Go on, admit it, we have all tried out socializing in an avatar-based digital world… No? Well? get with the program! It can be hilarious. For most people, their first experience was in Second Life but the options have grown and there are now a plethora of these virtual worlds out there offering online chat, banter and even companionship and dating. There is something hugely addictive about these digital playgrounds and I know I have enjoyed chatting up complete strangers, laughing together at our over the top digital outfits or absurd animal avatars and chuckling when snubbed (usually in broken English) by outrageously rude users. One such platform that is seeing rapid user adoption is IMVU where high-quality 3D graphics and super creative options make it stand out from the crowd.

Available for iOS, Android and desktop users and boasting over 50 million registered users and 10 million unique visitors a month IMVU is clearly one to watch. The platform is booming and celebrated it’s fifteen birthday in 2019. Take a look at the video below to see how the avatars and platform have evolved.

Available for iOS, Android and desktop users and boasting over 50 million registered users and 10 million unique visitors a month IMVU is clearly one to watch
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Users all get a personal homepage that is customizable with color themes, rearrangeable info panels, a personal blog where you can upload images and music and tell the world about yourself
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New users can sign up easily, create their avatar and jump into the action meeting and chatting with people in virtual rooms. Users all get a personal homepage that is customizable with color themes, rearrangeable info panels, a personal blog where you can upload images and music and tell the world about yourself. IMVU also offers animated stickers to let you express your moods and the search function makes it easy to look for new people to meet. Rather than speaking into a microphone to chat and hearing other user’s real voices reply, like you can in Second Life, IMVU features 3D Avatar Chat where typing makes chat bubbles appear over your avatar’s head. This is much more practical for users commuting on the train or quietly chatting while at work, naughty, naughty. These chat bubbles automatically resize based on how much you type. You can click on a balloon to copy the text, and then paste to add text to a bubble. You can even paste in clickable URLs. Also, by clicking on a bubble, you can drag it down to reveal your chat history. This is a familiar and practical interface for all smartphone users.

IMVU features 3D Avatar Chat where typing makes chat bubbles appear over your avatar's head
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More advanced and fun interactions are possible using Avatar Actions. You can easily express yourself with hundreds of Avatar Actions by clicking on your avatar to open the Actions Menu and select the animation you want to use or simply typing in the name of the action to trigger the animation. So typing LOL, wave, and even breakdance will make your avatar act it out! You can also shake hands, hug, hello, serenade, and even body slam your 3D avatars. Just click on the other person’s avatar and choose from the hundreds of fun animations.

Typing LOL, wave, and even breakdance will make your avatar act it out! You can also shake hands, hug, hello, serenade, and even body slam your 3D avatars
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For those looking to avoid the in-game adverts and for more than the basic functions and benefits within IMVU you can sign up for the VIP Club It’s actually pretty good value and looks to be very easy and rewarding. If this sounds like a good idea be sure to refer to the article How to Sign Up for VIP Club Membership for detailed instructions.

VIP Club Benefits:

Exclusive Status:

– No third-party ads
– A free special VIP badge
– Remove “Guest_” tag in front of your name for as long as you are a VIP
– A Free Name Change token after the first consecutive 3 months of membership
– VIP only avatar 3D actions
– Block unwanted avatar actions

Credits, Discounts and More:

– Free 5,000 credits a month
– 5% savings off everything in the IMVU virtual goods catalog
– 10% off badges

Special Privileges:

– Prioritized Customer Support
– Create up to 10 public rooms
– Create up to 10 groups
– Set your own custom room as default for Dress Up and Shopping
– Whisper privately in your chats

More than 43 million products are currently available, designed by more than 50,000 active Creators who upload over 5,000 new products to the IMVU shop every day
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Like many virtual world platforms, the more advanced user functions run on virtual currency. Credits are the currency in IMVU and what you use to buy items for your Avatar in the Catalog. You can buy Credits directly from the Catalog and you can also earn credits in a variety of ways including by becoming a VIP member. As you use IMVU, you will discover lots of ways to earn credits. You can also get credits when your friends sign up for IMVU and when they buy credits for themselves. With an exchange rate of $1 to 1000 Credits, IMVU’s virtual economy represents an inexpensive alternative to traditional shopping. All told more than 43 million products are currently available, designed by more than 50,000 active Creators who upload over 5,000 new products to the IMVU shop every day, from fresh takes on jeans and high-end wedding gowns to unicorns, lips that glitter, and eyes that shoot flames.

If you are serious about building yourself a personal space and new group of friends in IMVU then a VIP pass is a great idea as VIPs can create their own rooms and groups giving you more control over your social circle as well as getting free credits and discounts in the Catalogue to help you build your avatar into something that represents the real you!

Learn more about the VIP Club here and be sure to check out the IMVU News and Blog to see what the company and it’s users are doing to grow and develop the virtual world you are investing in.

If you are serious about building yourself a personal space and new group of friends in IMVU then a VIP pass is a great idea as you can create your own rooms and groups giving you more control over your social circle
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The platform supports a fascinating and diverse range of communities so you are sure to find yourself a group of likeminded new friends from among the 50 million-plus registered users
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The platform supports a fascinating and diverse range of communities so you are sure to find yourself a group of likeminded new friends from among the 50 million-plus registered users from around the world.

The post Get Past the Velvet Rope with VIP on IMVU appeared first on Tech Trends.

The e-learning industry is booming and set to grow to $244.1 billion by 2022. With all this innovation in the market, the way students interact and control their own learning path is evolving, fast.

Spitball 2.0 has launched a new blockchain-based, tokenized student economy aiming to transform the global education market by merging e-learning with crypto, offering students a trading ecosystem which digitizes many aspects of student life. With Spitball 2.0, students can earn token incentives for completing tasks such as answering questions, sharing study notes and selling items. It gives students a simple and straightforward way to monetize their academic output and enter the crypto space without making an initial cash investment, as the typical mechanics of investing in crypto (setting up a wallet etc.) are managed behind the scenes. The platform also allows students to find and pay for tutors, locate study partners, houses & job listings plus local food and drink deals.

It gives students a simple and straightforward way to monetize their academic output and enter the crypto space
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Empowering the Global Student Body

Currently, students receive only a small percentage of the revenues earned from their content that online resource platforms monetize. Spitball 2.0 uses the blockchain to connect students directly, lowering costs while giving student content creators fair reward. This creates a winning economy that delivers more value for students. By leveraging the existing Spitball platform, plus over 25 partnerships with leading education providers, such as CourseHero and Chegg, Spitball 2.0 will become a game changer for the edtech industry, unlocking new opportunities for students and investors looking for opportunities in the edtech sector.

Spitball 2.0 will become a game changer for the edtech industry, unlocking new opportunities for students and investors looking for opportunities in the edtech sector
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Being built on the blockchain and using its own tokens means Spitball 2.0 can deliver a range of compelling benefits for students. Not only protecting the ownership of content creation but maintaining strict privacy and lower costs while increasing earnings for students. By facilitating micro-payments, Spitball 2.0 is a genuine economy where students can seamlessly and simply be rewarded for sharing content, performing tasks or even selling goods.

“Tomorrow’s world depends on today’s students. Despite excellent education on offer and an array of online platforms to support them, students are effectively treated like cash cows. Spitball 2.0 aims to change that and fairly reward them for taking part in student life – learning together, teaching each other and sharing data.” Eidan Apelbaum, Founder and CEO of Spitball, commented

This innovative new platform also provides proof of ownership, securing the intellectual property of every one of its users, thus protecting all of the students who create content. Spitball 2.0’s gamified Student Economy will give students the ability to profit from contributed content, collect rewards based on useful platform actions and invest in other students’ goods and services on a one-stop platform designed to meet the needs of the global student community. This increased activity will create a new depth in the student market, attracting more investment as it sees a significant boost in liquidity.

This innovative new platform also provides proof of ownership, securing the intellectual property of every one of its users, thus protecting all of the students who create content
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A crypto gateway for a new generation

Spitball 2.0 will also be the gateway into crypto for an entire generation, establishing it as an integral part of their financial future. The SBL token that the platform operates on will be integrated seamlessly into the payments system. Students will not need to create their own wallets manually or convert flat currency to cryptocurrency – the front-end system of the platform will manage the integration, whilst also moving legacy users to the new platform without significant change. Tokens also eliminate the international currency conversion fees that banks charge allowing Spitball 2.0 to be rolled out globally whilst keeping costs to a minimum.

“We believe that cryptocurrencies have a significant place in our future world and Spitball 2.0 will allow students to enter this world easily, setting them up to take advantage of a lifelong capability within this rapidly expanding industry. The tokenized environment is vital as it puts money in the pockets of students, whilst allowing them to build trust amongst their peers.” added Eidan Apelbaum

Students take the reins

Currently, e-learning platforms and other intermediaries take the largest share of the profits either from large transaction fees or costly subscriptions. By Spitball 2.0 lowering the cost of learning services via the blockchain, students can use them more regularly. Instead of using a student resource platform for one-off help with an assignment or paying for an expensive catch up with last week’s lecture notes, the platform can be used as part of a student’s day-to-day life.

Instead of using a student resource platform for one-off help with an assignment or paying for an expensive catch up with last week’s lecture notes, the platform can be used as part of a student’s day-to-day life
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Through using Spitball 2.0, students around the world will change the way they learn, share information and interact with their peers. It will be cheaper and faster than ever before for them to build a study ecosystem around them, whilst simultaneously benefiting from their own contributions. With the power firmly in their hands, education will flourish to the benefit of those who need it most.

Tom Atkinson is a Digital Producer & Photographer at R3Digital and Reviews & Dept. Editor at Tech Trends. Connect on LinkedIn and follow him on Twitter @R3Digital

The post Spitball – Launching a New Academic Economy appeared first on Tech Trends.