Virtual NBA
The NBA keeps expanding its reach with technology.
In February, the league announced a partnership with YouTube, in which fans are invited to upload videos of themselves shooting hoops onto the popular video sharing Web site.
Now the NBA has joined the popular virtual world of “Second Life” -- an online 3D universe, in which people create their own identities and then socialize, shop, and now, visit the NBA Headquarters. Second Life, which has more than 6 million users, has been described as MySpace meets The Sims.
In the NBA Headquarters, which NBA Commissioner David Stern unveiled in an online press conference inside Second Life with his own Stern avatar (online persona or identity), has plenty of real-world features, complete with advertising and naming rights, including the T-Mobile Arena, where fans can watch playoff and Finals match-ups on the JumboTron and the Toyota Larry O’Brien Trophy Room, where they can take pictures with the championship trophy.
Basketball fans can also visit the NBA Store, where they can pick up jerseys for their avatars. They can also participate in games at the NBA Jam Session.
“Bringing the NBA to the virtual world provides us with a new and innovative platform to reach our fans and the millions of residents in Second Life,” Stern said in a statement. “The NBA headquarters creates an interactive worldwide community where fans can come together, engage with our game, and most importantly, share in their passion for the NBA.”
CRAIG DAVIS In more than 33 years at the Sun Sentinel, Craig Davis has written about a wide variety of sports topics from baseball to yachting, fishing to triathlons, and also worked as a copy editor and page designer. Recently he reported on local sports, including running, swimming, cycling, equestrian and beach volleyball. He enjoys sports as a participant as well as a spectator, is active in the South Florida running scene plays in the curling club at Saveology Iceplex. This blog offers a glimpse at the business side of sports in the interest of enhancing enjoyment of the games and sporting options as a spectator as well as a participant.
