Cyber stores
More details on IBM's investment in Second Life, the alternative reality thingamabobbie. Cnet has the first pictures and some details. Big Blue will be showcasing their technology and have even partnered with Circuit City to put up a virtual "store".
I am going to be watching this kind of thing closely over the next few years. Second Life itself may not go anywhere, indeed the odds are that it will not, but the concept rings true. I expect the future of CRM and helpdesks to be virtual, at least for the cutting edge companies anyway.
I predict three phases:
- Hot companies use online VR worlds like 24 hour trade expos.
- It becomes standard business practice to provide customer support virtually in cyberspace, eventually causing online lines and delays that mirror the real world as the problem quickly becomes the human in the loop.
- The technology comes into its own as the human avatars are replaced with human-looking AIs that can hold their own in an online discussion.
Posted on December 15, 2006
