Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Avatars United: Facebook For Avatars
Avatars United is a new community website that brings virtual characters together from all online worlds. Users can blog, send messages and upload pictures and movies. Users can talk about their next adventure in the games being played or boast of their past exploits; avatars can even talk about daily life in the real world. I was able to get an interview with one of the principals, Swedish developer Thor Olof Philogene.
(Avatars United sci-fi theme)
Technovelgy: Is Avatars United ready for use?
Thor Olof Philogene: The site is still in beta phase and we are constantly trying to improve it as much as we can, using the feedback we receive from our users. So write to us with ideas, we’re quick to reply!
Tech: How long have you been working on Avatars United? Who is working on it?
TOP: Avatars United is a project initiated in 2007 by a group of three real-life friends with friendships dating back to the early 1980s.
As such, Avatars United (AU) is a community website bringing virtual characters from all online worlds together. The project is built in recognition of the fact that strong bonds and close friendships actually can be tied within virtual spaces and has furthermore gone one step further in recognizing virtual personnas as persons in their own right by building a community for avatars only.
(Avatars United social profile page)
Tech: Do you read science fiction? If so, what authors and books do you like?
TOP: Though I love science fiction as a genre I have substituted a great deal of my time exploring future spaces in books to virtual world exploration in Eve Online. In terms of literary sci-fi background I would like to mention authors such as Gibson, Sterling and Stephenson among those who have influenced me the most.
As a side note, all drawings for the sci-fi, fantasy and social theme of AU has been made by a member of our team.
(Avatars United fantasy game theme)
Tech: What inspired you to create a site that works like Facebook for avatars?
TOP: Contrary to commonly held beliefs we think gaming is a social phenomenon and are hoping that AU will prove us right. By and large, we felt that the “out of game” social aspect of online games had been neglected. With tools to communicate with, find and track old virtual friends and share experiences from virtual realms AU wishes to stand out as a community highlighting the social aspect of life within virtual worlds.
Tech: Will you work with gaming sites and sites like Second Life to give access to the contents of your site?
TOP: Yes. Anything that can help us improve the user experience is good. Currently we already fetch data from various game APIs and we hope to extend the list in the future. If you manage an MMO-site let us know as we could include your news on AU. If you are an individual blogger you can already fetch your blog via RSS and add it to your profile page. So don’t hesitate to contact us…
The idea of avatars has been around in sf for a while; see the entry for avatar, from Neal Stephenson's 1992 book Snow Crash, which popularized the term and fixed its usage.
Find out more at the Avatars United website; they are looking to set up a world-wide community.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 6/26/2008)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 1 )
Related News Stories - (" Culture ")
'Seabreeze' Apple And UCLA Project To Beat Depression
'It's illegal to hold back information during a psyche test,' the machine said peevishly.' - Philip K. Dick, 1953.
John Lennon Would Have Loved Auto-Tune - Paul McCartney
'It is the perfect voice.' Bernard Brown, 1931.
Reading Ancient Records Of Humanity, With AI's Help
'You could never consult Archival Records in a straightforward manner.' - Frank Herbert, 1984.
Amazen ZenBooth Dispenses Serenity At Amazon
'That's what I get for dialing zen, Joe said to himself.' - Philip K. Dick, 1969.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Jetson ONE Personal Electric Aerial Vehicle
Who says you can't have your flying car?
Starlab By Nanoracks, A Commercial Space Station
'Webb Foster had built his space laboratory... It was a great crystal sphere, a thousand feet in diameter.'
Auto-Targeting Fire Sprinkler Systems Now Reality
I think every kitchen should have one of these.
Monarch Tractor - It's Electric, Autonomous and Smart
'Driver-optional' and follows gestures.
'Seabreeze' Apple And UCLA Project To Beat Depression
'It's illegal to hold back information during a psyche test,' the machine said peevishly.'
Hovermap By Emesent Autonomous Mapping Works Indoors - and Out
Perfect for exploring ancient artifacts on distant planets.
Sono Motor's Sion Sun-Powered Car
'...six square yards of sunpower screens on its low curved roof.'
LEONARDO Robot Has Legs And Thrusters, Can Skateboard, Slackline
'a walking balloon proceeded with long strides of its aluminum legs over a slant of steep upland.'
Xavier Robots On Patrol For 'Anti-Social Behavior'
'This was as close as a robot could get to a cop in uniform.'
Rotating House in Bosnia
'... feel free to turn the house on your own.'
Ingenious Engineer Creates DIY Feeding Robot
'Waldo flexed and extended his fingers gently; the two pairs of waldoes in the screen followed in exact, simultaneous parallelism.'
SpaceX Creates 'Tholian Web' Mega Constellation Of Satellites
'We shall not see home again!'
Do Smart Glasses Need Forward-Facing Cameras?
'They were stylish, with yellow-tinted lenses and hip frames, but the posts were unusually thick.'
Adorable One-Seater Electric Car From Wuxi Sinotech
'Noiselessly, on rubber-tired wheels, they journeyed...'
Zoom Adds Real-Time, Live Translation
'He immediately turned the small shining disc of the Language Rectifier..'
It's Spacewalk Sunday, Thanks To The ESA
'The delicious, indescribable pleasure of being a little planet swinging through space...'
