I firmly believe in SL's ability to steal the hearts and minds of millions, once the interface and navigation issues are out of the way. The ability to create anything, meet thousands of interesting people, and grow a business has never been more compelling. However, with the launch of Nickelodeon's Nicktropolis, kids (and, presumably, interested adults) can not only interact with each other, but Nick cartoon characters. There is a real danger here, for those who count such things, of future SLers being stolen away from SL's userbase by Nicktropolis. Who wouldn't want to chat with the Angry Beavers, or Ooblina from AAH! Real Monsters? I may be getting ahead of myself here; I don't even know that older shows' characters will be in the finished product, or even how such interactions will take place. But the thought alone is compelling enough for me to try to create my own avatar there. I'll report back with my findings soon enough. A chance to hang out with the characters from Rocko's Modern Life? Squeee!
(Via animationmagazine.net)
1. I really think that the great metaverse idea will be bigger than Second Life and Nicktropolis combined by the time these kiddos come of age. I think that giving them this sort of experience and interest in what a virtual world could be at a young age will be FAR better than dropping them in the SL Teen grid. It gives them a purpose, it gives them something to see the potential before they even realize it. It will be something they grew up with. HOW COOL IS THAT?????
Posted at 8:20PM on Jan 30th 2007 by Peter Haik