In the second half of the 1990s, VRML became the platform of choice for 'virtual worlds' filled with 'avatars' - digital representations of real people. The Web goes big - and stays big - yet VRML crashes back to Earth, as Second Life becomes the last best hope for the Metaverse. Featuring Neal Stephenson, David Frerichs, John McCrea, Jan Mallis, Bruce Damer, Mark Jeffrey, Christopher Caen, Linda Jacobson, Philip Rosedale and Stuart Buckland as the Narrator. Tony’s Intervista Software had a very 1997 website. Check it out here. Have a play with Jan Mallis’ Floops – an early VRML animation – here! Watch the five episodes of ‘Bliss.com’ Jan and Mark created — in your web browser, here. "VRML: The LSD of the Internet” from the May 1996 Red Herring. Mark Jeffrey co-created The Palace – a 2D avatar chat. It’s still going, here! Christopher Caen co-founded OnLive – a 3D chat with audio streaming. And Philip Rosedale created Second Life – still going strong! For more information about this and all our other 'The Next Billion Seconds" content, please check out https://nextbillionseconds.com This podcast is sponsored by the Digital Skills Organisation. The DSO is championing an employer-led, skills-based approach to digital literacy. Our offering is designed to support future-proofing the country, growing jobs, supporting our economic growth and ensuring that Australia remains a global leader in digital. If we are to equip our workforce with the skills to meet a rapidly changing, technological future, we need a new approach. We’re working in collaboration with employers, trainers and employees. Their involvement is vital. We believe it’s a better way to create consistent journey pathways and build relevant digital skills. We define the problem this way - digital skills training must: Create value both internally and externally. Improve customer experience.Build operational capabilities. To deliver on these objectives we need to strengthen Australia’s digital workforce. It’s that simple. DSO - Digitally Upskilling Australia To find out more, visit the DSO website: https://digitalskillsorg.com.au "Mark Pesce - The Next Billion Seconds" is produced by Ampel - visit https://ampel.com.au to find out what Ampel could do for you! If you are interested in sponsoring The Next Billion Seconds podcast, reach out to our Director of Media and Partnerships Lauren Deighton at [email protected] If you enjoyed this show, please leave a rating and/or review on Apple, Spotify or any other podcast platform.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.