Pablo Moreno-Ger’s blog

Well, it seems that IBM is back to the blog and again it is because they do the right thing. During IMPACT 2007 (a conference targeted for IBM customers) IBM showcased a demo of the Innov8 game-like environment. Yes, a top world-wide company showing games in front of 4000 corporate clients.

What is Innov8 and why is it important? According to the IBM press release:

A BPM Simulator, an interactive, 3-D educational game simulator designed to bridge the gap in understanding between IT teams and business leaders in an organization. (…) The game, which can be played with a joystick, is based on Web 2.0 technology and allows players to visualize how an SOA impacts different parts of the organization. Together, users can literally see business processes, identify bottlenecks, and explore ‘what if’ scenarios before SOA is deployed.

(How many buzzwords can you fit into one single paragraph?) Behind the corporate jargon, Innov8 simulates an enrichened work environment. They think it’s nice because you can visualize the impact of SOA in your organization. I think it’s awesome because it’s a great playground for employees. When you see the video of the game, it looks like a proper (cubicled) work environment, with its lobby, offices, coffee machine, employees hanging around, etc. Why only use it to think about SOA? Of course understanding the impact of key technologies is important but, how about understanding the inner workings of your workplace?

Here’s my vision: The entire IBM Headquarters modelled as a 3D environment. And you can download it and walk around it using your computer. Would that be useful? Of course! Such an environment could be used to make new employees familiar with their future work environment. Where’s the cafeteria? Where are the copying machines? Where’s the office of the person I have to report to? Where can I find the office of employee X?

Does that sound trivial? Let’s try some more questions: What should I do in the event of a fire? Where is the closest emergency-exit from my cubicle? And how do I exit the building if I’m not in my usual desk? Are there any areas of the building that require special safety equipment? How is it to move around the building in a wheel-chair? (the last question is inspired by a real IBM case in their theoretically disabled-friendly new building in Madrid. The first time the wheel-chair ramp at the main entrance was needed… noone knew where it was!)

Anyhow, the idea I’m trying to convey is that management tends to overlook the importance of learning about the work environment itself. No matter how much management sees employees as resources (tools?) that produce benefits, the employees are, in fact, human beings and they interact with the environment. They need the business knowledge to be functional employees, but they also need the environmental knowledge to be functional human beings. And as proof, here’s a screenshot of the non-public wiki currently being used by the Department of Medicine at MGH

That wiki captures the rich knowledge of the department, but the second most popular page in it is the lunch schedule. Unlike computers, employees eat.

Research educational games, virtual worlds

This post in TerraNova recently called my attention. The summary is that Second Life is apparently getting rough on issues such as offensive content (namely, violent or child-related porn). The content of both the post and the comments is in the line of the political analysis of the role of Linden Labs in Second Life.

The actual spark that ignited the discussion is the statement on an official post that “our community has made it clear to us that certain types of content and activity are simply not acceptable in any form” and thus they are going to enforce the ban of some material. The main page of Second Life states that “Second Life is an online digital world imagined, created and owned by its residents”. And yet Linden Labs enforces some rules within that world. The post (along with the comments) is an amazing read, with the typical TerraNova level of maturity and depth in the analysis. As always, reading their posts is intellectually enriching, with highlights such as identifying the “our community” phrase as a Marxist reminiscence, or the analysis of SL as an Anarchist Utopia with self-organization through mutual agreement.

However, the topic and the comments entirely miss the point. Second Life might feel like a country with their own currency, politics or culture. A Virtual World with forms of government that may or may not be legitimate. But it is not. Beneath the marketing layer, Linden Labs is a corporation and Second Life is a service (even when you pay for it). The fact that you own Second Life is not true either. The TerraNova post sees a political speech where in fact there is just a sugar coating over an official announcement that they expected would cause some unrest in their politically-minded residents.

The question of what is the role of Linden Labs inside Second Life was brought in a talk I attended about a month ago. In words of Cory Ondrejka (Linden Labs CTO) during that talk, Linden Labs is a corporation and the content is stored in data centers that belong to them. As these servers are located in the US, they are subject to the US law. If there is any kind of illegal content in their servers, they are responsible for it and legally forced to remove it.

And when they do enforce policies, their marketing divisions uses expressions like “our community has made it clear to us”. You cannot interpret this literally and study them as a government because they are in fact a service provider that owns the data centers and they can (and must) enforce rules through their Terms of Service agreement.

Research reflections, virtual worlds

Disclaimer: Barely any game-based learning in this blog entry, just serious gaming.

I’m not exactly sure why, but all my reading regarding serious games this last couple of weeks has been solidly returning Second Life hits. This blog reflected on IBM’s approach, with employees meeting in Second Life and with its CEO, Sam Palmisano, appearing in the game for a press conference with his own avatar. In fact, that information had previously been covered by Reuters on its permanent section devoted to Second Life . IBM is also trying concepts and holding events within Second Life.

More or less at the same time, Dell announces an in-game store where you can see your computer, configure it, and customise it. When you’re satisfied with the product, you pay and you get it shipped home. I haven’t been able to find out whether you also get a virtual computer to install in your virtual home, which would be a cool (and very cheap for Dell) gift for the customers. In any case the idea is great. It theoretically cuts down prices and provides a more attractive experience. And, even if it does not cut those prices, it gets you a heck of a PR-impact.

Same thing goes for Pontiac, opening Motorati Island in Second Life where they will be selling virtual models of their Solstice brand. I can imagine the potential should they try the same approach as Dell. Come, design your car, throw in the accessories, have a virtual test-drive and then purchase the real car. Our valet will drive it to your doorstep. In case the PR hype, plus the in-game car sales do not provide enough ROI, Pontiac will be renting lots in Motorati Island to companies and individuals willing to establish their own car-culture-oriented business in the island (I wonder if that includes competitors). BTW, both Toyota and Nissan are already doing this, let’s not assume novelty where there is not. The impact here is the sheer size of Pontiac’s initative and the amount of marketing they are dumping in the news.

And in the very same week, learning within Second Life, although not a new idea, is showcased in CNN regarding online education and virtual universities.

So, does this seem like enough hype around a concept? I think the PR people at Linden Labs must be having a huge party. Probably inside the game.

Research reflections, serious games, virtual worlds

Gamasutra published yesterday an article on the virtual-world education/training programs being studied by IBM. This is a company that has never been ashamed of innovating (well, with some historic bumps) and it is interesting from the perspective of game-based learning to have this association between these “unpopular” methodologies and a big name such as IBM.

It is also interesting because they’re going further than the mere “small training game”. They are looking at social networking in virtual environments (they mention Second Life among others) and how these can support training. They plan to start using them as a meeting point for new employees, mentioning ideas for meetings between retired employees and future employees which I find very interesting . From those virtual social interactions they plan on building virtual environments where the actual workflows can be essayed interacting with other real people (programming, selling, marketing, etc.).

And then, an indirectly insider insight in one of the concepts which is only briefly introduced. A member of my family has worked at IBM Spain for almost 30 years, starting there as her first job and most likely remaining there until retirement. One of the hallmarks of IBM is pride on their corportate culture, especially the part devoted to diversity. Some of these iniatitives have the purpose of letting future workers (current students) experience the corporate culture and arrive there prepared. The beauty of it is that it works perfectly as a sales pitch to attract young talent (ey! come with us! it’s cool to work here!) but can also attack a deeply rooted problem: this is a company spread over the world that deals with employees of different cultural backgrounds leading to frequent and varied forms of cultural clash: religion, schedules, attire and symbologies are obvious examples, while idioms, body-language, euphemisms and assumptions are more subtle. This social and widespread approach would prove priceless if it reduces the cultural friction that these corporations suffer.

Research virtual worlds