Hey, I’ve just returned from the launch of the Imagine Cup Gallery!
Well, as a person who has attended (in different roles) all the Imagine Cup Finals since 2003 till 2006 I should say it was sort of a typical Imagine Cup event: lots of smart students, press, Microsoft folks, stands with awesome technology demos, some freebies (t-shirts), some entertainment (skydiving) and a live concert.
Yet, there was something really new this time: MICROSOFT BOUGHT A WHOLE TROPICAL ISLAND specifically to host an Imagine Cup event on it!
The Imagine Cup Island appeared to be very beautiful. It is surrounded by the ocean and it has lots of nice sand beaches and evergreen palm trees!
Well, nowadays you don’t necessarily need to be Sir Richard Branson to buy an island. In Second Life you can get your own Necker for much less money than Branson paid in 1979.
So when I heard that the Imagine Cup is hosting its first event in the virtual world of Second Life I felt really excited!
The first prerequisite to attending this brand new kind of event was to create the virtual me. This is how
Stan Vonog, 24 years old (left), turned into Staniel Raymaker,
1 day old (right).
I decided to keep the white outfit our team was wearing at the Imagine Cup 2005 World Finals in Japan. I had two reasons for this: 1) I thought people would have a better chance to recognize me; 2) it was very easy to make these clothes -
no color, no texture, no design, just plain white.
When I teleported myself to 128/64/24 I appeared in front
of a Korean temple and an interactive video screen with Imagine Cup sign on it. I clicked the screen and it started playing an impressive video about Korea, the country of the 2007 World Finals. I really enjoyed the video and by the moment it finished I noticed that the party was going on.
I was coming up to different people and asking the #1 Imagine Cup Question: “Where are you from?” I met people from the Netherlands, Sweden, Italy, France, Turkey, Spain, Portugal, UK, Serbia, Russia, Germany, …. It was happening exactly the same way it is at physical Imagine Cup finals: you are walking around, getting to know each other, people have booths with projects, you can see demos, you can discuss, you can chat, you can even take ‘photos’ of each other (btw, I posted mine here). It was JUST THE SAME !!! And it was indeed VERY SURPRISING to me.
The Imagine Cup Island itself is circular and there are 12 screens by the island’s perimeter. There are also maps all around the island, Microsoft and Imagine Cup flags, a concert area, a lounge in the center and even a skydiving attraction (you take a parachute, then you are skyrocketed 1000 meters high and then you dive with your parachute)
Each video screen contains 2 presentations (either slides or video) from 2 different countries. The screens are interactive and once you come nearby or click it they start streaming high quality audio and video. The people on the screenshot above are watching the trailer of the Serbian project.
The pinnacle of the Imagine Cup Gallery Launch was the virtual live concert of Natalie Moody, a Swedish singer and compozer. She is 27, her real name is Therese and she does regular live performances inside Second Life. During the concert Natalie was interacting with the audience, singing her own and ABBA songs. I really enjoyed the virtual live performance and I believe this concept has an amazing future (and, by the way, this is what we are doing at Musigy)
So to sum up - install Second Life, create your virtual self and come and see what’s on at the Imagine Cup Island at 128/64/24!
Thank you for joining us on the EMEA Imagine Cup Gallery blog! A warm welcome to all of you on behalf of the Microsoft Imagine Cup competition! This blog is designed to provide an open forum for discussion with Imagine Cup students participating in the Imagine Cup Gallery in Second Life, so we welcome and encourage your participation.
