Massively^™

In the last couple of years, Linden Lab has grown from around 50 people to (we are told) around 250 people. It is a growth stage of companies that most do not survive, as usually they do something lethally boneheaded in the process.

Another stage that many companies do not survive is their first change of CEO. It is a massive change for the company's table of organization, reporting chains and corporate culture. The first CEO change generally sees a large staff turnover.

That's what usually happens, anyway. While we're not predicting sudden death for Linden Lab, they're getting their first new CEO today.

Linden Lab reports that it is putting more 'resources' on to DMCA duty to deal with improper duplication of content in Second Life.

This would be a significant improvement over reports of one person, not even performing the DMCA processing full-time. We don't think the new people will be full-time either, but more person-hours either way. Well, that's all assuming that 'resources' means people. Maybe it means the rumored part-time DMCA processor is now full-time.

Standing in front of a large-screen television, leaning, turning, and twisting as the on-screen character mimics his actions, Philippe Bossut could be playing the latest Wii game. But he is not wielding a Wiimote or any other controller, and Bossut's avatar is flying not through Super Mario Galaxy, but Second Life. Through the use of a special 3D webcam and some custom software written by Bossut, Segway-inspired movement in the real world can control things in the virtual world. Running, turning, flying, even creating objects are done with nary a keyboard or a mouse in sight.

Back in the 80s, virtual reality was cumbersome and uncomfortable, requiring a head-mounted display and a special glove to move around the world. Twenty years later, the display is gone and the gloves are off. We've had Second Life to be the world of imagination; now we're developing the means to put ourselves into it. HandsFree3D currently can do little more than move your avatar around -- but imagine if this was combined with puppeteering -- the ability for your avatar to mimic your real-life facial expressions and body language? And perhaps add in the Emotiv headset that reads moods and emotions straight from your brain? This truly revolutionizes interactions with the virtual world and those who dwell within it. In a few years, the idea of sitting at a keyboard to play a game may well seem quaint and old-fashioned.

Check out the video of HandsFree3D in action after the break.

Mitch Kapor speaking a few minutes ago with Cornell University's Professor Robert Bloomfield at the special Metanomics session today, straight up nixes plans for an IPO.

Kapor says that he feels his earlier statements in other media were 'misconstrued', and that there are definitely no plans for an IPO. Kapor sounded rather baffled as to how his comments suggested to people that an IPO was in the wind. "My recollection is not saying that an IPO was under consideration... being able to take a company public is started 12 to 18 months in advance... it's very complex..."

The audio was a bit spotty, so we will need to wait for the transcript, but the magic IPO phrase seems to be, "Gosh, I hope not."

In the wake of the announcement that Philip Rosedale would be moving up to chairman of the Linden Lab board of directors, and that present chairman Mitch Kapor would be moving to a key (but as-yet-unnamed) role, Cornell University Professor Robert Bloomfield (Beyers Sellers in Second Life) will be hosting a special Metanomics session this Friday at 10:30AM SLT (US Pacific time). The session will feature a one-on-one discussion with Kapor, himself.

The topic? Bloomfield offers, "We will talk about his vision for virtual worlds technology and business strategy and, of course, the future of Linden Lab and Second Life."

Live coverage of this special edition of Metanomics on Friday, March 28, 2008 from the CMP sim, owned by United Business Media's Think Services division, will be broadcast exclusively on slcn.tv for those who cannot attend in person, or are unable to attend the sim in person.

No, this isn't an April Fool's gag, before you ask. Philip Rosedale, founder and visionary of Linden Lab is stepping down as CEO and becoming board chairman as soon as a replacement can be found. Kapor, the current chairman and Linden Lab's largest investor will remain on Linden Lab's board of directors.

"It was not precipitated by a crisis," said current chairman Kapor, speaking to Reuters today. "We had always anticipated that there would be a time when he'd decide he no longer wanted to be a CEO."

We don't know about you, but we don't think that CEO is really where Rosedale wanted to be in the long run. Rosedale will remain on board at Linden Lab working on strategy and product development.

Update: Rosedale has put up a post on the Linden Lab blog, outlining the reasons for his departure from the CEO position. Essentially, Mr. Rosedale believes that the CEO position will increasingly be geared towards growing the Linden company. His best way of contributing, as he sees it, is from the sidelines offering vision for the future.

[via Reuters]

Reuters' Eric Krangel Adam Pasick will be interviewing a number of notable personalities in Second Life and simultaneously in Davos, Switzerland this year - the second annual set of Davos/Second Life interviews from our friends at Reuters.

Is it just us, or does it get a little weird specifying two places at once?