User Based Content - Make your own worlds!

For those of you unfamiliar with the new media content that are arising with the Internet, your phone, etc. Let me tell you about some really kewl stuff.

#1 Ever heard of Second Life
Remember Everquest?
The Sims?

Well Second Life is like that...but on acid! Imagine you can create and build worlds, build your own persona, interact with other people and even sell virtual land, wares, clothing, just about anything you can build...? there is an e-commerce there for you. Millions of Dollars are being spent on virtual assets and land online. Modelers can build cars, jet skis, pets, homes, clothing and sell them all online to members. And, because the users are making the content they are as close to their customers, as possible.

I just took these numbers from the 2 nd Life website as I write this.

Total Residents:	5,656,795
Logged In Last 60 Days:	1,683,013
Online Now:	33,090
US$ Spent Last 24h:	$1,882,124
LindeX Activity Last 24h:	$294,194

At the GDC this year Sony Computer Entertainment premiered their version of Second Life called HOME that will run on the PlayStation. They will open the architecture up to third party content creators as well to help build the e-commerce scope.

#2 Now think about You Tube and Flicker
and how they have put content in the
hands of the user in the same way!

Web 2.0 is a term that applies to these new sites that put the content into the users hands. Myspace, Pandora, Ebay, Amazon, Wikipedia, Digg, Google, Yahoo, Blogger, Skype...the list goes on and on with the many different user driven sites that have come about. I am sure you use many of these sites, daily...I know I do.

So, you have social communities and integration of the user controlling the content. Think about this, the user controls what they want to see, watch, read and BUY! It's brilliant!

Well let's think about how this might change games and all kinds of CG and animated content for the web, your phone and more! Look at what games will become when you give the ability to create the worlds, interactivity and even the game play to the USER! Your game could move up the ranks much like a myspace page would or a popular flickr account. You can have communities that talk about the game like comments on a blog. The future is never ending! Check these two videos from LITTLE BIG PLANET out to see the future of animated content beyond TV, Film, and Commercials.