IBM introduces Bluegrass!

IBM introduced Bluegrass at the Lotusphere conference this week. From the little I have seen of it, IBM will provide a metaverse environment for Businesses. A virtual

demo of Bluegrass is also available on kiosks at IBM CODESTATION (slurl.com/secondlife/IBM%20CODESTATION/124/159/25/) in Second Life.

This was expected and should not be a big surprise. What will be interesting will be how business theory/practice develops for this new technology once it is finally available. Will it be used to create working environments that last for a complete project? Can enough communication tools be included so synchronous and asynchronous communication can take place? Does this really provide a means for expanding across time zones and continents? Only time will tell. However, I believe that you have just seen the beginning of the business metaverse.

Must read article by Baseline, Halo 3 Meets Second Life!

Yesterday I wrote a blog about the ability to understand cultures using virtual worlds. Today I am reading an article about a “video game platform is being used to prepare soldiers for much more genteel aspects of modern warfare.” This article called “Halo 3 Meets Second Life” appeared in Baseline magazine. “The goal is to make soldiers better thinkers and communicators under stress.” Think about this applied to your sales force. Could you use the same techniques improve relations with customers? I joined Toastmasters to have a safe environment to practice public speaking. I know the advantage of failing in front of a supportive group instead of failing where the damage can’t be undone. The concept is based on learning by doing. Halo 3 Meets Second Life follows the same concept. You learn by doing in a virtual environment. Expect to see more of this in the future.

Is Tesco driving innovation

Nice article by Convenience Store News about the 8 innovations in 2008. It begs the question of how much of a factor was Tesco in driving these innovations within the convenience store industry? Some of these changes have been kicked around for years with no real commitment. Now Tesco opens its doors in the US and innovations moves at a rapid pace. It will be interesting in 2008 to see who the driving force in the world of convenience stores will be.

Can you now become a part of a different culture without leaving home?

The Ecole de Langue Varadi – Institut de Linguistique Appliquée, one of the top Swiss language schools, will open in Second Life. This may seem like a small event. However, it has really major implications. If you really take the time to experience Second Life, you will find that Second Life is all about the experience it can deliver. When the Institut de Linguistique Appliquée begins teaching, it will be able to create an experience that was truly never possible before. You can live and totally become part of the culture without leaving your home. Not only can you learn a language, you can gain important understandings of the culture that is associated with the language. Is it as good as real life, maybe not. Will you have an opportunity that you could never have before without physically living in another culture? That is what will be determined. I believe that this will become an important factor for executives seeing to prepare themselves for international business. For not only can they learn in a formal environment, they can then take that learning into SIM’s that are popular with a set culture and where they can practice the language with real people from that culture.

What to expect in the coming year from business?

Business week has a nice article on the 10 big mistakes businesses make in a recession. With the housing market in a mess and energy prices rising I expect some businesses are beginning to talk about such actions.  The one that really got me was firing talent. I have seen that take place several time in my life during times of a poor economy. What made it even worse was the best were the ones most likely to find another job quickly.  Many of the rest stayed because they knew they could not get another job the paid as much. One only has to look at how Circuit City’s job cuts backfired to see a prime example of this. It takes good people to get gold. However, gold may not always get you good people. I wonder if these same executive would have sold off their most productive divisions and kept their poorest performing units?

Could this be your christmas shopping in 2008?

It’s the Christmas shopping season in 2008. I go to my local shopping mall and jump into the “3D Body Scanner” to have my body scanned and my exact clothing measurements taken. The results are uploaded to my Facebook account so I can share them with my friends. I also include my favorite colors, styles, etc. Now my friend Jamie can look at my measurements and go to “Size Me Up” to see what size and style of clothing she needs to purchase to match my actual measurements. Jamie may need a second opinion so she goes to a social shopping site like Stylehive and gets advice.  Jamie is convinced she has the perfect items so she goes to Amazon and orders the item. My present arrives at my door ready for Christmas.

MediaCart and Microsoft roll out new shopping cart

ShopRite will have an interesting experiment going on in 2008.  New shopping experiences are coming in 2008 and ShopeRite. Details can be found in Colloquy article.

What is interesting to me is not the faster check-out or the new shopping cart. It is the fact that customer loyalty data may begin to become an asset to the costomer. “A shopper would scan his or her card at the MediaCart, and receive ads and promotional offers based on past purchases and/or saved shopping lists that could be uploaded from a home PC.” Will the costomer information remain just a benifit to the business owning the data. Or will ways be developed to make the data really work for the customer? Targeted adds and promotions may provide the customer with new benifits and save wasted time. However, are they really designed to benifit the customer first? Could not the the same information be used to provide reminders for items regularly purchased? Maybe suggest some recipes based on items commonly purchased? Give you an idea of a lower calorie substitute for something you commonly use if you are on a diet?

I guess the question I am asking is does this technology put the customer first?