Virtual Reality enabling business, education, and imagination

In the 21st century, imagination and information are more important than knowledge. Linden Lab is a building a virtual world based on imagination. It builds the website secondlife.com that allows people to explore their imagination, business, education, and personal life. It has virtual economy where people buy Linden Dollar from Linden Lab, and Linden dollars can be used to buy virtual objects, real estate, and services in virtual world. Many big companies are buying real estate in secondlife.com to create 3D stores and exhibitions to show their new products. Educators are using secondlife.com to educate people in virtual reality. Virtual reality eliminates the needs for real estate and having to travel to a destination for meeting and communication. Linden Lab is making millions as more and more companies find the benefit of creating a virtual store front. Many researchers are doing research in the virtual world. There are millions of residents in virtual world. Some people are making, creating, and selling their services in Secondlife.com their fulltime job. CNN became the resident of Second life recently.

Problem: Building stores, offices, conferences, and research lab in real world is expensive
Idea/Solution: Virtual Objects + Virtual People + Virtual services + Virtual real estate + Information + Imagation ==> Virtual World
Site: http://secondlife.com/

Infrastructure for people to make money with their voice

People who has goods are able to make money. Can people with information and insight make money online? Yes, Ether allows people to make money with their voice. Ether is a service which connects people who needs information with people who has information. The people who need information pay money to talk to the people who has information. You can get advice about starting a business, or fixing your computer, or on cooking a delicious meal, or talk to a psychologist. Ether takes a portion of the advisor's fee as commission.

Problem: Difficult to get help or find an expert
Idea/Solution: Allow experts to post their service and fee + make it easy for people to pay for help
Site: http://ether.com

Finding the best investors

Investment skills is very rare and critical in creating wealth. Most people are not good investors. There are a rare number people with investment insights and skills. Marketocrazy.com is a website that allow people to have $1 million dollar in virtual money and invest. The people who are able to invest and get the greatest returns over several years are selected to manage mutual fund with real money. This is a great way to filter out the best people to manage their mutual funds.

Problem: Investment is complicated, A rare number of people have the talent to be great investors
Idea/Solution: Give everyone a portfolio to manage + Find the best managers
Site: http://marketocrazy.com

World's Biggest shopping mall

Amazon.com's founder had the vision to create a super shopping website. Amazon sells a large number of products impossible to have in brick and motor shopping malls due to space limitation. It is an infrastructure for people with goods to display and sell their products. Amazon sells its products and sell other people's products and making billions.

Problem: Shopping malls are expensive, Products availability is very limited due to space
Idea/Solution: Web super shopping mall + Products stored in inexpensive warehouses + Infrastructure for vendors to sell their goods
Site: http://amazon.com

Infrastructure for people to create the best video and make money

The web is evolving very fast and video are getting popular. Many websites allow people to upload and share their videos, but the website profit it by getting money from advertisement. One company is doing it differently. Metacafe.com's philosophy is to share their advertisement generated revenue with people who produce popular videos. Many people are creating useful how-to videos and entertaining videos. The more times their videos are watched, the more money video producers make. It gives video producers the motivation to create the best videos. As a result, the website becomes the place with the best videos and most popular videos.

Problem: Many websites with useless and bad videos, these websites generates advertisement revenue
Idea/Solution: Motivation + Video Production ==> Money for producers
Site: http://www.metacafe.com/

Billions in Buyers setting the price

Majority of the businesses we utilize set the price of the good and services. The founder of Priceline.com got the idea of letting the Customers set the price of the services. It allows ordinary individuals to tells the airlines, hotels, car rental companies, and cruises how much they are willing to pay for the service, and these companies compete for the business. Priceline.com is worth billions.

Problem: Businesses set the price of their products and services, the businesses are the boss
Idea/Solution: Customers are the boss + customers set prices
Site: http://www.priceline.com/

Make Importing and Exporting easier

Global trade is an important part of today economy. Americans import alot of goods from all over the world. It's difficult for businesses in America to go to search for manufacturers in China, India, and other countries. The founder of Alibaba.com saw the opportunity and makes it easy for businesses to buy or sell goods online. The site makes it easy for anyone to import or export goods from China, India, or any country. Alibaba.com is worth billions and it's planning on going IPO next year.

Problem: Difficult and time consuming searching manufacturer in China, India, and other countries
Idea/Solution: Simple website + Buyers + Seller
Site: http://www.alibaba.com/