Just updated – great virtual world events for May in Silicon Valley and *LIVE* (May 13 and 14) from  https://www.virtualworldsig.com Not to be missed!  Tell your friends!

Wed. May 13   SDForum Emerging Tech SIG (full description at SDForum.org)
“Virtual Worlds and Real Metrics: Tangible Statistics about Imaginary Goods”
with Bill Grosso CTO & VP of Engineering (http://www.twofish.com) to “explore some of the metrics that make sense for a virtual economy” (http://www.sdforum.org/ETSIG )

Thu. May 14  SDForum Virtual World SIG (full description at SDForum.org)
“Open Source Virtual Worlds” with Julian Lombardi (Open Croquet/Cobalt) + Henrik Bennetsen and team (Sirikata) + Dan Miller (OpenSim) confirmed. More presenters may be added.  (http://www.sdforum.org/vwsig) (https://virtualworldsig.com)

Fri. May 29 and Sat. May 30
Metaverse U: “Open Source”
“The Metaverse U conference will explore the cutting edge applications of virtual worlds and the open platforms that drive them. The main purpose of this conference is to define a strategy for advancing open source platforms and explore their potential in a broad variety of contexts, including scientific research, education, private enterprise, and cultural programming.”  (http://metaverse.stanford.edu/)

Here’s a fast look at our last SIG meeting – Women at Work in Virtual Worlds

As filmed by Elizabeth Gwinner. Thanks Elizabeth!

New book being put together by Stanford seeks entries on cartography and virtual worlds. One to two page proposal deadline April 25th

VIA:
http://www.stanford.edu/group/htgg/cgi-bin/drupal/?q=node/921

“The How They Got Game Project at Stanford University is currently seeking for papers that explore the connections between mapping, cartographic practices, electronic gaming and virtual worlds for an illustrated book that will be published in 2010. Specifically, we are interested in essays that address the notion of representing spaces in video games and virtual worlds through the aid of maps and mapping tools. Video games and virtual worlds establish new topographies and geographies that – while often making references to preexisting models – create a new understanding of the fictional worlds that we explore. Our goal is to show and explain how digital spaces are being mapped by a new generation of cartographers.  ”

Some topics might include:
-         History and evolution of mapping in games and virtual worlds
-         Origins and evolution of strategy guides
-         Uses of modern cartographic tools (e.g. Google Earth) for video games/virtual worlds
-         Uses of innovative displays for mapping/visualizing data in games/virtual worlds
-         Case studies of key games/virtual worlds that use innovative cartographic solutions
-         Legal issues related to gaming and virtual world cartography
-         Visual display of game-related  information on-screen and off-screen
-         The relationship between traditional (analog) and digital cartography
-         Cartographies of game development around the world (think Franco Moretti’s research in literary studies)
-         Mapping social patterns and activities in games/virtual worlds
-         Game Travelogues

May is shaping up to be a great month for VW events:

Virtual World SIG: (http://www.sdforum.org/vwsig) (https://virtualworldsig.com) May 14 “Open Source Virtual Worlds” with Julian Lombardi (Open Croquet/Cobalt) + Henrik Bennetsen and team (Sirikata) confirmed. More presenters may be added.

Metaverse U: (http://metaverse.stanford.edu/) May 29 and 30 “Open Source”
“The Metaverse U conference will explore the cutting edge applications of virtual worlds and the open platforms that drive them. The main purpose of this conference is to define a strategy for advancing open source platforms and explore their potential in a broad variety of contexts, including scientific research, education, private enterprise, and cultural programming.”