Virtual Worlds - Slow to Catch On

I ran across an interesting article yesterday that suggested virtual worlds are not dead they are just slow to catch on. I am inclined to agree with the essence of the author's argument but would like to expand upon it just a bit. In order for a technology to catch on there needs to be two things: capability and need. That is, the capability has to be there and within the reach of the average person; and the capability has to allow them to do something that they need to do. If the capability is not there or the need is not obvious, the technology will not catch on. If the capability is there and the need is there, then the benefit has to be worth the effort.

In the case of Second Life, both capability and need have fallen a little short of the the mark. However, this condition will not last forever. The capability will improve when there is an open source simulator that will allow anyone to download software and create their very own virtual world. This does not yet exist in a form that is accessible to the average person. In addition, a browser is needed that will be able to access any virtual world created by any person. This does not exist either. Finally, there need to be tools that will allow on to easily create their own virtual world. This does not exist either.

The needs will also have to be better understood. I have ranted enough in this blog about a lack of imagination and a lack of applications. These will come along eventually as well.

So, I am inclined to agree with the author of the article that virtual worlds are not dead but just slow to catch on. It will take time for all of the things to come together. But when they do, there will be no stopping them.