Second Life Provides Virtual Empowerment for Independent Live Music

I read an interesting article in top40-charts.com which describes how independent music artists are about to stamp their mark in Second Life.

As an avid independent music follower I find it interesting that the Avatars representing the band members will be controlled by Ninetendo Wii controllers in a concert streamed from a live video format as well as a presence in the virtual world.

We are looking forward to the day when the acceptable graphic formats are improved and ready for our 3D Walkthroughs and 3D Renderings.

top40-charts.com
Pop / Rock (2007-04-30)
Second Life Provides Virtual Empowerment for Independent Live Music
New York, NY. (Top40 Charts/ Sanctuary Records) - NYC Indie band Buddahead described by CMJ as a cross between Jeff Buckley, Radiohead, and Verve, have teamed up with Virtualive.tv to provide a unique live music experience.
On May 10th, Buddahead will play a live set of new music from their upcoming sophomore release at The Canal Room, one of Manhattan's first broadband wired clubs. The live audio and video streams from the concert will be streamed into the Morpheum and the Vesuvius Sims in Second Life. Second Life attendees can watch both live video footage of the show and the band's avatars, which (in an experimental attempt) will be controlled by Nintendo Wii controllers.

"Second Life has emerged as a cutting edge way to merge technology and social media," said Virtualive.tv founder Adam Broitman. Inspired by visionaries like C.C. Chapman and Jay Moonah who have leveraged technologies such as podcasting to further careers of independent artists such as Uncle Seth, Broitman thought it would be cool to do something similar leveraging another cutting edge technology.

"After viewing dozens of Second Life concerts, I wanted to up the style quotient and introduce events to people not aware of Second Life and Virtual Worlds at large" he added.

Second Life, owned by privately held Linden Lab of San Francisco, debuted in 2003. Basic membership is free once the Second Life software has been downloaded from secondlife.com, which also provides the tools for new members to create their unique avatars. Second Life also has its own currency - The Linden - that can easily be converted from U.S Dollars and provides purchasing power within this booming 3D world. To see Buddahead at Morpheum Sim is however free.

"Second Life is an amazing tool for indie music. Rather than having to deal with company executives or trying to find a vendor location to present new music, you can build your own and develop your own distribution method to thousands of new listeners," says Nexeus Fatale, a Second Life DJ.

Fatale who is also a Second Life music promoter names Astrin Few, Frogg Marlowe, Cylindrian Rutabaga, Flaming Moe, and Jaycatt Nico as the most recognized and respected artists in Second Life, even though more mainstream artists such as Ben Folds, Suzanne Vega, and Duran Duran have also tried their hand at performing in Second Life The Second Life aspect of this show is taking place on Morpheum Sim, a Second Life island owned by Morpheus Media and created by The Vesuvius Group, an international collective of techy-creatives working together in Second Life on collaborative projects that make a difference. Morpheus Media, an Interactive New Media Agency with clients such as The New York Times and A&E Television Networks is backing the Virtualive.tv event as a case study of how to use emerging technologies in creative marketing.

"While social media is not a new concept, it is my contention that social media is beginning to be realized to a much larger degree in light of the growing appeal of 3D virtual spaces such as Second Life. As a musician and a media practitioner Virtualive.tv seemed like the perfect marriage of communications, technology, marketing, music and community. I challenge anyone to find a more exciting combination,' says Adam Broitman the Director of Emerging Technologies at Morpheus Media.

New York Indie band Buddahead described by The New York Post as "Top Grade Rock" immediately signed on to perform at the first ever Virtualive.tv event. Kia, the bands frontman explains, "Having podcasters, bloggers, or MySpace fans, playing your music, writing about you, or adding you to their profile simply because they like the bands music is the highest and most respectful form of flattery. The greatest reason for taking part in Second Life or other emerging platforms is simply that it allows closer interaction with fans without any corporate involvement."

"Besides," Raman adds, "now I can have an avatar that is much cooler than me!"

Buddahead will be joined at The Canal Room on May 10th by Shock Radar, another indie New York band, and Ray Ellin, co-founder of comedy site Daily Comedy show. Socialdiva.com, the company designed to help its members discover the best New York has to offer, has already signed on as an event sponsor.

Transforming 2D photos into 3D models

Here is an interesting post from ComputerWorld Blogs.
I had read about Microsoft's version of the same type of service a few weeks ago. We have already started planning how this technology can be integrated into 3D Walkthroughs, 3D Renderings, and 3D Floor Plans to create an even more realistic final product.

By Ian Lamont on Tue, 04/24/2007 - 3:02pm
Courtesy of StumbleUpon, I happened across an interesting service called Fotowoosh that purports to turn 2D photographs into 3D models. The demo is very cool -- check out the European street scene with the church and the tree, and you'll see what I mean.

Further, if this technology (or one like it) can be integrated with other 3D modelling tools, the impact on a number of industries will be profound. Imagine a FPS game based on actual street scenes, a la Escape From New York. Or a virtual world based on real photographs from a specific time or place. Or a Web-accessible 3D real-estate demo created from standard digital photographs and a floor plan.

The Fotowoosh technology works by some sort of training scheme, according to the "About" page:

Mathematically, it is completely impossible to reconstruct a 3D scene from a single image. And yet when we humans look at a photograph, we see not just a plane filled with color and texture, but the world behind the image. How do we do it?

We believe that this amazing ability of humans comes from years of experience of living in a highly structured world, in which most scenes consist of vertical objects resting on a ground plane. Our insight is that if we can just figure which parts of the image correspond to ground, vertical surfaces, and the sky, we can often construct a simple 3D model of the scene. Our approach is to learn the structure of the world and the appearance of geometric surfaces from a large set of training images. We can then apply that knowledge to new photographs. If we can determine where the vertical surfaces contact the ground in the image, we can recover the depth of those surfaces (up to a scale), giving us a 3D model.

To create the final result, we simply texture map from the original image onto the model.

TechCrunch reports that Fotowoosh uses VRML, and also notes that Microsoft is working on a similar technology called Photosynth. However, when I tried the Photosynth demo (warning: bad installation and clunky UI) I was unable to discern any 3D effects in the images used. Rather, it looked like a way to navigate around a 2D environment pasted onto a set of coordinates existing in a 3D space.

Selling a home with video

On the heels of the four part series from Inman News here is a story that was released in today's NY Newsday. While I believe that video will definitely gain popularity for marketing higher end homes I still maintain that the majority of brokers will continue to 360 visual tours, 3d walkthroughs, 3d floor plans, 2d floor plans and photos on the majority of their listings.

You Can Find the Full Newsday Article Here>>

What video production companies have to offer

Here is the last part of a 4 parts series from Inman News highlighting the increasing use of video on real estate property listings. I find it interesting that companies such as WelcomeMat have introduced a chaptering tool that lets agents highlight scenes they want buyers to see. This touches on one of the previous objections of using video as viewers potentially would have to sit through a 2-3 minute presentation before they could see the areas they were really interested in. I predict we are going to see the evolution of 3D Walkthroughs to a more interactive presentation.

You can find the Full Article Here>>>

Companies, agents break into real estate video

Here is an exerpt from an article in today's Inman News exlaining how video is the new way to gain a competitive edge in the marketing efforts of real estate companies and agents.

Personally, I believe video will be used much more than it has been in the past due to the onlslaught of easy and inexpensive methods of posting video to the internet. However, I still think still think people want to see and interact with actual photos, 3D Renderings, 3D Walkthroughs, and 360 visual tours.

Part 3: Real estate technology buzz
Wednesday, April 25, 2007

By Matt Carter
Inman News

Editor's note: In an increasingly competitive marketplace, brokers and agents are trying new things to gain an edge. In this four-part series, Inman News offers a look at new tools available for Realtors, including online communication plug-ins, online video and single-property Web site marketing. (Read Part 1 and Part 2.)

Make them yourself or find somebody to shoot, edit and host 'em -- but don't miss out, believers say: video is an easy way to set yourself apart from the competition in real estate.

You don't have to hire a professional or go to film school to make use of video. The ability to shoot video in digital format and edit it on a computer has turned the process into child's play -- literally.

But there's more to it than walking through a listing capturing some footage and posting it on YouTube (no-no's in this video: "blown out" sunlit windows and rooms cloaked in darkness; occupants and their possessions at every turn, and a heavy-breathing cameraman who gives the whole thing the atmosphere of a slasher flick).

With a little bit of effort, it's possible to get good results shooting your own video. And there are a growing number of videographers who will do the work for you at surprisingly affordable rates. At the upper end of the scale, there are professional production companies capable of producing broadcast video that's good enough for TV.

For the most part, agents and brokers are using video in two ways: to promote themselves, which brings them clients and listings, and to sell individual properties with videos that accompany listings.

Ellen Wasserstrom, a Realtor with Coldwell Banker in Bernardsville, N.J., had her husband shoot a video for prospective clients, plugging her experience and marketing skills.

The video -- accessed by clicking the "meet Ellen" button on Wasserstrom's home page, is not slick. She and her boss are filmed against window blinds and a blank wall, and a distant microphone picks up the sound of their voices reverberating around the room.

But the video gets its point across, and Wasserstrom says clients have taken note.
Read Full Article Here>>

Virtual World Websites Looking more like Actual Real Estate Sites

It seems that almost all of the "virtual worlds" that are popping up offer the opportunity to make real money investing in virtual real estate. I find it interesting that some of their websites are actually being designed more and more like "real world" real estate sites. Here is an example>

It seems like it would make sense for 3dwalkthroughs.com to put down the monopoly board and get into the virtual game.

The Mongram Shop

3Dwalkthroughs.com is proud to announce that our interactive division, Launchsight Solutions, just launched the newly designed website for The Monogram Shop.

The Monogram Shop is located in prestigious Locust Valley and East Hampton areas of Long Island and is frequented by celebrities on a daily basis.

The newly designed site can be seen HERE>

Real Estate's Slick New Marketing Tactics

There is an interesting article in this weeks Business Week Online detailing a lot of the new tactics developers are employing to market their luxury condominiums. The above picture is a new tool that will be launching in the late spring that allows buyers to view multiple properties without having to leave the sales office. Other interesting tools include: Opening brokerages in Second Life, creating property specific magazines, giving expensive gifts, hiriing celebrities, producing expensive video tours, etc.

It will be interesting to see how we can integrate our 3D Walkthroughs, 3D Renderings, and 3D Floor Plans into the mix.

The full article can be found here.

Put Your Marketing Dollars Online

An Interesting Article from RISMedia

Commentary by Marlin Cone

RISMEDIA, April 17, 2007-Last month, we addressed the fact that despite all of the new entrants into the real estate industry, NAR still reports that the average age of a Realtor is 57, and whether or not agents are in touch with the largest group of home buyers the last few years-Generations X and Y. Now, we will examine how in touch Realtors really are and where their ad dollars should be going.

First thing-analyze your budget. How are you spending your marketing money? Are you still spending the majority of your marketing budget on print media?
Or, are you now spending the majority of your money on your online marketing presentations (which cost less in total, cost fractions on a "per-impression" basis, have a much longer shelf life and provide the viewer with much more information and flexibility to access information than print media)?

Are you amongst the majority within residential real estate who do not have a virtual tour on your listings or do you have a virtual tour on every listing? And, are your virtual tours dated with old concepts and technology like the spinning 360-degree tours or the distorted views that make walls seem bowed-or are you cutting-edge by incorporating virtual tours that deliver to the viewers the information they need to make their decision to select your listing as one of their final choices?

One cutting-edge virtual tour platform now coming about is the Floor Plan Online program.

"I can't express how excited we are about what the program has done for our business and marketing plan," says Ron Rudolph, an associate broker with Century 21 Advantage Gold in Philadelphia. "It has added a whole new dimension to selling real estate. It has cut our marketing costs, given us more double-ended buyers and has resulted in our getting more listings.

"For years now, I have been upset at what we've had to pay for print media ads when I knew that more and more buyers were going to the Internet to find homes," he continues. "Who reads the papers anymore? Now Floor Plan Online gives me a much more effective alternative that has a far greater reach, a far greater shelf life and costs much less.



If they are excited about regular 2D Floor Plans, we are excited to see how the industry is going to react to our 3D Floor Plans and 3D Walkthroughs.

3D Floor Plans and 3D Walkthroughs Improvement Update

Our technology partner Metropix Inc. has come up with yet another valuable update to the software.

As a result of their continual development, Bidets and Stove's have been bought to life and are now supported in 3D!

Selling condos on the Web.. An Interesting Article From The Toronto Star

E-savvy developers pouring marketing dollars into latest online technology

See the full article Here.
Apr 14, 2007 04:30 AM
Amy Brown-Bowers
Special to The Star

Toronto realtor Pat Baker is soon to become a virtual star. Her debut will begin inside a dark studio where, surrounded by blue screens, she'll be filmed giving a guided tour of the Residences at The Ritz-Carlton in Toronto, a luxury development currently under construction.

Baker, CEO of Baker Real Estate, will point out upscale features to potential buyers as she strolls through virtual rooms, all of which will be decorated in the final clip with virtual furniture commissioned to an international designer.

Marketers, realtors and developers all say that e-technology is becoming increasingly important in selling new condos in urban settings such as Toronto. For many urban buyers, the Internet is both their initial and primary means of gathering information and shortlisting their selections. In some cases, clients do all of their research online and visit the sales office only to fill out the final paperwork.


E-savvy developers who have done their market research in Toronto are pouring more of their marketing dollars into Web-based technology such as e-blasts, blogs, two-way communication portals and spectacular $100,000 websites. The recent addition of virtual reality and 3-D animation to some sites is a clever way to connect with a generation of video gamers.

The shift in marketing is partly driven by developers, who see this as phenomenally cost-effective – it's much cheaper to send an e-blast than to mail 1,000 letters. It's also partly driven by buyers, who increasingly turn to the Internet as a source of information on just about everything.

This shift has several implications: It changes the role of the realtor, it alters the dynamics at the sales centre and it affects the overall selling strategy.

Project websites used to look more like electronic versions of print ads, says Mitchell.

And, like print ads, the main purpose was to drive people to visit the sales centre, where a salesperson would dole out information and secure the sale.

Now, websites offer virtually the same amount of information available at sales centres – everything from floor plans to pricing, building amenities and renderings.

Davis Buckley Architects

3Dwalkthroughs.com is excited to announce that our interactive division Launchsight Solutions has been selected to build a new website for Davis Buckley Architects.

Davis Buckley Architects and Planners is a mid-sized design firm which takes pride in the diversity of their projects, the quality of their design and their ability to gain design and technical approvals from national and local review agencies.

The new site will Launch in Mid-May 2007.

RISMEDIA: Ways to Create More Effective and Engaging Real Estate Websites

Get Engaged: Best Real Estate Web Sites Detailed in New Report
RISMEDIA, March 21, 2007-The Web Marketing Association, host of leading Web site awards competition WebAwards, released the Internet Standards Assessment Report (ISAR) to help the real estate industry create more effective and engaging Web sites.

"As the standard of excellence for Web sites continues to increase, consumers (and WebAward judges) are increasingly picky about what they consider to be an effective Web site," said William Rice, president of the Web Marketing Association, Inc. "Real Estate Web sites often focus too much on listings and not enough on the other additional factors that influence purchasing decisions like community, schools and local offerings. Those who do, are ahead of the curve."

The WebAwards competition judges real estate Web sites on seven criteria that combined create award-winning Web sites:

• Design
• Innovation
• Content
• Technology
• Interactivity
• Copywriting
• Ease of use

Real estate Web sites have underperformed the ISAR Index for the past four years. Prior to 2003, their performance has been mixed with a see-saw like over and under performance.

According to the ISAR Study, real estate Web sites are strongest in content and ease of use while being weakest in innovation. Real estate Web sites need to focus on providing a total user experience, giving the visitor all information they need to take the next step in the sales cycle whether it's requesting a showing or purchasing.

Leveraging technology, animation and videos would upgrade real estate Web sites and provide the user with the information he or she craves.

The Future of Digital Mapping?

An interesting article from CNET Asia:
Two-dimensional maps are passé. Singapore users can expect full three-dimensional maps complete with realistic 3D rendering for their GPS devices in the second half of 2007.

Tele Atlas, a global provider of digital maps and dynamic content, today gave a preview to the media how 3D GPS navigation will look like in the near future. Besides turn-by-turn instructions, these three-dimensional maps will display realistic 3D rendering of architecture and points of interests, right down to individual store fronts on the streets.

Perhaps 3Dwalkthroughs.com will take that technology to the next level by letting the user actually walkthrough the rendered property.

We are proud to announce that our interactive division Launchsight Solutions is donating their time to build a website for the Jamaica High Lacrosse Alumni Foundation. The JLAF was formed in 2006 by former player athletes of Jamaica High School to further the game of Lacrosse in the Queens and the NY public schools system.
Their mission statement is simple: Expanding the game of lacrosse in the Queens and the NY public schools system in order to provide fundamental team and leadership skills for our youths.

Here is a sneak peek of the site