SLENTRE.COM

By Sigmund Leominster, News Editor
The Second Life® television company, Metaverse Broadcasting Corporation (MBC), is expanding its operations to become a broader media company. Back in March 2008, SLentrepreneur talked to MBC’s CEO, Robustus Hax, and his vice chairman, ClaudeVon Streeter about the TV station and their plans for expansion. At that time, they talked about expanding their programming and “offering more and more new content on a daily basis instead of more of a weekly basis”
What they didn’t mention was the establishing of a new social network, My Metaverse (http://mymetaverse.ning.com). The driving force behind this enterprise is MBC talk show host, Angelico Babii, or Steve Cropper in real life. Based in Sydney, Australia, Steve says that “My Metaverse seeks to break down the technological barriers that keep the virtual worlds separate by providing a platform for people involved in the development of new media arts across all worlds.
“We are inviting musicians to upload their original music, machinimatographers to share their original movies and writers to publish their original works. Our goal is to be a meeting place and a source of creative talent in the Metaverse, where media artists can network with each other”.

The site was launched at the beginning of July, 2008, with some 25 founder members representing a number of virtual worlds, such as Second Life, Kaneva, Entropia Universe, Open Life Grid, and Twinity. The aim is to provide a focal point for entrepreneurs and artists who inhabit the virtual worlds with a view to making it easier for talented individuals to showcase their skills and get employment.
As with the major social networks, MySpace and FaceBook, individuals join the network and create a home page. They can then upload and share pictures and music, and also write a blog. Once a home page has been established, the owner can then start adding friends and joining groups. These groups provide My Metaverse users with the inability to mix with like minds and share ideas.
Signing up for the site is straightforward enough. Within 15 minutes it is possible to create a basic page along with images and songs. You can choose either to play MP3s via accessing them on a different site or upload you own to the site’s server.

Another development soon to be released is the Metaverse Tribune, a news and entertainment periodical aimed at the virtual world reader. According to its “About” page, the Tribune is “an online news source for residents of virtual communities.” As with the My Metaverse production, the Tribune isn’t just focused in Second Life but also residents of other virtual worlds.
The Metaverse Tribune is currently slated to launch on August 1st, 2008, and it will have sections on news, entertainment, fashion, science & technology, and the blogosphere.
My Metaverse web site: http://mymetaverse.ning.com
Metaverse Tribune: http://www.metaverse-tribune.com