Virtual Worlds conference: same talks, different audience

NEW YORK--At the Virtual Worlds 2007 conference here, the big question has been: "What do you think of the conference?"

This was the first major business-oriented event of its kind, so that's an interesting question for those of us who have been going to the various non-capital-letter virtual-worlds conferences for the last several years. With a few notable exceptions, the panel discussions have felt more or less the same as at other events.

In fact, the conference has two very different constituencies, and the secret sauce of the event is hidden in the mix between them.

On the one side are the several dozen virtual-world conference regulars: the users; platform developers such as Linden Lab, Makena Technologies, Multiverse Network, Entropia Universe, Whyville and others; members of metaverse consulting firms like Rivers Run Red, the Electric Sheep and Metaversatility; the small number of journalists like myself who cover the space; and a few others.

On the other side are the hundreds of executives and decision makers from media companies like MTV, AOL and Time Warner, as well as venture capital firms, software companies, educational institutions and other outfits.

The first group is very familiar with these conversations, and in fact, make up the bulk of the spots on the panels. I watched one panel that had four of the same five people who were on a panel I saw at South by Southwest earlier this month, and a similar makeup as at several other conferences I've been to.

The other, much larger group is new to this subject matter, and so one thing overheard around the auditorium among those folks is, "I'm not sure why I'm here."

The truth is, the secondary reason why those people showed up, I feel certain, is to get some instant education in the current landscape of virtual worlds and marketing in such environments. The primary reason, I think, ended up being the chance to network with the people in the first group.

Now, prior to the event, I think some expected that dynamic to be different. But in the end, the real value of this event was in putting members of each group together in an infinite number of combinations. Because many of the people in group No. 2 are the ones with very deep pockets who might be pushing for the virtual worlds of the future, or at the very least, the next generation of marketing in those environments.

And it will be very interesting to see what, if anything, results down the line.