A couple weeks ago, Viacom ousted CEO Tom Freston, in part over his failure to lasso MySpace. Today, the New York Times is running two separate articles on Viacom companies incorporating online communities. MTV is launching Virtual Laguna Beach, a virtual world based on “the real OC.” Meanwhile, another writer tackles Nickelodeon’s social network for parents, ParentsConnect.com, which is currently in beta and expected to be launched in January.
MTV is using Makena Technologies to build Virtual Laguna Beach as well as a forthcoming a virtual nightclub (like what Doppelganger was trying to do), and a user-designed gay and lesbian virtual world. ParentsConnect was apparently built in-house.
[Cyma Zarghami, president of Nickelodeon Television] Zarghami acknowledged a mandate to grow through acquisition, but she said that Philippe P. Dauman, Viacom’s new chief executive, and Thomas E. Dooley, his deputy, “have said you definitely want to build and buy, it’s not just buying.”
Interestingly, Nickelodeon is not yet attaching its name to ParentsConnect. It seems Viacom is as skeptical as we are about its ability to tie its media brand to an online community.
In the MTV story, the guy in charge of the projects admits that he masochistically agreed to the project because he found it scary. Accordingly, most of the quotes are pretty grimace-worthy:
During a demonstration last week at MTV, [Matt Bostwick, an MTV senior vice president] played the role of an avatar named Violet Jade whom he configured — scrolling through an extensive menu of eye shapes, hair colors, skin tones and so on — to look like a typical character on the show: blond, tan and scantily clad.
Getting to play the part of a hot teenager does seem to fit the aspirational nature of Laguna Beach…but we’re not so sure we’d want to run the chance of bumping into some MTV exec in his board shorts!
6 comments so far
7:43 AM PT
As the guy in the board shorts, would suggest you not prejudge something from an article..you havent even tried yourself. I am talking about Virtual Laguna Beach that is, not my Avatar.
This post just comes of as uninformed, knee jerk response to “traditional media”
8:16 AM PT
avatar-based community is one of the oldest, hairiest, most-tried, most-failed bus models in the history of the internet. (anyone remember worlds inc?) i suppose broadband makes the avatar-thing more enjoyable for the average bloke, but — unless there are rules and mapped-out adventure paths and the like, e.g. world of warcraft and MMORPGs — in the end, the cool/wow factor wears off quick, and the tedium sets in, like a cold concrete kimono. if The Sims Online flopped bigtime, i suspect Virtual Laguna Beach will (ahem) end up a becahed whale
10:08 AM PT
Laguna Beach is the most ludicrous Television show i have ever seen in mt entire life. It’s so far off from reality, and it has absolutely no purpose what so ever. I mean all it is, is daddy’s little rich girls getting upset about a bad hair cut, and then blaming it on someone els, not to mention all the actors are skanks and jocks
11:36 AM PT
Anonymous — your IP address does look to be from Viacom, so if you’d like me to test out Virtual Laguna Beach please drop me a note (my first name at gigaom dot com) and I’ll try not to jerk my knees so much.
1:31 PM PT
i love your show it has drama,surprises,&so much more!!
8:16 AM PT
As clarified in a subsequent press release, MTV is working with Doppelganger for the virtual nightclub project.
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