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i-design 08 - 3D to 5D

The first panel discussion broached the topic of 5D, the developing area of immersive design that touches on themes around sensory experience, virtual reality environments and design that is not just digital and not just virtual, but rather a hybrid of the two.

Online Advertising Bucks Flagging Market

The industry received a welcome boost this week with the news that Internet advertising revenues rose significantly in the first half of 2008, despite tough economic conditions. NMK quizzed the industry on what we can expect for the next year.

ITV’s Overlay Advertising Trial Panned

Troubled ITV is experimenting with ‘automatically placed overlay advertising’ to help revive flagging revenues. NMK’s Chris Lee canvassed opinion from around the new media industry about the move.

• More Web 2.0 Needed In Schools
• UK Council for Child Internet Safety Launches
• US Presidential Election Gets Social
• i-design 08 - Brendan Dawes, My Interactive
• i-design 08 - Simon Waterfall
• YouTube gets into Top Gear
• Goldfarming for Fun and Profit

Related Articles

• i-design 08 - 3D to 5D

  The first panel discussion broached the topic of 5D, the developing area of immersive design that touches on themes around sensory experience, virtual reality environments and design that is not just digital and not just virtual, but rather a hybrid of the two. more

• Goldfarming for Fun and Profit

  Virtual worlds are still perceived as unsociable and pointless to a large number of people. Despite the hype surrounding Second Life and how its residents can profit from the virtual space, the amount of money changing hands is often underestimated. more

• Parents Fear For Networked Kids

  Internet experts have called on social network sites to do more to protect children as a survey reveals that three-quarters (72 per cent) of parents spy on their children. more

• Brief encounter: Steve Pammenter, MD, WhiteLabelDating.com

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• Great Funwall of China

  In February this year it was reported that China had overtaken America to become the world's biggest Internet market. With 221 million Web users, it is little wonder that more companies are looking to expand their offering in the country. more

Related Events

Virtual Worlds Forum

When: October 6th, 2008
Location: The Bridge, Weston Street, London, SE1 The Bridge, SE1 Weston Street, London
Price: Reduced to £0.00 if you are eligible for a discount.

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Visual Web Convention

When: June 9th, 2008
Location: RIBA
Price: Reduced to £0.00 if you are eligible for a discount.

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Targeting Customers in the Virtual World

When: October 5th, 2005
Location: Kingsway Hall Conference Centre, Covent Garden, Great Queen Street, London.
Price: £411.35 Reduced to £422.25 if you are eligible for a discount.

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According to new research compiled by eMarketer, virtual worlds are becoming more and more popular with young people.

According to the company, nearly a quarter (24%) of the 34.3 million US child and teen Internet users will visit virtual worlds once a month in 2007. This is forecast to rise to 53% by 2011. The phenomenon is not just limited to the States, though, with Korea’s Cyworld well ahead of most other worlds, according to the ComScore data cited in the report:

While the sector in general is showing growth well ahead of the norm, intense competition for teens’ attention and the faddish nature of children themselves means that it’s more difficult than one might imagine to spot the best places to invest in advertising or online content. Many of the top-scoring worlds have been around for less than twelve months. Similarly, some of the bigger names in this sector, Disney’s Toontown Online and WeeWorld, would appear to be in decline according to these figures.

A further complication highlighted by the report is that the correlation between teens interacting with a brand online and in real life has not yet been established. Report author Debra Aho Williamson observes, “The bad news is that it is difficult to know what all this virtual interaction really means. What value is there in a person’s avatar drinking a Pepsi? Or wearing a shirt bought from a virtual store? What if a person’s virtual activities have no bearing on their real-world activities?”