Meet the team: James Atlloud

The Hypergrid International Expo has a Technical Director with a flair for filming and a deep rooted love of scifi.  James Atlloud shares here a little bit of his story.

James Atlloud: I had a very pastoral upbringing in the country where I read a lot of science fiction books which encouraged me to imagine wondrous things.  In work I had natural inclinations to electricity and to computer tech.  I studied educational technology and concluded my studies with Second Life as my Master’s thesis subject.   Since then I’ve applied myself as time allows to explore and support virtual worlds and in particular support Open Simulator.

In Opensim James is well known for his weekly appearances on Youtube shows MBTV and Inworld Review, and he is a fixture among the Safari crowd that grid-hops for fun on Wednesdays. Thanks to all this hypergridding experience, he knows a thing or two about opensim's more interesting foibles. 

The HIE event in October will be held on Craft grid - how do you feel about that?

Meet the HIE Team: Tosha Tyran

 The core organizers of HIE each have their own niche and special skills, and Tosha Tyran is no exception. Well known for her re-creation of famous monuments like the Taj Mahal and Angkor Wat, she defines herself as a "Virtual brick layer with a slight tendency towards gigantonomy". Tosha had been active in virtual worlds since 2005. She speaks three languages, in virtual since 2005, and was one of the first four members when Craft Grid was founded, back in 2010. 

This conference is the Hypergrid International Expo. What does the word 'International' have for you?

Tosha Tyran: I have long since stopped considering myself a citizen of a single nation. My aim is to act and be seen as an internationalist. Therefore this international event for me is great! It helps to overcome national borders and even languages. This conference gives all avatars - and of course the persons behind them -  great opportunity to jump a little higher and see the other side of ones borders. It widens the angle of sight and of mind.

Meet the HIE Team: Mal Burns

Mal Burns is a metaverse news aggregator and broadcaster. He is co-host of two shows on Youtube. MBTV is a news show VR technology, innovation and innovators. Inworld Review, is focused on the latest developments and events in Opensim Both shows are broadcast each Sunday when in season, and you can find previous shows here on Youtube. Mal has been involved in virtual worlds since their inception, in Second Life, Sansar, Sinespace to mention a few of the many he has explored, and these days is mostly to be found in Opensim. He co-created the original HIE event, back in 2017.

This conference is the Hypergrid International Expo. What does 'International' mean to you in this context?