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Atlanta suburb contemplates going virtual

Decatur, Georgia, says it wants to help its residents, businesses, institutions, and visitors interact online. It's hard to see, though, why Virtual Decatur would be successful.

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Dave Rosenberg Co-founder, MuleSource
Dave Rosenberg has more than 15 years of technology and marketing experience that spans from Bell Labs to startup IPOs to open-source and cloud software companies. He is CEO and founder of Nodeable, co-founder of MuleSoft, and managing director for Hardy Way. He is an adviser to DataStax, IT Database, and Puppet Labs.
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Dave Rosenberg

The government of Decatur, Georgia, is thinking of creating a virtual world of the town in order to encourage "community networking, civic engagement, (and) economic development."

Similar to other social-networking tools, Virtual Decatur will provide an environment in which residents, businesses, institutions, and visitors can interact and connect around a common interest. However, it is it is imperative that the project go beyond the features of traditional virtual environments.

The overarching purpose of this project is to allow users to interact with the city in new and innovative ways that are not possible in the real world. It is envisioned that the real-world experience may be enhanced through participation in Virtual Decatur.

That all sounds well and good, but considering that major technology companies haven't seen much virtual-world success with the savviest of users, it's hard to see why Decatur would be more successful. And considering the inevitable porn of Second Life and even the new PlayStation home, I highly doubt that the residents of Decatur are prepared for the pleasures of the Internet.

I'll see you at Town Hall as I pay my virtual parking ticket.

Via GamePolitics.

Follow me on Twitter @daveofdoom.