Handbook on 3D3C Platforms: Applications and Tools for Three Dimensional Systems for Community, Creation and Commerce

522 Pages·2016·18.535 MB·English

by  Yesha Sivan (eds.)

Progress in IS
Yesha Sivan Editor
Handbook on
3D3C Platforms
Applications and Tools for Three
Dimensional Systems for Community,
Creation and Commerce
Progress in IS
More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/10440
Yesha Sivan
Editor
Handbook on 3D3C
Platforms
Applications and Tools for Three
Dimensional Systems for Community,
Creation and Commerce
Editor
YeshaSivan
FacultyofManagement
TelAvivUniversity
TelAviv,Israel
ISSN2196-8705 ISSN2196-8713 (electronic)
ProgressinIS
ISBN978-3-319-22040-6 ISBN978-3-319-22041-3 (eBook)
DOI10.1007/978-3-319-22041-3
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2015953453
SpringerChamHeidelbergNewYorkDordrechtLondon
©SpringerInternationalPublishingSwitzerland2016
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To my mentors:
Judah Schwartz, David Perkins, and Israel Zang
.
’
Foreword: Let s Design a Place to Impact the
World
AnsheChung
Itwasabitover10yearsago,onMarch26thof2004,whenIcreatedmyfirstavatar
in Second Life. I was curious about the promise of a 3D world, built by its users,
withanonlinesocietynotsubjectedtotheusualcensorship.Ofcourse,Ihadnoidea
whatjourneythiswouldtakemeto.
I still remember how small and experimental the place felt with a village-size
community of smart and friendly people, and how surprised I was when I learned
thatmanyoftheuserswereseriouslylivingawholeonlinelifethere,callingthemselves
“residents”insteadof“users”or“players.”Afteracertaintime,Ifeltasenseofrealism
andsuspensionofdisbelief—afeelIhadneverfeltbeforeonline.Thisfeelwasentirely
basedonthedepthofsocialinteractionandinteractivitywiththe3Denvironment,not
realismofvisualsoruserinterface.
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viii Foreword:Let’sDesignaPlacetoImpacttheWorld
Twoyearslater,inMay2006,myavatarappearedonthecoveroftheBusinessweek
asvirtualworldlandbaron,andshortlyafter,newsspreadthatImademyfirstmillion
inavirtualworld,anoveltyatthetime.
Anshe Chung Limited, the firm that I created with Guntram Graef, became a
major player in the emerging field of virtual worlds and continues to serve many
clients,particularlyintheareasofvirtualworldrealestateandfinance.Wewerenot
entrepreneursdiscoveringvirtualworldsbutwewerevirtualworlduserslearning,
withinavirtualworld,howtobecomeentrepreneurs.
The various chapters of this book demonstrate the opportunities, dangers, and
complexitiesofvirtualworlds.
Ipersonallyconsiderthefirstwaveof3Dvirtualworldswithuser-createdcontent
thatwehaveseeninthepast10yearsmoreaproofofconcept,akindofprototypeof
what the future holds for us. With hardware interfaces maturing and mainstream
Internetcompaniesmovingintothespacewithbilliondollarbudgets,wemightsoon
seethingsmovingtoanentirelynewlevel.Facebook,forexample,maysoonevolve
fromasocialnetworkthatalreadypossessesmanypropertiesofavirtualworldintoa
fullyimmersed3Dvirtualworldexperience.
Virtual currencies such as Bitcoin, effectively a decentralized version of the
LindenDollar,areanotherexampleofhowparticularaspectsorfeatures,limitedto
asinglevirtualworldinthepast,arenoweffectingamuchlargerspacesuchasthe
Internetortheeconomyingeneral.Thisalsoremindsusagainthatvirtualworldsdo
notexistasentirelyisolatedentities,butthattheyarealsolinkedtotherealworld
throughpeople,ideas,values,andinmanyotherways.
PerhapsthemostimportthingthatIhavelearnedfromvirtualworldsisthefact
that virtual worlds serve as a place to learn about and then impact upon the real
world,toacquirerealskills,andtobetterunderstandrealpeople.
Ihopethatthechaptersofthisbookwillhelpustoenhanceourunderstandingof
boththevirtualandtherealworlds.Wearedefinitelyonanexcitingjourneynow,no
matterifwetendtospendmoretimeinthevirtualorthereal:Bothareconnected.
’
Preface: 3D3C Platforms: Let s Shape the Future
YeshaSivan
Dr.GraceAugustine:Istheavatarsafe?
JakeSully:Yeahit’ssafe.YouarenotgonnabelievewhereIam!
FromthemovieAvatar
The 3D3C Factors: The Case of Facebook Paying US$2bn
for Oculus Rift
In March 2014, Facebook snapped up Oculus Rift at the US$2 billion price tag.
Whatledasoftware-onlyfirmtoassignsuchvaluetoahardwarefirmthatservesas
agatewaytothe3Duniverse?
Let us look at the history ofthe Rift. Followinga demonstration of the Oculus
Rift prototype at E3 game show in June 2012, on August 1, 2012, the company
announcedaKickstartercampaignfortheproduct.Within4hours,Oculussecured
its intended amount of US$250,000, and in less than 36 hours, the campaign had
surpassedUS$1millioninfunding,eventuallyendingwithUS$2,437,429.
About12monthslater,onJune19,2013,OculusRiftannouncedaUS$16million
SeriesAfunding.Theroundwasco-ledbySparkCapitalandMatrixPartners.After
about 6 more months, on December 12, 2013, the firm announced a $75 million
SeriesBfunding,ledbyMarcAndreessenwhojoinedthecompany’sboardonbehalf
ofhisVCfirmAndreessenHorowitz.InMarch2014,FacebooksnappedupOculus
RiftattheUS$2billionpricetag.Why?
My answer: Facebook needed the 3D factor to complete its 3D3C strategy.
Facebook has the Community factor (in the form of almost a billion users), the
Creation factor (albeit in a very limited sense, by allowing its community to post,
add videos, share, etc.), and the Commerce factor. The first factor of any 3D3C
strategywasmissingandFacebookwaseagertohaveit.OculusRiftgaveFacebook
theopportunitytoownakeytotheultimate3D3Cplatform.Inessence,theyownthe
mouse for windows—the gateway to a new operating system of the twenty-first
century.
ix