Celebrity VenueGen Avatar: Oprah Winfrey

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Web 2.0 for TelePresence or Life after Second Life? Enterprise collaboration

We did a Q&A with CEO David Gardner, to get a feeling what VenueGen means for online meetings in general and the next generation of business use for Second Life concepts in the future.

Web 2.0 for TelePresence? Interview about 3D virtual meeting platform VenueGen

1. Is VenueGen the death of the webinar?

David Gardner: Not necessarily. Different modalities are good for different uses. Well, the Internet certainly has revolutionized the way people consume media. The Internet is interactive, and so is the VenueGen virtual meetings platform. Virtual meetings are used for three things: everyday meetings, training, and events. Meetings and trainings are highly collaborative, and VenueGen provides a highly collaborative platform to meet this need, whereas webinars have been utilized largely for passive events, like watching TV. So, in short, if companies want Webinars where audiences are passive listeners, they can select a passive platform. If companies want a virtual meeting that encourages participation, then they can select an interactive platform. Our view is that webinars and events will become highly interactive – that’s where it’s all heading.

2. How do 3D meetings work? How is VenueGen different from other webconferencing programs?

David Gardner: VenueGen creates a TelePresence-like experience while running in your browser. No video equipment, no cameras, no special rooms – no big expense. In VenueGen, the online meeting’s hosts select one of our virtual venues and invite others to join, which is similar to joining a WebEx meeting, only you appear in a 3D environment as an avatar. You hear sound directionally and you can turn you head by dragging your mouse around to see others and to interact with content. It is very simple and easy to use.

3. Who needs virtual meetings?

David Gardner: Anyone meeting, collaborating or learning online needs VenueGen. It is extremely similar to the real-world experience of sharing a physical space together. Meeting hosts who want to create more engaging, personal and productive events online will try VenueGen and will never go back to flat 2D screen-sharing technology.

4. MIT, Berkeley, and Stanford already offer online education—there are even classes on iTunes. Will VenueGen “classrooms” with student & professor avatars holding discussions and writing on blackboards lead to a new kind of academic campus?

David Gardner: Yes. There is nothing in education as powerful as a skilled teacher facilitating a class full of engaged learners. As instructor-led distance learning continues to grow the 3D modality will become the standard. There’s tons of great research on this showing that learners immersed in a 3D environment show dramatic improvements in participation and retention over those using 2D online platforms. We currently run a pilot with Duke University.

5. Can folks without broadband still participate?

David Gardner: VenueGen’s core functionality requires minimal bandwidth because only highly optimized positioning data is being sent and received. However, some features of VenueGen such as real-time screen sharing may not work well in low bandwidth settings. That said, unlike any web conferencing tool on the market today, VenueGen has the ability to pre-distribute content to online attendees and then simply control that content running locally. This model requires almost no bandwidth and makes VenueGen a viable option where screen sharing-only tools cannot work.

6. Will your children even know what a webinar was?

David Gardner: They will probably call it television. In the not-so-distant future, the 3D web will be very commonplace. There are certain internet activities such as online learning, collaboration and social networking that will be performed almost exclusively in 3D. Other asynchronous and individual activities will remain 2D. Anything involving interacting in real-time with other people on the web that is not in 3D will start to look like the black and white television, or radio—not very appealing or interactive.

7. How does VenueGen change the playing field for unified communications?

David Gardner: Unified communications involves the convergence and integration of many meeting and communication modalities. 3D will be the least common denominator for UC because everyone can use it and other modalities such as VoIP, video feeds, chat, etc. can be brought directly into the 3D environment. Although 3D is only one of these modalities, I believe VenueGen will become the presentation layer or central HUB for UC platforms. 3D environments don’t required special hardware or cameras or lots of bandwidth like video applications do. This makes 3D the richest experience with the least barriers.

8. Second Life has exited the enterprise virtual meeting space. How does VenueGen see this as an opportunity?

David Gardner: SL leaving the enterprise space was not a surprise to anyone. SL was designed as a consumer’s virtual world and never really understood the needs of the enterprise. A company and technology has to focus like a laser to solve a business problem. SL never had that focus and unfortunately SL is the only 3D experience most enterprises ever piloted. I’d have to say that SL’s entry and exit of the enterprise space has done more to hurt the adoption of serious 3D modalities than anything to date. Second Life required customers to spend hours learning the platform – no one has time to do that today. Customers who experience VenueGen indicate a remarkably different experience. The platform was built with enterprise in mind. It takes a few minutes to get up and running. Users are immediately productive and running effective 3D meetings and training events.

9. When will you bring VenueGen to the iPod and Android?
The iPad and iPhone will be our first mobile deployments because we already have a version of our client 3D engine that runs on these. Eventually VenueGen will run on most mobile computing devices.

10. You have a track record of successful startups. Is VenueGen venture backed, and will you be going for another funding round?

David Gardner: We are angel backed at this time, but we are currently in discussions with both venture capital and strategic investors.

11. What kind of partnerships are you looking for?

David Gardner: We are talking with some companies now that want to integrate VenueGen into their core platforms. Any business solution that can add value by incorporating the ability to instantly meet, learn or collaborate in 3D is a potential partner. This would include some major corporations, communication companies and collaboration platform companies.

12. What’s the next big thing for you?

David Gardner: VenueGen will continue to evolve as an exceedingly productive platform for meetings and distance learning. Frankly, those are two markets worth tens of billions of dollars. We are not at liberty to divulge our technology and marketing roadmap because we are in investor and partner discussions, but you will see some major announcements coming out of the next six months.

13. Is there anything else you would like to share?

David Gardner: All of the analysts have said something similar but Forrester said it best, “The Internet is on the verge of its next major evolution.” 3D is coming and as with all new technologies, early adopters will gain competitive advantage and differentiation. Anyone who has had the VenueGen experience understands what I’m saying and will never go back to using legacy web conferencing tools. Companies considering videoconferencing, spending hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars, they find that their workforce is distributed and mobile and can’t physically get to these rooms. They might be better served by considering VenueGen as an online virtual meeting platform.

For more information please go to https://www.venuegen.com or follow VenueGen at http://twitter.com/venuegen

David Gardner, CEO

David Gardner has been a serial technology entrepreneur for over 25 years, creating or co-founding nine successful companies including ProviderLink, Peopleclick, Report2Web, DBBasics, BuildLinks, and OnSphere. He has raised over $60 million in venture capital across multiple industries and markets, without a single startup failure or investor loss.

Mr. Gardner specializes in taking IT products and internet-based companies to market, and he has served on several corporate boards. He launched the first hosted “software as a service” enterprise application in North Carolina, long before SAS was generally recognized as a preferred delivery method. His forward-thinking white papers and articles on technical, marketing, and managerial topics have gained wide acclaim, and he is in regular demand as a conference speaker. Mr. Gardner served as Compuware VP, following its acquisition of the ProviderLink healthcare communications exchange.

Mr. Gardner holds degrees in music, philosophy, and divinity, and he completed several years of post-graduate studies in computer science and business at NCSU.

This interview was originally featured on TMCnet.com (http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2010/08/03/4936426.htm)

Are You A Stickler for Online Meeting Room Details?

If so, we’d like to hear from you.

No professional in his or her right mind would hold a critical business meeting in a crowded bus station, or in an empty un-carpeted room that acts as an echo chamber.   Yet, typically, online meetings and audio conference calls are no better places to meet.

Folks tend to be very particular as to where they hold their face-to-face team meetings, sales conferences and brainstorming sessions.    One executive went so far as to visit nearly 20 stores in search for the perfect conference table and chairs for her company’s boardroom.

What  she failed to realize that the tall chairs she bought would block participant’s view of the presentation screen. She ended up selling the chairs for pennies on the dollar, and purchasing custom replacements.

The good thing about virtual venues is that it costs nothing – just a little of your time – to change your meeting room, furnishings, decor, and amenities. Are you a stickler for online meeting room details? If so, we’d please share your experiences here.

What VenueGen features work for you. What don’t? What enhancements would you like to see? What problems have you encountered? What tips can you pass on?

Your feedback in this forum will help to making everyone’s virtual conferences even more productive and meaningful. Thanks!

How Firewalls Prevent 3D Virtual Technology Adoption

Users of 3D platforms continue to find “access” as the single biggest problem facing the expanded use of 3D virtual technology, especially for corporate training applications. There have been connectivity issues regarding 3D applications and firewalls because they often require diverse types of internet traffic including VoIP, positional data, etc. No matter how sophisticated the platform, if your intended audience cannot participate then your initiative will fail.
1. Behind the Firewall Installations: 3D vendors tend to tackle the firewall problem in one of three ways. The first way is to require that their platform be installed behind their corporate customer’s firewall. However this approach is problematic because it creates upfront expense, risk, time and administrative complexity and only resolves the issue for employees who are behind that particular firewall.

2. Flash and Java – based 3D Applications: Another way that 3D vendors attempt to work around firewalls is by developing 3D Flash or Java-based applications. 3D applications can avoid most firewall problems using this approach. However, Flash and Java are graphically and functionally limited as well as offer poor fidelity. This proves problematic because, the virtual experience’s fidelity shapes employees’ usage and view of this technology within their organization. In the tradition of Jeff Foxworthy’s popular “You might be a redneck” monologue,

If your avatar looks like a cartoon;
If you are unable to turn your neck to look around;
If your virtual venue resembles Sponge Bob’s living room;
Then…you might be a Java or 3D Flash application!

3. Independent Firewall Friendly Solutions: The third and most difficult way 3D vendors bypass firewalls is by engineering every aspect of their platform to run seamlessly through every firewall type and proxy server configuration. Very few vendors attempt this approach though because getting it right can be as difficult and time-consuming as building the 3D platform itself. However, it is by far the best approach because the platform is then accessible from anywhere, can be used for any application or target audience and provides for a full-featured high fidelity experience.

The Revolution of Sound, Volume and VOIP Control for Enhanced 3D Experiences

The age of 3D adoption is upon us: virtual platforms are smarter, and users now have more control and heightened access than ever before. 3D environments can be incredibly engaging, interactive and cost effective when supported by the right technology and functionality.

Innovative businesses can improve the delivery of information by correctly utilizing VOIP and sound to augment attendees’ experiences. Here are some helpful tools that have been created to ensure a successful meeting:

1. Individual Microphone Mute and Volume Control: Each attendee is able to customize the volume for other speakers to suit their preferences. In other words, if Bill’s volume is too low, I should be able to click on Bill’s avatar and increase his volume but only for me (i.e. this will not affect how others hear Bill).

2. Open Microphone and Echo Cancellation: A participant without a headset creates an open microphone, which rebroadcasts and echoes the sound, ruining your virtual training class or meeting. The resolution lies in a feature that provides the host control to force only the attendees with open microphones into “push to talk” mode and leaves everyone else as is.

3. Positional Sound: It allows virtual attendees to hear others speaking predominately through their left or right speaker based on the relative location of others to them in the virtual space. It also reduces the volume of others proportionately to how far away they are from the listener. This significantly increases the sense of presence and immersion in virtual environments.

4. Multi-Channel VoIP and Proximity Zones: A single VoIP channel works OK for smaller virtual gatherings but for larger classes, a multi-channel solution is required. A two-channel VoIP technology allows you hear everyone in the room and the presenter simultaneously.

5. Dial-in Capabilities: Dial-in refers to the ability to dial a telephone number that connects the caller to a VoIP channel within a virtual environment where firewalls or lack of headsets hinders the caller. The best solution is one that turns the attendee’s telephone receiver into a VoIP headset. This capability alone dramatically increases the attendees who can participate where they wouldn’t have been able to previously.

Sound is incredibly important in our interactions with others. Being able to hear a speaker clearly makes a huge difference in the message being broadcasted. One lost word and the message could be altered for better or worse. Thus it’s crucial that 3D worlds are able to selectively focus on a particular individual, just as we would outside of the immersive world.

Importance of Having a Photorealistic Avatar within a 3D Virtual Space

[VenueGen] provides you with the necessary resources for coming up with an avatar that actually resembles who you are as closely as possible. This give people who might be meeting you for the first time ever an idea of what to expect when they run into you in the physical world some day. –Killer Startups

Within a 3D environment, the value of one’s avatar appearing as lifelike as possible cannot be underestimated. You are already within an environment that is patently unreal, bringing together individuals across various real-world locations and possibly time-zones; the more realistic an environment and one’s appearance can be presented, the easier it is to get over the inherent strangeness and focus instead on the business at hand. Here are some further points to consider:

1. Avatar Face Fidelity: The ability to be recognized instantly by fellow attendees in a virtual environment is quite valuable as it allows meetings to quickly start and enables everyone to interact immediately without having to do formal introductions to counteract faceless or unrecognizable proxies. The best way to achieve this now is by having a photo-realistic avatar created from an uploaded photo of one’s self, so all interaction can be done face to face with instant recognition between participants.

2. Realism: Making sure your avatar moves and looks as realistically as possible within a 3D environment is paramount. Just like at the movies, the goal you are looking to achieve is suspension of disbelief; the more realistic one’s avatar appears, the easier it will be for other attendees to accept it genuinely as you and not merely a representation.

3. Focus and Eye Contact: A key question for anyone running a meeting, virtual or not, is “do I have everyone’s attention?” A huge advantage that realistic high-fidelity platforms afford is the ability for users to communicate focus and attention. Users can move their focus causing their avatar to adjust head, neck, eyes and posture appropriately so others can see exactly where they are looking. This fidelity dramatically increases the overall sense of presence and makes virtual events much more personal and engaging.

4. Self-Expression and Non-Verbal Communication: Another important aspect of 3D fidelity and realism to consider involves a virtual attendee’s ability to express him or herself without speaking. Most communication in our daily lives is done non-verbally through movement and facial expressions; it allows one to project thoughts and emotions quickly as well as gauge others’ interest in what you are presenting, thereby assessing your own effectiveness as a communicator and adjusting accordingly. The same principle also applies accordingly in a virtual setting.

The Top-3 Reasons 3D Virtual Worlds Reign over Other Virtual Meeting Methods

In an increasingly technological world, today’s electronically hyper-engaged users expect more than a simple 2D experience. Many have sat stagnantly through a countless number of online webinars, staring blankly at presenter driven PowerPoint presentations with little passion or interest.

These one-sided situations are usually anything but transparent and offer little interaction between hosts and attendees. Oftentimes, only the host has speaking privileges (to avoid having participants inappropriately tune out or create unnecessary distractions). Hosts seldom comprehend how an audience is reacting to their presentations. Sadly, voiceless audiences mostly tune out entirely and stagnant sessions are mostly time consuming and unsuccessful.

Here’s the good news! There are 3 key ways customized 3D experiences are revolutionizing user concept of online meetings:

1. Content Control: Meeting hosts are able to pass content control individually to an attendee, allowing others to take control of content. This allows attendees to be more than passive observers and have them demonstrate their knowledge and participate interactively in the process. The ability for an instructor or facilitator to remove this permission is equally important to maintain control.

2. Speaking and Mobility Control: Hosts can individually grant and revoke the ability to stand, move about and to speak. This is important especially in larger virtual venues and public events where one disruptive attendee can compromise everyone’s experience. Attendees should likewise be able to mute other attendees if they become a distraction.

3. Presence and Moderator Control: A host’s ability to limit access to and even expel a disruptive participant is as crucial in the 3D world as the real one. Corporate trainers often control access to sensitive and proprietary information that must be kept secure.

3D meeting platforms now have a robust range of capabilities that enhance the online meeting experiences. These capabilities are meant to emulate every aspect of a successful real world meeting, from the ways different attendees behave to conversing among a small group of attendees when necessary.

Part 2: When Will 3-D Virtual Reality Truly be the Mainstream Online Business Meeting Platform?

When ROI is achieved by saving time and money.  Period!

VenueGen lets businesses stage quick and easy virtual meetings

“Whoever gets this right could score big. Research firm Research 2.0 estimates the 3D avatar market for business will grow to $8 billion in annual revenues in 2014. That doesn’t include the training and collaboration markets. ” –Venture Beat

Think hard about your last website collaboration or online training session.  Can you remember all the planning and preparation you did only to experience a 15-minute delay getting started because three users had problems logging in and understanding how to navigate through a complicated system?

Do you remember your meeting outcomes, or is the only account of your experience a browser crash and/or a session interrupted by on hold music or poor sound quality?  Was your user experience clearly positive or as effective as using aluminum cans and string connections to connect your session participants?

Today, developers of 3-D platforms have triggered all of their efforts around providing profitable user sessions in your browser in one minute or less.  They have simplified the number of actions necessary to sign up and start participating.  They’ve insured solid VoiP and dial up sound platforms.  They’ve spent thousands of research hours studying the communication patterns, gestures, body language attributes and expressions that meeting participants use.  They’ve made it easy to give all participants easy access to collaboration tools.

They’ve simplified everything necessary to give users more control.

In short, development of 3-D platforms must always remain customer centric in providing more ways take the pain out of operating the system so users can concentrate on the value of the information exchanged and the quality of engagement through a host of interactions.

We’re continually asked this question:  In the future, what applications do you see being most profitable to businesses and collaborative training organizations? Our success in helping businesses profit will depend on our ability to make sure that we address anything and everything that can and will go wrong.

That’s why we’re pleased to use this blog to offer insights on what can and will go right every time a Virtual 3-D conference is conducted in the future.

Have you attended a Virtual 3-D conference?  If so, how can your experience be improved?

When Will 3-D Virtual Reality Truly be the Mainstream Online Business Meeting Platform?

And why are industry analysts so jazzed about the technologies available right now.

“VenueGen is a huge leap forward in enterprise-level 3-D virtual meetings, primarily for the features that personalize and bring a human element back into the meeting. We have lost many of the visual cues that play such a large role in human communication as we have moved towards more online meetings, and VenueGen may truly be an idea whose time has come.”

Cody Burke, Senior Analyst at Basex

Sure, everyone on the planet who has ever attended an online web or audio conference call will gladly embrace any step to make these sessions, easier, more realistic, interactive, and less monotonous. But what about doing all this in a 3-D virtual meeting?

Well, while most 3-D platforms on the market today lack many of the features and capabilities necessary to host high fidelity, full featured, problem-free virtual events, today’s 3-D technology now extends beyond the arena of personal entertainment to the corporate workspace, in which business colleagues have adopted it to meet, collaborate, train and present information in virtual meetings. 3-D virtual platforms can now be delivered as software as a service (SaaS) and have become accessible to smaller businesses, providing a powerful competitive advantage, once only available to larger corporations with huge budgets.

Prior to this, early adopters of 3-D technologies faced many obstacles including immature software and limited technical functionality.

Here are a few crucial features that have been developed in order to insure that immersive 3- D meeting technology is responsive to the needs of both small and large business communities:

1. Avatar Realism: An animated character (Avatar) representing the participant, including the ability to add your photo for a truly lifelike likeness. Additionally, avatars now have automated movements to mimic actions done in real life. For example, avatars will re-adjust themselves in their seats occasionally, and be driven by your voice, without any action on your part.

2. Lifelike Sound Settings: Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoiP) enables Sensurround sound for increased realism. The sound will readjust according to the location of the other meeting attendee. You hear people from the direction and distance they are from you, and you can adjust their volume. If an individual is far and to your right, your speakers or headset will change to reflect that distance and positioning.

3. Simplified Information Sharing: Now, instead of sending out a separate email with all the materials to review beforehand, content sharing is integrated into 3-D meetings. Together, you can watch a PowerPoint, a video file, or screen share documents.

These are just a few of the many other dynamic elements to make your training session far more engaging, highly cost effective, successful and more time efficient. We will be going into more depth about each in the future.

So, whatever you do, plan on bookmarking and visiting our blog regularly to continue discussions about industry best practices and advancement and ongoing development of 3-D interactive training and meeting platforms.