For those of you who have been complaining that you could create a better world than SL, now's your chance. CNet's Daniel Terdiman reports that Multiverse has just announced Version 1.0 of its virtual world development platform at last.

Use of the development software is free, and Multiverse asks a mere 10% of any revenue gained from whatever product is created with its software. I got really excited about this until I remembered that I'm an incredibly lazy creature. You guys make something and I'll go play in it. Thanks.

(Via http://news.com.com)

This Thursday, the 12th of July, will see the launch of Manpower, Inc.'s new island in SL. To celebrate this new virtual office, Manpower will host a moderated panel discussion on the topic "The World of Virtual Work". From the press release:

"The world of work is changing - it seems as though each new day brings a new and innovative tool for businesses and employees to communicate and interact in the virtual workplace – from telecommuting to outsourcing and, more recently, virtual worlds such as Second Life. But as the novelty of the virtualized workforce wears off and real business starts to get done, big questions call for a response: What does success look like in this emerging "World of Virtual Work?" What are the opportunities, what are the risks? And what are the rules of engagement for employers, employees, entrepreneurs, customers and job seekers?"

Featured on the panel, and moderated by CNet's Daniel Terdiman, will be Manpower's Tammy Johns, IBM's Colin Parris, Quest G's Algis Leveckis, The Magicians' Kimberly Rufer-Bach, and Shiny Things' Fallingwater Cellardoor. This is sure to be a hot event, so arrive early; the actual island won't open until an hour before the event.

(Thanks, Kalley!)

Jane McGonigal was recently interviewed by CNet's Daniel Terdiman in their SL headquarters. McGonigal, Lead Designer for 42 Entertainment, was responsible for the I Love Bees Alternate Reality Game (ARG), which promoted the First Person Shooter Halo 2.

It's an interesting, if short, interview, covering a broad range of topics. However, the most interesting bit of the interview, in my mind, is the quote " ... I haven't been very successful having new social interactions in Second Life. So maybe there are people like me who like the world but need help navigating the social sphere and finding ways to contribute."

Daniel Terdiman at CNet reports that founding ICANN chairman, and daughter of Freeman Dyson, Esther Dyson will be interviewed at CNet's in-world offices on Saturday, Dec. 9th, at 1 PM SL Time.

She will doubtless have some interesting insights, given that her former company EDventure Holdings specializes in analyzing the impact of emerging technologies and markets on economies and societies. Additionally, Dyson is a board member of the Long Now Foundation, which, among other pursuits, actively works to foster slower, better thinking in the face of our generation's increasing trend toward valuing faster and cheaper methods.

Given a completely artificial society, what opportunities do we have to reinvent the world? Can SL be used as a blueprint to mint a new way of life?

CNet recently debuted a podcast interview featuring employees Charlie Cooper, Daniel Terdiman, Neha Tiwari, and Leslie Katz speaking on the subject of MMOs such as Second Life and World of Warcraft (which, to this day, I can't read the name of without hearing in my head "Wheel! Of! Fortune!"). It's a rather short 'cast, with the end result being a sort of bemused, indifferent-seeming "So, why do you crazy kids like this sort of thing?" approach by the host. Given that Daniel Terdiman has been writing about these things for a while now, the whole interview seems a little disingenuous and late to the party, especially since CNet itself has created a virtual headquarters of its own in SL.

It's tantamount to asking "Okay, convince me: why are we doing this again?"

(Thanks, Corey!)

I'll be the first to admit that I've not been keeping up with CNet for quite a while. There are so many other, more specific sources of the kind of information that I'm interested in (Joystiq, Engadget, anyone?) that I've been weaned off the CNet all-you-can-eat experience. However, Eric Rice has posted a recent interview with Daniel Terdiman, Senior Writer for CNet, conducted by Millions Of Us CEO Reuben Steiger. Apparently, CNet finally has an office building in SL itself, while Mr. Terdiman has been writing articles about SL since 2003! Funny how little things like this can just slip right under our noses, innit?

The subsequent interview reads a little bit like advertising for Millions of Us at times, but the in-world discussion that follows it is refreshing, asking residents what sort of things they'd like to see CNet cover from here on out. Do give it a read!

(Thanks, Eric!)