Value of Virtual Shows: The First Question

Tonight I'm going to be a guest on the game show "The First Question", hosted in Second Life and streamed to the web. I caught the show for the first time last week, after a large number of friends had recommended it to me. I am very pleased to be on The First Question. Come learn what periodic element I most identify with! See if I can stump Hydra with a random factoid of knowledge! Come root for me to answer nerdy trivia and silly humor!

As I write this, I am simultaneously attending a presentation of AI on a show by Smarter Technology, a business and technology focused show by World2Worlds.

Neither show relies on a unique concept for its appeal; the prior is entertainment, the latter is business-centric, and utilize the qualities that make virtual worlds valuable. They present an opportunity for people to ignore geography when having a same-location type event, and have a rich environment that is both memorable and flexible. There have been a variety of shows before them, but these two shows are ones have a couple of key aspects that are fairly new to virtual worlds: quality, and regularity. Both shows are put on by sets of professionals who have their show tightly run, and both of them run regularly and on-time.

There's a third quality that both shows have, which I'd like to focus on, which is that both stream the show to the web. The question for a while with events in Second Life and virtual worlds was "What is the value of a live event if a hundred or less people can attend it simultaneously?" Streaming the show to the web, as well as recording and archiving the show online, provide ways for the live event to reach a much wider audience. The shows are both decidedly interactive, where the audience is encouraged to talk in chat, ask questions, and discuss the topics.

This format is an idea of where entertainment and media is going. Groups discussing events are so easily created with the Internet and social media. Feedback and discussion after the event can be fostered on discussion boards, blogs, and places like Facebook and Twitter. Look for more of these regular shows to take off, be sponsored, and be directed toward whatever your niche is.