Finally. Someone has finally started an online Reputation service that isn’t tied into its own offerings (like eBay’s). From the story on C|Net (Link):

Jupiter, Fla.-based iKarma’s new service allows any Web site owner to add user, reader or customer-created ratings to their site. That, said iKarma CEO Paul Williams, can significantly increase business.

This is exactly what we need going forward into an age where the concept of protecting intellectual property fades into oblivion. I don’t have to like that something I create can be ripped off, but I’m not going to waste time lamenting the turn of events either. And having a good reputation can go a long way to regaining some of what’s lost.

So while there’s still some time left before I have my own iKarma account, I just have one thing to say to everyone…

Ummm, wait a sec. What’s this? Additional details posted by the CEO concerning something called “Karmic Reboot”??? That wasn’t in the flash animation intro. What the hell. So much for this. I can pretty much guarantee someone is going to game this thing now. Guess we’ll have to wait and see how this service actually works after beta.

In the meantime, I guess I can continue calling out trademark violations on the Second Life forums because as soon as this or some other service gets put into play, there’s going to be a whole lot of crowd intimidation.

(p.s. Does anyone else think that Moe should have had the good rep and squeeky-clean Joe should have turned out to be a wanted felon?)

{p.s. – For those of you landing on this entry looking for news of the band, I honestly wish I had some; I’m a fan. Right now all I have is a couple CD’s and a Derek Hess print with K2B on the bill.}

From an article over on Ad Age (Link – free registration required):

Walt Disney Co. is expanding the availability of its hit shows via ABC.com as part of its plans to create the “network of the future.” CEO Bob Iger detailed the soon-to-launch product called My ABC, which will provide consumers with the opportunity to download shows free of charge.
…
“There is so much greater consumption of media, the opportunity for advertisers are greater; look at what Google has managed to do,” Mr. Iger said. “Our job is to create the new networks and new direct commerce opportunities.”

“Network of the future”? I guess that would include coming up with creative ways to brand your product to distinguish it from all the other companies out there creating their version of the “future”. But it sure sounds like Disney has their finger on the pulse of innovation, doesn’t it? First up: preface everything they do with “My”.

Good thinking, guys.

Now here’s a curious story over on C|Net (Link): a company is being credited with figuring out that spiral forms are efficient and useful in solving problems that involve fluids; specifically mechanical design problems (fans, impellers, aso). Well, at the risk of sounding like a know-it-all … no duh.

As far as I’m concerned, most of us shouldn’t be at all surprised at this “breakthrough”; at least anyone who has watched water drain from a sink, or stared at the mini-whirlpool that forms in a drinking glass while stirring. And if you’ve rented the movie Pi you most certainly shouldn’t be surprised (the movie is about some guy obsessed with … what else? … spirals).

But then again, there are those who dismiss anything that doesn’t match the rigidity of current theory:

They approached scientists at Stanford and MIT to get feedback on the theories, but they experienced a lot of initial push-back. “People would say, ‘You’re building a model in the shape of a shell? That’s certifiable,'” Harman recalled.

Once again, no surprise to me that a bunch of academics will casually dismiss someone who doesn’t have a piece of dried animal skin with foreign words and a wax seal decorating it hung on their wall to prove they can think. One can only wonder how many truly good ideas were brow-beaten into obscurity by an incredulous horde of uppities.

Anyway, so far no surprises for most of us.

But wait, here’s another opportunity for surprise. The company, PAX Scientific, is calling itself an “industrial design firm”, even though the founder isn’t credited in the story as having an industrial design degree (closest he appears to have come was dabbling in comparative religion) . The company’s work sure doesn’t sound like something design*sponge would care about. And even on the other end of the ID spectrum, how many IDers are engineering impellers? None that I know of or ever expect to hear about. This sure looks like just another case of “diluted occupation syndrome” to me. Sadly, there’s no surprise here either.

Well, there you have it: the Big “No Surprise”. The only possible surprise afaic is that someone with more than a little common sense broke through the barriers erected by everyone that doesn’t want someone else to succeed. But that’s not really “surprise”. That’s more like … astounding.

{Image Copyright © 2005 PAX Scientific, Inc. }

It should come as no surprise that I have a keen interest in both reputation systems and in how people protect their own identities; just read my previous post. So, in order to achieve some transparency regarding the apparent hijacking of some real life identities for use in a virtual space, I’ve posted this on the Second Life forum:

As documented in this recent thread (Link) a question has arisen regarding whether or not people can sign up accounts that not only use the real life names of famous celebrities, but in conjunction:

– create avatars intended to mimic their real life appearance
– use as part of their in-world activities original content in order to associate with the real person or persons
– appropriate trademarks to enhance the real life association
– mislead residents about whether or not they are in fact the real persons (e.g. comments like “if they are alts” – ref )

This is the section which I would like clarified:
–
“You may not select as your Account ID or Avatar Name the name of another person, a name which violates any trademark right, copyright, or other proprietary right, a name which may mislead other Participants to believe you to be an employee of Linden, or a name which Linden deems in its discretion to be vulgar or otherwise offensive. Linden reserves the right to delete or change any Account ID or Avatar Name for any reason or no reason.”
–
Given the above and the apparent Intent, the following trademarks may be of interest:

#76350897 – “Pre-recorded video and sound recordings featuring music and musical performances”
#74394447 – “entertainment services; namely, live performances by a vocal and instrumental group”

Thank you for providing further guidance in this.

The response should be interesting.

Having recently signed onto LinkedIn, the professional networking site, I have to admit that even though I should have probably thought of this, I didn’t:

I suppose Linden Lab is aware of Linkedin (many Lindens are listed there, for example) and/or of similar Social Networking sites.

I have already created a gmail account for my avatar, so creating a complete CV on LinkedIn would be pretty easy. Considering that SL has a thriving business community, I believe that LinkedIn (or a similar service) could be of some use for avatars too, helping to create a chain of trust for example.

Would LL consider getting in touch with LinkedIn to create a “group” for Avatars? Or even to add “Second Life” as a valid choice for profile nationality/country of residence?

I think it would be better for everybody if avatars are tagged in a standard, easy-to-recognize way, in order to minimize inconvenience for RL users of the service.

That comes courtesy of Pamar Bjornson, a virtual entity in Second Life. I just checked, and Pamar isn’t registered. Yet.

Brilliant.

{Update: Considering previous mix-ups – example – I thought it might be worth having a second account and so I’ve gone ahead and created a LinkedIn account for my virtual identity. I’ve not linked it to my meatspace version for a variety of reasons. In the meantime, I guess we’ll see where this goes.}