Exploring Virtual Worlds & Augmented Reality with Microsoft's Zain Naboulsi

February 10, 2009

What is geography worth? We see New York, London, Tokyo, and Hong Kong as financial and cultural hubs, but what will happen to us if anyone from anywhere can communicate, work and play in the same environment? Microsoft's Virtual Worlds Evangelist Zain Naboulsi explores not only technology that allows us to interact on the computer, but technology that integrates a virtual world with the physical one.

MICHELLE:
My first impression of virtual world Second Life was that I didn't have time for my first life. What are some of the more interesting applications of Second Life you've seen that help save time or money in the real world?

ZAIN:
First, to be clear, I’m not just talking about Second Life but about virtual worlds in general.  In fact, while I enjoy Second Life, I am a huge proponent of another virtual world called OpenSim (http://opensimulator.org) as a great vehicle for learning about virtual worlds.  With that in mind, here are the main reasons to use virtual worlds:

1.) “Geography is history”.  That means no matter where you are on the planet you can instantly collaborate/communicate with others.  I work with people in the virtual space all day long and have no clue where they are from.  Just the other day I happened to ask one of our influentials where they were from and was surprised to find out they are from the Netherlands.   I don’t spend time or money traveling which is just wasted productivity in most cases.  A huge amount of work is done just from incidental contact by just happening to meet up with people inworld.  Where else can you be at your desk and “at the water cooler” at the same time?

2.) Going Green.  Lest we forget there are myriad long-term benefits beyond the initial financial gains for the business we are also reducing emissions globally.  Beyond that, we are reducing all the waste that goes along with a physical meeting:  electricity for a meeting room, trash produced by all the folks at the meeting, wear and tear on the meeting room equipment, food for the attendees, and the list goes on. 

MICHELLE:
So much of an online community's effectiveness is its ability to reach out to all sorts of people.  What approaches have virtual communities done to show people the practical applications of what they do?

ZAIN:
I would say the best example of what can be done by virtual communities for me was the creation of the Microsoft User Group Island.  When I inherited the island it had been used for a marketing campaign that resulted in buildings that cost many thousands of dollars to build.  The reason for this expense was we had hired one of the many firms that charge to build up islands.  While I think that is great for a business and was perfect for the marketing campaign that existed before I took over the island, I also think it was not appropriate for a community island.  The community gathered together and completely rebuilt the island from top to bottom.  The Microsoft User Group Island is the only island that I am aware of where a major company has a 100% community built area.   The entire island was built by the community and is maintained by the community.

Here are some other uses I am seeing for virtual worlds:
1.) They are being used to treat “shut-ins” who can’t leave their homes for physical or mental reasons. 
2.) Therapists will actually treat their patients online though the virtual world space because the emotional connections are so strong there.
3.) Helping charities to get funding and build communities to help people in the physical world. Keeping track of water levels/purity/etc… for the entire state of Florida.
4.) Train people how to navigate areas ahead of a visit by having them collaborate in a virtual world representation of the place they are going to (university, oil well, warehouse, etc…).

MICHELLE:
Linden Labs controls Second Life, which is a bit like playing God to a community of people.  How do they control things like rampant commercialism, crime, or fraud? Do they have a heavier hand or do they let the community police itself?

ZAIN:
Much like a supreme being, the Lindens allow a great deal of free will.  As a consequence there are many things that are wrong and many that are right.  They will step in on the rare occasions that crimes are so grievous as to warrant eliminating an activity (like gambling) or banning avatars.  In essence they only control broad scale problems and leave it to the community to resolve the smaller issues.  On other virtual worlds it is usually just a pure dictatorship or pure socialism in play.  With qwaq the company that bought it would implement controls  and with some open areas the citizens pretty much manage themselves.

MICHELLE:
I saw Cisco's Telepresence software for the first time when Madonna walked all around holographic images of the band "Gorillaz".  How do you see this technology affecting virtual worlds like Second Life, and how long will it be before this technology is available for general public use?

ZAIN:
I don’t see this playing a direct role in virtual worlds although it seems to be going along a parallel path.  I think we will see more usage of video conferencing for formal conference calls but I believe you will see the more “day-to-day” conference calls will be replaced with virtual world experiences as cheaper, more immersive, and more productive replacements for the traditional call.  Unlike the video conferencing, you can actually share work inworld and participate interactively.  Teleconferencing for all it’s advancement is still bound by the “air gap” between you and the person you are talking to.

MICHELLE:
Have you seen any other cool projects involving virtual worlds?

ZAIN?

Without a doubt we will see virtual worlds and the physical world come together though advancements in augmented reality.  Here are some examples of what I mean:

Imagine these only with avatars from all over the world overlaid with your physical world.  We will, eventually, have augmented reality enhancing the current desktop experience and taking it to new levels.

 MICHELLE:
When am I going to be able to interview you virtually since I am writing this interview from Long Beach, CA?

ZAIN:
All I need is an hour to get you acclimated to the virtual world experience and we are good to go.  Give me an hour and I will change your world.

MICHELLE
What resources would you recommend for people to learn more about the applications and progress of virtual worlds?

ZAIN:
That’s a tough one.  The virtual world space is nascent and still has some distance to travel before we have widespread adoption.  Currently I would suggest three possible ways to begin learning more about virtual worlds: If you are completely new to virtual worlds then start with Second Life (http://www.SecondLife.com) and make sure to get the basic account.  DON’T BUY ANYTHING.  Just explore and get used to the virtual world space.

 As you gain experience you can move on to OpenSim (http://opensimulator.org) and experience being on a truly open virtual world. If you want your own virtual world space then find an OpenSim hosting provider like ReactionGrid (http://reactiongrid.com) and get an OpenSim account to play with your own space.  NOTE: you can buy space in Second Life but it is way, wayyyy more expensive there.

Finally, you may decide to run OpenSim (yes, it’s free) on your own machine at home and experiment further with virtual worlds.  This is the pinnacle of virtual world achievement today and is part of my dream to have “a [virtual world] on every desktop”.

As for blogs to follow, here are some key ones:

http://www.ThinkBalm.com

http://www.gwala.net/blog/

http://www.ugotrade.com/

MICHELLE:
Insert not-so-shameless plug here.

ZAIN:
As the creator of Virtual World Evangelism, I would love for folks who are interested in learning more about how we are building user group communities in virtual worlds to contact me:  zainab(at)microsoft.com.

Comments

[Zain Naboulsi]

Thanks for showing virtual worlds the love Michelle! :)

For those that want to see some cool virtual worlds pics check out this link:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/30456505@N06/show/with/2947214162/

[Mo Hax]

Come on Zain, please tell me your statement, "As the creator of Virtual World Evangelism" is either a misquote or referring to some not-so-mentioned organization named "Virtual World Evangelism." There is no way you are the "creator of virtual world evangelism" [lower case]. There were evangelists out there when your av (and mine) were still in diapers. :P Other than that, good article quickly summarizing virtual worlds, a little on the hype side, but good.

[Mo Hax]

Come on Zain, please tell me your statement, "As the creator of Virtual World Evangelism" is either a misquote or referring to some not-so-mentioned organization named "Virtual World Evangelism." There is no way you are the "creator of virtual world evangelism" [lower case]. There were evangelists out there when your av (and mine) were still in diapers. :P Other than that, good article quickly summarizing virtual worlds, a little on the hype side, but good.

[Mo Hax]

Come on Zain, please tell me your statement, "As the creator of Virtual World Evangelism" is either a misquote or referring to some not-so-mentioned organization named "Virtual World Evangelism." There is no way you are the "creator of virtual world evangelism" [lower case]. There were evangelists out there when your av (and mine) were still in diapers. :P Other than that, good article quickly summarizing virtual worlds, a little on the hype side, but good.

[Mo Hax]

I apologize for the multiple post. TypePad doesn't seem to like my browser (Firefox)

[Zain Naboulsi]

Hey Mo Hax :)

No way I would say I created virtual world evangelism as a whole, I was indicating I did it at Microsoft. There were plenty of great folks before me who had the vision as to the future of Web 3D and I am fortunate to stand on the shoulders of those giants.

[Mo Hax]

@Zain I was sure that was it but had to check. You are doing wonderful things over there at MS and I hear great things from the ReactionGrid folks, who themselves are really top notch. Here's looking forward to eventually, and finally, meeting you in one of those virtual worlds out there, if not the real one.