Check it out for yourself, a picture is definitely worth a thousand words...
Friday, March 19, 2010
Working Relationships Training Town
I am constantly amazed by what is being done in Second Life. Working Relationships Training Town has developed a world where one can truly get lost in. They have an "Elven Lift" that can take you to different destinations, a Helicopter Tour, a Baseball Stadium, even an underwater Aquarium where you can literally walk with the fish!
Check it out for yourself, a picture is definitely worth a thousand words...
Check it out for yourself, a picture is definitely worth a thousand words...
Friday, March 5, 2010
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Second Life
Today's weekly Gronstedt Group meeting was a tour of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. It was quite an amazing experience! It is definitely an example of how powerful a 3D immersive environment could be. Every aspect of the virtual world is completely thought out and reflective. The ceilings, shadowing and testimonials provide a chilling experience. The attention to every detail is astonishing! What is even more impressive is the project was a collaboration between the Museum and Washington DC schools. The brainstorming and designing was about 6 weeks and the actual building in Second Life took about 3 months.
The Second Life experience focuses on a single event – Kristallnacht (The Night of Broken Glass). Here, you will take the role of a journalist, recalling the testimony of eyewitnesses as you investigate what happened during the November 1938 pogroms.
The experience walking into the Museum in Second Life was similar to the audio guided tour at Alcatraz. Listening to the testimonials from survivors while walking around the buildings were so vivid, it literally teleports visitors into their shoes. You can hide in a tiny attic similar to Anne Frank, walk through a looted synagogue or sit in a classroom the day after the raid.
You can follow them on twitter or Facebook. Feel free to contact them for more information or a guided tour. If you want an unofficial tour, I can be of service also...
The Second Life experience focuses on a single event – Kristallnacht (The Night of Broken Glass). Here, you will take the role of a journalist, recalling the testimony of eyewitnesses as you investigate what happened during the November 1938 pogroms.
The experience walking into the Museum in Second Life was similar to the audio guided tour at Alcatraz. Listening to the testimonials from survivors while walking around the buildings were so vivid, it literally teleports visitors into their shoes. You can hide in a tiny attic similar to Anne Frank, walk through a looted synagogue or sit in a classroom the day after the raid.
You can follow them on twitter or Facebook. Feel free to contact them for more information or a guided tour. If you want an unofficial tour, I can be of service also...
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Virtual Edge Summit 2010 - Feb 22-23
The Virtual Edge Summit opened my eyes to a whole new world out there! I've been in Second Life for a while now, though still not an expert by any means. The learning curve and barrier to entry is real for 3D immersive environments. But there is another side out there with 2D -- virtual and engaging, all the benefits of 3D minus the clumsy movement.
Virtual Events and Meetings are a growing industry still in its infancy. With the current economic climate, large and small companies alike are looking to save costs For people who are skeptical or hesitant to make the leap directly into 3D, 2D allows people to test out the water without making the investment. Just as 2D is a platform into 3D, many are using hybrid meetings versus exclusively all virtual or all in-person events.
Virtual and hybrid meetings allow participants to attend without investing the time and costs traveling requires. Savings on travel and hotel are obvious ROI, but lost personal time with family, friends and productivity recuperating from business travel is just as important, if not more. Virtual and hybrid meetings will never replace in-person meetings completely, there will always be a need for them. However, alternatives and out-of-the box solutions should always be welcomed and explored. There are many 2D and 3D solutions already, challenge yourself and the status quo.
Check out the on demand sessions http://www.stream57.com/vesummit2010/
Virtual Events and Meetings are a growing industry still in its infancy. With the current economic climate, large and small companies alike are looking to save costs For people who are skeptical or hesitant to make the leap directly into 3D, 2D allows people to test out the water without making the investment. Just as 2D is a platform into 3D, many are using hybrid meetings versus exclusively all virtual or all in-person events.
Virtual and hybrid meetings allow participants to attend without investing the time and costs traveling requires. Savings on travel and hotel are obvious ROI, but lost personal time with family, friends and productivity recuperating from business travel is just as important, if not more. Virtual and hybrid meetings will never replace in-person meetings completely, there will always be a need for them. However, alternatives and out-of-the box solutions should always be welcomed and explored. There are many 2D and 3D solutions already, challenge yourself and the status quo.
Check out the on demand sessions http://www.stream57.com/vesummit2010/
Friday, December 18, 2009
Six Weeks Later...
Six weeks after getting laid off, I went to my first Career Transition workshop. One of the first things we did was a 30-Second commercial about ourselves. I found myself struggling to find the words to describe my job for the past 2 years... It's hard to believe after giving countless tours, I completely forgot the script!
What is it I did again? No worries, after brainstorming a bit, it all came back like riding a bike. The workshop was really helpful, is was a relief to learn there is a plethora of resources, tools and sites to help people find a new job and career. Of course, one of the first things to do is the all important resume. Boy, do I love resumes, how do you put on 2-pages your entire professional career? What is my career objective? How has my past experiences equipped me for my next opportunity? In other words, what do I want to do? And why would someone want to hire me?
My entire working life, I have been conflicted between my social responsibility (doing something for the greater good) and surviving financially (the almighty dollar). Of course, it would be wonderful if I could apply my degrees of Sociology and Asian American Studies. The more I ponder what I want as a career, the more I think I would like to continue what I did for the past 2 years.
I find it fulfilling working with people and helping others. My last job was helping people connect with other people. Over half the company worked from home at least a couple days a week. My job was to gather feedback and find tools to enable them to work more effectively. Enable employees to work as efficiently with their peers in the office next door as their peers half-way across the world timezones away. We connect people through Social Networking tools and Collaborative Technology.
In my view, using Social Networking tools and Collaborative Technology is a win-win for both employers and employees. Employers save money from not traveling and therefore gain competitive advantage. Meeting planning and deliverable cycles would decrease due to travel schedules. Travel time and recovery time would be spent doing actual work. Employees would be connected more through tools like Instant Messenger (IM) that enable them to have immediate synchronous and unplanned meetings. Collaborative tools also allow non-synchronous meetings avoiding those awful 6am and midnight meetings to accommodate participants in different timezones. The planet also wins with less airplane travel and driving to meetings that could be done virtually through video conferencing.
What is it I did again? No worries, after brainstorming a bit, it all came back like riding a bike. The workshop was really helpful, is was a relief to learn there is a plethora of resources, tools and sites to help people find a new job and career. Of course, one of the first things to do is the all important resume. Boy, do I love resumes, how do you put on 2-pages your entire professional career? What is my career objective? How has my past experiences equipped me for my next opportunity? In other words, what do I want to do? And why would someone want to hire me?
My entire working life, I have been conflicted between my social responsibility (doing something for the greater good) and surviving financially (the almighty dollar). Of course, it would be wonderful if I could apply my degrees of Sociology and Asian American Studies. The more I ponder what I want as a career, the more I think I would like to continue what I did for the past 2 years.
I find it fulfilling working with people and helping others. My last job was helping people connect with other people. Over half the company worked from home at least a couple days a week. My job was to gather feedback and find tools to enable them to work more effectively. Enable employees to work as efficiently with their peers in the office next door as their peers half-way across the world timezones away. We connect people through Social Networking tools and Collaborative Technology.
In my view, using Social Networking tools and Collaborative Technology is a win-win for both employers and employees. Employers save money from not traveling and therefore gain competitive advantage. Meeting planning and deliverable cycles would decrease due to travel schedules. Travel time and recovery time would be spent doing actual work. Employees would be connected more through tools like Instant Messenger (IM) that enable them to have immediate synchronous and unplanned meetings. Collaborative tools also allow non-synchronous meetings avoiding those awful 6am and midnight meetings to accommodate participants in different timezones. The planet also wins with less airplane travel and driving to meetings that could be done virtually through video conferencing.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Bay Bridge Closure woes, not for me, I work from home!
Bay Bridge likely closed through weekend
The Bay Bridge has been closed since Tuesday and there still isn't a definite time for reopening. It has been causing traffic jams all over the Bay Area. Even additional BART trains and ferries have not been able to alleviate the congestion. Instead of adding to the problem, I am working from home...
This brings back memories of the huge flood we had winter of '97. I remember the roads and bridges were flooded. At the time, I took Dumbarton Bridge to work. News reports indicated the right lanes were flooded over and closed. I carpooled at the time and we decided to take detours around the bridge instead of taking our chances in the traffic. I think everyone had the same idea. After trying to get to work unsuccessfully for hours, we decided to stop off for lunch at Noon. We were on the road in traffic for over 4 hours and not even close to our destination. We finally gave up and just went home. The entire day was wasted and unproductive. The only thing we got out of the day was lots of frustration!
If I had the tools back then that I have now, I could have stayed home and worked the entire day. The company and I would have been much happier :-)
The Bay Bridge has been closed since Tuesday and there still isn't a definite time for reopening. It has been causing traffic jams all over the Bay Area. Even additional BART trains and ferries have not been able to alleviate the congestion. Instead of adding to the problem, I am working from home...
This brings back memories of the huge flood we had winter of '97. I remember the roads and bridges were flooded. At the time, I took Dumbarton Bridge to work. News reports indicated the right lanes were flooded over and closed. I carpooled at the time and we decided to take detours around the bridge instead of taking our chances in the traffic. I think everyone had the same idea. After trying to get to work unsuccessfully for hours, we decided to stop off for lunch at Noon. We were on the road in traffic for over 4 hours and not even close to our destination. We finally gave up and just went home. The entire day was wasted and unproductive. The only thing we got out of the day was lots of frustration!
If I had the tools back then that I have now, I could have stayed home and worked the entire day. The company and I would have been much happier :-)
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Could telecommuting be a career mistake?
My colleague sent me this article "Could telecommuting be a mistake?" Working from home for the past 3 years, I was a little sensitive about the title, what will the article say about me? The author Anita Bruzzese made some interesting points I agree with and some I am not too sure about.
At Sun, about 60% of employees do not have assigned offices. It is definitely not for everyone due to personal preference or circumstances. But, for many, it is an ideal situation. The company can hire the most capable employees for their projects and do not have to relocate them close to the team. In today's global economy, most people are part of multiple teams and have team members in multiple locations. The work/life balance is also important and essential for many employees with families.
I know for me, when I worked in the office 5 days a week, I spent most of my time emailing and exchanging voicemails with people in different locations. Working on global applications, 90% of my customers, vendors and partners were not in the same state, much less the same country. With Collaborative Tools like Instant Messenger (IM), desktop video conferencing and data conferencing, we are always connected. I see and talk to my colleagues more now than ever.
My colleague and I used to work on the same campus in different buildings. We only saw each other once a week for staff meetings. Since we both started working from home, I see and talk to him every single day. We have a chat room open all the time and drop urls into the chat and ask questions to everyone, nobody in particular. We do not have to go down our phone directory calling people until we get an answer. We know when people are in a meeting or concentrating on heads down work.
Just the other day, we had a team meeting and before we logged off, I said "See you all tomorrow". My Director in Boston, MA did a double-take responding, "We are? Yes, I forgot, we will see each other tomorrow on video." It is so typical and normal for us to "see" each other on video, we take it for granted and do not even realize we are actually "seeing" each other! Seeing is no longer limited to the traditional in person or in real life anymore. Technology has changed our definition to include virtually on video or virtual reality like Second Life and Wonderland.
At Sun, about 60% of employees do not have assigned offices. It is definitely not for everyone due to personal preference or circumstances. But, for many, it is an ideal situation. The company can hire the most capable employees for their projects and do not have to relocate them close to the team. In today's global economy, most people are part of multiple teams and have team members in multiple locations. The work/life balance is also important and essential for many employees with families.
I know for me, when I worked in the office 5 days a week, I spent most of my time emailing and exchanging voicemails with people in different locations. Working on global applications, 90% of my customers, vendors and partners were not in the same state, much less the same country. With Collaborative Tools like Instant Messenger (IM), desktop video conferencing and data conferencing, we are always connected. I see and talk to my colleagues more now than ever.
My colleague and I used to work on the same campus in different buildings. We only saw each other once a week for staff meetings. Since we both started working from home, I see and talk to him every single day. We have a chat room open all the time and drop urls into the chat and ask questions to everyone, nobody in particular. We do not have to go down our phone directory calling people until we get an answer. We know when people are in a meeting or concentrating on heads down work.
Just the other day, we had a team meeting and before we logged off, I said "See you all tomorrow". My Director in Boston, MA did a double-take responding, "We are? Yes, I forgot, we will see each other tomorrow on video." It is so typical and normal for us to "see" each other on video, we take it for granted and do not even realize we are actually "seeing" each other! Seeing is no longer limited to the traditional in person or in real life anymore. Technology has changed our definition to include virtually on video or virtual reality like Second Life and Wonderland.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Real Life and Second Life Converging... (Oct 23)
It is common to hear stories where people have talked on the phone and emailed for years before meeting each other in person. Guess the next generation of the story is avatars meeting in virtual worlds for years ... Just seems strange because virtual worlds allow people to put a face to the name, just a different name and a different face!
If you are interested in Virtual Worlds and have not seen the awesome video put together by Greylin Fairweather (aka Robin Williams), check it out! It's on YouTube... Introduction to Virtual Worlds
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