Stanford - AlwaysOn Global 250 Winners

Click the pic to have a look on the Stanford Summit archives

weblin proudly announces that it has been chosen by AlwaysOn as one of the AO Global 250 Winners. Inclusion in the AO Global 250 signifies major developments in the creation of new business opportunities in the global technology industries. Weblin was specially selected by the AlwaysOn editorial team and other industry experts spanning the globe, based on a set of five criteria: innovation, market potential, commercialization, stakeholder value, and media buzz.
The AlwaysOn Global 250 Top Private Companies have been honored at the AlwaysOn & STVP Summit at Stanford on July 22-24, 2008 at Stanford University.
Weblin´s GM North America Marc Theermann was there to network and talk to a lots of impressive start-ups.

Xbox 360 comes with avatars!

Klick the screenshot to get to the full article on cnet

As Microsoft announced at E3 in LA, the Xbox 360 comes with exciting updates: "In the new version, you'll even be able to create your own avatars who can then meet up with your friend's avatars."
This is again great news, because it emphasises the global trend to virtual identity, avatars and socializing.

weblin scoring at TechCrunch UK Pitch

click the pic to read the techcrunch.uk article by Mike Butcher

It was a great evening, when the first TechCrunch Pitch! event in London took place on Thursday last week. Only a handful start-ups had the chance to present in five minutes their product and company. Jan, our CEO was one of the lucky guys to do so and he was very close to the top. In the end, WatZatSong won the pitch but weblin together with TIOTI, Amazee and Tactile CRM belongs to the Top 5 European start-ups, ranked in this evening.

weblin is nominated: AlwaysOn Global 250 Competition

Click on the screenshot to get to the full nominees list

weblin is one of the nominees in this years AlwaysOn Global 250 Competition! This is so great, we are really surprised to be on this bright listing in neigbourhood to freindster, hi5, Gaia Online, JaJah, meebo and so many other famous companies.

"AlwaysOn and KPMG have officially launched this year’s AlwaysOn Global 250 Top Private Companies competition. After 6 years of the AlwaysOn 100, we're expanding our flagship list to better represent the burgeoning startup communities from around the globe."

Weblin is nominated in the "Consumer and Entertainment" sector. We are very excited and hope be on the final winners list, which will be announced on July 22.

100 Million Habbos

Screenshot Habbo News on mashable; klick to get there.

Habbo recently reached the unbelieveble level of 100 Million users. As mashable writes, Habbo is eight years old, but still, this an amazing and really impressive number!
None other virtual worlds reaches this status; Habbo is followed by Neopets who have roundabout 50% of Habbos user counts, and the next vw as IMVU, Stardolls und Second Life.

weblin EM-Party by Moritz.Olf

Screenshot with weblin-Publisher

Watch these impressive slides from one of the first online public-viewing events with weblins. Great!
To get to the slides, simply click on the screenshot.

The mountain and Mahomet

Mashable has just reported that meez is now launching an own virtual world for its avatars. The meez avatars are fantastic; there is no doubt about that. But the users of the cute little figures now obviously want more action, that is to say more interaction and socialising with other meezes. Mashable writes “Unlike most other virtual worlds that have grown out of an avatar creation and sharing site ...”. Exactly, others too began with avatars and are now building virtual worlds around “their” avatars. Everyone for himself and everyone differently. Sure! No-one wants to share his users with others! The result is that walled gardens are to be found everywhere. But what has that got to do with mountains and prophets? We believe that building own worlds for each avatar solution is not only cost and time consuming but also leads to a lot of dead ends. It is almost as if the mountain has to come to the prophet Mahomet. I am not sure when a mountain last moved but it must have been before the age of the Internet.
Mahomet should come to the mountain. That’s our attitude with weblin. The largest virtual world is already there and does not first have to be created. It’s the Web. Sure, it is all still only 2D and not quite as spatial as one would imagine a virtual world to be, but, instead, people are already there! And they are already finding all sorts of distraction in this world – reading, watching videos and, with weblin, they can chat with friends or strangers who could become friends. They can collect points and give presents, wave, dance and laugh. OK, one can’t exactly roll on the floor laughing but, hey, it’s a good idea!
Meez is out to turn the virtual world into money, with advertising “... which can be branded as part of Meez’s advertising options within this virtual world. Just as brands like Nike, Panasonic and Sears have provided gear ...“ This, to my mind, is a form of In Game Advertising. And I bet that, in addition to advertising, virtual goods are also part of the concept. All things considered, I am glad about every avatar creator, every virtual world, whether mountain or Mahomet, because this can only advance our mutual idea of the Next Generation Web.