included humanoid avatars, and people could access the game through online service Quantum Link on their Commodore 64 computers. Developers Chip Morningstar and Randy Farmer, who maintain a blog about their experience with Habitat, say they let Habitat residents generally set their own rules governing the world — as long as they couldn’t hack into the system. In a research paper about their lessons from Habitat, the developers wrote:

READ MORE AT MEDIASHIFT 

Big-Bit Launches Internet-to-Phone and Advertiser Services with Wusic for Virtual Properties

Service to enable virtual world, social and business networks users to make voice IDD calls to the real world, click-to-call service also offers advertisers new channel to reach consumers and businesses on these new and evolving platforms.

Rescuing search in ‘Second Life’ – A need for certain – itsReal

On every occassion that APLINK has heard Cory Onedrejka of Linden Labs speak he allows appealed for someone who could create an effective search engine…maybe his wish has come true withou the need for Lind Labs investment.

I was in a Second Life Store the other day and whilst it was cool having my avatar stroll the mega mall and see what was on offer, I was really there to get a new look for myself. Besides Second life’s need to achieve a universal search engine, site owners also need a search function (or should there be Avatar SalesPeople) within their own spaces to help avatars find what they need, as like the real world, time is money inworld. Maybe my client Recruit.net could come up with a search solution- itsReal

With at least a couple hundred thousand users, hundreds of stores, endless commerce and millions of objects, virtual world Second Life is begging for a top-notch search tool.

Yet search is one of the systems most in need of help in Second Life. The latest evidence is the recent selection of a team working on such a system as a finalist in the Second Life business plan contest.

High Impact

What’s new:

More than three years after its launch, Second Life is still suffering from a subpar search engine–and other virtual worlds have the same limited tools.

Bottom line:

Now significant attempts are being made by third parties to come up with better search systems for virtual worlds.

Rescuing search in ‘Second Life’

“There’s a lot to be desired in the current (Second Life) search, quite a lot,” said Tony Walsh, the editor of Clickable Culture, a blog about virtual worlds and other online cultures. “We need a Google for Second Life, something that works quickly and produces intelligent results.”

Some might wonder how important search needs to be in a virtual world. But as the number of Second Life stores, places and objects explodes, it is becoming crucial that users be able to find what they need without trying keyword after keyword. And while that dynamic is more true today than ever, many people believe the search system has been insufficient for years.

Read More: C|Net News.com