AUGUST 1st, 2008 – Metaverse-TV (http://www.metaverse-tv.com) and My Metaverse (http://www.my-metaverse. com) have partnered to launch a new online newspaper dedicated to news and entertainment in the fast-paced virtual worlds, otherwise known as ‘the Metaverse’.
The Metaverse Tribune (http://www.metaverse-tribune.com) was officially launched today. Events held at the Empire State Building of Metaverse-TV and My Metaverse in Second Life (http://www.secondlife.com) offered guests an opportunity to meet and chat with different members from the Tribune.
The ‘Trib’ is the latest newspaper to launch online with a focus on virtual worlds such as Second Life, Kaneva, Entropia Universe, Open Life Grid, Twinity and There, among others.
About 6 million people worldwide are regular visitors to the Metaverse, being registered members of one or more virtual worlds. Some of these virtual worlds (or ‘grids’) have their own news source, whether blogs, forums, or magazines. There are some independent titles that examine one or two virtual worlds because their publishers have a personal interest in them. There are also some titles that examine what is happening in virtual worlds from a national point of view, such as what Germans, Australians or Canadians are doing in the Metaverse or what doctors, lawyers or educators are doing in the virtual worlds.
The Metaverse Tribune seeks to go further and look at the virtual worlds as a whole, as an online level of human society. It reports news in all virtual worlds.
“With no affiliation or obligation to any individual virtual world, we seek to take a fair-handed look at what is happening in these communities,” said Editor-in-Chief, Erica Sonnier. “While many virtual worlds have their own newsletters, the ‘Trib’ looks at all the worlds, giving the reader an objective bird-eye-view of what is happening in the development of the Metaverse. My ambition for the ‘Trib’ is for it to become the go-to source for pioneers in the virtual worlds to find out what is happening”.
Certainly, the publishers of the ‘Trib’ are at pains to recommend that people compare the Metaverse Tribune with what they are reading elsewhere. Steve Cropper, veteran Australian journalist and TV presenter and founder of My Metaverse, says the Tribune is sharing the stories of the early settlement of the virtual worlds. “We are in an era similar to the time of the covered wagons headed west in the early settlement of America, Australia, Canada or South Africa, when pioneers set up communities made of wood and canvass. The virtual worlds are the new frontier”.
The Tribune is an example of the next generation of media – the virtual media for the virtual worlds. According to Publisher Tim Hannan, CEO of Metaverse-TV, anyone participating in the development of the virtual worlds should consult the Metaverse Tribune to get a measure of what is happening in this fast-paced virtual world of change. “Hundreds of new virtual colonies are being established every day. Even the more established worlds like Second Life are subject to rapid change”.
Apart from the usual blend of entertainment, news, technology, the arts and off-beat items, the Metaverse Tribune will also offer a jobs section where people can browse for jobs in the online economy. The ‘Trib’ will also feature regular contributions from correspondents from virtual worlds including Second Life, Kaneva, Entropia, Open Life Grid and more.
Metaverse Tribune is free. People can subscribe to the ‘Trib’ at http://www.metaverse-tribune.com and they will receive updates via email (if they want it) whenever there is news they want or news they can use.
For more information contact:
Runeswan Ceawlin - [email]editor@metaverse-tribune.com[/email]
You can browse and register for your own subscription at http://www.metaverse-tribune.com
Reporters please note: The ‘Trib’ invites contributions from journalists who cover news in the virtual worlds, who might wish to share their content with readers who are interested in the development of the Metaverse.