Second Skin takes an intimate look at three sets of computer gamers whose lives have been transformed by online virtual worlds. An emerging genre of computer software called Massively Multiplayer Online games, or MMOs, allows millions of users to interact simultaneously in virtual spaces. Of the 50 million players worldwide, 50 percent consider themselves addicted. From individuals struggling with addiction to couples who have fallen in love without meeting; from disabled players whose lives have been given new purpose to gold farmers, entrepreneurs and widows, Second Skin opens viewers’ eyes to a phenomenon that may permanently change the way human beings interact.
In March 2008, Second Skin premiered opening night of SXSW. Without any news of a theatrical or DVD release, Second Skin landed extensive coverage in Newsweek, NPR, Wired, BBC, The Dr. Phil Show, Boston Globe, Variety and dozens of other major media outlets. Second Skin was also voted the #4 Documentary of 2008 by internet juggernaut Ain’t It Cool News.
This August, Second Skin will become the first widely released movie about virtual worlds- a movie for the 50 million gamers who spend most of their time in virtual worlds, and all those curious to understand this phenomenon.
[btw slightly peeved that I was at SXSW and missed it!]
Trailer
Eye-opening – even for a trailer! Looks like a balanced view of the whole phenomenon.
Potential Christmas present?
If anyone would like to buy this for me for Christmas, here is the link ;-D :
I was thinking that my activities relating to Virtual Worlds are beginning to bear fruit, in that I can go to business development meetings with potential clients and be able to talk VWs with credibility.
I’m blowing my own trumpet here [er, I think that’s called Marketing – Ed.], but hopefully you will find the list of posts I’ve done on VWs useful:
I’ve also uploaded photos from my times in-world to Flickr, which you can flick through below. n.b. the human character at the centre (in various guises) is Tandoorichicken Masala, my personal avatar; the fox-like ‘furry’ is Fujitsu Infinity, my work av when I was at Fujitsu.
I am pleased to tell you that you have now achieved Full NEESPR approval. Your NEESPR Pin number is 12640. You may be asked for this pin number in the future by a broker.
… a regional register of service providers that can provide business development solutions to the north east business community. This is the only register being used by all Business Link Brokers to impartially source provision for their clients. Use of the NEESPR is also extending to other business support organisations in the region.
I was having a bit Google search re what others were saying about their membership of NEESPR. So, being in a hurry, and finding that Octopus Media Ltd had summarised the situation rather nicely, I’m quoting them saying that they’re:
[…] an approved supplier on the North East England Service Provider Register (NEESPR). This means we can help you take advantage of government funding which is available for North East businesses, including those based in Tyne & Wear, Northumberland and County Durham.
Applicants to the register are assessed and approved to ensure they are able to provide a high level of service to referred customers. High standards in both customer service and the quality of our work are required to ensure continued inclusion on the NEESPR register.
Funding is available for both start ups and existing business’ and can help pay for web development, web design, brand identity, logo design, print design, marketing, and search engine optimisation.
The availability of funding changes all the time and up to date information can be obtained directly from your local Business Link branch.
Good points, all of them! btw I’ve quoted Octopus & credited them because I’ve seen a couple of different companies who seem to be sharing very similar wordings [but different from the above]. Best pay credit where it’s due… ;-)
So, if you are looking for assistance around
Social Media strategy & fulfilment (e.g. how can I use blogging & Twitter for my business?)
Document, Information & Knowledge Management, and using collaborative technologies in general
Management of Change to help your people adapt to new technologies & new ways of working / thinking
Last week I was lucky enough to visit Philip McClenaghan and Dan Riley at D|Lab:
a multi-disciplinary team of designers, researchers and digital specialists located within the Institute of Digital Innovation (IDI) which, in addition to developing product and service innovations for a range of industry clients, works extensively with business partners wishing to explore the potential of virtual worlds on the internet.
It was a very interesting meeting, and good to get reinvigorated about Virtual Worlds etc.! :-)
From my notes, & as I understand it:
D|Lab is a commercial venture, and it is developing a next generation VW platform which they plan to release later this year
They created Meta-Mole as a comparative database of virtual worlds platforms
I think Dan mentioned this Frost & Sullivan report which quoted a 465% rise in productivity [would be great to get a link to this]
D|Lab is interested in being able to import CAD & 3ds Max files / diagrams
They also mentioned the move to more commercial applications for VWs, e.g. Twinity
We discussed who’s doing what with VWS in the Region
The potential business opportunity is for me / SCL to act as an informed & impartial recommender for those interested in Virtual Worlds to builders like D|Lab.
Clearly, being able to articulate what VWs, why people should care, what the benefits are etc. would be my stock-in-trade.
This post is my immediate feedback from the event at the University of Sunderland yesterday, details of which are here.
A great opportunity to find out more about Virtual Worlds, the issues involved and how best to use them. Also some excellent advice about how to help those in your organisation wishing to exploit VWs – i.e. do’s, don’ts, and how-tos [Enough abbreviations already – Ed.].
I met some really interesting folk, but was perhaps too busy with the technology to meet more people – there was a big turn-out, maybe 100 people+.
The following is a list of my live-blog posts for your convenience:
I would like to record my sincere thanks to Paul Miller and Terry Docking of RSC Northern, who are e-Learning Advisors. They loaned me a laptop yesterday at very short notice so I could get on the University’s wireless network to live blog the sessions. Very impressive assistance and ongoing support from these guys – well done & thanks!
I will be updating the posts so there is a brief preamble so readers can find out about the live-blog without having to click on the Cover It Live player.
I have found at SXSW, and now at this VWs conference, that Live-blogging seems to be a surprisingly useful and interactive medium. I had comments yesterday in real time.
I also think that the combination of Blog, Twitter, and Cover It Live works well – perhaps with more notice, I would get more feedback. Thinking as I write this, perhaps it would be sensible to post before an event to say what I’m doing and how people can get involved. I also need to find out more re the CiL tool to get the most out of it.
Finally, a brief mention of why I was there: I have a historic interest in Virtual Worlds, and wrote a paper two years ago about the business opportunities for my previous employer in this area. So, it was a great chance to dip my toe in the waters again, and nice to see there is genuine interest, and a goodly-sized set of successes. :-D
The afternoon’s main presenation by Kate Boardman, with a very helpful exposition of how best to help those who come to you wanting to commission builds in Virtual Worlds.
Full title of this session was “Real Needs – Virtual Solutions: how can Virtual Worlds enable us to deliver more inclusive learning experiences?”, and delivered by Dr Simon Ball.
This was an interesting and accomplished introduction to building in Second Life by Annabeth Robinson.
The tools are clearly sophisticated and it was tantalising to see what could be achieved, and daunting at the same time in terms of a steep learning curve.
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A post to announce that Souter Consulting Limited has joined the 
Last week I was lucky enough to visit Philip McClenaghan and Dan Riley at 
