Moderated by John Jainschigg, Director, Internet and Community Laboratory, Ziff Davis Enterprise, Inc., this lively discussion with panelists Rhonda Lowry, VP Emerging Social Media Technologies, Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.; Eric Reuters, Special Correspondent, Second Life, Reuters, Inc.; and Mitch Wagner, Executive Editor, InformationWeek, UBM TechWeb looks at Google's quiet introduction of the Lively virtual world platform that may mark the beginning of a new era for the exploding virtual worlds industry. The locus of greatest attention in that industry and the domain of greatest innovation has long been Second Life, which just celebrated its fifth birthday. What do Second Life residents, stakeholders and media think of Lively? Does Lively represent a challenge to Second Life's vision, or a powerful endorsement? Will communities of residents and business stakeholders on these platforms remain separate, or mingle? What does the near-term future hold for both platforms? In this informal panel, hosted by multi-platform metaverse developer World2Worlds in Lively, Second Life, and on the web, you'll hear first thoughts from major media minds on the Second Life/Virtual Worlds scene.
