Betterverse: Nonprofits in the Virtual World

Virtual Worlds Aren't Over, Mr. Koster

A little over a week ago, Raph Koster wrote a fascinating and intelligent blog post about his views on the future of virtual worlds entitled "Are Virtual Worlds Over?".  You can not read it without thinking of Raph's recent experience as the head of Metaplace, an ambitious web-based virtual world that crashed and burned in December.  Raph concludes on a mostly pessimistic note that virtual worlds, at least as we understand them, are not going to reach mass audiences for awhile. As he writes:

"Virtual places as they exist now cannot be a mass medium any more than a single restaurant can."

While I agree with many of Mr. Koster's points, I do think that there are specific sectors where virtual worlds are very attractive.  I would contend that virtual worlds are growth markets for the education and nonprofit sectors to reach new audiences and promote their missions.

Larry Johnson of NMC on the Future of Virtual Worlds: "The best days are ahead of us" (video)

Larry Johnson, head of the New Media Consortium, gave a stirring keynote address this morning at the opening of the WebWise Conference in Denver this morning.

Here's a cogent answer from Larry on the future of virtual worlds, giving various examples of libraries, museums and government uses of virtual environments: "The fact about that technology is that it's only five years old... I think the best days for virtual worlds are actually ahead of us."

[Direct video link.]

SmallWorlds Hosts First Live Video Chat to Support Peace in Sudan

This past Friday, Global Kids produced an online event for the National Youth Leadership Council on how young people can support the peace process in Sudan.  Occurring in the youth-oriented virtual world of SmallWorlds, about 50 avatars participated in a live video talk by a Sudanese peace activist and two Global Kids youth leaders, the first live event of this kind in SmallWorlds.

The virtual participants learned from the speaker that there were a lot of ways that they can help the people of Sudan: first by educating themselves, then educating others, supporting Darfurians and Sudanese, and pushing for policy changes.  The Global Kids leaders explained that there was a lot that you can do from wherever you are, whether its a fundraiser, a movie screening or supporting Sudanese in your community.  A special curriculum was released at the same time at Sudanpeace.ning.com for educators who want to help their young people engage in service projects for Sudan.

NYLC and Global Kids is hoping that hundreds of young people all around the country will engage in service projects over the next four weeks in support of Sudan.  Then on March 25, three of the "Lost Boys of Sudan" will speak live online in SmallWorlds to find out what actions took place.

For more information and to participate see Sudanpeace.ning.com. Or you can check out the virtual Sudan center yourself online by registering at SmallWorlds.com and then going to this link.

Bringing "Salam" to Sudan: Youth Using Virtual World to Promote Peace in Africa

Global Kids, on behalf of the National Youth Leadership Council, is producing an innovative service learning project incorporating the virtual world of SmallWorlds as well as the social networking site Ning.com to promote youth actions to support peace in the country of Darfur.  We recently got a nice write up in the SmallWorld's Chronicle about the project.

I just launched our first SmallWorlds mission for the project called "Sudan 101" where you can learn the basics about the country, the history and origins of the conflict, and why Sudan is so important.  We'll be launching a second mission on Service Learning very shortly. If you are a member of SmallWorlds, just go to this link or under "Places" do a search for "Salam Project."

Here's what you can expect over the next weeks:

• A kick-off virtual event this Friday, February 12, where you can participate in a virtual chat with Nisrin Elamin, a Sudanese peace activist, and two Global Kids youth leaders, talking about their work to educate others about the conflict and support peace in Sudan.
• An online social network and a youth-friendly virtual world to get inspired about the project, share information with each other, and show the results of your work to others.
• A 3D virtual service center where you can find out more about Sudan, the peace process, and service learning opportunities
• A service learning curriculum for educators that you can use to support service learning actions by your students
• And finally a live video simulcast on March 25 of the talk by Benjamin Ajak, Benson Deng, Alephonsion Deng, three of the "Lost Boys of Sudan."

You can check out the project yourself at Sudanpeace.ning.com and visit our SmallWorlds space at this link. 

Applications Open for Virtual World Professional Development Opportunity in March

On behalf of Global Kids, a leading nonprofit in the field of virtual world education, we would like to invite your organization to apply to participate in a series of free professional development trainings in virtual worlds for nonprofits. Supported by a grant from the MacArthur Foundation, the Virtual Worlds Capacity Building for Nonprofits Program aims to facilitate nonprofit organizations in developing an informed strategy on how to integrate these new media tools into their missions. 

Over the month of March 2010, Global Kids will be working with a cohort of 5-8 civic and cultural organizations to introduce them to the myriad applications of virtual worlds for the public sector.  The "Virtual World Capacity Building Program," now in its 3rd semester, is a three-week crash course in virtual environments, specifically tailored to the interests and needs of nonprofit institutions.  Participating organizations will get to explore different virtual worlds, test out different tools and applications, and learn about cutting edge projects run within these 3D, online spaces.

Join the Salam Project: Virtual Service to Support Peace in Sudan Starting February 12!

On behalf of Global Kids, I am helping produce this virtual service learning project for the National Youth Leadership Council called "The Salam Project: Youth Supporting Peace in Sudan."  Here's the full appeal below:

Many of us know about the deadly conflicts that have devastated the North African country of Sudan. What you may not know about is what you can do in your own community to support peace in this wartorn country. On February 12th, you can take a virtual stand for peace in Sudan at the "Salam Project" kick-off event!

On Friday, February 12, you are cordially invited to a virtual presentation by Nisrin Elamin, a Sudanese peace activist, and two Global Kids youth leaders, talking about their work to educate others about the conflict and support peace in Sudan. The event will take place in the web-based virtual world of SmallWorlds, at both 4pm PST and 4PM EST. This talk will be the kick off of a month of service all around the United States in solidarity with Sudan.

2010 Stakeholder Engagement Online Conference March 2-4

I've been invited to speak at the 2010 Stakeholder Engagement Online Conference , which is taking place March 2-4. This year’s theme is "Including the Excluded," with sub-themes on social inclusion, social/ environmental justice and accessibility of individuals with physical or mental disabilities. Most of the conference will take place using Microsoft Live Meeting webconferencing, with "virtual tours" of builds in Second Life.

Co-sponsored by PublicDecisions and LearningTimes, the event is meant to bring together the diverse community of people who work on stakeholder engagement from the public / government sector, NGOs/nonprofits, consultancies and the private sector. Likely participants include professionals in the planning, transportation, and environmental sectors; community health workers and other health professionals; school administrators; librarians; and nonprofit/NGO leaders.  Sounds like my crowd.

On March 3 at 1:30pm EST I will be giving a virtual tour of Second Life, with an emphasis on the Global Kids approach to stakeholder engagement.  I plan to show participants the "CONSENT!" game that our teens developed a couple of years ago on the SL Teen Grid, which has since been ported over the Main Grid.  I think this is a good frame for touching on the themes of social inclusion and justice.

Head to the official website for more information and to register.

The 2009 Ten Best Public Good Projects in the Metaverse

In 2009, I launched Betterverse as a means of chronicling and highlighting the ways that virtual worlds were being used to promote the public good in the real world.  I was led by the hypothesis that the metaverse as an imagination space was fertile ground for supporting the public sector, charitable work, and social justice causes.  In the brief amount of time that I've been reporting on this space, I've found a remarkable number of innovative projects and initiatives.  

In no particular order, here's are my Top Ten best public good initiatives in the virtual world...

Metaplace Closing on January 1st: a Major Blow to Open-ended Virtual Worlds

I'm very sad to report that effective January 1st, 2010, the virtual world of Metaplace will be closing its doors.  According to Raph Koster, Metaplace founder, "it has become apparent that Metaplace as a consumer UGC service is not gaining enough traction to be a viable product." I.e. an open-ended virtual world platform built open user-generated content is not economically profitable or sustainable.

For nonprofits interested in exploring virtual worlds for their causes, this is a major loss.  Metaplace combined a rich toolset, open environment, and possibilities for broad-based participation and collaboration that was unmatched.  Several nonprofits and causes had begun very interesting experiments using Metaplace over the past year.  And the staff of Metaplace were very supportive of all the public good applications of their platform.

So I'm very upset to see Metaplace go away. And I wish those let go at Metaplace, Inc. all the best.

The full message from Raph follows after the jump...

Reminder: US$10K Linden Prize Now Open for Applications

Blondin Linden sends out a reminder that the application process for the 2010 Linden Prize are now open. The grand prize is US$10,000 for the best virtual world project that "improves the way people work, learn and communicate in their daily lives outside of the virtual world."

Useful links here:

• Announcement Blog
• Web Site
• FAQ
• Application
• Discussion Thread
• 2009 Top Ten and Special Mentions

Applications will close on January 15th at 5pm PST. So get those apps in!