Our first quarter has been diverse and interesting. On the for-profit side we have introduced architects to collaborating via Second Life, investment bankers to mentoring via Eve Online, retailers to incorporating World Of Warcraft within their in-house training programs and provided second opinions to blue chips on their Internet Strategies.
On the non-profit side we have spoken with representatives from charities about how they might better harness the power of the Web. One of those is Paul Lynch and his committee who organise the annual GOAL charity ball in Paris. This year they are using a wiki to organise the event rather than email. Ronan and Paul have revamped www.goal-ball.org enabling people to pay for tickets online, specify meal choices and pick tables. A group has also been setup on Facebook (GOAL Ball Paris) for attendees to join in the conversation.
Each of the above projects are good illustrations of the transition now taking place in social computing. The beneficial use of second generation Web tools is now moving from early adopters to mainstream users.
Debra Aho Williamson shared Comscore KPI data for each of above looking at unique visitors worldwide, US social network advertising spend and time spent on site. The growth and importance of social network platforms continues apace. With proof-of-concepts now firmly in place all eyes are on next generation platforms soon to come to market.
Some of the hybrids we are tracking from the social network and virtual worlds space show promising early signs. As development continues apace within this space each of these next generation platforms will take digital identity and attention streams to a whole new level. All of which will provide the foundations necessary for the Meta Age to become a reality.
