Gadgets, Games and Gizmos: IBM Opens Business Unit in Second Life

One of your new year’s resolutions better include learning to use Second Life. Why? Well for one thing, IBM has just announced that it will open an Emerging Business Unit in Second Life. That’s right a business unit designed to create value and wealth for the large company focused on, among other things, Second Life.

Here is Irving Wladawsky-Berger, IBM’s vice president of technical strategy and innovation talking to C/NET News about the opening of an IBM business unit focusing on Second Life. Check out other pictures of the interview.

To quote the article

IBM will launch an official group in January to deal with Second Life and other virtual realms from which the company hopes to profit. ..According to Irving Wladawsky-Berger, IBM’s vice president of technical strategy and innovation, IBM employees have a significant presence in Second Life. He states that “I think that there are close to 1,000 people in our Second Life community now active, and perhaps several thousand more that have avatars that are not that active,…IBM Chief Executive Sam Palmisano’s arrival in Second Life helped pave the way, he added: “Having our CEO Sam Palmisano jump into Second Life during our recent Beijing meeting helps a lot in legitimizing this kind of activity within IBM. If it is good enough for Sam…”

If you haven’t been serious about the implications of Second Life for learning in the past, this article IBM to give birth to ‘Second Life’ business group should change your mind.

As the article states:

Virtual reality connects directly with the human mind. “There is something very human about visual interfaces. I almost think of text-based interfaces, including browsers, as ‘narrowband’ into our brains, whereas visual interfaces are ‘broadband’ into our brains.”

Well said, it might not be the best graphical display or perfect environment but it is certainly a beginning for distance learning, collaborating and meetings. Second Life is a glimpse into the future of learning.

If you don’t believe me, maybe you’ll believe IBM.
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