2020 BIZ: #VWEDU: Virtual worlds can serve many markets but need the right product for each market. Use case: Public-facing place: office,sales floors marketing exposition

Virtual worlds can serve many markets 
but need the right product for each market.   
Public-facing  places: 
offices,sales floors. marketing expositions

How to provide public-facing digital places, using web-worlds.

Jamie's office

Public-facing places

• Intended for interaction with the public.
• Libraries and other government services 
• Museums, art galleries, other cultural amenities
• Offices: lawyers, accountants, teachers, consultants, counsellors, etc.
• Showrooms, sales floors, galleries.
• Marketing expositions
• Easy access is essential.

Virtual worlds with public access

• Cybalounge and 3DWebWorldz 
• These virtual worlds run in a browser.
• Accessible wherever a browser runs, including tablets and smart phones.
• People can go in as guests, without registering.  
• A 3d place in your browser. As easy as going to a web page because it is a web page.
• Wondering what they are like?   They are public access, so look for yourself.
• Click on either link and enter as a guest.  
• Click on the screen to enter, use your keyboard arrow keys to walk   
• Web-worlds

• Update 4/2/2020 VWBPE 13th Annual Conference, March 26-28 2020. VWBPE Immersive events continue Want To Teach ESL Online? A Dimension Beyond Offers Free online Meeting Rooms. Storylink radio from Seanchai Libraries

*************************************

What would you do in one of these places?

• The same thing you would do in a similar physical place.
• If it is mostly talking, that's as easy as in a physical place.
• If there is a document to fill out, that can be done online. 
• Many people can leave online signatures; if not it can be done by mail.
• If money is to be paid, that can be done online.

Libraries, schools, government services

• Library: A person asks for help in finding something 
• That used be a book or periodical, but now is probably something online.
• The librarian responds with a web-link.  
• If something physical is needed, that may be sent to a nearby physical library.
• Libraries also set up informational displays.  That can be done in a virtual world.
• Many government services can be completed online
• A campus on the internet. A front office on the web. A school on a laptop

Library Information Display

Click image to enlarge

Museums, art galleries, other cultural amenities

• Looking is the main activity; that works well in virtual worlds. 
• Items can be rendered as images or as 3D objects.
• The museum shop can sell replicas of objects by arrangement with Shapeways.
• St. James artists in 3DWebWorldz. Art from the Saint James Artisans
• Nuna art gallery in OpenSim, 3rd rock grid. Art and education in virtual worlds (Part 2)

St. James gallery

3DWebWorldz

Offices 

• Public-facing offices let potential clients contact professionals or organizations.
• Potential users: lawyers, accountants, teachers, consultants, counsellors, etc.
• A quick tour of my office in 3DWebWordz--Jamie Jordan

Welcome centers, showrooms, sales floors

• Schools and other organizations serving the public need a place for the public to contact them.
• Producers of expensive items (cars, boats, luxury homes) might want an easily accessed place for potential customers to look at the product and develop an interest.
• Part of developing an interest is getting answer to questions about the products.  
• A web-world with a live welcomer could offer detailed views of physical products.
• It could offer hands-on trials of digital products with help getting started.
• A live welcomer could answer questions and discuss applications.

Marketing expositions

• Marketing expositions are organized to let producers show off their products.
• They let potential customers compare similar products.
• The aggregation of products attracts more potential customers.
• And it may justify the cost of entertainment events to add to the attraction.
• A marketing web site could be developed for a group of related products. 

A needed feature for public-facing places 

• The welcomer is only needed when someone enters the public-facing room.
• At other times, the welcomer could be doing something else.  
• The welcomer would only need to know when a guest enters the place.
• The feature needed to provide this help would be an audible alert on guest arrival.
• In the obvious model, the welcomer would keep the web place open when on duty.
• The welcomer would take on a special role: welcomer at this place.
• On guest entry, the place would send the welcomer an audible alert and a screen notice.
• The screen notice would provide the name given by the guest and time of entry.

Features of virtual worlds

• A list of features needed in virtual worlds to support remote collaboration and distance learning
• Virtual web-worlds are close to serving as virtual offices. Two web-worlds are matched against requirements set by a well known commentator on Virtual Worlds

*********************************

Visit me on the web

• Drop by my web offices Weekdays: 12:-12:30 pm Central time (US)
• I am available for free consulting on any topic in this blog.
• Cybalounge and 3DWebWorldz (Orientation room)
• I will be in both places, so you may need to speak to get my attention.
• Web-worlds, 3D virtual worlds running in a browser. Summary
• And we can visit the Writer's Workshop on the Web
• Don't register -- enter as guest.  

************************

License

• Original text in this blog is CC By: unless specified public domain.
• Use as you please with attribution: link to the original.
• All images without attribution in this blog are CC0: public domain.
• Second Life, Linden, SLurl, and SL are trademarks of Linden Research Inc.
• Annotated screenshots made with Jing
• This blog is not affiliated with anything.   Ads are from Google.
• Selby Evans in Kitely and Hypergrid, Thinkerer Melville in Second Life.