Hangout Industries announced today that it had brought on Mike Goslin as Vice President, Product Development. Goslin comes from Disney Online where he most recently served as Vice President, Virtual World Design and Development. At Disney Goslin helped develop and launch its Pirates of the Caribbean MMO and Toontown Online virtual world. At Hangout, Goslin will lead design, development and operations of its 3D, browser-based virtual world.
I've only tried out the world once or twice since it debuted last year and haven't heard much from the company since then. I was stymied by some bugs and crashing, but, of course, Hangout is still in beta, so that's not a knock on its long-term prospects.
I've been more curious about how it plans to tap into its target demographic of 16-24-year-olds. Hangout looks good, but you still have to download a plugin to access it. And in spite of living in the browser, I haven't seen Hangout make much of a push towards tapping into the viral nature of social networks or the Web. It's Facebook app, Hangout Hoops, is currently tracking about 100 monthly active users, though though company still lists social network integration in its description, so there may be more on the way.
At least at its demo, though, Hangout had a few cool features, including real-world brands for content and instruments that let you play along with streamed music. And Goslin's time at Disney was also spent developing strategies for communities and social networking apps, even before Hangout starts tapping into Facebook, the company will have help from an ex-Disney-ite. I'm not too familiar with Goslin's work specifically, but that still makes Hangout worth keeping an eye on for me.
“I recognized the opportunity at Hangout to build a new form of online entertainment, one that combines the viral power of existing social networks with the rich immersion of online games and virtual worlds,” Goslin said in a statement. “Hangout represents a new level in brand-driven entertainment and I am thrilled to contribute to and deliver on that vision.”
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