Second Life Conferencing

Great America Networks Conferencing will be holding their official launch party in Second Life on their conferencing and events sim, The Alhambra Conference Center.  The official event starts at 2PM PST and will include opening remarks and comments from Reno Provine, the President of Great America Networks Conferencing, as well as demonstrations of how the features and functionality will extend to allow corporations to have completely integrated events within Second Life.  Some of the shortcomings that our company will be solving for corporations are:

1.  Most companies use the telephone to communicate.  Second Life has no solution for this.  Our company utilizes state of the art audio conferencing bridges from Compunetix that allow for the connection of up to 5000 participants via telephone.  I know most people in Second Life are thinking "who uses the phone?  we use skype and ventrillo, and teamspeak.  and what about Second Life chat and voice?"  Our answer is quite simple.  Businesses do not use those tools for corporate communications.  While some may be capable, most use the telephone to communicate.  It's that simple.  None of the aforementioned solutions are business quality communications tools, nor are they reliable, nor are they simple to setup and use.  All of them also require a different type of interaction then most business employees are used to, ie PC, microphone, etc. instead of the phone they just pick up and dial.

2.  Most companies that hold press releases and large scale events don't want to be constrained with a maximum participation of 50.  Our company allows our clients to have their participants take part in the event in the following ways, all in a seamless fashion:

• Up to the maximum in SL for a sim - generally speaking 50
• SL users can listen one-way via the land stream parcel
• SL users can participate 2-way via telephone
• SL users can view the movie or slides via SL screens in-world
• SL users can communicate via SL chat
• Non-SL users can listen one-way via standard media player through audio stream
• Non-SL users can participate 2-way via telephone
• Non-SL users can view the movie or slides via standard Internet Browser
• Non-SL users can communicate via web tool chat in standard Internet Browser

All of this is coordinated by our trained meeting consultants and bridge operators.  We can conduct formal Question and Answer sessions, provide polling results, and much more.

3.  Most corporations who will be inviting clients or new users to attend their events will have to deal with the reality of the steep learning curve for a new person coming into Second Life for the first time.  We provide their participants with custom avatars, clothing and accessories right off the bat.  This will save them a lot of time and allow them to be impressed with their first experience.  We will also bring them directly into our customized full-sim tutorial island.  We have designed a truly outstanding environment for them to learn the basics of Second Life.  They can go through the tutorials as quickly or as slowly as they like.  They also have the option to come back at a later date for a more advanced tutorial session.

4.  We will provide a truly unique experience for their event participants to come in and have their hands held the whole way.  There will be pre and post event sessions held and allow for fun and exploration, as well as smaller breakout sessions.  Participants will also be able to try their building skills in our customized tutorial sandbox, and explore our breathtaking sim layout.  Easter egg hunts, and many other add-ons will be available to increase customer participation.

5.  We provide a variety of add-on services including recording and archiving your event, converting your event into podcast format, providing archived streaming access to your event, customised registration pages with information capture, and much more.

In summary, we are truly providing a unique service to companies that are coming into Second Life and have a need or desire to host unique events for their clients such as press releases, sales management events, IR calls, and much more.  This is all in addition to our core offerings of audio conferencing, web conferencing, and video conferencing.

To find out more about how you can use our organization for your next event, contact Pierce Benelli, Astryd James or myself Atalar Longstaff in the world of Second Life.  Or go to www.ganconference.com for information about or company outside of Second Life, or www.slconferencing.com for information about our Second Life Division.  You may also call 1-877-GET-GAN1 to speak to a live person.

Great America Networks Conferencing, a full services conferencing provider to businesses of all sizes has officially made their entry into the virtual world of Second Life.  According to Reno Provine, President of Great America Networks Conferencing, the bar for conferencing and collaboration has just been taken to the next level.  The Second Life platform allows for the ability to conduct collaborative sessions in an increasingly interactive environment.  Gone are the days of of just speaking to a person at the other end of the phone.  With the technology that we are bringing into Second Life, we are able to provide the capability to conduct a seamless collaborative event utilizing multiple audio and visual effects.

Conference attendees can listen and communicate via multiple methods of audio, including telephone, streaming through their PC, and recording for later playback.  They can see physical representations of their other attendees in the form of their avatar, as well as be in a locale that is as simple or complex as they can imagine.  They can also collaborate on documents and presentations in real-time, as well as bring up 3D Rendered Models of products or devices.  The ability to effectively communicate across time and space has effectively been brought closer to reality.

The new division of the company, labeled SL Division of Great America Networks Conferencing has built a state-of-the art 1/2 sim buildout for their new headquarters which you can see here.  Click here to be taken to our Headquarters.   In addition, the company has begun an extensive project based on an initial Two Sim buildout.  We have built a customized tutorial island that allows new members the ability to learn about the Second Life interface and rules within a controlled environment.  This island is a full-blown tutorial that walks new members through everything they need to be comfortable for their upcoming conferencing event.  This will also be supervised by a fully trained Meeting Consultant that will be available to answer any questions that they may have.  This is typically a difficult area for conference attendees that are new to Second Life, due to the steep learning curve.  We take that problem away.  We also have our newest conferencing simulator available, a fabulous recreation of a Morocaan-themed environment that will allow your conference attendees to truly appreciate the beauty that Second Life has to offer.  This conferencing simulator comes complete with multiple conferencing areas with large screen video players, breathtaking scenery, unique seating areas, a sandbox and market area, and much more.

What truly sets us apart from any other company in Second Life is the technology that we have behind our offerings.  In Second Life, you are limited to 40 "avatars" at your event.  Our audio and web conferencing technology allows you to have thousands of concurrent participants.  We can show you how to run your event utilizing the best of what Second Life has to offer, as well as how our technology can combine with it to increase your meeting capabilities.

For more information on how we can help your company collaborate more effectively, please contact either Astryd James or Pierce Benelli in game or send an email to rprovine@ganconference.com