Like Len said, this "live" RealAudio performance thing is a kind of
interesting dynamic. I had only one person arrive during my scheduled hour
(and that one only came because I'd popped in at various other places
around Cybertown/Colony City (or Coci as one person called it) to plug the
show), but about ten people showed up (at various times) during the
half-hour after the official scheduled time. Lots of positive feedback
from the half-dozen who listened all the way through the 20-minute story.
It was a little eerie to sit in the small Cybertown City Hall watching four
avatars tucked into corners of the room, none of them moving except for
their habitual hand-motions and such, none of them saying anything. I
don't think the people who came up with the event really thought through
the differences between poems/songs (no more than a couple minutes per
piece, usually) and stories (where even a fairly short one, like mine, can
take 20 minutes to read aloud). I took to telling people "Click my avatar
to begin the RealAudio download, then sit back and relax and close your
eyes."
Various people left after hearing it and (apparently) sent others to come
listen.
It was nice that RealAudio meant there didn't have to be an official start
time (so anyone who arrived at any time was "on time" and could start
listening whenever), but I'm still not convinced that it's the best
possible use of 3D.
ob-vrml-lit: If you build interesting content, at least some people will
pay attention to it, even if it involves sitting still in front of the
computer listening to an unaccompanied human voice for 20 minutes. How
much better we should be able to capture imaginations with compelling
visuals, motion, music/sound effects, and interactivity...
--jed
