SL Creativity

Conference: Metaverse U, February 16th & 17th @ Stanford

December 20, 2007 on 4:47 pm | In Uncategorized | No Comments

ANNOUNCEMENT: Metaverse U Conference at Stanford University

WHERE: Annenberg Auditorium, Stanford University
WHEN: Saturday the 16th and Sunday the 17th of February 2008
WEBSITE: http://metaverseu.stanford.edu

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Stanford Humanities Lab (SHL) is thrilled to announce the Metaverse U conference at Stanford University. This two day conference will be held on February 16th and 17th 2008 and feature speakers from a range of disciplines spanning industry and academia. Our lab has worked in virtual worlds for some years now and have seen interest in the space grow exponentially in recent years. We believe that the time has come for an event to tell the interesting stories from the evolving metaverse. The current generation of spaces is part of a larger historical picture and many lessons have been learned over the years. Our ultimate goal with Metaverse U is to create a broad conversation about the pressing question of what the metaverse should be.

Metaverse U’s growing list of speakers includes Raph Koster (Metaplace), Brewster Kahle (The Internet Archive), Jeremy Bailenson (Stanford University), TL Taylor (The IT University of Copenhagen), Tony Parisi (Media Machines & Web3D), Jon Brouchoud (Wikitecture), Wm. LeRoy Heinrichs (Stanford Medical Center), Rebecca Moore (Google Earth), Parvati Dev (Innovation in Learning), Kari Kraus (University of Maryland)

For more information please visit: http://metaverseu.stanford.edu

Registration is open at: http://metaverse.stanford.edu/registration/register-now

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About the Stanford Humanities Lab: We engage in experimental projects with a “laboratory” ethos — collaborative, co-creative, team-based — involving a triangulation of arts practice, commentary/critique, and outreach, merging research, pedagogy, publication and practice. We don’t just comment and discuss, we build: new media, interactive archives, predictive models of social change, new courses, collaborative research workshops, art exhibitions.

Metaverse Meetup #2 at Stanford and in Second Life

November 21, 2007 on 7:25 pm | In Uncategorized | No Comments

For our second Metaverse Meetup we are truly pleased to present Jamais Cascio one the authors of the Metaverse Roadmap. Our first meetup turned out to be very well attended by some very interesting people both at Stanford and in Second Life. We know we have an interesting speaker and topic for this second event and once again will open the floor for some nice and geeky conversation afterwards, so please come join us.

The man: Jamais Cascio writes about the intersection of emerging technologies and cultural transformation, focusing on the importance of long-term, systemic thinking. His work regularly appears both in print and online, and he has spoken around the world on issues such as the global environment, technological transformation, and political change. In 2003, Cascio co-founded WorldChanging.com, the Utne Independent Press Award-winning website identifying models, tools, and ideas for building a “bright green” future. In March, 2006, he started OpenTheFuture.com as his online home. Cascio presently serves as a research affiliate at the Institute for the Future, as the Director of Impacts Analysis for The Center for Responsible Nanotechnology, and as a founding fellow at the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies.

The talk: The Metaverse — what does it include, where is it going, and how will it change our lives? Based on my work for the Metaverse Roadmap Overview, I’ll look both at the underlying technologies of the Metaverse and at the social, cultural and economic impacts it could have.

When: Thursday, November ^29th 2007 from 6pm to 7:30pm PST/SLT
Where: Wallenberg Hall, Stanford University and at Spaceport Bravo in Second Life courtesy of the excellent ISM

A few more bullets for good measure:

Feel very free to forward this email or blog about this.
RSVP is voluntary but appreciated
Write me (Henrik Bennetsen - hbe@stanford.edu) if you have any questions.
The next of these events has not been scheduled as of yet, but feel very free to suggest speakers or topics
The Stanford Humanities Lab is delighted to welcome MediaX as cosponsor for this event

Would be great to see you there!

Video from our first Metaverse Meetup is now live!

November 15, 2007 on 12:25 pm | In Uncategorized | No Comments

Of to a good start with a really well attended event last Thursday here at Stanford and in Second Life. Mike Liebhold delivered a very interesting talk entitled: 3D data for real world virtual worlds. You can now see the video right here:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=9062059108751120957

We are very grateful to Mike and eveyone who attended across realities for making this first event so successful. The next Metaverse meetup put on by the Stanford Humanities Lab will be on Thursday, November 28th and will feature Jamais Cascio talking about the Metaverse Roadmap. Watch this space for further details.

Invitation: Metaverse Meetup at Stanford

November 2, 2007 on 12:05 pm | In Uncategorized | 4 Comments

It is my pleasure to invite you to the first Metaverse Meetup on Thursday November 8th at Stanford University. We want to bring together people from across industry and academia who share an interest in virtual worlds. As our first invited speaker we are thrilled to have Mike Liebhold from the Institute for the Future. His talk will be entitled: 3D data for real world virtual worlds. This will last for about 20 minutes with plenty of time for some good conversation afterwards. We are also having an open mic session, so if you want to pitch a project, find collaborators etc. then here is your chance. The basic idea is a pretty loose format with lots of time for networking built in.

Here is the scoop on Mike:

Mike Liebhold is a Senior Researcher for the Institute for the Future, IFTF, focusing on the mobile and abundant computation, immersive media and geospatial web foundations for context-aware and ubiquitous computing. Previously, Mike has worked for an impressive array of companies including Intel Labs, Netscape Communications & Apple Computer.

Here is the talk abstract:

Abstract 3D data, maps, and software will change the way we compute and interact with spatial services. Moving beyond simple texture mapped terrain and boxes, new 3D mapping frameworks are rapidly evolving into platforms for real world virtual world media, interaction, commerce, and science. In this talk I’ll review work of various groups who are building different components of a 3D Geoweb. I will first describe how their 3D data and software will work as a platform for a 3D real world virtual world, and then, what kinds of new applications and user experiences might be developed on these platforms, and then finish with a brief discussion of prospects and mechanisms for data interoperability allowing users to create, discover, use, and exchange 3D data across platforms.

When: Thursday, November 8^th 2007 from 6pm to 7:30pm
Where: Wallenberg Hall, Stanford University

More practical stuff:

Feel very free to forward this email or blog about this.
No need to RSVP but you can write me (Henrik Bennetsen - hbe@stanford.edu) if you have any questions.
The next of these events will be on Thursday, November 29th and will feature Jamais Cascio talking about the Metaverse Roadmap .

I hope to see you there

L2

May 23, 2007 on 1:27 pm | In Uncategorized | No Comments

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4I6-JGy0_OI

Haven’t blogged much about this much yet, but the video above is a draft presentation of the L2 research project I work on at Stanford. Our aim is to animate the art archives of artist Lynn Hershman.

To visit the evolving archive in Second Life go to:
http://slurl.com/secondlife/NEWare/128/128/0/

L2 Movie credits

Film by
Henrik Bennetsen
Zena Meadowsong

Narrated by
Lynn Hershman

Soundtrack
Deep Blue by SHADOW_C

L2 Project members
Jeff Aldrich
Henrik Bennetsen
Lynn Hershman
Henry Lowood
Henry Segerman
Michael Shanks

Produced at
Stanford Humanities Lab

Video of workshop with Daniel (Linden) Huebner

April 14, 2007 on 11:57 am | In Uncategorized | 10 Comments

Here’s a video of Stanford Humanities Lab’s How They Got Game Workshop #1 with Linden Lab’s Director of community affairs Daniel Huebner.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2642394922604088000

After the fold you will find my short notes, but if you can spare a good hours time then you should check out this interesting video. You should that the sounds quality is a little rough in few places, but hopefully you will get everything out of the context.

Continue reading Video of workshop with Daniel (Linden) Huebner…

Call for avatar / Second Life Performance Artists

April 2, 2007 on 12:19 pm | In Uncategorized | No Comments

(Got this in my email)

LIVE Performance Art Biennale October 2007 / Vancouver Canada

LIVE 2007 (in partnership with Ars Virtua Gallery and New Media Center) is presenting an exciting new performance art initiative in the virtual world of Second Life. LIVE 2007 invites international Avatar performance artists to participate. The event will be simulcast as part of the festival program.

Please email a brief expression of interest, avatar performance proposal, CV, bio, and links before May 1st, 2007 to:

Jeremy O. Turner (a.k.a. Wirxli Flimflam of Second Front fame) director of Avatar Development, LIVE jerturner536@yahoo.ca

James Morgan (a.k.a. Rubaiyat Shatner) director/curator, Ars Virtua gallery@arsvirtua.com

The LIVE Performance Art Biennale was founded in 1999 and has located Vancouver, Canada as an important and recognized node of local, national and international performance art activity and critical study.

Ars Virtua is a new media center and gallery located in the synthetic world of Second Life. It is a new type of space that leverages the tension between 3-D rendered game space and terrestrial reality, between simulated and simulation. Ars Virtua is sponsored by the CADRE Laboratory for New Media.

Invitation: How They Got Game Workshop #1

March 29, 2007 on 4:03 pm | In Uncategorized | No Comments

Please join us on Wednesday the 4th of April 2007 at 3pm on the 4th floor of Wallenberg Hall at Stanford University for a How They Got Game workshop with Daniel Huebner.

Speaker Bio:

Daniel Huebner is director of community affairs at Linden Lab, where he seeks to bring a modicum of order to the virtual world of Second Life — without stifling its essential creativity. Previous, Daniel was a journalist, editor, and analyst for several publications, including stints at the helm of Game Developer magazine and Gamasutra.com.

Abstract:

Second Life is redefining the rules of online worlds, and in the process invaliding many of of the strategies that have thus far been used to govern online spaces. With it’s mix of anonymity, real money, emergent social order, and rampant creativity, Second Life presents a potent blend for anyone hoping to bring order to the inherent chaos. From the beginning, Linden Lab has pursued a less-is-more philosophy, avoiding the urge to created strict rules and policies in favor of relying on social pressure and communication to instill values and norms into a new community. As the world of Second Life grows past four million Residents, new approaches to dispute resolution, identity, and trust are being added to Linden’s toolbox.

These workshops are open to all interested parties with a strong interest in topics surrounding new media, technology, and design. They offer the chance to hear talks by industry professionals and seasoned academics, but also offer the rare opportunity for one-on-one questions as well as collaborative work.

How They Got Game is a research project at the Stanford Humanities Lab dedicated to the historical investigation of computer games and other related interactive technologies. Its diverse membership possesses varying academic interests ranging from machinima, virtual worlds and interactive storytelling.

For more information or to show an interest in attending please contact Henrik Bennetsen - bennetsen@gmail.com

You blink

February 1, 2007 on 2:42 pm | In Uncategorized | 1 Comment

and it has been almost half a year since you posted.
I need to do better.

Others on Immersion vs. Augmentation

September 5, 2006 on 3:49 pm | In Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Henry Jenkins has an interesting post called Experimenting with Brands in Second Life. Most of the post is taken directly from Ilya Vedrashko’s recent master’s thesis Advertising in Comptuter Games. What really caught my eye is the last part where Vedrashko highlights two views of SL that are very similar to what I have called Immersion vs. Augmentation.

Continue reading Others on Immersion vs. Augmentation…