Wine 2.0 & Why We’re In Second Life
I was reading a post over at Winecast where Tim was lamenting the lack of Wine 2.0 posts. This, then, is my contribution.
For me Wine 2.0 really was just a fun way to put a face to a stream of online text. For instance, I got to look El Jefe of Twisted Oak in the eye and verify that he is indeed quite insane. El Jefe graciously afforded me the opportunity to taste his good stuff, and since I’m not one to turn down a quick *%#&@! I happily partook. Later I was able to shake hands with Jeff from Good Grape and Inertia, met and chatted with Jason of Wine Log, and ran into old acquaintances from high school like Tom Traverso, the Marketing Manager at Wine.com.
Honestly there was nothing really “new” or novel to come out of the Wine 2.0 shin-dig, at least if you’ve been paying close attention to the industry. Now that’s not to say it wasn’t great fun and worthwhile. It was. But instead of a showcase of winery tech, Wine 2.0 was an interesting forum to network and to turn virtual relationships into more substantial “meat-space” ones. (Seeing the Wine Pod in person was pretty cool though. God help you if you want to try and make a white in it though.)
One of the best things to come from the conference was a talk I had with John Plevyak, a principal at Metaversatility, and the guy doing the coding on our Second Life vineyard project. The highest praise I can give is that John is a true wine geek (I’m into him for at least a case of wine already).
My main reason for pushing to get Capozzi into Second Life is to expand brand awareness by giving one of our target demographics a novel experience. I admit I also just wanted to be first, to do something no one else in the wine industry had done before. There are only so many firsts to be had out there and trailblazing a path is something that inspires and energizes me. But finally there’s also the feeling I share with John that 3D environments are the Next Big Thing to hit the internets, and I want to get on board that train early.
John thinks that the future will include an internet of open 3D environments that internet users will surf to much as they do web pages now. Imagine a 3D Myspace where you can check out your friends’ homes, flip through and listen to their music collection, watch video etc. As people get more and more comfortable creating stuff in 3D, and as the tools to do so get easier and easier to use, people will be slapping up virtual 3D spaces just like they do blogs right now.
From my point of view, the potential for turning such an environment into a place to better interact with customers, sell wine and provide an interesting and unique level of service intrigues me. And right now Second Life is the best place to cut my teeth exploring such an environment.
So there we are. If you’re not bored to tears yet and feel like reading some really dense technology prose, go check out The Next Big Thing. It explains how the web as we know it came to be and provides one possible roadmap for where it will eventually head. Interestingly John, who hadn’t read this article when we talked, came to many of the same conclusions. Give it a read and on the way you’ll gain a better understanding of what drives the excitement behind Second Life development – if you can manage to stay awake.
17 Comments → “Wine 2.0 & Why We’re In Second Life”
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- - 3 years ago
[...] infatti un isola virtuale, di proprietà  della californiana Capozzi Winery, che ha avuto l’idea di usare Second Life per creare la versione virtuale della propria tenuta.Va da se che in una [...]
Wine folks. Never would have thought of that! Is there a group in SecondLife that people can join, regular meetings?
Nobody Fugazi (and all), I would say that the Linux Users group would fit your request. It’s free to join if I’m right. Today we are going to host a meeting too, at 12.00, in Maryland (235,148) – just have a look in the Search / Events using the keyword wine.
Thanks for providing a little more color on the conversation, Josh.
Technology and buzz words aside, I believe we are in the early stages of dramatic change in how products are marketed. This is what is driving my interest in the Wine 2.0 conversation. Hope to see you sometime in Second Life to chat further… judging from the prior comments here, we will need to stress we mean wine the beverage and not wine the Windows emulator
Too funny. I suppoose if you did read this out of context it might sound like I was talking about software instead of a fermented juice.
I tend to agree with you Tim. If eBob threw up a web 2.0ish site tomorrow no one would be questioning whether or not social sites were too geeky or not. The people will use it, but first you have to get them to notice.
Hey, my equally loony friend, I have gotten home at last and have posted my visual report on the event to (where else?) El Bloggo Torcido – enjoy! – j
Josh, using second life to market the Capozzi brand is most definitely a novel and interesting concept. Im just wondering if your target demographic is using, or would use second life. I just tried it out because i signed up for the virtual wine 2.0 conference held on your island (thanks by the way), and it freaked me out a little.
However, how awesome would it be to have your own virtual tasting room where people could go and do their thing. Too bad you couldn’t actually taste the wine…but the way things are going, that might be in the works…
Hi Josh. Your stepping into Second Life is definitely novel. I commend you for taking advantage of all the new mediums for getting your customers involved.
However, I’ll admit that the future you describe scares me a little. I like to think that everything we do online we do to better our real lives. I hope that doesn’t change. I still like drinking wines with friends and visiting tasting rooms.
Jeff,
Great shots. I need to get up to Calaveras and do a proper tasting…
Ryan,
Thats great feedback. What freaked you out most? The fact that people actually spend large periods of time dressing and interacting in a fake world? :p Yeah it is all a little strange.
But everything new is!
Sagi,
Thanks for the comment and for dropping by.
I hope it isn’t too scary of a future. I’m not saying that some crazy virtual tasting room is going to replace our planned real one – like, ever. It’s just another way to collaborate that is more like the actual 3D world we inhabit every day.
Great feedback tho – thanks!
So… if we could actually experience wine tasting in all of its sensory splendor within a Second Life type context, would we ever again want the real thing?
This question can of course be extended to other sensory experiences… and if so, would we continue to actually eat? To procreate?
As these technologies are perfected to the point that the virtual cannot be distinguished from reality (call it a Turbo Turing Test), there is potential to do both great good and great evil. I guess that’s what is scary.
That’s a lot of food for thought. I need to go find some wine for thought to pair with it…
On my way out to California I read an article in Inc. Magazine on Second Life and some of the same nextgen things you touch on. I have to admit, prior to that, I was viewing it as a gaming environment with a pretty good size customer base. But, my eyes were opened to what the possibilities can be. Kudos to you for blazing a trail. I’m excited to check out your slice of the virtual world.
Regarding Wine 2.0, in general. It was okay. I would have preferred if it was more of a wine blog dorkfest (card carrying member), though.
hi Jeff – I promise to try and be dorkier next time
If we keep this up we’ll have to call this the Pinotbloggerbloggerforum…
Mock me all you want El Jefe, but I have seen the fuuuture! And the future is fake, I mean 3D…erm …Virtual online environments!
Seriously though, nothing will ever replace the human element or the experience of actually tasting a profoundly delicious wine. El Jefe is just acting all incredulous because his *%#&@! is just such a wine.
As for artificial intelligence, I think that a machine will always fail the consciousness test. A monkey banging away incessantly on a typewriter for a millennia might someday randomly come up with something that passes for one of Shakespeare’s sonnets, but it will never, ever produce Hamlet.
Long story long, Second Life and what will follow will be extremely innocuous. Nothing to fear here. :0
Josho – you’re just sad because you can’t get any more *%#&@! But I liked the echo effects!
The Banging Monkeys Writing Hamlet are a bit different than Artificial Intelligence, which is different than emulating sensory input. But perhaps you and I could enjoy this discussion sometime over a glass of the next vintage of *%#&@! Non-virtually!
- j, who is also sad because he can’t get any Capozzi Pinot!
El Jefe,
Of course you’re right. What I wrote was an insult to monkeys. What I was actually referring to was the quote from Jefferson Lister who said “not until a machine can write a sonnet or compose a concerto because of thoughts and emotions felt, and not by the chance fall of symbols, could we agree that machine equals brain.”
I read somewhere that there are researchers working on virtual aromas. Something to the effect of hooking up a box to your computer that would be activated depending on the website you visit. Again though, how could anything ever replace the sheer bliss that is sipping wine in a tasting room crammed with other sweaty drunks demanding their next free taste? Or are those just the wineries I frequent?
I’ll take you up on that glass tho!
hello hi honey