From the first email I received from Scott:

“We recognize the buzz today is all about the Social Web. But we also believe there is a large population users who are _not_ on FaceBook or LinkedIn, don’t use Twitter or read Digg multiple times a day, and simply don’t want to deal with interactions with strangers.”

He continues:

“That said, we very much do plan to implement some social capabilities in Kinset during the coming months. We have outlined mechanisms to allow ‘chat with a store clerk’ and ’shop with a friend’. We also are thinking of ways to make the spaces less empty-feeling- perhaps making use of character models animated artificially.”

A “wired up” shop clerk (i.e. a chatbot) doesn’t quite count as “social”, in my book. And “shop with a friend” when there are no avatars seems to me more about non-visual, non-3D interaction than what’s implied by those words.

He goes on to mention some other ideas, but then finishes with:

“But we really don’t want to have to deal with some larger issues of harassment and policing and legislating behavior that many other virtual worlds need to cope with.”

I’d venture those words clearly indicate the company’s feelings with regard to a “social” online 3D shopping experience.

None of what’s mentioned in his comments contradicts my recollection: that Kinset regarded the social aspect as secondary and wasn’t especially interested in providing it. Note that I said, “They might be having second thoughts.” This is because the second email – from which he quotes – reflects my own socially oriented emphasis made to him in the email I sent: “‘’shop with a friend’ – that’s where I’d be concentrating your efforts; even ahead of the rest.”

Given his initial comments, I’d say the “curious morph” isn’t quite so curious.

As to my being disingenuous, I’d point out that my comments include the caveats “Based on what I heard and read” and “I suspect”. I’m clearly indicating my comments are opinions based on limited information. I don’t know how else I could be any more straightforward; these aren’t factual assertions.

Not that any of this seems to matter. I just surfed through the Kinset website. It’s not looking especially active to my eyes.

First off, welcome!

Your presence gives me hope for Kinset, as it shows that you are dedicated to listening to what people have to say, even if it is a relatively small blog such as this one. For that I give you a great deal of credit.

I am not sure if you are familiar with Morpheus Media, but we have a stable of great retail clients, and if you know me, you know I focus a lot on the virtual space.

http://www.imediaconnection.com/profiles/iMedia_PC_Overview.aspx?ID=4606

It is my dream to play some role in helping crack the nut of 3D eCommerce, so i do have a vested interest in this space.

Any criticism on my part of Kinset was out of passion for the space, but at the end of the day, I am rooting for you guys (or anyone who is trying to make 3D eCommerce a reality).

That being said, stop by A Media Circ.us anytime, feel free to email me anytime and I promise to offer and honest opinion from the point of view of a director of an ad agency that has a great deal of retail clients.

Thanks Again Scot!

We here at Kinset do expect manufacturers to eventually make available 3D models of their product. Nobody said we anticipate that it’s going to be easy. But Kinset is not & probably will not be in the business of modelling 3D products. We’re quite happy to support anyone who wants to do this, but we’re not willing to wait around til then…

In my correspondence with csven i said “we absolutely understand the value of shopping with friends and acquaintances, and allowing people to interact with nearby shoppers and store associates. This work is on our roadmap as a top priority and I would expect that capability to be integrated in the coming months.” .. how this turns into a “disinterest” is a curious morph…

Finally, we’ve not published very much at all about what we plan to offer in terms of real vs fantastical world scenarios, so it’s disingenuous to presume anyone knows our thinking along these lines. Short term our goal is indeed to model the real world, trying as best we can to make the experience rich – and yes – it’s a serious endeavor – we’re not producing a game.

Over the last year we’ve been trying hard to understand the entire infrastructure necessary to make immersive eCommerce work. It involves much more than application of bump mapping and allowing people to decide how they look and whether or not you can fly. Our focus has been on trying to understand and evolve a new way to shop online. One that encourages browsing, discovery and exploration. And which has few impediments to entry which means a dead simple UI. I would never claim we’ve achieved all those goals yet.

But let’s see if we can…

I am headed over to your post now CSVEN, thanks for the note

1) From my email exchanges I gathered that they expect companies to supply the 3D renderings/data. I don’t think that will be as easy as they anticipate.

2) The disinterest in having an avatar or a “social” experience floored me. They might be having second thoughts, but from what I understand they’re claiming a social experience isn’t necessary.

3) Based on what I heard and read, I don’t believe Kinset is planning on offering anything “that could not happen in the real world”. I suspect they perceive that sort of thing as too game-like and they’re selling a *serious* application.

I honestly don’t expect Kinset to be around long. We’ll see.

My review: http://blog.rebang.com/?p=1399