Beware, virtual is getting real

One friend recently told me about second life, which is an amazing concept. It’s a 3-D virtual world whose usage is limited only to your imagination. You need a downloadable program, which enables its members to first attain an avatar of their own liking and then interact with almost 10 million other members in various ways. If this is not impressive enough, then let me tell you this - you can even buy land on their planet. People are building hotels, houses and living a virtual life. This virtual world has its own economy with its own currency, its own land that you have to buy.
People create their own goods and services and trade them. e.g. you can buy some land, create a building, landscape and trade like real economy. You can build a machine or a vehicle and sell it. Your creation can be protected by copyright!!

Life is not boring at all in this world. You can even create, display, buy or sell art- from oil painting to music. There are live concert taking place.

And take this - countries are opening their embassies there. Maldives has done already and so have Sweden, Malta, and Philippines. Of course they would not issuing visa, but they will be promoting their countries culture.

This makes one think and wonder how technology is shortening the gap between real and virtual. And there are so many ways such virtual world could be used to our real virtual world and its inhabitants.
Consider these innovative ways this virtual world is being used:

virtual classroom for colleges like Harvard, INSEAD and many universities. lectures and projects are being hosted in this world for the real world.

IBM is using it for corporate meetings. Just have a look on one of such corporate gathering.

Armani has a virtual store too, so unless you want to shell out real dollars, and enjoy your virtual fashion accessories, though it still costs you in their own currency - Linden Dollars.

Companies are even thinking of test market their products in such virtual worlds.

Who knows, tomorrow, if you are looking for a job, your first interview would be in a virtual office. Teleworkers, word hard, otherwise your boss can call you instantly in his virtual office and give his peace of mind or a virtual pink slip, which will have real impact !

If you want more details about this virtual world, see here.

Time to go beyond outsourcing - Crowdsourcing anyone?

We have had heard a lot, first about outsourcing, then insourcing and now there is another concept coming up - Crowdsourcing.

Outsourcing was about delegating the non-core operations of a business to external entity for whom that operation is CORE.

Insourcing is about bringing particular operations to a internal entity for whom the activity is CORE. Basically it followed the outsourcing when employees started aggressively defending their jobs and insourcing was popularised to convince employees that though some work may be going outside, other is coming back in house.

And if you thought this would make the full circle, we now have crowdsourcing !!
i.e. instead of outsourcing a particular task/operation to a single entity, its outsourced to a large, undefined group of people.

Now this is creativity at its best. its admirable to see someone just showing one more of extracting the maximum out of available technology, be it internet, open source or call to find out missing Steve Fossett.

Clearly we haven't seen the last of various form of ..........sourcing.