3pointD.com

The future of 3pointD is getting an important test in PCD Music Lounge, the new 3D social space being launched by San Francisco startup company Doppelganger in a deal with Interscope records. Much has been written about this already (I was on a plane back from California at the time), so I’ll just add the 3pointD perspective: I call PCD Music Lounge and Doppelganger an important test because it’s one of the first things that will begin to move the MySpace crowd into 3D online spaces. There are still a lot of dots missing on the line between MySpace and 3D platform-like worlds like Second Life, but Doppelganger could start filling in some of them.

In this case, I’d say the test is of slightly limited usefulness, only because the PCD Music Lounge is devoted to a single band, the Pussycat Dolls. But if that gains traction and if Doppelganger gets other such spaces going, it will be a good indication that the generation now hanging out on MySpace and Facebook will indeed migrate to 3D and actually become the 3pointD generation I somewhat humorously mention from time to time here.

I think there’s a good chance that’s exactly what will take place. If nothing else, Interscope’s involvement will galvanize a lot more action in 3D development. Already, major record labels are looking at Second Life as a marketing tool, and are said to have several pilot projects in the works. Doppelganger could easily draw a huge crowd to places like PCD Music Lounge, which will only lead other entertainment companies to follow suit, in some form.

Whether that means young people will want to do everything in 3D remains to be seen. But what will start to happen as new spaces appear and new tools get built for social worlds and for 3D platforms is that we’ll begin to find out just what people really do want to do in 3D and just what they don’t. This will change over time, of course, but I’d wager it’s broader than a lot of people think. Starting to get an idea of the road ahead will be one of the best things to come out of a new crop of higher-profile 3D spaces, of which Doppelganger, merely because of its branding, may be the first example.