“it’s the ability for any company to offer a highly interoperable platform that’s likely to have ongoing success.” Highly interoperable–is the diffusion of technology caused by adoption and immitation. This phenomenon brings the cost of that technology to consumers, rapidly to $0. Companies offering technology for no cost don't do well on that model unless they find other sources of revenue that leverage the wide-spread adoption. Even Second Life is not trying to be the cure-all for interoperability, they see no long-term financial success there. Last I saw, Linden Labs was trying to figure out the “platform as a service” for interoperability rather than be the one giving it all away for free. Smart.

If VastPark isn't the one creating the highly interoperable standard, than someone else is in control and VastPark is just a member of a larger network effect. Consumers always benefit the most from this scenario, participating companies get a much smaller part of the pie.

I too hope that more companies and efforts force Linden Labs to continually raise the bar. If another company is able to pass LL with their virtual world offering and steal away a large portion of Second Life residents, more power to her!