It appears that Second Life type technology has also captured the attention of some non-techie types as well. There was a session devoted to it at the recently concluded Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum. The session, entitled The Age of the Avatar and Multiple Identities, examined the implications of this new technology for the entertainment industry, business and e-commerce and, most importantly, for human social interaction.

A great example of how Second Life can be used to interactively involve the remote internet community, real-time, in an event like the Annual Meeting of the WEF can be seen by taking a look at Adam Reuter’s ‘coverage’ of the event on the Reuters Second Life Site. Reuters interviewed several of the attendees at the meeting as Second Life events that other SL resident could attend in-world, real time in SL. You can access videos of the interviews from links listed on the home page.

I found the interview with Peter Gabriel especially stimulating. Peter has always been a master at utilizing cutting edge technology in very creative ways. For example, he was one of the first people/organizations to obtain a Fairlight CMI back in the early 80s and utilized it extensively on several albums. (See Note below.) In this interview he shares some fascinating ideas for innovative applications of SL technology for NGOs, charitible organizations, and, of course, musicians.

Note: I was impressed by this because we were fortunate, I think only 2 US universities at the time had one, to have a Fairlight at UW-M when I was there working on my masters in music. In fact, I utilized it to create a track that I used in my thesis research, Effect of music on motor unit firing in the frontalis muscle. UW-M Library, M 9999 .J34, 1987.

I couldn’t resist including a few pictures of the new Fairlight products. They are so beautiful.

See you in SL!

In the last nine months, more than $20 million has been generated by (RED) partners, really by their customers, for the Global Fund. This is so, even though the full product line has been available only since October. And this $20 million is 4x more than the $5 million in private sector contributions that had been sent to the Fund in the prior 4 years. So (RED) is off to a good start. The launch of the full product range seems to have gotten through to customers in the US, UK, France and Japan. Brand awareness is now around 20 percent in major markets, which for a concept that was only announced a year ago is good. (RED) partners have produced iconic advertising and won awards for their campaigns. This is very good.

The big challenge we face is sustainability. Everywhere we go, people ask what our plans are for making this venture sustainable. Every time we answer continuing innovation in products, continuing innovative campaigns to inform people that the (RED) embrace means money for medicine in Africa and continuing innovation with new product partners and their integration into the (RED) marketing system. This is a very daunting task. We are depending on, and thankful for, our product partners and our customers.

Bobby Shriver
CEO

For even more detailed information about exactly how the funds generated by the (RED) campaign are being put to use there is a nice summary update on the joinred site as well. Below are some highlights from that document.

(RED) has delivered a total of $11,303,926 to the Global Fund thus far. Based on early conservative estimates, we believe that when holiday sales have been totaled, (RED) will have generated another $10 million for the Fund*. Two countries in Africa are the initial beneficiaries.

In Rwanda, (RED) money is supporting Global Fund-financed programs, which have already:

• reached over 168,000 mothers with counseling and services to prevent mother-to-child-transmission of HIV
• trained over 1,000 healthcare providers in the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV
• reached over 325,000 people with voluntary counseling and testing for prevention of HIV
• trained almost 3,000 counselors to teach prevention of HIV
• provided anti-retroviral therapy for HIV/AIDS to almost 16,000 people including almost 3,600 infants and children
• set up 41 health centers to deliver anti-retroviral therapy for HIV/AIDS

In the next two to three years, these programs aim to more than double the number of women reached with prevention of mother-to-child transmission, and to expand the reach of antiretroviral therapy from half the population to the entire country.

In Swaziland, (RED) money is supporting Global Fund-financed programs, which have already:

• reached over 4,400 mothers with services to prevent mother-to-child-transmission of HIV
• trained over 150 midwives and doctors in the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV
• equipped over 40 hospitals to provide services to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV
• reached over 140,000 people with voluntary counseling and testing for prevention of HIV
• trained over 70 counselors to teach prevention of HIV
• set up over 35 counseling and testing centers for prevention of HIV
• established feeding schemes in 335 schools
• built 154 community feeding centers
• provided education support for over 36,000 vulnerable children
• provided anti-retroviral therapy for HIV/AIDS to almost 15,000 patients
• trained over 3,000 health workers to deliver home-based care for patients with HIV/AIDS

Bottom line is – IT IS WORKING FOLKS!! Please keep buying red, and encouraging others to do so as well. Every dime makes a difference.