Editorial

Of MICE and
People
New concepts mix with the steady presence of trade
shows. by Doug Mohney, Editor-in-Chief

One term you’ll likely hear repeated at Spring VON in San Jose, Calif., is MICE–Media/Internet/Communications/Entertainment, as in the MICE revolution. I like this term better than “quadruple play” or “FMC” because the concept behind it, as described by Jeff Pulver, puts some focus and structure above and beyond voice on the Net or video on the Net. Besides, it’s just dying for a parody along the theme of “Three Blind Mice.”

So what is the MICE revolution all about? Many companies have stovepiped their views of voice and video rather than looking at the two applications as part of a greater Internet communications picture. People need to look at breaking down their separate applications pipes and services and start examining how they can take advantage of evolving and interconnected applications. Applications and service-creation developers are already walking the walk to link separate applications together in new and different ways to create revenue-producing services faster. To borrow a different analogy, it’s about taking the individual ingredients of video and voice and mixing them together in new and creative ways outside of traditional thinking–think Iron Chef IP.

Before you think I’ve been smoking too much of the party line here, consider for a moment what’s going on in Second Life ( www.secondlife.com). You have presence, entertainment, voice, video, and e-commerce going on in a 3-D virtual world populated by 3 million inhabitants from around the real globe. IBM– no slouch at spotting hot trends as documented by its wisdom in embracing and promoting the Internet and open source–is spending more than $10 million in developing its presence in Second Life with perhaps 1,500 engineers working on associated projects. At press time, Sweden was opening up its first virtual embassy in Second Life. The House of Sweden is being modeled on the Swedish embassy building in Washington, D.C., and is being used as a vehicle to promote “First Life;” i.e., real-world tourism.

However, the existence of virtual worlds has not displaced the ongoing need and success of real-world events, such as, oh, Spring VON. Despite all the cliché predications over the years of trade shows becoming virtualized, human beings still need to get out of the office and away from a desk full of distractions to look at products and services in a focused fashion. Relationships are built, friendships are renewed, and business is closed. The only downside is being so busy during the week that you look forward to returning to the office for some quiet time. V

The existence
of virtual worlds
has not displaced
the ongoing need
and success of
real-world events.

Doug Mohney can be reached at dmohney@vonmag.com.

Editorial

Editor-in-Chief Doug Mohney dmohney@vonmag.com Features Editor Greg Tally gtally@vonmag.com European Editor Bob Emmerson bemmerson@vonmag.com Asia/Pacific Editor Ross O’Brien robrien@vonmag.com Middle East Editor Hadass Geyfman hgeyfman@vonmag.com

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