Looking forward to the Zoodango 2.0 launch.

Jonathan, we're very excited as well. Be patient with us until Feb and spread the word about the new Zoodango. Thanks.

I love that Zoodango always wants to stay ahead of the users in its community. Nifty -- looking forward to the 2.0 launch!

Onward & Upward.....G.O.O.D.

Marilee and Antaeus, thanks for the supporting words!

James, I'm anxious to see how this is going to work. My company is putting in a "virtual watercooler", so I'm curious to see how they have approached it in relation to what you all have done.

Looking forward to the new launch.

Jeff, what's a virtual watercooler?

Sorta kinda the old watercooler concept (yes I'm showing my age). Employees can meet and set up appts, gossip, talk about the company or whatever. Think of it as a corporate Zoodango or My-space. It's supposed to be "big-brother free" and the company would have virtual employee announcements going on at the same time. It should be interesting. I've been asked to be in the beta group.

By the way, it looks like you and your team have incorporated several of the suggestions that I've forwarded to your support line. Thank you for listening.

Jeff, we try to listen....thanks for the insight on the watercooler concept.

Always nice to have proprietary technology to enhance a website experience. However, I'm a little confused as to why you're not going all the way, since we're having a conversation @ "virtual watercoolers" and whatnot, and taking advantage of ACTUAL virtual environments for virtual meetings? If Second Life and its wild popularity is any indication, It seems like a fit for Zoodango and this neuro-search engine to establish a presence and stay ahead of the curve on that one.

Paul, I actually had a chance to meet up with Phil Rosendale, founder of 2nd Life, and we had some very interesting conversations around the whole concept. In our launch of Zoodango 2.0, the goal is to encourage face-to-face interactions through an online platform. This does not mean that we will rule out the possibility of creating virtual locations for virtual meetings in the future. I agree with you that the whole virtual meetings concept is a very interesting one, If you've got ideas on how you can envision the new Zoodango offering virtual meeting spots, I'd love to read your ideas/feedback. Thanks!

I'm attending grad school at Capella University and there are a group of students that meet in Second Life to have a "virtual study session".

The concept does have merit and I'm interested in seeing where this new type of technology is going to take us.

Hi James

Thanks for the response. I’ve actually written at length in my blogs (Nov. 12, Nov. 01) on concepts for the virtual marketplace. Its advantages have not been fully exploited, even by the major networks like CBS and NBC, but they know as well as I do that they need to gain a toe-hold in this emerging field. Glad to see that you’re seriously looking into that arena.

In many ways it’s hard to reframe traditional marketing paradigms into emerging entertainment technologies. Here’s my initial assessment: When I see the videos posted for your guest host competition, I can’t help but be reminded of video-conferencing. I know that face-to-face meetings is always the ideal, and Starbuck’s has a vested interest in having people hang at a local shop, but wouldn’t it be great if Starbuck’s had video conferencing available so that even a guy like me way down in LA can still be present at a Starbuck’s in Seattle? This would shatter the localized Seattle thing and open Zoodango up to a global force-multiplier.

Furthermore, I envision a “Virtual Zoodango” that incorporates the best of both worlds as a website option (much like the 3D Online Bridal Show on PartyPop.com) as well as encouraging actual localized face-to-face meetings. Zoodango could create a proprietary virtual meeting environment offered at certain Starbuck’s locations, to create a synergistic buzz for both Starbuck’s and Zoodango patrons.

Your age demographic seems to lend itself to these concepts, and all the technology is off the shelf. All that needs happen is the will to push the envelope, which you obviously have.

Paul, I like many of your ideas....let us mull over some of these...in the meantime, if you have more ideas, keep it coming.

Having worked in the television industry for almost twenty years, the only constant is how fickle networks exec’s tastes can be. Their general ambivalence in casting Asian men in key roles might very easily cause them to cast someone besides you on their business show idea.

You should keep in mind that during the course of a business year, a studio’s development department will create pilots for 200 potential television series (that‘s just ONE studio), all vying for a finite amount of broadcast real estate on the network stations.

My point in bringing this up is that if for whatever reasons they happen to pass on your show for airing, that pilot will have no other options for broadcast. Unless…. If Starbuck’s were to set up the video conferencing screens, there might be the additional opportunity of airing your program as interstitials on a “Starbuck’s Business Network”, between various video conferencing sessions. This opens up the opportunity for additional revenue streams by way of advertising spots on this mini-network.

I’ve used the term “virtual programming” to describe a new form of entertainment content that I envision will appear in virtual environments. In essence, 2D and 3D television programs. Who’s to say that your program won’t appear on a flat screen in a virtual environment as well?

Reuters news service is already piping news broadcasts into Second Life, can other kinds of content be that far behind? Will Zoodango be the first to boast the concept?

The best way to control the game is to OWN the game. In this case by creating new venues for your own shows to appear, fickle network execs be damned.