New World Newsfeed: Ex-Cory Linden Gets Academic (Updated)

... at least in part, according to his new blog "Collapsing Geography":

"[I'm] spending the spring as a visiting professor at USC Annenberg."  At the moment, Linden's former CTO, who recently left Second Life's corporate owner in a cloud of speculation, is "consulting, writing, and speaking about the economic and technological impact of virtual worlds; the interrelation between innovation and learning; and, the requirements of product development across geographically dispersed teams."  He also writes about the day he left the Lindens, and recaps the 2007 predictions he made last year.

Though it's not yet clear what he'll be specifically doing at USC, it's worth noting that Annenberg's Center on Public Diplomacy has an extensive Virtual Worlds Project run in collaboration with the US State Department, with recent initiatives on virtual world-driven philanthropy and understanding Islam through virtual worlds.  As for Cory, follow the future of SL's most influential Linden veteran at his blog.

Update, 12/31:  Cory offers more info on his latest teaching gig at USC: "The class I am teaching is part of the Charles Annenberg Weingarten Program on Online Communities, an intensive 1 year Master's Program that pulls together a gifted cohort of students and a great mix of professors."