Boston firm throws virtual party

Flaming Moe

In the old days, new businesses threw parties to celebrate a launch, but Boston start-up RatePoint Inc. sponsored an online concert by a jazz musician known as Flaming Moe instead.

With virtual hepcats getting down, the streaming-music concert was held last week at a "cafe" at SecondLife.com, an online virtual world.

Designed to drum up RatePoint.com's awareness, the concert drew nearly 100 "avatars," chief executive Chris Bailey said.

Avatars are characters created by Second Lifers to interact with other avatar residents of this virtual world; by Second Life's count, there could be 4.7 million avatars.

In such numbers, RatePoint sees opportunity for the business it launched in January.

At a RatePoint site, visitors can rate and review products as well as their favorite websites; over time, RatePoint visitors build profiles based on their preferences, and they can share reviews and information with "dittos," other visitors with similar preferences.

Seeking exposure, Bailey has made the RatePoint system available at Second Life so avatars can rate one another on a one- to five-star scale, and Flaming Moe's concert was part of an effort to spread the word.

When a participating avatar sees another avatar who's been rated, that avatar's star rating floats overhead like a halo, Bailey said; spot an avatar with a five-star halo, and an online interaction of kindred spirits could ensue.

The hope is that Second Lifers will find this rating system so beguiling they'll add RatePoint.com to their list of favorite websites.

RatePoint.com thinks if it can draw enough traffic - and dittos proliferate - many advertisers will want to buy ads on RatePoint.com.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)