"Your Next Life" Second Life as an intro to the Metaverse -- Book details

*smile* My book -- in Hebrew is ready (2008 Q1.) Lots of fun.

For those who asked you can order it directly from the publisher Modan (in israel in Hebrew) הזמנות מודן - 08-91800002 מירב (Merav - from Modan Orders).

Or order directly from:

• Steimatzky Web Store.
• Tzomet Sfarim Web Book Store.

See a short description of the book in Hebrew Haaretz.

Click on each picture to view a larger version of it; At the end text of the Table of Content (in Hebrew).

הקדמה

1. המטא-וורס: בידור, חיים או שניהם?

חלק ראשון: לִירוקי המטא-וורס

2. ממעוף הציפור

3. המושגים הבסיסיים

4. נכנסים לעולם

חלק שני: לאזרחי המטא-וורס

5. מקומות קלאסיים

6. התקשורת במטא-וורס

7. מטא-סקס ומטא-אהבה

חלק שלישי: לשחקני המטא-וורס

8. החיים הטובים

9. התמכרות: איך מתמודדים

10. תופעות במטא-וורס

אפילוג

11. המסע מתחיל

נספחים

מפתח הנושאים

מפתח המוצגים

הערות, הרחבות ומקורות

Using Flatland to Understand the Metaverse

I am often asked about linking the Metaverse and the Realverse; or in Second Life term: linking SL to RL. Well ... one of the most interesting mental models to think about this came to me from the classic book Flatland. Interestigly Flatland is about Romance...

"Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions is a 1884 novella by Edwin Abbott Abbott,
still popular among mathematics and computer science
students, and considered useful reading for people studying topics such as the
concept of other dimensions. As a piece of
literature, Flatland is respected for its satire on the social hierarchy of Victorian society."

Metavrse is really another dimension to our real life; it does not replace it; simply augment it -- at least if we follow the route of Flatland. BTW, the entire Flatland book can be using wiki source.

Snow Crash - The Origin: Metaverse

I am often asked about this. Well the short answer according to Wikipendia:

The Metaverse, a phrase coined by Neal Stephenson's science fiction novel Snow Crash (1992) constitutes Stephenson's vision of how a virtual reality-based Internet might evolve in the near future. In Snow Crash, the Metaverse can be accessed through public-access terminals in reality. However, using them carries a social stigma among Metaverse denizens, in part because of the low visual quality of the rendered avatar; the Metaverse representations of a user in virtual-reality. Entering the Metaverse through a private terminal, making it possible to customize your avatar, is possible from almost any location using portable devices. In the Metaverse, status is a function of two things: access to restricted environments (such as the Black Sun, an exclusive Metaverse club) and technical acumen (often demonstrated by the sophistication of one's avatar). The Metaverse is frequented mainly by the upper and middle classes.

The term itself is now becoming a focal point for all efforts to build virtual worlds; with real economy. In many ways, each of the worlds out there (second life, There, IMVU, and others) have a different degree of Metaversness. The cross between a game (like World of Warcraft or Guild wars) and a Metaverse probably has to do with real money (like Second Life or Entopia) and ability to create. But that will be the topic of another post.