[ neoblogical ]

In his keynote, Christopher Klaus of ISS and www.kaneva.com fame considered what web3.0 will be.Klaus predicted, among other things, thousands and even millions of online worlds as smaller groups and even individuals gain the ability to create and host they’re own 3D virtual worlds. In a word, he sees in the web’s future a world of connected worlds. One might ask how this is any different than today. Isn’t the blogosphere already a series of online/virtual communities that are, in addition to being intraconnected, also interconnected (the long tail). How is Klaus’s vision different? As far as I could tell from his talk, the difference is the nature of the communities. Moving beyond text-based social connections, the new world of connected worlds will be increasingly virtual in the sense of creating virtual spaces that include go beyond text/video/audio mashup to 3D virtual spaces like kaneva and second life. Of course, the 3D worlds are still paradoxically represented on 2D monitors, but that’s another discussion for another time.Klaus’s vision of the future includes (He’s quoting an IBM press release here that is describing IBM’s Investment in Virtual Worlds) a “seamless, standards-based 3D Internet — the next platform for global commerce and day-to-day business operations.” The web3.0 picture he’s painting is very similar to the one promoted by the multiverse evangelists. (Also see Bigworld Technology and Uni-Verse. It would include more and more “v-business” models that would also interface with purely social and personal worlds, creating the so-called multiverse.I’m looking forward to reviewing my notes and his slides to see if I missed anything here. Or perhaps some readers will fill in the blanks by commenting for us.What is really fascinating about all of this for me, in addition to my pure geek response, is the ongoing opportunities for rhetorical inquiry as technology, the web, and social networks continue to evolve.

Technorati Tags: Blogging, Digital Culture, Faciality, Gaming, Identity, Online Life, socon07, Rhetoric, web2.0