This morning was the third likemind monthly meetup. This was the first one I had been to, and got a chance to meet and chat with a bunch of interesting people. Actually, there’s a neat little backstory full of weird coincidences…
Recent Journal Entries 
Archive Page 3
Let’s play a game. I’m thinking of a Fortune 500 company. See if you can guess which one it is.
I’ll narrow it down for you - it’s an Internet company… a big one. The last time I checked (which was two minutes ago), it had over ten thousand employees. This company has incorporated pretty much every major piece of online functionality you can think of - search, blogs, photos, videos, music, tags, maps, wikis, message boards, social networks, online payments; you name it, the company probably has it in some shape or form. I think it’s pretty safe to say that this company is a web portal (even though not everyone sees it that way).
Oh yeah, and it’s not Google. It’s not Yahoo! either. It’s Amazon.
(Continued from Part 1)
One of the best (if not the best) examples of gaming going real-world is the Nike+iPod Sport Kit. For 30 bucks, you get a sensor button that fits into any Nike+ compatible shoe and you also get a wireless receiver for your iPod nano. As you run, the two devices communicate with each other and provide you with both visual feedback (on the iPod screen) and voice feedback (through the headphones) regarding your pace and distance. You don’t need to keep a road journal- this baby does it for you.
However, from hearing those who own the sport kit talk about it, you’ll realize that a big chunk of this kit’s brilliance lies in its online community. When you sync your iPod, your progress gets automatically uploaded to the Nike+ website. From here, you can collect points, earn virtual trophies, and challenge your friends to time and distance trials, just like any online racing game.
(image by tonybarnes)
A little while back I met up with Piers at Spring Lounge for a drink. Among other things, we talked about all the buzz (or maybe hype) surrounding the virtual world Second Life (If you’re not familiar with it, here’s a primer from the Times). A lot of people have been saying that Second Life is currently at the same stage email was ten years ago. Making this comparison to email implies that SL will be as common and mainstream as email is, which I don’t think will happen anytime soon.Why? Because Second Life is too sudden and too drastic of a move into a game-like virtual world. Our main way of interacting with the computer is still with the mouse and keyboard. Typing an email is one thing, but trying to use these devices to navigate and manipulate objects in a 3-d space is a whole other ballgame (let’s put things into perspective).
However, I do think Second Life is important in that it shows us that games can be more than just games. And as we start to take video games more seriously, we’ll begin to see elements of gaming get incorporated into our daily lives. This gaming revolution will be more of an evolution; it won’t happen with a wholly virtual community detached from our real lives. Instead, it’ll happen in steps, and the lines won’t be so clearly drawn. In fact, it’s already happening right under our noses.
Over a month ago I moved into a new apartment. It’s a nice little 4th floor walkup on the corner of Little Italy and Chinatown. I’m still settling in (and lacking certain pieces of furniture), but you should come visit. We can sit on the floor.
For the first time in my life, I’m living alone. I love it. But most importantly, being in this new space (as cheesy as this might sound…) has given me a new perspective on who I am and what I want to do with my life. And that’s all it took- packing up and moving into a new home. A fresh start.