For Second Life residents, this time of year usually generates a lot of interest due to the Second Life Community Convention. There's no shortage of that interest this year given the tumultuous year to date and the return of Philip Rosedale to the CEO role. In a fairly relaxed presentation, Rosedale laid out Linden Lab's plans for the remainder of this year and into 2011. Some … [Read more...] about Linden Lab CEO starts to turn the ship
Op-ed
True names: identity, safety and Blizzard’s Real ID
Identity is a perennial sort of a topic, and Activision-Blizzard’s Real ID programme has brought it back into the limelight. Unless you’ve been hanging out under a rock (which would, you know, be fine – especially from a sun-protection perspective) you’ve probably heard about A-B’s programme which is the first phase of tagging your time in Blizzard games (like World of Warcraft … [Read more...] about True names: identity, safety and Blizzard’s Real ID
Opportunity cost: not to be underestimated
Here's a true story: Like a lot of players, I have a Level 2 character in World of Warcraft that exists purely as a banking / auction house conduit (bank alt). I have another character that is leveling one of their professions and they needed a particular item sold for a measly one silver, 18 copper from one of the vendors right across from the auction house where my bank alt … [Read more...] about Opportunity cost: not to be underestimated
Linden Lab remove CEO: Rosedale returns
As mentioned briefly last night, the rumours were flying about a change in CEO at Linden Lab. The reality has eventuated with Mark Kingdon departing and Philip Rosedale returning as interim CEO. Some obvious questions arise from this: 1. Was Kingdon aware he was soon to depart when overseeing the recent layoffs? 2. Was Kingdon even really in the loop when the restructuring … [Read more...] about Linden Lab remove CEO: Rosedale returns
Three reasons social gaming on Facebook is declining
Over the past couple of weeks there's been some focus on the fact that Zynga, maker of social games such as Farmville, had a big decline in users during May. Back in January we predicted some fatigue with those games, albeit in the context of ongoing big growth. The decline for Zynga and its flagship Farmville tend to shine a light on a number of issues that need to be … [Read more...] about Three reasons social gaming on Facebook is declining