Well, I'm back from another long road trip and give HUGE thanks to Suw Charman for taking such good care of the Social Software Weblog in my absence… (-:=
From Dean Takahashi's
article—No more 'There' there: Firm stops
online updates—it would appear that There is scaling back. No more bug fixes, no
more consumer services development, laying off employees, closing a new round of financing, and refocusing on licensing
and platform technology.
Subscribers are not happy.
Linden Lab is picking up a number of 'There' refugees and giving them a chance at none other than a—Second Life.
1. As a member of There Inc's Member Advisory Board (a volunteer board consisting of Members), I justed wanted to clarify that since the announcement on May 21st, There Inc has relooked at what it takes to run a consumer service and categorically stated "There is not closing!". In fact, there are software upgrades in the works, and it is business as usual. It is true that there now has less employees, and that initially some people were unhappy and left, but the mood is almost back to normal again. In fact, they have released lots of new stuff to create fun in the world (bigger portable zones, new vehicles) and have simplified submission guidelines. It may still not be for everyone, but the rumors of its death or even demise have been greatly exaggerated :)
Posted at 8:03PM on Dec 18th 2005 by Espen