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.

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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

Retailers & Virtual Worlds – Retailers must make the move now and establish a presence -itsReal

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Virtual worlds, mobile coupons and bar-code readers on cell phones are the next technology wave that U.S. chain stores must ride if they hope to stay competitive in the fast-changing world of global retail.

While some retailers have started building stores in these virtual worlds, others should consider doing the same, Constable said, to extend their brands and eventually, boost sales. via sites like Second Life & Twinity

Retailers, gathered in New York this week for the National Retail Federation’s (NRF) annual convention, were urged to go high-tech to stand out in the crowd and improve sales, especially amid a flagging U.S. economy.

“The cell phone is shifting the way consumers shop, and U.S. retailers need to get ready,” said Pat Conroy, vice chairman at Deloitte & Touche USA, in a keynote speech at the convention.

More at Reuters

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

What is a Digital Native? Are you one?

Nope, I’m not a Digital Native. A Digital Native, by our definition, is someone who is both born after about 1980 and who uses digital technologies in certain advanced ways. I think I might qualify as a Digital Settler, someone who has used these technologies in extensive ways from the start, but who knew a world before so many things went digital. I think that many, though not all, of our children in developed economies like the United States and Europe are Digital Natives. There’s enough to the idea of a generational gap, though, between Digital Natives and their parents who are at best Digital Immigrants, though, that the trend is worth exploring in depth.

More on the books theme (the book is definitely not dead!), but one that’s not done: I’m writing a book right now about Digital Natives, called Born Digital, along with my good friend and colleague, Prof. Dr. Urs Gasser of the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland. We’re arguing that there is an emerging population of Digital Natives around the world – who together could form a global culture joined by digital networks and how they use them. While there are things to worry about in terms of how our kids are using these technologies (their privacy, safety, information overload, and so forth), there is much to celebrate and to build upon. The future of many societies around the world depend in part on how we can come to understand this global phenomenon and do something about it.

What happens when billions of new digital natives get $100 web-enabled laptops?

It’s great, great news. The notion behind One Laptop Per Child – of giving a basic, networked machine to the next billion Digital Natives, in parts of the world that are developing rapidly – will be a big kick-start to the next phase of global transformation wrought by new information technologies and how we use them.

The key, though, is not just to put interconnected hardware in the hands of young people, wherever they may be. It’s just as essential that we focus on literacy of various kinds – the training that goes along with learning how to navigate this information environment. That’s not just an issue for developing countries, either. We have major digital divides of the literacy sort right here in the United States and in the wealthiest parts of Europe (I am typing this from a research center high on a hilltop in Switzerland). Check out the work of Eszter Hargittai of Northwestern University and you’ll get the picture.

Read more at COMPETE