Ian Hughes a.k.a epredator when online, is a Metaverse Evangelist. He set about leading a band of like minded individuals and subsequently many thousands of colleagues in IBM into virtual worlds like Second Life in 2006, though. This sparked the massive growth in interest from enterprises and press alike. As a public figure in Web 2.0 and a leading blogger on http://www.eightbar.com he has shown that leadership can be driven by the digital native and innovators can gather together regardless of geography or organization. Cultural and technology changes and new ways to operate across companies is a core theme. In 2008 he received the first industry award for Innovation in Virtual Worlds in the Enterprise . As a digital native his epredator persona spans many Web 2.0 places, blogs, PSN, WoW, Xbox Live, Twitter, Flickr, Linkedin etc. Understanding how to use that presence, still representing himself but with elements of theatre brought about by more creative expression online leads him to no longer be the programmer he grew up as.

Virtual worlds also extend to more than just entertainment or corporate communication. Representing past cultures, existing places, instrumenting the planet, showing business process models in actions the list goes on. Metaverses can also be used to deliver virtual goods, but now making those virtual goods real again is possible. Rapid fabrication and the rise of the fabricaneur heralds another phase in our existence online

A former IBM Consulting IT Specialist who has worked on leading edge emerging technologies for the past 18 years, and now an independent consultant and director of Feeding Edge Ltd and a programmer since he was 14. As a gamer he has seen a massive increase in the capability and design ethics within games and the rise of online gaming. In 1997 Ian started working on all things web, changing his perspective on the technology and the business due the much richer mix of people involved in the web revolution. Graphic Designer, Producers and Programmers all having to work together.

As a public speaker he shares his experiences both of the growing virtual worlds industry, the changes in culture, personal experiences of challenging the status quo and leading through doing.