Klas Moreau new MindArk CEO - David Simmonds new Planet Calypso CEO

Makes me wonder

Yup I think of the Silicon Skam Chip as one of the lost ones...

You should be careful MS9... my mind works in unusual ways so when you say "All is not what it seems.".... the first thing I think of is this...

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Followed shortly by this...

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But then I thought.... if "All is not what it seems." maybe.... just maybe... MS9 is....

MARCO!!!!?! :O​

Want proof? https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=marco behrmann&espv=2&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=1zbQU6KVD_Of7AbDxYGgBA&ved=0CB8QsAQ&biw=1140&bih=636#imgdii=_
then scroll down and see whose avatar you see in amongst the results!

 

Hi Wistrel,

I quite like McCormick's funny take on things; A pot shot, but funny too in light of MindArk events passed.

Too many to talk about and their outcomes of what originally occured;
Further info on the EP wiki about this

Though it is all part of working within those roles in business whether ethically or unethically, so of course such pot shots based on their actions should not be taken offensively, moreso as a reminder of how others perceive them based on the event and what transpired.

MindStar9 included within this having worked with/for MindArk, however you like to see it, at the time.

My favourite one is this:

That gun Jan is holding is kinown as - The Puppetmaster 9000
Now I do not need to explain how it works or what body orifice it enters;
I hope Klas does not need to experience it day-2-day as CEO like the others whom have gone before him.



Maybe I should not get started on the Dr.Evil references.

 

To Wistrel ... ... you made my day, that was awesome!

 

I only see John Bates filling facebook with his TED links & talks.

Are there any recent speeches of John about Entropia ?

 

Hi McCormick,

I have not seen much of John Bates in the press lately, then again, I really have not been following him with any level of interest as of late. You know how I feel about John Bates and his contribution over time towards the current state of affairs in Entropia Universe.

I believe this is the last I heard from him to any real extent in relation to Entropia Universe, no change;
Swedish affair, 2:50+ ... Potential PP developer query: Contact me, we spent hundreds of millions you know hundreds of millions of euro ... ;)

Too bad he takes the intended audience he is addressing on the platform for idiots.
I guess he absorbs such information through the ether.

http://www.mindark.se/partners/

Planet Partners
Since 1999 MindArk has invested over 60 million USD to develop Entropia Universe and the Entropia Platform. MindArk offers Planet Partners to be a part of this and use our technology in building and maintaining entirely new planets in Entropia Universe.

MindArk is looking for Planet Partners that want to be a part of the continuous expansion of Entropia Universe by realizing their unique concepts, businesses and ideas into commercial planets.

44.5 mil EURO does not even come close to hundreds of million being 200+ Mil.
Those who watch this with any level of serious investment interest would immediately say, M'Kay, cya. (in short)

So much from body language through to facial expressions through to the words coming out of his mouth raise so many of these from the get go in terms of investment as a planet partner into the Entropia Universe platform.

 

THIS ISN'T A SEMINAR!!

 

Yes lol. McCormick at his best ;)
I appreciate his method of communicating the point across. Much more creative *smiles*

My favourite:

 

John is very much involved with TED, and has been for a long time. He's become a globe-hopper with motivational speaking, and I see the posts on FB all the time. There is never anything about Entropia, so not sure what his current association is, if anything anymore.

I actually think he's doing what he was meant to do, and is quite good at it, because it creates interest, and it motivates people, but ... on the flip side of that (as I mentioned in an earlier post in so many words) ... hype is the name of the game, and as a wordsmith myself, I am very well aware of how words can be used to pitch a product. I also have 7 yrs experience in Marketing, Advertising, and PR, so there's always a psychology to making the sale, and I think John does it well.

However, I also feel he's a genuine guy with lots of enthusiasm for life and the environment (he can be incredibly infectious), and does his part to support what's right. Perhaps on that note, he may not be associated with MA anymore, because a lot of hype was used back in the day with regard to marketing EU, whether it was factual or not, and whether he actually believed in what he was doing at the time or not, but those are my words and skepticism regarding such, as well as a personal friendship with John.

He's a good guy, with honorable intentions, which leads me to believe that perhaps he's not involved with MA anymore, but I haven't connected with him about EU for quite some time. I just follow his TED activities and keep in touch that way. He seems to be doing quite well.

 

BTW ... I did an interview with John Bates that was published in the December 2010 EntropiaTimes magazine that we were producing quarterly at the time that you might find interesting. I have the PDF of the magazine available, but not sure how to upload it here. The magazines don't seem to be available in the sub-forum where they're listed, either in Interactive or PDF format, so not sure if it's just me, or if anyone is able to access them.

Maybe Peter or Tass can post how to access the EntropiaTimes magazines.

 

Hi MS9,

I decided to check in before bed. Thanks for shining some light on John,
I have never met him personally, and without offense to your friendship with him, nor care to.

I have solely judged him on actiivities surrounding his involvement with MindArk and around the Entropia Universe service/game over the last several years as to the collective outcome produced, mostly from 2006 to 2014 as my involvement with Entropia prior to then is mostly research based and nothing serious pre-2005 except news articles that I glanced at.

Never the less, he may be the nicest guy in the world with both great qualities and intentions attached;

However in a world that is constantly evolving where in terms of business the customer is now no longer interested in hype in today's social media connected world but insted is moreso weary of what and who they get involved with and spend their money on, his approach no longer gels and falls quite a distance short of the required mark.

After taking onboard and with a little reflection on what you have outlined, it seems that he has become a product of the MA system. No one is making a personal attack on him as a human being, only an assessment of his involvement and long term impact this involvement has had.

This maybe a result of MindArk's own doing in having giving him a directive to fullfil with attached requests on what image to produce for and of Entropia Universe. However this "Hype It, HYPE IT!" approach has proven to be the wrong way to go with the collective outcome of where are at today, Oops!

He is not the only one, Neverdie is a much worse case scenario, like comparing a mouse squeeking to a lion roaring. However Neverdie is a discussion for another time.

I am glad to hear TED is working out well for John, he really never did suit the role given to him by MindArk to fulfill (Or maybe he did with what MA requested), in that the outcome has not been successful in a quantifiable/measureable positive sense today and it has to a degree left a somewhat nasty stain (in my opinion) on his portfolio.

Then again, with time, people will forget and life goes on.

Yes, it is unfortunate to see John cop such negativity his way, whether this be directly from his own doing in the way he has presented himself or indirectly through others in the chain of command for the company he was working for and representing, in this case MA issuing a directive with a desired outcome.

If he has left MindArk, then I wish him well and success on his future endeavors and that he finds peace, inspiration and enjoyment in what is to follow on his future path (TED/etc).

Off to bed now almost 1am, have a good day :)

 

One thing to keep in mind with any of this ... MA dictates the guidelines of how things should happen, or what's acceptable and not acceptable, no matter HOW much flexibility one thinks they have. Therefore, I'm sure that John's marketing strategies were very much geared toward MA's outlines, no matter what John's personal enthusiasm was for PE/EU, and he DID care a LOT about the game, especially the community.

We all had a personal enthusiasm toward PE/EU, but after things started changing, and especially after being indoctrinated into the inner realm, the truth was overwhelming and compelling. No matter how hard I did my best to follow the guidelines of what MA wanted, or what they dictated through their PP's, there was always this nagging guilt about some of the stuff I put into print, without having the opportunity to also add my personal opinion.

The only two planets where I didn't have this nagging feeling was Arkadia and Cyrene, because they're as real as it gets, and I know from the inside out just how much they had to struggle with unnecessary challenges. David and Ed are top-notch, and I have a great deal of respect for both of them. I think David has more of a developed relationship with MA, but Ed can hold his own, along with Kris.

John IS a great guy, and doing magnificently with his TED and other endeavors, and I wish him the best, but from what I've been able to ascertain, his secret avatar in EU is no longer a member of the society he joined a long time ago, so not even sure he plays EU anymore.

 

I really liked that interview and other interviews with Jon have been good. I think there was a good radio interview too

 

Thank you Wistrel ... I did a recorded interview with John Bates, but he was in his home and unfortunately there were branch shredders outside his window that you could hear in the background and it was quite annoying. We just couldn't schedule another time and pushed through it, but he was quite open and forthcoming in that interview, and of course, his effervescence came through loud and clear.

I'll see if I can find the podcast and how I can get it posted if anyone is interested ... it was a dual interview that Syer and I did together, which was fun, so it might be cool to listen to.

EDIT:
Obie found he MP3 of the interview, so if Tass or Peter or someone can convert it to a podcast to be posted here then let me know.

 

Trick question? Of course there is interest. Here is the info you requested.
(Apple iTunes for PC is free to download and use, same routine to do with PC, Mac used below)

These instructions were obtained from the Apple Support Centre forum.

 

Thankyou for an informative reply,

Criticism whether constructive or otherwise through judgement does not come without a review of and reflection upon the information and experiences using the resources and tools I have available to me at the time;

Including valuable insights from yourself and others like yourself that can be considered a trusted source due to their level of invested involvement that I get over-the-grape-vine so to speak.

With that said, not all is bad, though too much is not good to give anything any sort of balance overall.

As per my original request to Klas Moreau in keeping it REAL, I do hope that in his new role as CEO that he can make a positive impact and tackle the issues plaguing and hindering MindArk and Entropia Universe on the several fronts that need to be tackled at their roots level, and that the dead-wood & rot is both cut out and eventually removed in time.

We will see how things progress and see if Klas' mettle truely stands up to the challenge that lays before him.

In the meantime, I coninue to make my regular small deposits, even though these have now hit a progressive all time low from their usual 5000 ped amount allocated in the entertainment budget each fortnight.

I still do use the Entropia Universe to satisfy a need as stated before, even though this is different to what it was originally when I started with Entropia; Namely as break away from games and gaming, doing something without challenge that is repetative and mundane as a change of scenery while filling in time and keeping occupied.



So yes, I still do participate, even if it is a small fraction of what it once was.

Again, thankyou MindStar9 I do appreciate your insights and shining light onto various things :)

DCB/Viper.

 

Oh, regarding the hundreds of millions...just a quick overview, as Im tired of repeating these things, that nobody cares about anyway, anymore.
Not even MindArk (and their Bridge Investors) ;D

Sale of Treasure Island (2004)
+26.500 $

Sale of CND (2005)
+100.000 $

CashCard Fail (2006-present)
-unknown costs-

Bought castle in germany (2006)
(Bought for 195.000 Euro
+ Renovation 1.150.000 Euro
= Sold for approx 500.000 Euro (2013)

Massive Ads contract (2006)
(MassiveAds bought my Microsoft in 2010 and got closed. Until 2012 MindArk kept advertising MassiveAds) -unknown costs-

MindArk buying CryEngine 2 SDK (2007):
-costs unknown- but rumored to be about 1.200.000 $ for a commercial AAA license in 2012. Whatever...

Deal with GNN Brazil Fail (2007)
-never heard of again- unknown costs-

Deal with Ilunova SA De CV (2007)
Mexican support center -cost unknown- shutdown in 2014
Fixed assets of 527.000 SEK
Mindark has financed the startup of Illunovas operations. The total amount, 1,4
million SEK, is entered in Mindarks balance sheet among current assets

Deal with CRD China (Fail) (Oct. 2007)
-"canceled" in june 2008, because main initiator Chi Tau Robert Lai died-unknown costs-

NASA MMO Contest (2008)
-costs unknown- MindArk created a "Moon MMO" and did not win the contest, but instead partnered with the winner "Project WhiteCard Studios" to let them create the "famous" Android App "Virtual Tycoon". -costs unknown as well-

Bank Lincense Fail (2009)
(MindArk and their (Bridge) Investors could not or did not want to provide 5 million dollars, still they went into public with this idea...one can only imagine why MA did that. ;p)

Partnership with ESA (European Space Agency) (2009)
-costs unknown- No finished product ever hit the daylight

Crystal Palace (2009)
+330.000 $

SEE Virtual Studios buys Planet Calypso for 6.000.000 $ (2011)
-within 2011 every SEE Member got dismissed
-60.000 Calypso land deeds show up on auction (total value 6.000.000 $) trololol

Michael Zolotas (Deutsche Bank England / Central Bank of Nigeria)
and Steve Shannon (General Motors) once joined MindArk...

...who knows what happened to them. Same counts for John Bates...or ex members of Ilunova SA De CV, the outsourced Mexican Supoport Center.

These (MA) people can (still) be found via linked in :
Chris Dymlid (Game Designer)
Jimmie Antonsson (QA/Software tester)
Carl Henriksson (Technical Art Director)
Mattias Paulsson (Game Developer/Software Engineer)
Mats Kling
Magnus Eriksson
Dennis Antonsson (Producer and Game Designer)

46 in total, including ex members of Ilunova SA De CV...so probably not really up to date anymore.
-costs unknown anyway-

Welcome to Crysis ? No way !
You decide where (your) money went ;)

MindArk (and their Bridge Investors) seem to be still (fully) operational. More or less.

 

Life is like a box of chocolates, you just never know what your going to get.

 

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The glass is half full with me!

 

Back on topic

To help in establishing a connection between the development team and the customer base with regards to work in progress, another example of how simple yet effectively this can be done is demonstrated here.

An example:

Initial ... (WIP)

Progress Update ... (WIP)

Such a connection between company with WIP and the customer (Players) is an extremely powerful tool.
Something MindArk falls short of doing in its entirity.