Chris Skinner's blog

Shaping the future of finance

I’m a borrower, get me out of here!

Chris Skinner Author Avatar
by

It's been a while since I blogged about the stuff that's really interesting. 

No, not banking.  Technology!

But Technology is coming into its own right now, thanks to the credit crisis.

Think about it.

You're stuck at home, with only beans on toast and a cup of tea to live on.

The TV is your best friend and the DVD of "Titanic" has been watched so often that Kate Winslet no longer gets excited about Leonardo's cheeky little looks, and the boat manages to avoid the Iceberg.

What do you do?

Escape into another life.

According to Forbes folks are turning to virtual worlds to get away from this depressing world we exist in today.

"Consumers reduce spending on real-world goods and luxuries and console
themselves with so-called virtual goods--digital copies of products that can
cost just pennies, allowing users to indulge their materialistic fantasies
without spending much."

Too darned right. 

A Gucci handbag? 

You betcha. 

A new Ferrari?

Sure, darnit.

According to the article, Gaia now gets seven million unique American visitors per month.  Habbo's teenie users spend an average $18 each monthly and have doubled their time in escapism to forty minutes per session.

All of this intrigues me, in terms of what you can do with this from a financial markets perspective.  That's why I'm hosting the Electric Sheep Company at the

BAI Retail Delivery Show next month, in an exclusive discussion as to what these things can do for banks.

The Electric Sheep
Company
recently launched Webflock, a normal browser-based version to access and use the capabilities of virtual world, social networking.  This is an interesting development, as it means you can use virtual worlds anywhere.  No special software downloads.

The latter was a key inhibitor of Second Life

Second Life took off rapidly between 2006 and 2007, but lost a lot of support when their banking system imploded last year after a run on the banks.

The bank run was caused by a lack of regulation of the system by the management.

Sounds far too much like Real Life.

TechnologyCategories
Chris Skinner Author Avatar

Chris M Skinner

Chris Skinner is best known as an independent commentator on the financial markets through his blog, TheFinanser.com, as author of the bestselling book Digital Bank, and Chair of the European networking forum the Financial Services Club. He has been voted one of the most influential people in banking by The Financial Brand (as well as one of the best blogs), a FinTech Titan (Next Bank), one of the Fintech Leaders you need to follow (City AM, Deluxe and Jax Finance), as well as one of the Top 40 most influential people in financial technology by the Wall Street Journal's Financial News. To learn more click here...

What is the future?

Learn more

Learn more about Chris

About Chris Skinner

The Past, Present And Future Of Banking, Finance And Technology

Fintech expert Chris Skinner: countries need digital transformation to remain competitive

Join me on Linkedin

Follow Me on X!

Hire Chris Skinner for dinners, workshops and more

Learn directly from from one of the most influential people in technology, gain insights from the world's most innovative companies, and build a global network.

Chris’s latest book

Chris Skinner’s ‘Digital For Good’ Book Launch Event – CFTE

Top 50 Global Thought Leaders and Influencers on FinTech 2023

Chris Skinner
Commentator, CEO of The Finanser and best-selling author at The Finanser

Thinkers360 Thought Leader

Contact Me

Global Awards

Lifetime Achievement Award

Global 100 - 2024 Winner

Chris Skinner - Financial Markets Advisor of the Year - The Finanser - UK 2023

Best Financial Markets Advisor of the Year 2023

30 Best Regtech Blogs and Websites 2023

Kids creating the future bank | TEDxAthens

Captain Cake and the Candy Crew

Captain Cake Winner of a Golden Mom’s Choice Award

TWO-TIME WINNER OF A MOM’S CHOICE GOLD AWARD!

Alex at the Financial Services

Gaping Void's Hugh MacLeod worked with the Finanser