Killer apps for virtual worlds. Live music?

I hear many people talking about what are and what are not the killer apps for virtual worlds. It happens now, mainly in these latest months, that virtual meeting and enterprise solutions are looked as definitive apps for the growth and adoption of virtual worlds.

If though, I think that these kind of solution represent a real advantage and fill a concrete gap. I'm not sure that they can be considered killer apps for virtual worlds. At least if we focus our attention on consumers targeted virtual worlds.

Its quite positive that the attention has been shifted from a static conception of virtual worlds as places (with the negative consequence that they are supposed to replace the reality) to a more dinamic conception of virtual worlds as aggregators of events.

But I'm not sure that virtual meetings/educational settings/ enterprise malls are the right answer and the best driver for the growth of virtual worlds.

Recently, I stumble on a great piece by Grace Mcdunnough about strong and weak ties in social connections. http://phasinggrace.blogspot.com/2009/05/second-life-killer-apps-an...

Grace suggested that if though strong ties are more effective in some areas, they are less when you come to the growth of websites as social networks and virtual worlds. Because if you rely on strong ties, you have a very strong community but the same time it seems that such a community it is also in some way a close circle, a club of relatives, a private social system or anyway a network of private social systems.

I found the piece of Grace really suggestive and convincing.

So, to focus on our topic. If you think virtual worlds as education and enterprise settings you're putting your efforts on strong ties. people in a class setting, colleagues in a virtual enterprise meetings are strongly connect each others, but at the same time, they are most probably not interested in using the same environments to add new connections beyond their social circle of colleagues.

So, now, let me draw a different scenario. Think to a music environment. There's a live show in Second Life or Twinity or Active Worlds. Its the kind of music you like it. So, you login inworld. Once at the show, you're motivated to meet people, because at the show, you know you can meet people with your interests; at the same time, you're motivated to invite your friends to join you inworld (both real life or web friends, it doesn't matter), because you don't want attend the show alone and because a live show is an obvious social experience.

If you think virtual worlds as environment for live music, then you are focusing your attention on weak ties and weak ties are more powerful when you want a site or an application start to grow. Why?

Because weak (not professional, not strictly educational) ties allow a website to reach a more wide audience, on the ground of the network effect of people invite friends, and friends of friends. Its not a default close club. There's a music show, you want attend, send a blast to your friends. when you're inworld you meet some other guys.

Think to Myspace in its early life. A place to meet friends with the same interests as you. Music was the drive and the enthusiasm around musicians, interest, musical genre was the bind between the people. A weak tie, not a strong one.

Because of this (and other) reason, I think that music more than education or professional settings could be really the killer app for consumers virtual worlds. And because of that, I'm getting more and more involved with live music in virtual worlds with my website Koinup ( http://www.koinup.com )

Anyway, its time to have back some comments and feedback from you

Best regards

Pierluigi
Koinup ceo and co-founder