Friday, August 3, 2007

More VirtuReality Love up in da Club!



Harry Webber dropped some VirtuReality love by publishing the article on Madisonavenew. Thanks Harry.

Ernie Mosteller dropped some VirtuReality examples he spotted in a recent eMail:

"I just experienced it in NYC. I have three pet new technologies I love. One is the new Bank of America ATM that scans my checks and reads the amount with OCR. I confirm the amount, see the check, approve the deposit, and am provided with a thermal print of the check I deposited as a receipt. The other two, I experienced in the Marriott in Times Square (don't ask - somebody else picked the hotel, but now, I'm glad.) First was the elevators. Instead of punching the button and waiting for whatever elevator, you go to a central keypad, and tell the thing which floor you're going to. It sends you to the elevator that will get you there the fastest, or that is already going there. Cool. But, cooler -- I got thirsty, and decided to drink the $5 bottle of water in my room. The next morning, it was already on my bill, because a sensor recorded that I didn't put it back. That's virtureality."

Thanks Ernie.

More innovators and players amongst my Facebook and Ning friends joined our respective VirtuReality group(s).

Nice!

Now I want to introduce the topics that we can all hopefully benefit from. For example:

-When a brand gains momentum online (VIRTUAL), what is its counterpart offline (REAL) momentum?

-What kinds of virtual and real innovations coexist to create value right now? For example, a restaurant where we design the food virtually and then it becomes part of the menu based on other diners' ratings?

-We already know that VirtuReality effects our consumption consciousness individually and as a community. Where can we apply this principle now for maximum benefit?

Just food for thought. Let me what you think here or on the Facebook or Ning groups.

1 comment:

Jonathan Trenn said...

Ray


First of all, I want to thank you for inviting me to be part of this group on Facebook. I sorta disappeared for the last year, so it will be good to hook up with former Soflowers and others.

Regarding the concept of a comparison of a brand's virtual and real world's momentum, I'd have you take a look at Ron Paul, Republican nominee for US President. He's a libertarian gadfly and has a huge following amongst bloggers of all stripes. In fact, according to Technorati, he's one of the most blogged about topics out there. Unfortunately for him, his poll numbers in the real world are in the low single digits.

Without getting into a long political speel, I'll just say that those who play the strongest role in a brand's viability both offline and online must be consistently strong in the real world. In this case, it's Republican primary voters.

I'd add that much of this depends upon how we get our information/services etc. At this point, most people develop their (in this case) political preferences based upon what they're used to...groups that they are a part of, word of mouth from trusted friends, traditional news.

Ron Paul may have some interesting ideas to many, but to those that count, he's a non-factor a this point.