Philip Rosedale

Philip Rosedale (born September 29, 1968) is an American entrepreneur, best known as the founder of the virtual world Second Life.

In 2008 Rosedale was honored at the 59th Annual Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards for Linden Lab’s creation of the Second Life online world.[1]

Contents

   1 Biography
       1.1 Early life
       1.2 Career
   2 Personal
   3 Media
   4 See also
   5 References
   6 External links

Biography Early life

Rosedale took an interest in computers, technology, and virtual reality from an early age. He started his own company selling database systems to small businesses at 17, used the proceeds to fund his college education and ultimately earned a bachelor of science degree in physics from the University of California, San Diego.[2] Career

In 1995, Rosedale created an innovative Internet video conferencing product (called "FreeVue"), which was later acquired by RealNetworks, where (in 1996) he went on to become Vice President and chief technology officer.[2][3] A year later Rosedale left RealNetworks and founded Linden Lab, named after a street in Hayes Valley (a neighborhood in San Francisco). With the creation of Second Life, he fulfilled his lifelong dream of creating an Internet-scale virtual world.[2] In 2006, he and Linden Lab received WIRED's Rave Award for Innovation in Business.[4] On March 14, 2008, Rosedale announced he would be stepping down as the CEO of Linden Lab and assuming the role of Chairman of the Board of Directors[5] (coincidentally exactly 6 years to the day from the "birth" of his avatar).[6]

Rosedale had stated that his goal with Second Life was to demonstrate a viable model for a virtual economy or virtual society. In his own words: "We don't see this as a game. We see it as a platform that is, in many ways, better than the real world" (Google TechTalks, March 2006).[7] In October 2009, Rosedale announced that he'd be less involved in the development of Second Life, because he was focusing on a new project.[8] The announced project turned out to be a company named LoveMachine Inc, founded with Ryan Downe.[9]

In June 2010, he announced that he was back to the office as CEO of Linden Lab. However, in October 2010, Rosedale announced he was leaving his position as interim CEO.[10]

In November, 2011, Rosedale released a new project named Coffee and Power [11] a site that Rosedale calls a "meta-company," that enables people to connect for small jobs and services.[12] On April 16, 2013 Coffee & Power posted to their company blog that they were going to stop work on Workclub, their mobile application and begin work on a new company named High Fidelity Inc.[13] Personal

Philip Rosedale is married to Yvette Forte Rosedale.[14] They live in San Francisco with their four children. One of their children is named August Rosedale.[15] Media

   Business 2.0, How to Succeed in 2007, Philip Rosedale Founder and CEO, Linden Lab, Discover the Real-Life Take-Away in Virtual Economies[16]
   In 2007, Rosedale was listed among Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People in The World.