Our customers did not want an IM add-on; they wanted a stand-alone IM network. They did not consider having to learn how to use a new IM program a barrier; on the contrary, our early adopters used many different IM programs simultaneously. Our customers were not intimidated by the idea of having to take their friends with them to a new IM network; it turned out that they enjoyed that challenge. Even more surprising, our assumption that customers would want to use avatar-based IM primarily with their existing friends was also wrong. They wanted to make new friends, an activity that 3D avatars
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