the avatar age: the future of entertainment and advertising
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The Avatar Age. Keynote Introduction by Reuben Steiger at Virtual Worlds West conference in San Jose, CA. October 11, 2007TRANSCRIPT
The Avatar AgeEntertainment and Advertising in the Future
Reuben Steiger
CEO, Millions of Us
Virtual Worlds West
San Jose, CA
October 11, 2007
What is Millions of Us?
The world’s leading agency helping brands connect with large online communities, virtual worlds and social networks
Millions of Us: Key Clients
• Toyota• General Motors• Mini• Sun Microsystems• Coca Cola • Intel• Microsoft• Comcast• CNN• Warner Brothers• HBO• 20th Century Fox• Diageo• Budweiser
What is an Avatar?
Now, an online persona
In Hindu lore, the earthly form of a God
Houston: We Have a Problem
Authenticity and Advertising• Only 24% of U.S. residents trust what companies tell them (Yankelovich, 2007)
A Statistic to Ponder
User- generated, social communities represent the fastest growing market segment totaling 31% of all consumer Internet usage
(Comscore, 2007)
The Programming Grid of the Avatar Age
Virtual Worlds BlogsUser Created Content Communities
Social Networks
Younger
Older
Audience Age
Other Worlds100 Million and Growing. . . .
Habbo Hotel: 32 million users Gaia Online: 8.5 million users
Zwinktopia: 10 million users Stardoll: 8.5 million users
Some Predictions for 2008
• Social networks will become “Avatarized”
• Virtual worlds will become more like social networks
• Television tie-ins will increase for virtual worlds
Virtual WorldsFrom Habitat to Second Life
1985 2005
Where it all BeganPhilo T. Farnsworth: 1928
Fast Forward: 2007Across the Street: 1100
Sansome
And So It Began. . . . .The gentle blue glow
Meanwhile. . . . .
550 million automobiles by 2002
What Happened to Communities?
Telling Stories in Virtual Worlds
What is Scion City?
So that’s how we got here. . .
Now how do we go mainstream?
Thank You