1998: Needed a new venue, move into cyberspace? Yes!
The
“Burning Man of Bits”, user-created event, lasts one day each year, months of prep
Elements of conference: speakers, exhibits, art show, webcam wall, grand finale: Avvy Awards, party
Carried out across multiple platforms: Active Worlds, Blaxxun, Traveler, Palace, WA, Atmosphere
Live audio, video linked physical “nodes” worldwide
Media coverage: CNN, Wired, Standard, BBC, etc.
Organizational support, companies, universities
Peak attendance: 4,000 unique entries
Last major event, Avatars2002, held in January 2003
Winding down of second generation platforms, companies removed userbase, motivation. Third generation rising.
Will show only the AW versions of the Cyberconferences next…
The Avatars
Cyberconferences