One of the reactions to the rumors about a possible buy of Second Life by Microsoft is the question:
What Would Microsoft Do? If It bought Second Life
Why would Microsoft be interested in Second Life?
What Would Microsoft Do? If It bought Second Life
Here is another question:
Why would Microsoft be interested in Facebook?
October 24, 2007
"The deal, reported first in this spot earlier Wednesday, gives Microsoft a much-needed win against its Silicon Valley search rival. As noted over at Caroline McCarthy's blog, The Social, Microsoft is paying $240 million for a stake in Facebook, in a deal that values the social networking company at $15 billion.”
-------------------------
Was that a smart investement?
"Chomping at the bit for a Facebook I.P.O., investors are buying common stock as high as $76 a share, giving the company a value of as much as $33.7 billion based on secondary market transactions, The Financial Times reported."
-------------------------------
Facebook is Social Media
"Social media are media for social interaction, using highly accessible and scalable publishing techniques. Social media uses web-based technologies to turn communication into interactive dialogues. Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein define social media as 'a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, which allows the creation and exchange of user-generated content…. Businesses also refer to social media as consumer-generated media (CGM)….. A common thread running through all definitions of social media is a blending of technology and social interaction for the co-creation of value."
-------------------------------
Second Life is Social Media
-
The creative collaboration of Second Life is producing large amounts of visual content. The internet is becoming the major channel for delivering visual entertainment. YouTube (for example) is demonstrating the value of user generated visual content. The potential for Second Life to grow depends not on bringing people into Second Life but on live streaming of content to web outlets. That technology is already in use.
And Facebook is coming to play a major role in the social network of Second Life. Many events in Second Life are announced an promoted on Facebook . (Just friend Bevan Whitfield or Mal Burns if you want to hear about informative events.)
In fact, Second Life has long been using Facebook ads to invite newcomers. If you post a slurl in announcement on Facebook, the software will recognize that and insert a Second Life ad with the invitation to come in now by clicking on the ad.
So it may not be all that remarkable to see a company that makes its living off of technology be interested in social media based on technology. Social media is about people. And that’s where the customers are.
==================================
Notes
"But according to a current Linden Lab employee, various companies have already offered to purchase the studio, Microsoft being the latest. Purchasing Linden Lab would be an interesting move for Microsoft, as the company could integrate Second Life into Xbox Live--possibly even Games for Windows Live--to offer a service similar to Sony’s PlayStation Home virtual environment on the PlayStation 3. Games for Windows Live support would mean that current residents could still enter the virtual world, but only through the stand-alone client."
"Bogus or not bogus?: Not bogus that there's a lot of chatter that Microsoft has made an offer to buy Linden Lab. That has spawned even more chatter that Microsoft might bring Second Life--or a Second Life-like virtual world--to Xbox Live, possibly even with Kinect support. That said, it's a little early to bet on anything just yet."
--------------
"Neither party will confirm, but it would be a good match: The Microsoft Kinect virtual controller needs an active community and the once-buzzworthy Second Life needs a high-profile boost."
------------
------------
"ReactionGrid is a virtual world that offers a safe, online environment where students, business people, and others can come together to learn, share ideas, and interact. The company founders launched the site using a single server and an open-source database program but quickly realized that they needed more performance and scalability. ReactionGrid migrated operations to Windows Server 2008 with Hyper-V technology to take advantage of server virtualization efficiencies, and also adopted Microsoft SQL Server 2008. As a result, ReactionGrid can grow faster by deploying virtual machines rather than physical servers, and cut its first-year hardware costs by U.S.$750,000. Because outstanding performance and reliability now provide a compelling user experience, ReactionGrid saw a 200 percent jump in sales. The staff saves 40 hours a week on management tasks using Microsoft tools."
0 comments:
Post a Comment