As part of our ongoing collaboration with Manpower, Inc., DIP developed and produced a major virtual event originated from the virtual world of Second Life and simulcast across the web to an international audience. DIP constructed a one-of-a-kind conference space for the event which culminated in the live event, the Evolution of the Virtual Workforce“. (Click here to watch an HD version of the complete event hosted on the Treet.TV archives.)
Over 250 people participated in the live discussion (a complete transcript is on The Imagination Age blog) via software that allowed viewers on the web to chat with people inside Second Life without the web viewers having to install the Second Life client.
The event featured digital work expert Don Tapscott, best-selling author of “Grown-Up Digital” and “Wikinomics.” Tapscott was joined by Manpower Inc. Chairman and CEO Jeff Joerres; Linden Lab Executive Director of Enterprise Marketing, Amanda Van Nuys; Manpower Senior Vice President for Global Workforce Strategy, Tammy Johns; Manager of e-learning Strategy and Education Solutions for IBM’s Center for Advanced Learning; Chuck Hamilton; and President of Louisiana Digital Workforce non-profit 3D Squared, Spencer Zuzolo. The event was moderated by CEO and Creative Director of Dancing Ink Productions, Rita J. King.
“Since we established our presence in Second Life two years ago, social networks have completely evolved the labor market,” said Manpower Inc. Chairman and CEO Jeff Joerres. “Now, every social network has some underlying current related to job searching or career development. We are seeing the emergence of a flexible new model for virtual work, led by entrepreneurial, tech-savvy individuals who dictate when, where and how they work. We are focused on what motivates and interests this new breed of workers, giving us the ability to create practical solutions that help our clients attract, engage and retain winning talent.”
A shorter, YouTube-friendly version of the event, written and directed by Rita J. King is below.
In 2008, Rita J. King began collaborating with Linden Lab, the makers of Second Life in telling the story about how brick-and-mortar companies were using Second Life very creatively and successfully. The collaboration has resulted in a series of Case Studies written by Rita J. King. A sampling of those essays are below.
From January – September 2007, Dancing Ink Productions explored, analyzed and chronicled IBM’s entrance into over forty 3-D Immersive virtual worlds such as Second Life, Activeworlds and numerous others interviewing dozens of IBMers around the world about the company’s efforts to explore virtual worlds through its Virtual Universe Community (VUC). The VUC, lead by IBM’s Sandra Kearney with influence and inspiration from IBM’s Metaverse Evangelist Ian Hughes and lead virtual architect, known by her Second Life name, Jessica Qin tell the tale of a Fortune 500 company in transition exploring how work and business are conducted on a global scale when the rules of communication and impact of the Internet are forcing us to explore what and how large organizations can conduct work in a global marketplace.
From the Firepit to the Forbidden City, By Rita J. King
According to Raph Koster, the former lead designer for renowned online games such as Ultima Online and Star Wars Galaxies and now founder and president of Areae producing an upcoming platform for online games called Metaplace:
It’s a mix of forward-thinking (they have people who do nothing but machinima?) and catch-up (I particularly liked the moment where a few IBM staffers decided on a definition of “virtual universe” in 2006 — fortunately, it matches the one all the rest of us use!).
It’s not very long, and it’s an interesting read.
Rita J. King’s avatar Eureka Dejavu interviews IBM’ers ePredator Potato (Ian Hughes) and Algernon Spackler (Andrew “Roo” Reynolds) in the virtual world of Second Life
Following is an excerpt from the report. You can download the entire report here.
The first time I ever heard of virtual worlds was from an IBMer named Dr. Clifford Pickover, over lunch one Friday afternoon. When he mentions something of interest, from shamanistic trances to potentially deadly fugu sushi, I take note. But this was really off-the-wall. He spoke of imaginary worlds complete with their own economies, in which people around the world create avatars, communities and three-dimensional models of their ideas so others can inhabit and enhance them. Mystified, I listened as he explained that virtual worlds are not games, but rather immersive environments in which people enhance their connections to each other and to their personal, social and professional missions.
“It’s all very intriguing,” he added, as people around the table raised their eyebrows at the conversation. “When you go into Second Life®, get in touch with Jessica Qin [aka Craig Becker], an old friend of mine.”
I wrote down the name, not realizing that I was about to befriend one of the rock stars of the virtual world. This was the catalyst for a transformation in my perspective on commerce, community and global culture.
It started simply and suddenly, as many relationships in virtual worlds do, after I’d created my avatar, Eureka Dejavu. Jessica, who was covered in tribal tattoos and had robotic feet, teleported to my excessively expensive beach hut, paid for with the currency of the local economy.
October 10, 2009 – Last night, IBM launched the Analytics Virtual Center in support of Smarter Planet. I am Innovator-in-Residence at the Analytics Virtual Center, working on the Smarter Work project.
Rita J. King's Office Space as Innovator in Residence at IBM
Above, the avatar of R&D leader of web.alive (also known as Project Chainsaw) Brent Hadden, chatting with me from thousands of miles away. Below, a detail of my space, the Imagination Age, in the platform. Click to enlarge.
The driving force behind the Imagination Age is the idea that technology and human creativity will enable us to design new, contextualized systems for real world benefit. Technology is a prism held up to the bright beam of creativity.
Avatar of IBM's Jack Mason
This is the second time I’ve written a story featuring IBM’s Jack Mason. The first was when I documented IBM’s Virtual Universe Community across multiple platforms in 2006-2007. When he first visited me in my space at the Analytics Virtual Center, he told me that he wrote his master’s thesis on graphic novels and I told him that I’d written a graphic novel called Understanding Islam through Virtual Worlds. He asked me to click on a link to the project so we could look at it together in my workspace. Then I told him that I’m writing another graphic novel, this time about Smarter Work, and that he’s a character.
The driving force behind IBM’s Analytics Virtual Center is–analytics–making sense of the massive flood of available information. The ability to contextualize and leverage that stream of information through collaborative creativity is the focus of Smarter Work. If your business enterprise group is interested in participating in the exploration, ping @RitaJKing on Twitter.
The New Leading Ideas column in strategy + business
Rita J. King has a new column in strategy + business magazine, featured today on their website in their “Leading Ideas” section. “It’s a Virtual World” explores how major corporations are using virtual worlds to “cut costs, improve communication, and find new ways to collaborate.” It mentions the work of Manpower, IBM, and Northrop Grumman.
For the next couple of weeks, Joshua Fouts will be leading a Points of Science quest into the Amazon with filmmaker André Blas and the brilliant physicist and chemist Dr. Ana Zeri. You can follow their progress as they collaborate with indigenous people and rubber tappers living in the Amazon here.Since 2007, Joshua and I have been invited to work in nearly […]
One of our favorite artists of all time, Ms. Zea Barker, creator of Boney Lil, which we blogged about last year, has come out with a new blog of animated gifs that make us super happy. [Zea Barker's "Drawings in the 4th Dimension] [Follow Zea Barker on Twitter.] […]
