Past Guests & Transcripts

Wurlitzer: What is metaLIFE?

Robbie: metaLIFE is a grid-wide social collaboration platform for Second Life. In simple words metaLIFE allows people to make money selling and reselling items, tag favorite places, connect with friends on a Grid-Wide network.

Wurlitzer: Why did you feel metaLIFE was necessary for a virtual world like Second Life?

Robbie: Because Second Life is BIG, very big and it's about to get even bigger. There is so much to see, so many things to shop, so many people to know, and you can never do that even in your whole lifetime. So metaLIFE will provide the best of it all, allowing you to easier find places you and your friends visit, things you and your friends like, to easier connect to people you care about.

Wurlitzer: How did you get involved with metaLIFE ?

Robbie: Oh that was LONG time ago. At first I was just browsing Second Life, making sure I understand it. And back then ( 2005 ) I saw that shopping is something that could be really made more fun and easy for people in place like Second Life - so decided to create a shop that comes to you, rather than the shop that makes you go to it - a Shopping HUD. Later the same HUD had seen many iterations of evolution, which ultimately became a Social platform for Second Life, allowing so much more than just shopping.

Wurlitzer: How does metaLIFE work?

Robbie: Basically it is one big place full of things that people post manually. All of the content in metaLIFE ( Places, Items and people were gathered manually, no BOT's out there gathering all this info) So all of that content is interesting to people, that's why it was marked in the first place. You can tell how interesting by seeing the voting value - people can leave their votes for each location or item they see, people can tag other people, people leave comments about anything they see on metaLIFE etc...

Wurlitzer: How many different versions have been made of metaLIFE ?

Robbie: Oh metaLIFE is a Platform, it's in a constant evolution. On the other hand - there are various tools that tap into metaLIFE, for example metaHUD - a wearable interface, or metaKIOSK - our latest development, it allows do almost all the same things like the HUD, only it's a stationary KIOSK, web, and many more to come!

Wurlitzer: How many users, would you say, use metaLIFE ?

Robbie: It's really very hard to tell, since there are many tools that provide access to metaLIFE platform. Currently more than 100'000 people have tried metaLIFE tools. Off course not all are using, more active user base is around few thousand people at the moment.

Wurlitzer: Was metaLIFE originally meant to be free or for sale?

Robbie: All metaLIFE tools are free. Though there are many activities you can perform with metaLIFE. For example if you wear metaHUD ( which is FREE ) and search for places to travel - that will be absolutely free. If you search for people to friend and want to see what they do in metaLIFE - that is also absolutely free. If you want to purchase items, if these items are free, then it will be free as well, but if the item cost's then all you have to pay for - is the item price if you want to purchase it. No additional or hidden fees.

 

Wurlitzer: Are you involved with any scripting or designing the layout for metaLIFE ?

Robbie: At metaLIFE - we are 4 man team, each of us has very concrete roles. I am over heading the whole operation, so I am involved in many areas and aspects of metaLIFE - design, architecture, scripting usability among many.

Wurlitzer: What kind of scripting is usually involved with metaLIFE ?

Robbie: Lots of scripting is involved with metaLIFE, ranging from LSL to Database designing, web programming etc..

Wurlitzer: How long have you been using metaLIFE ?

Robbie: Since I invented it :)

Wurlitzer: What are some pros and cons of using metaLIFE ?

Robbie: It's funny when you ask me this question. Let me see:

Pros: metaLIFE allows you to see a stream of information about your selected people, and easily manage ocations, items, people you like in various simple user interfaces and tools. The same information is both in world and soon will be off world.

Cons: there is a lack of knowledge how to use metaLIFE platform, so all of the necessary information is not yet available. There could be more items for sale, more and better radient landmarks searchable, more people tagged and searchable. It all will come in time and growing usage, and us making it easier for a beginners to join the community.

 

Wurlitzer: What were some features that were included in previous versions of metaLIFE ?

Robbie: First there was nothing. Then there was the idea of helping make Second Life content ( whatever it is ) easier to manage, easier to get, easier to travel to, easier to make friends etc...So Social Shopping HUD - metaHUD was born. Soon after that Landmark tagging system was put on the same Shopping HUD, which made it a social shopping

and travel HUD. After some time - People were added to the HUD, where you could see your friends, what places they like, what they comment on, comment back, friend them, shop together, etc... Full grid-wide social networking and collaboration platform was born.

After that some other STATIONARY tools were born:

- metaVOTER - a small voting KIOSK allowing passing people to vote for land it is in, raising it's ratings

- metaKIOSK - our latest tool. It allows land visitors to search for items listed by all metaLIFE merchants, and also it allows land owner to make additional income reselling other people items.

- Dynamic web is coming soon as well

- and many more things are coming, that will make it easier for people to access any content throughout the whole internet and Second Life.

Wurlitzer: What are the new features that have been designed exclusively for metaLIFE ?

Robbie: metaLIFE is in constant evolution, there is no way to stop that. Currently we are working on a system, where creative people will be able to gather in group ( let's say a group of well known designers ) and create their own brand within metaLIFE, allowing them to create their own brand KIOSK and spread it across Second Life for even further evolution of their brand... This one I will be extremely proud of when we will release it, lots of people been asking for this technology for a very long time now, and finally we are getting really close.

Wurlitzer: Has anybody given you any suggestions to include for future versions of metaLIFE ?

Robbie: Absolutely. MANY suggestions, actually so many - we can't cope with them all anymore :) We hold regular meetings with "metaLIFE partners" group, where we discuss with landowners and content creators and any other organization owners - how metaLIFE and it's products could better help them. if you want to come too - join the group, we hold meetings every Wednesday. Soon we will start new type of meetings, where partners will be going from one entrepreneur to another, getting to know each other, getting to talk, each getting a chance to present themselves.

Wurlitzer: What are some popular requests that were given to you to include in metaLIFE ?

Robbie: It's so hard to separate them, so many have been talked about. I would say tagging landmarks is one good example, another one might be allowing people to follow their friends and see their favorite items is another one.

Wurlitzer: What are some popular features for metaLIFE ?

Robbie: I was pretty surprised, to learn that shopping and profile search using the HUD is much more popular than traveling to various places, on the other side people love to tag their favorite places when they travel and have metaHUD minimized. metaKIOSK also proved to be extremely useful. Although it's still in beta ( launching 1.0 version in few weeks ), but it already proves to be very valuable, Some people say that they sell more using the KIOSKS than using some of web based services ( I will not name any names :) ).

Wurlitzer: What are some drawbacks you/people have with metaLIFE?

Robbie: For new people it was difficult to grasp how metaHUD works, some people don't get the idea that all of the displayed content is dynamic, they still think it's somewhere inside the HUD. So I would say lack of widespread knowledge of the system is the biggest drawback. Off course the content selection is also pretty low to be really interesting for person to search, there has to be so much more content listed, so that might be 2 biggest drawbacks.

Wurlitzer: How do you get items into metaLIFE?

Robbie: Oh that’s easy. there are actually only 3 steps:

- get a free Partner Kit and rez a metaWAREHOUSE,

- place your items in the WAREHOUSE

- go to web ( http://meta-LIFE.net ) and fill all of the necessary information about these items ( price, picture, some tags )

That's it - the item is for sale on the grid-wide metaLIFE platform.

All it takes is few minutes.

Wurlitzer: What can you purchase with metaLIFE?

Robbie: Anything that is for sale in Second Life!

Wurlitzer: How often do items in metaLIFE get updated?

Robbie: Well items are being updated by their owners, we don't control that. Everyday there is something new added to the system

Wurlitzer: What about metaFriends?

Robbie: People can use metaFriends to search for friends by name or by tags. Works well now, will work better in time :)

Wurlitzer: How long have you been in Second Life?

Robbie: First I learned about it in 2005, when my Girlfriend was trying it out. She sort of left, I stayed :)

Wurlitzer: What was your inspiration for coming into Second Life?

Robbie: After I learned about SL, I learned that this is something new that is changing the way we interact. I am a person always searching for something new... What I saw was fascinating, so many things you can create here - this is just amazing. So my Inspiration was, that I believed in the future of 3D internet right from the moment I entered Second Life, so I wanted to be a part of it, to create something truly beautiful and useful. I think I am fulfilling my inspiration.

Wurlitzer: What do you do in RL?

Robbie: I am a CEO of metaLIFE. metaLIFE is a real company.

Wurlitzer: Are you the same person in RL as you are in SL?

Robbie: Well I do not wear that green Chinese looking hat in RL :) from inside I think I am the same person.

Second Life is just an extension of me, I do not seek to hide my personality or identity here.

Wurlitzer: Right now, is your Second Life, what you want it to be?

Robbie: Absolutely. If I would be born again, I would want to be me :D

Wurlitzer: If you didn't have metaLIFE, what would you have done instead?

Robbie: Oh I have thought about that for some time :). I might say something interesting, something that helps us all. Earth is at the tipping point - either we will solve global problems, or global problems might solve us :) One of them is pollution of air and oceans, global warming, bad management of political powers and our resources. So I would probably be doing something like that, maybe solar power, maybe wind power,maybe electric cars, maybe rallying for better politics. I actually don't know :) Or maybe just watching TV :)

Wurlitzer: Is there a group to join for metaLIFE?

Robbie: oh yes - we have two, one is for general updates about metaLIFE, mainly for metaLIFE professionals, or those who want to become ones, the name is "metaLIFE Partners". Other one is a very general one, just starting out - the goal is to gather all sorts of professionals in one place meeting up from time to time, discussing various topics, solving various problems, creating a better future together - not affiliated to metaLIFE, the name is "Meta Partners"

Wurlitzer: What kind of exclusive membership perks would you get for joining metaLIFE?

Robbie: if you would join "metaLIFE partners" group you would be informed of all the news that comes from us, also you would be able to present yourself and your organization, business to the whole group. Lot more benefits to come, this group and the whole platform is not created by us, but by the whole community, so what future will bring is unknown.

Wurlitzer: What made you decide to market metaLIFE? How do you go about doing that?

Since I am creating it, it sorts of answers first part of the question. There are many ways we do this, mostly by working with various people, we have one person on our team that is handling all that, I am more involved in a creative process. Also we have referring partnership program, allowing people to refer other people to metaLIFE and make money this way. so there are tons of various tools all across the Second Life that do the job.

Wurlitzer: How do you see the future of Second life to be. Will it be geared towards more education?

Robbie: Second Life has been here for quite some time, but it's still in a very early stage. We will see huge improvements in the future, we will see lots of interaction with the web and other virtual worlds, so many changes coming. Will Second Life see more education - I think it will. The tools are here, the platform is here, the possibilities are here - all it needs is the people who do the education work, realizing the potentials it represents. Second Life future holds many new twists, companies will figure out how to use this platform properly( people managed to figure out that a lot faster :) ), we will see many more success stories, coming from the residents as well as from the education and businesses here in Second Life. It’s really just the beginning of 3D internet, will second Life be a heart of that - I don't know, all I know that it has good chance to be.

Wurlitzer: Do you have any sponsors?

Robbie: Yes, this summer we found a sponsor, that is financing the whole metaLIFE operation. We are not yet making enough money to support our expenses, our aims are long term so we are happy with the results we are achieving.

Wurlitzer: What are some of metaLIFE main goals?

Robbie: The most important goal is to create a platform that would make 3D worlds a better place, that would be useful to many people using Second Life and 3D worlds alike it. A platform that allows a geek like me to find another geek, a person who wants to dance - find the best place for dancing, a person who wants to make money - to have unlimited possibilities to make money, a person who want's to know what interesting is happening in 3D worlds on next Wednesday - to have that, and etc....

Wurlitzer: are there any other places that you have in SL?

Robbie: metaLIFE is a grid-wide network, not constrained to any particular place.

Wurlitzer: How do you keep transparency in making sure who you are in RL becomes the same in SL?

Robbie: I’m just the same person. We do not hide, we are visible on Facebook( Robbie Kiama ) , on Twitter ( Robbie_Kiama), on LinkedIn, I write a blog, there is a website, and so on. the whole metaLIFE team is centered around the goal of making 3D worlds a better place, and for that we have to be absolutely transparent and that's how we are.

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