Recent Activity

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  Location sensitivity

  I'd love to see some sort of location sensitivity integrated into Particls, so that if it understood your location, it could priortise certain keywords by their proximity to you.  For example, I work for a large global firm and I have its name in the keywords list, but I don't actually care about some guy in Hungary, a submission to a committee in the EU, or even an Indian Director who just joined a Telco.  Someway of tuning it to say I'm interested in this keyword for Australian feeds or where Australia is mentioned would be neat.

  Posted 11 Apr 07 in Particls.com Feedback

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  Comments on the name Change

  I think the name is important, but really, it's the brand that matters -- I mean really Google, Yahoo, MySpace, Joost, Flickr etc. etc. why not Particls -- as long as the product is good it will define it's own niche.  I did like Touchstone as it has a more "corporate" (as in appealing to certain potential corporate users) feel about it, but I can live with Particls too.

  Posted 11 Apr 07 in Particls.com Feedback

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  Second Life vs WOW

  There is no point in comparing Second Life to WOW as they have completely different purposes. 

  • WOW is a game, Second Life is actually more akin to a an on-line 3-D sandbox.
  • WOW has a closed economy, Second Life's is open -- this has "real world" appeal for retailers. Money talks.
  • WOW is a rich, highly interactive tested (supposedly) environment. Second Life lets anyone create their own objects and environments and the pain that comes with that.

  I think the best way to think about Second Life and understand why so many real world companies are gaining interest is not because of what it is now (a somewhat second rate graphical experience with a low pop user base) but instead what it represents which is a view that it is one form that a "3D-Internet" might take.  It's actually a relatively low cost entry point for innovative companies that want to see how they might use this and where it might take them.

  A lot of uses even by companies like IBM actually revolve around virtual conference attendance (see LotusSphere this year) and ways of stretching their publicity reach beyond the people who can make it to the US.

   Telstra's efforts with BigPond are about understanding how you could do on-line sales in a 3D way and what they can learn from this experience. 

  That's really my point, I seriouly doubt many companies are investing in Second Life for what it is now, they are investing to help understand where things are going and what the next generation of Internet and on-line interaction may look like.

  Imagine this -- a "real" avatar with your actual body measurements, where you could use Second Life or something similar as an engine to enter a 3D Shop, "try" on clothes for real and see how the look on you, then purchasing.  It may or may not work, but it is something that is being seriously contemplated as a possible future by retailers who are looking for any competitive edge.

  Posted 28 Mar 07 in Technology News