Hiperia3D News: Interview: Dave Elchoness, Executive Director Of The Association Of Virtual Worlds

Labels: Interviews

Dave Elchoness is the Executive Director of the Association of Virtual Worlds, which is becoming a never-seen phenomenon in the virtual worlds scene, gathering together the most remarkable professionals and platform leaders of the sector, and also the most active fans and users.

He is also founder and CEO of VRWorkplace, where he advises companies on how to use virtual worlds technology for maximum impact, primarily in the workplace.

In the last times, he founded GoWeb3D, which is a product line, services company, and consultancy that provides low cost to fully custom virtual environments on the web.

Recently, the Association of Virtual Worlds opened its Virtual Headquarters, a place for its members to gather together and meet in 3D. This interview is of extreme value for them all, and if you are still not in the AVW, consider joining and taking part in this thrilling community.

- Why did you created the AVW Headquarters?

- We created the AVW Headquarters for a number of reasons. First, as an organization dedicated to the advancement of virtual worlds and web3D, we need to have a virtual space of our own to showcase the AVW, offer an environment for members, and to demonstrate to newcomers the power of the immersive web. We also felt we needed a place unrelated to any existing virtual world to make all visitors welcome in our space.

- Why did you choose 3DXplorer as technology for these virtual worlds?

- We chose this technology because it is highly accessible. As a Java based technology that launches in the browser and requires no download or plug-in, we felt that 3Dxplorer offered a great opportunity to capture the attention of individuals and organizations unfamiliar with the power of immersion in 3D. The idea here is that if you can demonstrate immersion by clicking a link, you will sell people rather quickly on the concept of virtual worlds and web3D.

- Who was the builder of the geometry and final shape of these spaces?

- A very talented designer, Rahul Dutta, CEO of Trimensions-Metaverse Development of Gurgaon, India.

- How many virtual spaces does the AVW Headquarters have?

- The AVW currently has three spaces: The Main Hub, an Office and Conference Center, and an Auditorium. There are more to come.

- What kind of activities will be done in each one?

- The Main Hub will serve as a landing space and an informal gathering space. It will highlight the AVW and some of our partners and members. The Main Hub has a library, lounge area, and media center for this purpose. The Office and Conference Center will house some of the offices of the AVW and its partners and serve as a more formal meeting space. Finally, the auditorium will serve as one of our larger meeting spaces and presentation spaces.

- Do you expect to host special events or celebrations to gather the members at these virtual places?

- Yes, in fact, we recently announced our first AVW Conference, Expo, and Networking event (CoNeE) that will take place February 20 through 26, 2009 – a fully virtual event taking place over seven days and around the clock. We are presently seeking speakers and topics to cover. In addition to the official CoNeE event, we encourage the membership to have less formal events such as discussion groups, get togethers, and meetings. Our virtual headquarters provides a great meeting center for discussions and relationships started up in our Business & Social Network.

- As a final question, can anyone organize an event in these worlds, or will be some restricted access?

- Spaces will be available for use by members of the AVW. We hope that the virtual space will serve as a meeting space for informal and formal gatherings of members.