Yesha's page (http://www.dryesha.com)

I had the pleasure of participating in the latest Nokia effort to connect with virtual worlds.
Nokia is really using Second Life; the meeting was not your standard session -- after a bit of confusion we were able to listen to a panel (all done in Second Life using Second Life voice) that talked about... social aspects of second life. I did not participate in the entire event.. but it was fun..

Here are two pictures:

Here the offocial note (more details are in the facebook event:

The August edition of the Nokia Connected Worlds events will be held this thursday (August 28) at 11 am to 2 pm SL time. This will be a special installment of Connected Worlds as it is a 3 hour event focused on the value of social networking. Please sign for an account on OVI if you do not have one already. http://www.ovi.com , as this will be used as a major component of the event. Adding some content to your Ovi account ahead of time would also be a very good idea!

At any rate, please come expecting to share your social networks with other people attending. Everything from Facebook, to Twitter, to Blogspot - whatever it is you do, share it with us!

The first hour will be themed as "Get Connected", in which attendees will exchange social networking sites to connect them to eachother. A free scripted device will be handed out to facilitate this and make it easier and a lot of fun! Event hosts are Hydra Shaftoe and Digistar Brouwer.

The second hour will be the Nokia Virtual Business Panel discussion, where panelists drawn from various business disciplines within virtual worlds will take questions from the audience and discuss them. This is your chance to get the down-and-dirty on how business operates within virtual worlds from some of the best and brightest in the field.

Moderator and Host - Hydra shaftoe

Panelists:
Booperkit Moseley
Robbie Kiama
Stephane Zugzwang
Bevan Whitfield
Ken Ogg
Digistar Brouwer

The third hour will be both a continuation of the Get Connected event, and an after party hosted by Nokia's live Mediterranean DJ, Ren Diqui.

For current information on the event, please watch Hydravelsen and Oobio on Twitter, and please sign up if possible at the event's Facebook site, http://www.new.facebook.com/event.php?eid=23803063775 , and also feel free to browse http://nokiaears.ning.com/ for current information.

We hope to see you there!

"Time Line of virtual worlds" uses a unique technology that allow you to peg events on a time line with all the needed multimedia.

Origin here

In the yearly Second Life Community conference I will give a talk about business and virtual worlds.

See the full agenda of the business track or community track or general conference site
My talk on Sat:

3:45 PM -Real Businesses in Virtual Worlds: Understanding the immense potential and preparing for it
Dr. Yesha Sivan
A new medium is emerging — real virtual worlds. Today there are more than 100 different worlds where millions of dollars are involved… and this is only the beginning. A full Virtual World — much like Second life — includes 3D, Community, Creation and Commerce (3D3C for short). When such a full 3D3C world matures we will be blessed, bombarded and engulfed with new features and abilities that are destined to change the lives of many businesses. In the same way Amazon, eBay, and Google Emerged and Rand McNally, Tower Records and Barnes and Noble suffered, Virtual Worlds will give birth to new companies, and “kill” old companies.
This talk will first briefly define “Real Virtual Worlds”. Then we will review some potential case studies. The bulk of the talk will be allocated to specific tips and tricks for organizations to start learning about virtual worlds from both the I.T. and marketing perspectives.

http://www.vintfalken.com report on amazing video of 50 virtual worlds.

Here's what she says:

Great overview of 50+ virtual worlds (although I only count 43 ;)) current open (or in beta) by Gary Hayes for Personalizemedia.com. This video collection of machinima and stills from different virtual worlds, is a perfect overview of what Second Life’s competitors look like. By following Gary Hayes’ ‘2008 Metaverse Tour’ you can (quickly) visit the following virtual worlds without having to create an avatar for each: in order of appearance, Kaneva, YoVille (Facebook), RocketOn, Prototerra, Gaia Online, HiPiHi, Google Lively, Habbo Hotel, Laguna Beach (vMTV running There), Whyville, Twinity, Cyworld, Football Superstars, Weblin, IMVU, Second Life (yeeeey!!! let’s hear an applause! ;)), Club Penguin, Active Worlds, vSide, a Tale in the Desert, Barbie Online, Amazing Worlds, Webkinz, Worlds.com, Spore (only the creature creator), ExitReality, Open Croquet, Metaplace, Mokitown, Moove, The Palace, Spine World, Tower Chat, The Traveller, Virtual Ibiza, Stardoll, The Manor, There, Vastpark, Qwaq, Playstation 3 Home and Go Supermodel. Definitely a lot more ‘metaverse parts’ then I even knew existed!

In the last year I have worked with several organizations that started islands in second life. There are many things you will need to consider. Small tips that could save you time, effort, and money. So I am collecting them. For now, I have 15... but I plan to get to 100. Your feedback is needed.

So here are ome Technical Tips for active hands-on research in Second Life:

1. Time to get Island – Getting the island from Linden takes 2-3 weeks. You will need a credit card and a budget to buy things in world (in world = in the virtual world).
2. Teen Grid islands take much longer because you need to follow a background check process.
3. Firewall. Second Life uses various non-standard ports. You will need to open them.
4. Permissions and ownership – make sure you fully understand the permissions schemes of second life. For business related items, you may want to insist on full permissions. Such products usually cost much more.
5. Strong computers. Running Second Life calls for a relatively strong computer (see System Requirements in the second life web site). Running Second Life and makeing a video at the same time, calls for an even stronger computer.
6. Full view. Make sure you use full graphics and you set the distance to 512 meters – this will enhance the look and feel of the experience.
7. UI size. For demos you may enlarge the UI size – in preferences.
8. Media on a Prim. Use the added features of HTML on a Prim, Music on land, and video on land. Such features demonstrate the integrative nature of virtual worlds.
9. Training videos. View training videos by using www.secondlife.com/videos. The fastest way to learn.
10. Programming – Second Life has a full programming environment based on LSL (Linden Scripting Language). There are lots of materials on the web re this.
11. External systems. There are several ways to connect between in-world objects and out-side objects. There are some complex demos in-world to show this.
12. Measurement. There are several tools to measure how many avatars visited your space. You can install listeners in various objects.
13. Company Family Names. There is a method to buy a family name from Linden for members of the firm.
14. Voice Chat. Using voice in world can be a good way to start and to collaborate. Saves texting.
15. Harness power of other users. Work with other users to help you. There are many people in Second life that would gladly help; if you pay a bit you will get a lot of energy.

When: Wednesday, Aug 6, 2008
Where: Haifa University, Rabin Building
URL: http://meital.iucc.ac.il/conf2008/

This is the yearly conference of MEITAL - who is working on University level usages of technologies. I will give a short discussion about my course "Intro to virtual worlds."

MEITAL 2008: "New Directions in E-Learning in Higher Education"

The 6th Annual MEITAL National Conference

The MEITAL 2008 conference, in memory of the late Prof. Nechemia Levzion, will take place this year at the University of Haifa on Wednesday, August 6^th, 2008. The conference will focus on the achievements and challenges in e-learning in higher education and on future development avenues.

The conference is a multi-participant, national gathering that is held once a year at one of the academic institutions that are members of MEITAL. The conference comprises a unique experience for a formal and informal professional meeting of all those involved in e-learning and e-teaching in higher education. It will include lectures dealing with the integration of e-learning in academic teaching in Israel, an exhibition of posters and presentations, round tables covering various areas of interest and specialization, workshops and more. The conference will provide diverse opportunities for social and professional encounters in a pleasant, relaxed atmosphere. Members of the academic staff and others interested in e-learning in higher education institutions in Israel are invited to participate!

The conference's Program Committee is headed by Dr. Dani Ben-Zvi, Head of the e-learning Center at the University of Haifa.