These last two weeks, Linden Lab has opened the doors for some of us to have limited interviews with Rod Humble, the freshly-minted CEO of Linden Lab, and the new face at the helm of Second Life, and I was among those given the opportunity to ask some questions. I took the opportunity to ask a number of you just what questions you’d like answered, and managed to squeeze a … [Read more...] about Interview: Rod Humble, CEO of Linden Lab
Business
Latest Quarterly Briefing available
Just a quick heads-up to our infrequent / casual readers that the latest quarterly briefing is now available. You can view it here or sign up to receive them automatically via email each quarter. For the dedicated virtual worlds observer the briefings may not have much new but the feedback we get is overwhelmingly positive from those who have a more fleeting grasp of issues in … [Read more...] about Latest Quarterly Briefing available
The partial death and refocus of Blue Mars
In a fairly unexpected move, Avatar Reality's CEO Jim Sink has announced the cessation of development of the PC application version of virtual world Blue Mars, with the soon to be smaller company moving to focus on developing for the iOS (read: iPhone / iPad) platform. The change involves the loss of a number of staff, including Jim himself. You can also listen to audio of his … [Read more...] about The partial death and refocus of Blue Mars
World of Warcraft as leadership incubator and education platform
Just a heads-up that I've written a small piece for the ABC Technology site on the use of MMOs in education and business. For the seasoned virtual worlds watcher there's nothing earth-shattering in there, but it's a useful overview for the newcomer or casual observer. Obviously these concepts don't just apply to World of Warcraft (WoW), but as the behemoth in the arena it's one … [Read more...] about World of Warcraft as leadership incubator and education platform
Linden Lab announces new CEO: Rod Humble
Linden Lab have certainly had a year of senior executive changes, with Mark Kingdon, Philip Rosedale and now Rod Humble sitting in the CEO's chair. The press release from Linden Lab can be viewed here. Coming from work on The Sims 2 and 3 and his cited interest in developing 'experimental games', he could be considered an obvious choice for the role. There'll be some concerns … [Read more...] about Linden Lab announces new CEO: Rod Humble