Mar
1

Innovations Magazine

Welcome to My World

For Christopher Klaus and his burgeoning online 3D community Kaneva...

Feb
15

Emory Wheel

Emory Conference Discusses New Reality of Virtual Worlds

With graying hair, a grizzled face and a penchant for bow ties, Benn Konsynski, professor of business administration at Goizueta Business School, doesn’t fit the typical stereotype of an online gamer. But you should never judge a book by its cover: Konsynski takes his games very seriously  and he isn’t the only one. In fact, on Monday, Goizueta was filled with a variety of people from across the nation  academics, businessmen, tech enthusiasts and IT professionals  who all share the belief that gaming is much more than child’s play. Video game enthusiasts flocked to the B-School for the public portion of a two-day conference entitled “Virtual Worlds and New Realities in

Feb
11

Atlanta Business Magazine

Welcome to My World

For Christopher Klaus and his burgeoning online 3D community Kaneva - as it as grown to some 800,000 members - that meant recently moving the office space to a 28,000-square-foot floor of an office building near the heart of Buckhead. As construction crews customize the space, housing just 50 staffers for now, the finishing touches are also underway in the virtual space, and growth is anticipated for both. Kaneva means canvas in Latin, and Klaus means it as a digital canvas, where members are free to create their own alter ego, their avatar, and ditto their environment. Create as in there are 400,000 options in creating one’s avatar, though all must take on human form. Similar to SIMS or Second Life, but with a counterintuitive theme of reality, Kaneva surely has a business model, which partnerships with Turner New Products and YouTube can attest. He describes Kaneva as more Facebook than fantasyland. There’s currency and transactions, competitions and multi-player activities. There’s profiles and friends, and there are rules.

Feb
1

Technique

Alum Klaus speaks to students about latest endeavors

On Tuesday, Christopher Klaus, a Tech alumnus and founder of Internet Security Systems (ISS) who made a fortune after selling the company to IBM, came to speak to members of the Tech chapter of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) as part of their Tech Talk series. Held in room 1447 of the building that shares his name, the Klaus Advanced Computing Building, he spoke to a small group of ACM members about his past and future endeavors. “I’m always glad to come back to share and contribute some of the lessons I’ve learned and talk about something I’m passionate about. It’s always exciting to ... see people on the cutting edge and exploring where [computing] is going,” Klaus said.

Jan
21

Linux Insider

Kaneva Mixes Social Networks, Virtual Worlds

Kaneva is a new breed of virtual world. It is entirely free of orcs, wizards and space tyrants -- and also refreshingly low on the sort of cyber-bores and silicon hippies who infest Second Life. Part social network, part 3-D chatroom, Kaneva.com is like the hybrid child of online "worlds" and social networking sites such as Facebook . In fact, it's difficult to imagine a site that fits the Internet trends of 2008 more perfectly.

Jan
21

Tech News World

Kaneva Mixes Social Networks, Virtual Worlds

Kaneva is a new breed of virtual world. It is entirely free of orcs, wizards and space tyrants -- and also refreshingly low on the sort of cyber-bores and silicon hippies who infest Second Life. Part social network, part 3-D chatroom, Kaneva.com is like the hybrid child of online "worlds" and social networking sites such as Facebook . In fact, it's difficult to imagine a site that fits the Internet trends of 2008 more perfectly.

Jan
20

TechLinks

Christopher Klaus moves virtual world into real space with help from Wm. Leonard & Co.

Christopher Klaus, one of Atlanta’s most successful entrepreneurs, has moved Kaneva, his 3D virtual world and the company that supports it, into larger offices in the Perimeter area with help from Wm. Leonard & Co., real estate specialists for high-growth companies. Kaneva engaged Wm. Leonard & Co. to help search for new office space, manage lease negotiations, and provide counsel regarding the logistics of the relocation. Christopher Klaus founded Internet Security Systems (ISS) in 1993, while he was a student at Georgia Tech. Thirteen years later he sold the firm to IBM for $1.3 billion. Four years ago he founded Kaneva to combine social networking gaming, media sharing, and interpersonal communication in a 3D virtual world. In a short time, Kaneva has attracted more than one million members. “I believe that virtual worlds will be the next fully immersive way that people engage with each other,” says Klaus. “We are in the infancy of this exciting new industry and are excited about the many opportunities to innovate, and to bring people together in ways that only a few years ago would have seemed like science fiction.”

Nov
28

TechJournal South

25 Most Influential People in Southeast Tech

TechJournal South selected 25 of the most influential people in Southeast tech in its Nov. print edition and their bios will be appearing online for the next few days. Today: Bobbie Greene Kilberg, CEO, Northern Virginia Tech Council; and Christopher Klaus, CEO and founder of Atlanta’s Kaneva.

Oct
29

Financial Times

Real life intrudes on the virtual world

“On the internet, nobody knows you’re a dog,” says one pooch to another in front of a computer screen, in the famous 1993 New Yorker cartoon. In the online worlds of World of Warcraft and Second Life, you can be a dog, elf or an orc, and nobody knows you’re a human. But the desire to don a virtual disguise may now be waning. In some of the newest virtual worlds, people are happier being themselves. Avatars are accurate representations of their owners and a right-click of the mouse over their characters can reveal their real name, age and interests. Video games have historically been the main influence for virtual worlds, but the new trend for real-life representation is being driven by social networking. “The next killer application to spread adoption mainstream of virtual worlds is going to be integration with social networks,” says Corey Bridges, executive producer at Multiverse, a creator of online-world software.

Oct
26

Atlanta Journal-Constitution South

Virtual meetings bring serious business to online worlds

Chris Klaus, the Atlanta Internet entrepreneur who founded Kaneva, a virtual social site where members can go to virtual dance parties, cruise virtual shopping malls and live in virtual homes, said that "you're never going to replace the face-to-face meeting. But maybe instead of flying around the country every week doing sales calls, there's a more efficient way to do some of it virtually." Klaus said he envisions the day when companies hold virtual meetings inside Kaneva or businesses and consumers buy real-world goods through virtual stores in the online fantasy world. But "we've still got a ways to go," he acknowledged. "I think virtual worlds generally are still a little more complicated than they should be right now." Clearly though, businesses are starting to bet on them.

Sept
29

Wall Street Journal Online

Power Tables: Rathbun's Atlanta

Rathbun's is one of three Atlanta restaurants owned by chef Kevin Rathbun. Located two miles from downtown amid the million-dollar Victorian homes in upscale Inman Park, Rathbun's serves a varied assortment of what it calls modern American cuisine. Recent Sightings: Christopher Klaus, founder of online security provider ISS Worldwide, talked with guests at table 52 about his social-networking site, Kaneva.

Sept
28

VH1 Game Break

Come To The Weekend Dance Party

It's Friday, and it's time to party. The folks at Kenova have a great online MMO game for you called Dance Party 3D in which you can bop the night away, become a dance star and even open a dance club. You can also become a virtual DJ and submit your own music mix to the party - hip hop, disco, salsa and more. Says the press release, it’s “a free, casual game and social experience like no other. Kaneva's Dance Party 3D is the first virtual world-based, massive multi-player online (MMO) dance game where hundreds of thousands of people from across the globe can simultaneously bust out cool moves on the dance floor, compete and win dance battles, spin hot playlists, party at amazing clubs and even build their own rockin' 3D nightspot.”

Sept
17

Family Circle Magazine

Kaneva featured in Family Circle: Teens on Screen

Baffled by what your daughter does on the computer with her avatars (i.e. online identities). She creates a virtual version of herself and interacts with other users. Check out these popular online worlds for teens: Kaneva, Whyville, Nicktropolis.

Aug
07

GARTNER

GARTNER: Corporate Use of Virtual Worlds Needs Careful Evaluation

Steve Prentice, a Gartner vice-president and distinguished analyst, said if companies were using such sites they should look to the more heavily moderated sites, such as There, Kaneva and Activeworlds.

Aug
07

The Atlantan

The Secret World of Chris Klaus

The wiz from his Atlanta office, an internet lord reigns over a magical, 3-D land you may not want to leave once you get there. Life could have turned out very differently for Chris Klaus. In 1994, when the shy, broke, 21-year-old, ex-pizza boy dropped out of Georgia Tech and moved into the spare bedroom of his grandmother's house in Roswell, few would have bet that Klaus was just years away from making his first billion dollars.

Jul
16

Online Reporter

3D Cyber Community Integrates YouTube

Online virtual network and media company Kaneva now makes YouTube videos available in its virtual world community. Kaneva's "Virtual World" is said to be the first integrated Web 2.0 virtual community, with 3D interaction in its social network and entertainment world.