 |
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 ")
China Social Credit System Like State-Run Whuffie
'At least there was no mandatory Whuffie check on the monorail platform...' - Cory Doctorow, 2003.
Sex In Driverless Cars? Updated With Video!
'...admirable for petting.' - David H. Keller, 1935.
Xinhua AI Anchor Puts CGI Face To Automated News
'...a congeries of software agents.' - William Gibson, 1996.
Wirewax Watching You Watch, Adjusting Your Experience
'He adjusted the n, the r and b knobs, and hopefully anticipated a turn for the better...' - Philip K. Dick, 1964.
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.
Current News
BrainEx Restores Some Activity To Severed Pig Head
'... they placed the brain in a special solution, having all the properties of Nursing the brain cells.'
Yes, But Do Astrobees Have Lasers For Lightsaber Training?
'... Ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid.'
'Young Razorbacks Before Their Katanas Grow In'
'Twin robotic arms with gleaming three-foot sword blades unfolded from the forward hydraulic assemblies...'
A New Way To Run Into Things
'He made an adjustment, pointed the tube at the wall beside Etzwane, and projected a cone of light.'
'Metallic Wood' Strong Like Titanium, Floats In Water
'A metal... light as cork and stronger than steel...'
Seabreacher, H.G. Winter's 1939 Torpoon
'Ken lay full-length in the padded body compartment, his feet resting on the controlling bars of the directional planes, hands on the torpoon's engine levers.'
Abundant Robotics Autonomous Apple Harvester Robot
'... little machines, that went from plant to plant... cutting off the ripe fruit.'
Charging An Electric Car In 2019 (Video), 1912 (Photo) And 1894 (Fiction)
'Recharge the batteries... in almost every town and village...'
Japan Uses Explosives On Asteroid
'...a tiny, rocket-powered projectile, drove towards the mysterious bulk. It hit, exploding into a cloud of incandescent vapour.'
Get Your Speeder Flying Motorcycle From Jetpack Aviation
'The flycycles were miracles of compact design.'
FLIR Black Hornet 3 Palm-sized Drone
These drones can provide situational awareness beyond visual line-of-sight capability.
Dockworkers Protest Driverless Trucks
'It resembled conventional human-operated transportation vehicles, but with one exception -- there was no driver's cabin.'
Flying Car Concept By Kash Sirinanda
'Each one consists of a hub with many tiny spokes... On the end is a squat foot, rubber tread on the bottom...'
Unfurl The Future! Huawei Mate X versus Galaxy Fold
'A paper thin polycarbon screen unfurled silently from the top of the unit and immediately grew rigid.'
Amazon Echo And Google Home Should Have Morality Software
'The Dwoskin Morality Rating-Computer could 'spot the slightest tendency to deviation' from the social norm...'
China Building Robot Wives
'Want a life-companion, a pleasant one?'
