Great Innovations in Online Shopping starts from lousy beginnings

[David Tan]

Kinset Launches 3D Shopping [virtualworldsnews.com]

Reading about the 3D Shop that they are selling, I think that many people reading it will find that the shops are UGLY and the whole idea seems so anoying and ineffective.

Sure there are many barriers to adopting this kind of online shopping and the way they are going about it doesn't help either but let us not focus on the present capabilities but rather lets consider that this is merely a start, a stepping stone towards the future.

Great inventions and innovations usually comes from really lousy beginnings. Years down the road, we'll look back and see that it got people thinking, got people irritated and they made an improved solution and how eventually it lead to the highly popular, efficient and pleasant to use 3D virtual shopping worlds of today... ooops, travelled to the future there for a second.

Anyway, good job, Kinset. You were brave and noble enough to do the dirty and humiliating job of beginning an innovation for a really big dream.

[Tephus]

Maybe when Internet2 (100-400Gb/s) is mainstream will we realize 3D shopping. Right now, the graphics just isn't good enough to replace going to the store physically.

[David Tan]

Yeah, but with a few more tries, some smart innovation, a compromise here and there... who knows? Maybe package their 3D shopping experience software into MMORPG softwares like edededededededed and ededededededed so that these players can automatically be able to browse in 3D on their browsers or in their virtual worlds. Then design the format to fit into the slightly chunky graphics to reduce bandwidth requirements.

Hmmm, if online 3D shopping is gonna pick-up, I think it will be through MMORPGs.

[ABOTadmin]

I think our current system of searching and browsing stuff hundreds (of thumbnails) at a time is great. Wasn't that the whole point to do away with aimlessly mulling around a supermarket? So wouldn't having a 3D supermarket be the same as mulling around in a real one?

Unless, you make it a Quake 4 deathmatch, and you have to hack your way through other crazy shoppers to get to the product you want. Now that's a shopping revolution.

[David Tan]

Exactly. There's like a hundred things wrong with the service and yet... it's out there. You get the feeling that this kind of thing ain't gonna pickup for the next decade but who knows what happens when geeks perseveres with their baby projects... they rule the world.

Which got me thinking... yeah, what if... shopping experiences added more 'game' elements to it. Like:-

1) Hidden prizes (find the golden chest in the store!)
2) Quiz and trivia games with prizes.
3) Lottery spin the wheel
4) Related mini games. (If you sell baseball bats, have a mini hit the baseball game)

I guess a virtual world can offer more variety to user's experience at virtual costs.

[GreedIsGood]

No, don't think it'll work. Look what happened to 3DMailbox.



The problem is that they made something simple complicated, and inconvenient.

[David Tan]

That is hilarious! It's not just complicating matters, it's purposefully making the application look like a big joke. They even made a trailer to 'spread the word'. I wonder what it's really about? An experiment?

Anyway, it's just lot's of eyecandy. Eyecandy alone isn't sufficient reason to offset the Huge minus of using excessive bandwidth and time to open email.

I can see that they may be using this 'revolution' software to dupe ignorant investors in providing them with lots of funds. Promising 'huge' advertising and branding advantages by placing strategic ads/logos on planes and towers.

3D eyecandy...sigh. If only there was some real benefit in it.

Say, if it was a 3D secretary/butler/man or woman slave presenting your emails and kinda 'interacting' with you when you check on your emails... would you use the software? How about if she kinda chats with you from time to time or give 'encouraging comments' like oh how handsome you look today, etc?

[drasticfantastic]

I guess it would appeal to children. And that could be a huge market already.

[Plato]

Exactly.

The debate has began. It is debates like these coupled with constructive criticisms that may well trigger the 3D Shopping Evolution and Revolution.

I like this. More Please..........