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

McKinsey Launches US$20,000 Contest in SL – itsReal

source: 3pointD

As we are about to launch a local SL contest – McKinsey have released theirs, I know ours will be more creative and fun, but here are the details of the Mckinsey Contest… stayed tuned for when we release ours…

Consultants McKinsey & Co. have launched a Virtual Venture Competition in the virtual world of Second Life. [Via Sebastian Kupers, who also provided the image above.] The competition is open to students and young professionals no more than 32 years old, and first prize is US$20,000 in training and career counselling. Teams get 45 days to build a business, but there’s no fixed start or end date, you can apparently jump in at any time. Only a limited number of teams will receive initial funding, however. Speaking of funding, McKinsey is so adamant that no outside funding be used that it will be monitoring account balances during the competition (see the FAQ), so if you want to play, you’ll have to roll a new alt for the purpose. I actually think this sounds like a great project; it should attract young people who aren’t necessarily SL residents already, and it’s a nice vote of confidence that SL is a place with real lessons to be learned. The build looks pretty nice too. Check out McKinsey’s »orientation island« and its »Infocenter«.

SOMETHING new on the web…www.like.com

I read about like.com recently in a CFO Magazine (truth) and I think it has potential, huge potential…

below are details about what the site offers you…

Like.com is the first true visual search engine, where the contents of photos are used to search and retrieve similar items.

We believe that there are literally millions of items that are difficult to describe via text-based search and where individual tastes are all over the map — think of your favorite pair of earrings or shoes and what an ordeal it can be to find something new but in a similar style.

We created Like.com to solve the challenge of finding “the perfect you” for a broad range of aesthetic and soft goods.

Like.com utilizes our Likeness Technology™ to create a digital signature that describes the photo’s contents and enables a more accurate search for similar looking items and products.
Our initial launch focuses on handbags, jewelry, shoes, and watches – allowing users to search and purchase items from thousands of leading and boutique brands. We will very quickly add clothing and a number of other aesthetically oriented product categories.

Key features of Like.com include:

* Likeness Search™ – the ability to search by image instead of text;
* Like Detail™ – finds items that have a specific feature you like (such as a buckle, straps, bezel, etc);
* Like Color™ – find color variants of the item you desire;
* Like Celebrity™ – find clothing, shoes and accessories similar to those worn by your favorite celebrities;
* Like Upload™ – the ability to upload your own photo of your favorite item and find the same or similar products, coming soon.
* To learn more about Like.com and the great ways to use the product make sure to visit our blog . Happy shopping!

About Riya
Riya was founded in August 2004 and has assembled one of the largest visual computing research teams in the world. Its mission is to simplify search and ecommerce by harnessing the latest breakthroughs in visual computing. It has almost one dozen patents pending in the areas of visual recognition and search. Riya has raised $19.5 million from venture and private equity investors, including Bay Partners, BlueRun Ventures, and Leapfrog Ventures.