Together with the great team of Sofinco, we are at Stonfield InWorld most passionate about RIL Shopping and its opportunities to become an exceptional channel for selling high quality goods against considerable discount. Even to just imagine the chances that this brand new sales-channel has, using the Virtual Universe of Second Life, gives us the shivers by excitement. This channel is marvelously well suited for sales of complex products but also for sales with a very specific emotional perception.
After some promising earlier sales, improving one after another, we decided that the process is ready for its next big step in the long course to go, as it is now already stable enough to move up a gear. For this reason we launched a major sponsorship, with a few key gifts that we hope to be attractive and “in spirit” of the service.
Now it is time to take a next step and face a larger challenge: we are going to sell cars!
Again, just like the sales that have passed until today, the sale at RIL shopping in Second Life is considered to be a sale online, but in contrast to ordinary webshops, it gives the seller and buyer the warm experience of the social aspects of shopping that was until now exclusively reservated for shops in physical life. A real person is there to advise you, guide you in your choices and accompany you throughout the process.
However, we are well aware that a car is probably one of the most improbable products that one could buy in a virtual world like Second Life. For this reason and with the complicity of Jean-Pierre Pla and the whole team of SAAB Signatures in Toulouse, we have decided to offer this high quality SAAB against a totally incredible price, with discounts on new or used cars, ranging from €1.300,- to €10.000,-! Yes, you read it well this is no typing error
Prices can be accessed at this sale and only on the RIL Shopping in Second Life and quantities are - of course - very limited, so it will not ongoing!
Needless to say that this sale will be carried out by SAAB Signatures, official representative of the brand in Toulouse. The payment will not be mandatory and online buyers have all the services and guarantees as a regular and usual rule in this type of purchase.
In these hard times on the economic front, we are very pleased to offer, in partnership with Sofinco and of course, SAAB Toulouse, such an exceptional opportunity as to achieve a special transaction, but also to write history by becoming the the first persons in the world to have bought and sold a real car in Second Life
Thank you very much to Jean-Pierre Pla and his team for having agreed to join and play the game with as much enthusiasm!
Last Thursday, 6th November 2008 the long announced and long awaited opening of RIL Shopping in Second Life TM was a fact. This shop, at its first opening selling exclusive chocolate by D’lys Couleurs, is special compared to all other shops in Second Life, because real goods are sold in stead of just goods in pixels. The chocolate purchased at RIL Shopping will be delivered to the customers door within a few days. This very new step in e-commerce will be the first in a new way of shopping on distance.
Compared to all other webshops that have been known until now, RIL Shopping is the first to open its doors in the 3D web environment of Second Life ™, and where all goods can be seen in their real, 3D shape.
And while the customer is making his or her visit in the shop, a shop-assistant is always around to assist. These shop-assistants, who have been trained specially for RIL Shopping, can help each customer personally with his or her choice, but also guide in the registration, which must be done on the RIL Shopping website as well as at RIL Shopping in world.
This personal attention to every customer is one of the reasons why RIL Shopping is special.
Shopping on distance, both in the well known webshops as well as in the virtual environment of Second Life, has never taken the place of ‘real’ or better: physical shops and will never mean to take over either.
Shopping, as a social way for people of spending quality time, will never be replaced by shopping on the internet or even in Second Life. At the other hand, shopping on the internet has turned out to be a great improvement for people who are disabled and therefor not able to go out shopping if they need or want to. The same goes for people who live in rural places who have to travel a long distance to do their shoppings in ‘real’ or physical shops. The market that has been opened, also to these groups, is enormous and the only thing needed is a computer with internet connection.
Although the improvements are great, the one thing that is still missing in webshops, is the personal attention that gives the customer the social perception that changes shopping into spending quality-time.
And this high valued quality is another reason why RIL Shopping in Second Life is special. It adds quality-time to shopping on the internet.
To make RIL Shopping really work, and especially with high quality products against considerable discount, the main challenge now is to convince the residents of Second Life and explain to them that it is easy and efficient to shop at RIL Shopping and that they will really have a delivery after their purchase.
This is the challenge that the initiating teams of Stonfield Inworld and credit bank Sofinco are facing right now.
RIL Shopping, managed for Stonfield InWorld by Richard Malterre, is not opened 24/7 like other, common webshops. This makes it possible to provide personal attention and service to every customer. Opening hours will be announced in advance at RIL Shopping in Second Life, as well as on the website, www.ril-shopping.com together with the specialties that will be offered for sale.
The very next sales, only available for residents who live in France, Belgium or Luxembourg, of special and exclusive wines by Château Labastidié, will be on the 12th of November from 17.00 to 21.00 CET. On the third opening day, the 14th of November from 17.00 to 21.00 CET, exclusive and high-quality gifts provided by Bagatelles.fr will be offered for sale in RIL Shopping against considerable discount.
Written by Pierre-Olivier Carles (17 October 2008)
Virtual Worlds uses, both for business and private life, are rocking, but the main part of our planet doesn’t know it. It could be the best kept secret in the world.
That’s the reason why we decided to make this movie. We want to evangelize et help people understanding why and how the Internet 3D (may be Second Life & OpenSim ?!?) could change the way companies are working and people are living…
Written by Pierre-Olivier Carles (24 September 2008)
Some weeks ago, I’ve talked about what we were preparing in Second Life for Saint-Gobain Glass. The project has been launch on September 18th, 2008 and I would like to thank the dozens of residents who came to the conference.
As you will see, we launched a game, that will let you understand better how the Glass can save energy (that means reducing our carbon footprint). Each resident that’ll succeed will see a tree appearing on Saint-Gobain’s island. In January, we’ll plant as many trees as there’ll be on the island, but for real, this time, to re-create a forest in Lebanon.
The game will stay opened until November, 18th. Every resident has here a unique opportunity to really act for our Planet.Feel free to talk about the game (even without mentioning our client if you feel more comfortable this way !) on papers, blogs, etc… We would love to plant thousands of trees !
If you do so, please leave a comment on this post or a Trackback to let us know.
Here’s the press release :
Courbevoie, 11 September 2008 - Sustainable development and technological innovation are, for Saint-Gobain, powerful handles for improving its operations and its results.
For several years, the company initiated a pro-active policy in this area. The establishment of Saint-Gobain Glass in the virtual world of Second Life, orchestrated by experts of Stonfield InWorld, is a new step to encourage exchanges between scholars and performers of glazing residents with high environmental sensitivity.
A strong agreement to the protection of the environment in Second Life
To initiate a constructive discussion on the role of glazing in environmental protection and energy saving, Saint-Gobain Glass organizes conferences and debates between marketing and development and residents whose sensitivity and Culture Sustainable development is high. This is to present innovative solutions developed by Saint-Gobain Glass to build the ecological house of the future and talk with residents.
Twofold:
* explain solutions for existing glazing and present the environmental impact of the most innovative often little known to the general public.
* exchange of ideas with residents who are highly committed on the theme of environmental protection, improve their comprehension of these solutions and above all their expectations of products.
This interactive initiative has begun on September 18th, 2008 with a presentation of the implantation of Saint-Gobain Glass in Second Life and its new showroom designed and developed by the company Stonfield InWorld to present, through 3D animation, the characteristics of the most efficient glass. That evening, a lecture on “More glass, less energy” has been an opportunity to explain how the glazing enhanced thermal insulation and solar control participate in the reduction of energy consumption of buildings. The conference has also provided an opportunity for Saint-Gobain Glass to begin a fruitful discussion with residents of Second Life on future developments in glazing by Saint-Gobain Glass.
Understanding the glass … by planting trees:
Starting from September 18th, 2008, Saint-Gobain Glass has also launched a competition. Residents who will visit the showroom on the sim “Ebeoplex” in Second Life, can go to the next floor and join the “game”. Its aim is to identify by multiple choice questions, for a house in a given environment, the glass best suited to an ecological point of view. Each winner will have the satisfaction of a tree to grow in his name in the garden adjacent to the showroom. A less virtual commitment has been made by Saint-Gobain Glass too, as it pledges to plant for each winner, a real cedar on the Mediterranean coast. The influence of Second Life in the first world … The game will stay on the upper floor of Saint-Gobain Glass until the 18th of November.
About Saint-Gobain Glass:
The glazing by Saint-Gobain has achieved a turnover of 5.6 billion euro in 2007 and employs about 39 000 people. Located in 40 countries, it is now Europe’s leading flat glass and number 2 globally.
Saint-Gobain, historically grown in glazing, includes three core businesses: the manufacture of flat glass and glass layers, processing and distribution of glass products for construction and glazing for transport. The efforts of research and development enable the Flat Glass to launch products and innovative systems and high performance in a sustainable development approach.
Saint-Gobain Glass is also very active in the field of renewable energy, particularly in the market for solar-thermal and photovoltaic.
About Stonfield InWorld:
This company, originally established in Oloron Sainte-Marie (Pyrenees Atlantiques), also settled in Neuilly sur Seine and Toulouse, became in a short time a participant in the market for virtual worlds (Second Life, There.com, OpenSim, Multiverse). It offers businesses of all sizes and all sectors, comprehensive solutions for integrating Internet and virtual worlds in their development strategy. Accredited Full Service Provider Solutions by Linden Lab, Stonfield InWorld also focused part of its efforts to research and development on sale online (e-commerce) and training (e-learning) in order to make two poles growth with high added value for its clients on the virtual world. In September 2007, Crédit Agricole entered the capital Stonfield InWorld and became the largest shareholder. Clients of the consultancy and service are companies like Réunica, the Navy, ENST Bretagne, Suez Environment, Saint Gobain Glass, IBM, Sofinco, Intersport, Bull …
Press Contact Stonfield InWorld:
Virginia Heuzé - Florence Gillier Communication –
virginieh@fgcom.fr / tel: 01 41 18 85 55
Written by Pierre-Olivier Carles (8 September 2008)
As expected, you will find below some elements regarding the recruitment that we have just achieved via Seesmic.
For information, we were looking for a Commercial Project Manager, whose main mission is to support the development of one of our most strategic projects.
The problematics of our query were:
– Find a profile able to integrate into a team already in place sharing our values and our culture,
– The candidate should have an excellent knowledge of Virtual Universes and Internet 1.0 or 2.0… and a good vision of the possible 3.0
– Find a SALESMAN because the mission includes a part in Business Development and a part of evangelizing (new market to create, an economic model to invent, a strong creativity based on the sectors knowledge).
– Doing the recruitment between 15th July and 15th August, so quiet in our beautiful country,
– Keep sexy and desirable for the best candidates, while we are a young and relatively “modest” business (and therefore unattractive to the largest part of graduates seeking a career in large companies).
These difficulties have led us to seek a different medium to diffuse our offer, which would be more representative to we are (or at least what we hope to be! ;-)), Simple, innovative and effective … And it is with Seesmic that we decided to work on this project.
Here’s the video. Unfortunately, my pitch is in French as we were looking for a French speaking candidate, for a job based in Paris. Sorry for that…
(Update Résultat) Stonfield InWorld a recruté dans Seesmic Débrief après clotûre du processus de recrutement d’un Chef de Projet Commercial, dans Seesmic, pour Stonfield InWorld (http://www.stonfield-inworld.com)
And the video he sent us with Seesmic, in French too…
We drawn several interesting lessons :
– The recruiter is filmed (and it’s even more true if the same recruiter is the future manager of the candidate !) Can personify the post and give it soul. Candidates know, therefore, before applying, what to expect. In a way, they will choose before you make your own selection. In the end, you have fewer candidates but much more focused. The processing time in shorter, more interesting and you do not have to answer a load of people completely beside the point.
– You deliver much more information than any other medium, without limiting access to other sources of information, like your web site or blog, for example. So it’s some of your culture and your values that you send out, in addition to your job description and vacancy.
– The answer to the video acts as the first interview. It is a little degraded because less interactive and sometimes intimidating, but it’s full of lessons. Some people have applied without making a video, what we didn’t set as totally discriminatory, but it wasn’t good neither. However, remember that these videos are created with little means and not specially figure of speech professionals. So we’re very indulgent on the form and mainly focus on the substance.
– It’s easy to show your ad and relay it, but most of all, you can “defend” it. At Stonfield InWorld, we believe that our teams have much to give and get involved heavily in the company, but the company must also give them a lot in terms of atmosphere, working conditions or project quality. So when you forget certain points in your presentation or if questions come to those who view it, you can give them precise answers. Of course, some questions are very spontaneous and sometimes be seen as disturbing (especially when they are raised by people who do so only out of curiosity) and requires some kind of transparency, but I think that if you’re not able to defend the profile, as well as your company and / or your values, you simply do not deserve the “good applicants”!
Other elements may still be highlighted and some options are still missing in Seesmic, but the main thing is there. The quality of the Californian start-up is undeniable and I think that Loic and his team can be proud of what has already been accomplished.
For us, the idea of using Seesmic for recruitment was a total success, despite our lack of experience on the subject and the difficulty of the task we tackled.
Big thanks to Cyrille (aka Vinvin) and Loïc for their priceless support during this experience !
Damn, IBM has just released the Ad we would have loved to have done ! ☺
I guess the main message is “ Stop talking about what your company could do in Virtual Worlds… and just do it!”
This is exactly what we thought, about a year ago, at Stonfield InWorld. Since we started this company, we have explored many Virtual Worlds, set up some great events in-world, designed some superb places… and more than that, we have provided some Virtual World solutions where we even talked about Return on Investment with our clients!
Of course, we sometimes took the wrong road ( which prevented us from taking our clients there !), but, above all, we really pushed ahead with our two favorite topics: e-Learning and e-Commerce.
The ITC Project (Immersive Training Center) is well on its way, as is the Shopping Attitude project (e-Commerce), which is close to being released !
IBM is leader in practically all the markets the company targets. The Company’s very last news from Virtual Worlds 2008 in New-York yesterday are awesome. IBM is also Stonfield InWorld’s client, often its business partner and sometimes its supplier. We have dozens of friends there (and maybe even one of my best friends !) and are honored to have this excellent business relationship.
But at the end of the day, what makes me more excited with this note is the determination of the first IT company in the world, to evangelize a market that so few of us understand and support.
When Stonfield InWorld says “Virtual Worlds are one of the Kill Apps of the Internet of the Future” , I can understand some people don’t trust us so easily… but when IBM says that, people should ask themselves why is Big Blue so confident ?
By the way, I would like to quote a young guy, retired from the IT market, who said some months ago in Paris – France : “We are going to bring the Web from the second to the third dimension, a dimension where you’ll be able to walk through cities, shops…” Bill Gates.
Euh… Bill ? I know you were wainting for us but we are ready now, you can start moving !
OpenSimulator, a project well known as OpenSim, has just found significant and active support from RealXtend, a joint-venture between two Swedish 3D specialists.
If the video doesn’t make you see why it’s so important for Virtual Worlds’ future, then check out this Road Map.
Under testing for the next release (29th of February 2008)
* Free-form non-humanoid avatars * Global avatar mesh, skeleton, textures, attachments and animations * Single sign-on to multiple worlds for teleporting * Avatar generator * Avatar attachment tool to help set 3D meshes to different bones * Unlimited amount of attachments per bone * Teleports between realXtend and Secondlife * Avatar storage to move avatar appearance between realXtend grids/worlds * Mesh tool to scale and set pivot of 3d models * Server launcher and configuration application * Home automation example using X10 technology * Bot with Python scripting * Media library for world builders * Server status window
Roadmapped features
* Direct3D rendering for better performance * Support for OGG Vorbis * Support for video (other than quicktime) * Avatar generator and attachment tool integration to rexViewer * OGRE materials support * Procedural textures to reduce network load * On-the-fly compression for mesh up/downloading to reduce network load * Client side prediction * Improvements to in-world building tools * Avatar off-line mode, with scriptable behaviour * Texture projectors * Weather support * Integration with skype/google spreadsheets/openoffice * Inverse kinematics * Avatar face/head animation based on live video camera data * Lip synch for VOIP * Cloth physics * Vehicles’ support * Global rights management for objects in distributed architecture (you can set rights for objects as in SL) * Wallet and transactions
Clearly, OpenSim will accelarate its development before Summer 2008. It’s definitely another - huge - step towards interoperability.
At Stonfield InWorld, we are following this progress closely as well as carrying out our own work on this topic. Our main concerns are business uses such as e-Learning, e-Commerce or Collaborative Work…
Take a look at these two tutorials below…
The first one is about including a VNC screen directly in RealXtend and the second one shows how to import objects directly from Maya. Our team did that two weeks ago, on Stonfield’s RealXtend servers.
By the way, many thanks to the RealXtend Tech Team for their awesome work !
