Obviously there has been a ton of talk across the internets about this “Virtual Decatur” concept, but I noticed that – not surprisingly – nearly all of it is just packaging and repackaging of what’s already stated on the city’s Virtual Decatur page.  Personally, I was curious where this idea originated and if the city was surprised by the amount of attention its getting from tech blogs/websites worldwide.

So, I followed up with the city yesterday and RFI coordinator Lena Stevens was good enough to reply to my inquiry earlier today.

She reiterated that no money has yet been budgeted for Virtual Decatur and no timelines on decisions have been established.  If/when a time comes for decisions to be made, Stevens reassures us that there will be ample oppertunity for public comment.

In terms of where the idea originated, Stevens explains that the Decatur City Commission thought it up with the original intent of viewing potential Decatur development in a 3D space  and the idea “branched out” from there “to include the entire Decatur experience – people, businesses and government. Rather than reading about Decatur on a flat website, users could experience the community by interacting with one another as well as with city officials.”

In regards to the online response, Stevens says that the city was “surprised by the amount of media buzz surrounding the release of the Request for Information”, but chalks it up to the cutting-edge aspect of the technology being considered.

Though the city has yet to receive any final submissions for Virtual Decatur, Stevens says that “10-15 companies have notified me of their intent to respond.”  She also promises that “more details about this project will be made available after the responses have been received and analyzed.”

Speaking for myself, I would like to see a comparison of the cost of the commission’s original idea (a 3D model of a potential development) versus this more involved and expanded one.  Because while I have reservations about the “Second Life” version, I think a place to view 3D models of potential developments from a bunch of different angles could be quite useful.   While I appreciate the city thinking outside the box in terms of communication, I’m worried that the more far-reaching version could potentially overshadow the original idea.