184-552: ABBA were a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog , Björn Ulvaeus , Benny Andersson , and Anni-Frid Lyngstad . They are one of the most popular and successful musical groups of all time, and are one of the best-selling music acts in the history of popular music. In 1974 , ABBA were Sweden 's first winner of the Eurovision Song Contest with the song " Waterloo ", which in 2005
368-585: A metaverse . Many modern virtual worlds provide users with advanced tools to customize their representations, allowing them to change shapes, hair, skins and also genre. Moreover, there is a secondary industry devoted to the creations of products and items for the avatars. Some companies have also launched social networks and other websites for avatars such as Koinup , Myrl, and Avatars United . Lisa Nakamura has suggested that customizable avatars in non-gaming worlds tend to be biased towards lighter skin colors and against darker skin colors, especially in those of
552-484: A plague killed about 20,000 (36 percent) of the population. After the end of the Great Northern War the city stagnated; population growth halted and economic growth slowed. The city was in shock after having lost its place as the capital of a great power . However, Stockholm maintained its role as Sweden's political centre and continued to develop as the country's economic and cultural capital. During
736-563: A Chance on Me" did not top the American charts, it proved to be ABBA's biggest hit single there, selling more copies than "Dancing Queen". The drop in sales in Australia was felt to be inevitable by industry observers as an "Abba-Fever" that had existed there for almost three years could only last so long as adolescents would naturally begin to move away from a group so deified by both their parents and grandparents. A third single, " Eagle ",
920-969: A Song") for the 1972 contest, choosing newcomer Lena Anderson to perform. The song came in third place, encouraging Stig Anderson, and became a hit in Sweden. The first signs of foreign success came as a surprise, as the Andersson and Ulvaeus single " She's My Kind of Girl " was released through Epic Records in Japan in March 1972, giving the duo a Top 10 hit. Two more singles were released in Japan, "En Carousel" ("En Karusell" in Scandinavia, an earlier version of "Merry-Go-Round") and "Love Has Its Ways" (a song they wrote with Kōichi Morita ). Ulvaeus and Andersson persevered with their songwriting and experimented with new sounds and vocal arrangements. " People Need Love "
1104-399: A Structured Language Processing or SLP Avatar. Avatars in video games are the player's representation in the game world. The first video games to include a representation of the player were Basketball (1974) which represented players as humans, and Maze War (1974) which represented players as eyeballs. In some games, the player's representation is fixed, however many games offer
1288-426: A basic character model, or template, and then allow customization of the physical features as the player sees fit. For example, Carl Johnson , the avatar from Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas , can be dressed in a wide range of clothing, can be given tattoos and haircuts , and can even body build or become obese depending upon player actions. One video game in which the avatar and player are two separate entities
1472-679: A brief solo career alongside. The Hootenanny Singers and the Hep Stars sometimes crossed paths while touring. In June 1966, Ulvaeus and Andersson decided to write a song together. Their first attempt was "Isn't It Easy to Say", a song that was later recorded by the Hep Stars. Stig Anderson was the manager of the Hootenanny Singers and founder of the Polar Music label. He saw potential in the collaboration, and encouraged them to write more. The two also began playing occasionally with
1656-602: A character based on their creator, either a fictionalised version (e.g. the Matt Groening character in some episodes of The Simpsons ) or an entirely fictional character (e.g. Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter series has been said by J. K. Rowling to be based upon herself). Such characters are sometimes known as " author surrogates " or "author avatars". Early examples of customizable avatars include multi-user systems, including MUDs . Gaia Online has
1840-612: A concert tour in southern Sweden and they soon became a couple. Andersson produced her single "Peter Pan" in September 1969—her first collaboration with Benny & Björn, as they had written the song. Andersson would then produce Lyngstad's debut studio album, Frida , which was released in March 1971. Lyngstad also played in several revues and cabaret shows in Stockholm between 1969 and 1973. After ABBA formed, she recorded another successful album in 1975, Frida ensam , which included
2024-458: A construct composed of text. The term has been also sometimes extended to refer to the personality connected with the screen name , or handle, of an Internet user. Despite the widespread use of avatars, it is unknown which Internet forums were the first to use them; the earliest forums did not include avatars as a default feature, and they were included in unofficial "hacks" before eventually being made standard. Avatars on Internet forums serve
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#17327719980662208-440: A customizable avatar where users can dress it up as desired. Users may earn credits for completing sponsored surveys or certain tasks to purchase items and upgrades to customize their avatar. Linden Lab 's Second Life creates a virtual world in which avatars, homes, decorations, buildings and land are for sale. Less-common items may be designed to appear better than common items, and an experienced player may be identified from
2392-462: A demo recording of their music to Karl-Gerhard Lundkvist . The demo tape featured a song written and sung by Agnetha: "Jag var så kär" ("I Was So in Love"). Lundkvist was so impressed with her voice that he was convinced she would be a star. After going through considerable effort to locate the singer, he arranged for Agnetha to come to Stockholm and to record two of her own songs. This led to Agnetha at
2576-715: A few scenes from their self-written mini-operetta The Girl with the Golden Hair . The concert attracted huge media attention from across Europe and Australia. They continued the tour through Western Europe, visiting Gothenburg , Copenhagen, Berlin, Cologne , Amsterdam, Antwerp , Essen , Hanover , and Hamburg and ending with shows in the United Kingdom in Manchester , Birmingham, Glasgow and two sold-out concerts at London's Royal Albert Hall . Tickets for these two shows were available only by mail application and it
2760-518: A few shows, including a sole concert scheduled in Switzerland. The second leg of the tour, which took them through Scandinavia in January 1975, was very different. They played to full houses everywhere and finally got the reception they had aimed for. Live performances continued in the middle of 1975 when ABBA embarked on a fourteen open-air date tour of Sweden and Finland. Their Stockholm show at
2944-458: A group of new characters before in-game statistics are seen. To meet the demand for millions of unique, customised avatars, generator tools and services have been created. Many of them, such as the website Picrew , are based around works by original artists. The 2021 Electronic Entertainment Expo featured an avatar creator, to align with its new all-digital nature. Some people add visual details or effects to their avatars to show support for
3128-766: A history going back to the conservatory founded as part of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music in 1771, the Royal University College of Fine Arts , which has a similar historical association with the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts and a foundation date of 1735, and the Swedish National Academy of Mime and Acting , which is the continuation of the school of the Royal Dramatic Theatre , once attended by renowned actors like Greta Garbo . Other schools include
3312-582: A jazz-oriented cabaret style. She also formed her own band, the Anni-Frid Four. In the middle of 1967, she won a national talent competition with "En ledig dag" ("A Day Off"), a Swedish version of the bossa nova song "A Day in Portofino", which is included in the EMI compilation Frida 1967–1972 . The first prize was a recording contract with EMI Sweden and to perform live on the most popular TV shows in
3496-470: A major European power, reflected in the development of the city of Stockholm. From 1610 to 1680 the population multiplied sixfold. In 1634, Stockholm became the official capital of the Swedish empire. Trading rules were also created that gave Stockholm an essential monopoly over trade between foreign merchants and other Swedish, Baltic and Scandinavian territories. In 1697, Tre Kronor Castle burned down and
3680-472: A major gay anthem) with "Knowing Me, Knowing You" later peaking at number seven; "Money, Money, Money", however, had barely charted there or in Canada (where "Knowing Me, Knowing You" had reached number five). They did, however, get three more singles to the number-one position on other Billboard US charts, including Billboard Adult Contemporary and Hot Dance Club Play ). Nevertheless, Arrival finally became
3864-514: A modern and ethnically diverse city in the latter half of the 20th century. Many historical buildings were torn down during the modernist era, including substantial parts of the historical district of Klara (which caused major controversy), and replaced with modern architecture. However, in many other parts of Stockholm (such as in Gamla stan , Södermalm , Östermalm , Kungsholmen and Vasastan ), many older buildings, blocks and streets built before
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#17327719980664048-622: A movement or issue, in a similar way to a physical awareness ribbon . The awareness avatar may have first been used in the New Zealand Internet Blackout , to protest copyright law changes in New Zealand. Globally, protesters replaced their icons with black squares to show solidarity. The protest was successful and proved the method effective at both raising awareness and effecting change. Campaigns have used this method include: Avatars have become an area of study in
4232-427: A new version of their Xbox avatars for Xbox One and Xbox on Windows 10 , featuring increased detail and having a focus on inclusivity. PlayStation Home for Sony 's PlayStation 3 console also featured the use of avatars, but with a more realistic style than Nintendo's Miis or Microsoft's Avatars. Avatars in non-gaming online worlds are used as two- or three- dimensional human or fantastic representations of
4416-576: A paid subscription, users can select individual identities for different communities. Avatars can be used as virtual embodiments of embodied agents , which are driven more or less by artificial intelligence rather than real people. Automated online assistants are examples of avatars used in this way. Such avatars are used by organizations as a part of automated customer services in order to interact with consumers and users of services. This can avail for enterprises to reduce their operating and training cost. A major underlying technology to such systems
4600-456: A person's inworld self. Such representations are a tool which facilitates the exploration of the virtual universe, or acts as a focal point in conversations with other users, and can be customized by the user. Usually, the purpose and appeal of such universes is to provide a large enhancement to common online conversation capabilities, and to allow the user to peacefully develop a portion of a non-gaming universe without being forced to strive towards
4784-404: A player in the game world. Other early uses of the term include Lucasfilm and Chip Morningstar 's 1986 online role-playing game Habitat , and the 1989 pen and paper role-playing game Shadowrun . The use of avatar to mean online virtual bodies was popularised by Neal Stephenson in his 1992 cyberpunk novel Snow Crash . In Snow Crash, the term avatar was used to describe
4968-484: A pre-defined goal. The earliest avatars of this form were text-based descriptions employed by players within MUDs . These often allowed players to express an identity disparate from their public one within an interactive environment. For instance, LambdaMOO allowed a choice of 11 different genders , which could be changed at the user's will. The visually-based game Habitat also used the term to refer to players within
5152-516: A regular basis at the Swedish folkparks in the middle of 1971. Stig Anderson , founder and owner of Polar Music , was determined to break into the mainstream international market with music by Andersson and Ulvaeus. "One day the pair of you will write a song that becomes a worldwide hit," he predicted. Stig Anderson encouraged Ulvaeus and Andersson to write a song for Melodifestivalen, and after two rejected entries in 1971, Andersson and Ulvaeus submitted their new song "Säg det med en sång" ("Say It with
5336-465: A result of this massive population growth, there has been a proposal to build densely packed high-rise buildings in the city centre connected by elevated walkways, though these have been opposed by several groups. Stockholm is located on Sweden's east coast at the 59th parallel north, where the freshwater Lake Mälaren —Sweden's third-largest lake—flows out into the Baltic Sea. The central parts of
5520-722: A scale unprecedented since the reign of Queen Christina . During this time, Carl Michael Bellman and Joseph Martin Kraus helped develop the city's music, a process further accelerated by the founding of the Royal Swedish Opera . Various artists and writers became prominent, funded by the king and other cultural patrons like Carl Gustaf Tessin ; the two aforementioned figures laid the base for Sweden's Nationalmuseum at this time. Science also became prevalent; renowned figures like Carl Linnaeus and Anders Celsius spent time in Stockholm, and various research institutes, like
5704-466: A similar latitude, or even farther south. With an average of 1900 hours of sunshine per year, it is also one of the sunniest cities in Northern Europe, receiving more sunshine than Paris, London and a few other major European cities of a more southerly latitude. Because of the urban heat island effect and the prevailing wind travelling overland rather than sea during summer months, Stockholm has
ABBA - Misplaced Pages Continue
5888-714: A single during the group's lifetime. ABBA: The Album topped the album charts in the UK, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, while ascending to the Top 5 in Australia, Germany, Austria, Finland and Rhodesia, and making the Top 10 in Canada and Japan. Sources also indicate that sales in Poland exceeded 1 million copies and that sales demand in Russia could not be met by the supply available. The album peaked at number 14 in
6072-687: A third of the country's GDP , and is among the top 10 regions in Europe by GDP per capita . Considered a global city , it is the largest in Scandinavia and the main centre for corporate headquarters in the Nordic region. The city is home to some of Europe's top-ranking universities, such as the Karolinska Institute (medicine), KTH Royal Institute of Technology , Stockholm School of Economics and Stockholm University . It hosts
6256-467: A throng of multifleshed being, mind avatared in all its matter, on a broad avenue winding through a city of blue trees with bright red foliage and living buildings growing from the soil in a multitude of forms. The use of the term avatar for the on-screen representation of the user was coined in 1985 by Richard Garriott for the computer game Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar . In this game, Garriott desired
6440-584: A true breakthrough release for ABBA on the US album market where it peaked at number 20 on the Billboard 200 chart and was certified gold by RIAA . In January 1977, ABBA embarked on their first major tour. The group's status had changed dramatically and they were widely regarded as superstars. They opened their much anticipated tour in Oslo , Norway, on 28 January, and mounted a lavishly produced spectacle that included
6624-420: A user's real-life personality. Student test groups were able to infer upon extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism, but could not infer upon openness and conscientiousness. Researchers have also studied avatars that differ from real-life identity. Sherry Turkle described a middle-aged man who played an aggressive, confrontational female character in his online communities, displaying personality traits he
6808-404: A week there, followed by "Mamma Mia" staying there for ten weeks, and the album holding down the number one position for months. The three songs were also successful in nearby New Zealand with the first two topping that chart and the third reaching number two. In March 1976, the band released the compilation album Greatest Hits . It became their first UK number-one album, and also took ABBA into
6992-408: A well-known fish-canning company in Sweden, and itself an abbreviation . However, since the fish-canners were unknown outside Sweden, Anderson came to believe the name would work in international markets. A competition to find a suitable name for the group was held in a Gothenburg newspaper and it was officially announced in the summer that the group were to be known as "ABBA". The group negotiated with
7176-458: Is natural language processing . Some of these avatars are commonly known as "bots". Famous examples include IKEA 's Anna, an avatar designed to guide users around the IKEA website. Such avatars can also be powered by a digital conversation which provides a little more structure than those using NLP, offering the user options and clearly defined paths to an outcome. This kind of avatar is known as
7360-467: Is Sweden's primary financial centre , one of the largest in Scandinavia, and hosts several of Sweden's largest companies. Furthermore, the headquarters of most of Sweden's largest banks are in Stockholm. Stockholm is one of Europe's major tech centres; the city has sometimes been called Europe's innovation hub. The Stockholm region has a GDP of around $ 180 billion, and Stockholm County has the highest GDP per capita of all counties in Sweden . Stockholm
7544-693: Is a graphical representation of a user , the user's character , or persona . Avatars can be two-dimensional icons in Internet forums and other online communities, where they are also known as profile pictures , userpics , or formerly picons (personal icons, or possibly "picture icons"). Alternatively, an avatar can take the form of a three-dimensional model , as used in online worlds and video games, or an imaginary character with no graphical appearance, as in text-based games or worlds such as MUDs . The term avatāra ( / ˈ æ v ə t ɑːr , ˌ æ v ə ˈ t ɑːr / ) originates from Sanskrit , and
ABBA - Misplaced Pages Continue
7728-477: Is also known as a profile picture or userpic, or in early Internet parlance, a 'picon' (personal icon). With the advent of social media platforms like Facebook , where users are not typically anonymous, these pictures often are a photo of the user in real life. Alternatively, avatars can also be three-dimensional digital representations, as in games such as World of Warcraft or virtual worlds like Second Life . In MUDs and other early systems, they were
7912-543: Is also responsible for financial administration and long-term development. The City Executive Board consists of 13 members, who represent both the majority and the opposition. Its meetings are not open to the public. Stockholm City Hall is one of the city's key landmarks, built in the National Romantic Style at the beginning of the twentieth century. Hosting the Nobel Prizes and the government of
8096-645: Is also tied to social influence, as more human-like representations can be more persuasive. For the Harvard Business Review , Paul Hemp analysed the effects of avatars on real-world business. He focuses on the game "Second Life", demonstrating that the creators of virtual avatars are willing to spend real money to purchase goods marketed solely to their virtual selves. In addition, research in data collection via Second Life avatars suggested important considerations related to research participant engagement, burden, and retention, as well as accuracy of
8280-726: Is an administrative unit defined by geographical borders. The semi-official name for the municipality is City of Stockholm ( Stockholms stad in Swedish). As a municipality, the City of Stockholm is subdivided into district councils, which carry responsibility for primary schools, social, leisure and cultural services within their respective areas. The municipality is usually described in terms of its three main parts: Innerstaden ( Stockholm City Centre ), Söderort (Southern Stockholm) and Västerort (Western Stockholm). The districts of these parts are: The modern centre Norrmalm (concentrated around
8464-572: Is based on export-oriented services, often towards larger, nearby European markets like Poland or Germany. Tourism is a major industry in Stockholm. Research and higher education in the sciences started in Stockholm in the 18th century, with education in medicine and various research institutions such as the Stockholm Observatory . The medical education was eventually formalised in 1811 as Karolinska Institutet . KTH Royal Institute of Technology ( Swedish: Kungliga Tekniska högskolan )
8648-408: Is one wherein an image is automatically generated based on the identity of the poster. Identicons are formed as visually distinct geometric images derived from a digest hash of the poster's IP address or user ID. These serve as a means to associate a particular user with a particular geometric representation. When used with an IP address, a particular anonymous user can be visually identified without
8832-1167: Is perceived to be human), anthropomorphism (having human form or behavior), identomorphism (how much the form of the avatar resembles the player), and realism (the perceived viability of something realistically existing). Perceived agency influences people's responses in the interaction regardless of who or what is actually controlling the representation. An earlier meta-analysis of studies comparing agents and avatars found that both agency and perceived agency mattered: representations controlled by humans were more persuasive than those controlled by bots, and representations believed to be controlled by humans were more persuasive than those believed to be controlled by bots. Additionally, researchers have investigated how anthropomorphic representations influence communicative outcomes and found that more human-like representations are judged more favorably; people consider them more attractive, credible, and competent. Higher levels of anthropomorphism also lead to higher involvement, social presence, and communication satisfaction. Moreover, people communicate more naturally with more anthropomorphic avatars. Anthropomorphism
9016-513: Is projected to reach 1,079,213 by 2030. Of the inhabitants, 482,982 were men and 492,569 women. The average age is 39 years; 40.1% of the population is between 20 and 44 years. The marimonial statistics are that 411,273 people, or 42.2% of the population, over the age 15 were unmarried; 268,291 people, or 27.5% of the population, were married; and 104,099 or 10.7% of the population, had been married but divorced. As of December 2021, there were 252,750 foreign-born people in Stockholm, making up 25.8% of
9200-606: Is surrounded on this LP by so many good tunes that the mind boggles." In Australia, the airing of the music videos for "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do" and "Mamma Mia" on the nationally broadcast TV pop show Countdown (which premiered in November 1974) saw the band rapidly gain enormous popularity, and Countdown become a key promoter of the group via their distinctive music videos. This started an immense interest for ABBA in Australia, resulting in "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do" staying at number one for three weeks, then "SOS" spending
9384-491: Is the game Perspective , where the player controls both themself in a 3-dimensional world and the avatar in a 2-dimensional world. Aside from an avatar's physical appearance, its dialogue, particularly in cutscenes , may also reveal something of its character. A good example is the crude, action hero stereotype , Duke Nukem . Other avatars, such as Gordon Freeman from Half-Life , who never speaks at all , reveal very little of themselves (the original game never showed
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#17327719980669568-530: Is the name of the local assembly. Its 101 councillors are elected concurrently with general elections , held at the same time as the elections to the Riksdag and county councils . The Council convenes twice every month at Stockholm City Hall , and the meetings are open to the public. The matters on which the councillors decide have generally already been drafted and discussed by various boards and committees. Once decisions are referred for practical implementation,
9752-743: Is the official residence and principal workplace of the Swedish monarch, while Drottningholm Palace in neighbouring Ekerö serves as the Royal Family 's private residence. Stockholm's location appears in Norse sagas as Agnafit , and in Heimskringla in connection with the legendary king Agne . Birka , located near Stockholm, was one Sweden's major trade centres during the Viking Age , and its restored remains are one of Stockholm County 's most-visited sites. The earliest written mention of
9936-777: Is the seat of the Swedish government and most of its agencies , including the highest courts in the judiciary , and the official residences of the Swedish monarch and the Prime Minister . The government has its seat in the Rosenbad building, the Riksdag (Swedish parliament) is seated in the Parliament House , and the Prime Minister's residence is adjacent at the Sager House . Stockholm Palace
10120-470: The Billboard 200 chart, but received unanimous praise from US critics. The Los Angeles Times said the album was a "compelling and fascinating debut album" that captured the spirit of mainstream pop, and described it as "immensely enjoyable and pleasant", while Creem said it was "a perfect blend of exceptional, lovable compositions". ABBA's follow-up single, " Honey, Honey ", peaked at number 27 on
10304-459: The Age of Enlightenment in the late eighteenth century, the city flourished. The new monarch, Gustav III , proved an able and energetic regnant; his economic policies helped the Swedish economy develop, and his partially successful war against Russia restored some of Sweden's international reputation. The king was an avid patron of the arts, and scientists and cultural figures flocked to Stockholm on
10488-560: The Baltic Sea . Outside the city to the east, and along the coast, is the island chain of the Stockholm archipelago . The area has been settled since the Stone Age , in the 6th millennium BC, and was founded as a city in 1252 by Swedish statesman Birger Jarl . The city serves as the county seat of Stockholm County . Stockholm is the cultural, media, political, and economic centre of Sweden. The Stockholm region alone accounts for over
10672-556: The Billboard 200 chart. Opinions were voiced, by Creem in particular, that in the US ABBA had endured "a very sloppy promotional campaign". Nevertheless, the group enjoyed warm reviews from the American press. Cashbox went as far as saying that "there is a recurrent thread of taste and artistry inherent in Abba's marketing, creativity and presentation that makes it almost embarrassing to critique their efforts", while Creem wrote: "SOS
10856-690: The Entertainment Centre . The trip was accompanied by mass hysteria and unprecedented media attention ("Swedish ABBA stirs box-office in Down Under tour...and the media coverage of the quartet rivals that set to cover the upcoming Royal tour of Australia", wrote Variety ), and is captured on film in ABBA: The Movie , directed by Lasse Hallström . The Australian tour and its subsequent ABBA: The Movie produced some ABBA lore, as well. Fältskog's blonde good looks had long made her
11040-475: The Gröna Lund amusement park had an estimated audience of 19,200. Björn Ulvaeus later said, "If you look at the singles we released straight after Waterloo, we were trying to be more like The Sweet , a semi-glam rock group, which was stupid because we were always a pop group." In late 1974, "So Long" was released as a single in the United Kingdom but it received no airplay from Radio 1 and failed to chart in
11224-650: The Hanseatic League . Stockholm developed strong economic and cultural linkages with Lübeck , Hamburg , Gdańsk (Danzig), Visby , Tallinn (Reval), and Riga during this time. The strategic and economic importance of the city made Stockholm an important factor in relations between the Danish Kings of the Kalmar Union and the Swedish national independence movement in the fifteenth century and early sixteenth century. The Danish King Christian II
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#173277199806611408-733: The Recording Academy 's Grammy Hall of Fame . In 2024, the United States Library of Congress included the album Arrival (1976) in the National Recording Registry , which recognises works "worthy of preservation for all time based on their cultural, historical or aesthetic importance in the nation’s recorded sound heritage". In 2016, the group reunited and started working on a digital avatar concert tour. Newly recorded songs were announced in 2018. Voyage , their first new album in 40 years,
11592-493: The Stockholm Observatory , were founded. The early nineteenth century saw a major economic decline of Stockholm and Sweden as a whole, but by the second half of the nineteenth century, Stockholm had regained its leading economic role. New industries emerged with industrialisation and Stockholm was transformed into an important trade and service centre as well as a key gateway point within Sweden. The population also grew dramatically during this time, mainly through immigration . At
11776-528: The Swedish Museum of Natural History , as well as the botanical garden Bergianska trädgården . The Stockholm School of Economics , founded in 1909, is one of the few private institutions of higher education in Sweden, and is generally reckoned one of the most prestigious business schools in the world. In the fine arts , educational institutions include the Royal College of Music , which has
11960-515: The best-selling music artists in history , with record sales estimated to be between 150 million to 385 million sold worldwide and the group were ranked 3rd best-selling singles artists in the United Kingdom with a total of 11.3 million singles sold by 3 November 2012. In May 2023, ABBA were awarded the BRIT Billion Award , which celebrates those who have surpassed the milestone of one billion UK streams in their career. ABBA were
12144-678: The "Acknowledgments" to Snow Crash : The idea of a "virtual reality" such as the Metaverse is by now widespread in the computer-graphics community and is being used in a number of different ways. The particular vision of the Metaverse as expressed in this novel originated from idle discussion between me and Jaime (Captain Bandwidth) Taaffe ... The words avatar (in the sense used here) and Metaverse are my inventions, which I came up with when I decided that existing words (such as virtual reality ) were simply too awkward to use ... after
12328-504: The 16th century. In 1625, the Great Stockholm Fire of 1625 destroyed the southwestern section of Stadsholmen , an island in the centre of Stockholm. The amount of destruction led to the beginning of the demolition of the Stockholm walls. Today, most of the younger city walls cannot be found anywhere above ground. However, parts of the northern city walls are preserved in the modern Museum of Medieval Stockholm . In 1710,
12512-467: The 1973 Swedish entry. Stig Anderson started planning for the 1974 contest. Ulvaeus, Andersson and Stig Anderson saw possibilities in using the Eurovision Song Contest to make the music business aware of them as songwriters, as well as to publicise the band. In late 1973 they were invited by Swedish television to contribute a song for the Melodifestivalen 1974 , and the upbeat song " Waterloo "
12696-654: The ABBA logo, employing a different font. In 1992, Polygram added a crown emblem to it for the first release of the ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits compilation. After Universal Music purchased PolyGram (and, thus, ABBA's label Polar Music International), control of the group's catalogue returned to Stockholm. Since then, the original logo has been reinstated on all official products. ABBA entered the Melodifestivalen with " Ring Ring " but did not qualify as
12880-568: The Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser and his family. At the first Melbourne concert, an additional 16,000 people gathered outside the fenced-off area to listen to the concert. In Adelaide , the group performed one concert at Football Park in front of 20,000 people, with another 10,000 listening outside. During the first of five concerts in Perth, there was a bomb scare with everyone having to evacuate
13064-464: The City Executive Board. The Mayor holds a special position among the Vice Mayors, chairing both the Council of Mayors and the City Executive Board. The City Executive Board ( Swedish : Kommunstyrelsen ) is elected by the City Council and is equivalent to a cabinet . The City Executive Board renders an opinion in all matters decided by the council and bears the overall responsibility for follow-up, evaluation and execution of its decisions. The Board
13248-616: The European Union. The Stockholm Stock Exchange , founded in 1863, is the largest stock exchange in the Nordic Countries measured by market capitalisation, listing numerous multinational Swedish companies. Trade is a vital part of Stockholm's economy; the city's corporations are largely reliant on foreign consumers to supplement the small Swedish market. Stockholm is one of the Baltic Sea's larger ports, hosting especially cruise ships and yachts. Most of Stockholm's economy
13432-572: The French compilation album, Golden Double Album , released in May 1976 by Disques Vogue , and would henceforth be used for all official releases. The idea for the official logo was made by the German photographer Wolfgang "Bubi" Heilemann [ de ] on a velvet jumpsuit photo shoot for the teenage magazine Bravo . In the photo, the ABBA members held giant initial letters of their names. After
13616-951: The German-speaking countries. "The Name of the Game" was a number two hit in the Netherlands, Belgium and Sweden while also making the Top 5 in Finland, Norway, New Zealand and Australia, while only peaking at numbers 10, 12 and 15 in Mexico, the US and Canada. "Take a Chance on Me" was a number one hit in Austria, Belgium and Mexico, made the Top 3 in the US, Canada, the Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland, while only reaching numbers 12 and 14 in Australia and New Zealand, respectively. Both songs were Top 10 hits in countries as far afield as Rhodesia and South Africa, as well as in France. Although "Take
13800-475: The Stars (1980), the term avatar is used in a description of a computer generated virtual experience. In the story, humans receive messages from an alien galactic network that wishes to share knowledge and experience with other advanced civilizations through "songs". The humans build a "galactic receiver" that allows its users to engage in "artificial realities". One experience is described as such: You stand in
13984-445: The Top 50 on the US album charts for the first time, eventually selling more than a million copies there. Also included on Greatest Hits was a new single, " Fernando ", which went to number-one in at least thirteen countries all over the world, including the UK, Germany, France, Australia, South Africa and Mexico, and the top five in most other significant markets, including, at number four, becoming their biggest hit to date in Canada;
14168-499: The UK chart within a week of each other. "Ring Ring" failed to reach the Top 30 in the UK, increasing growing speculation that the group were simply a Eurovision one-hit wonder . In November 1974, ABBA embarked on their first European tour, playing dates in Denmark, West Germany and Austria. It was not as successful as the band had hoped, since most of the venues did not sell out. Due to a lack of demand, they were even forced to cancel
14352-639: The UK. The group also enjoyed significant success in Latin America and recorded a collection of their hit songs in Spanish. ABBA were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2002. The group were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010, the first recording artists to receive this honour from outside an Anglophonic country. In 2015, their song " Dancing Queen " was inducted into
14536-465: The UK; and, " Knowing Me, Knowing You ", ABBA's sixth consecutive German number-one, as well as another UK number-one, plus a top five hit in many other countries, although it was only a number nine hit in Australia and France. The real sensation was the first single, " Dancing Queen ", not only topping the charts in loyal markets like the UK, Germany, Sweden, several other western and northern European countries, and Australia, but also reaching number-one in
14720-511: The UK; the only countries in which it was successful were Austria, Sweden and Germany, reaching the top ten in the first two and number 21 in the latter. In the middle of 1975, ABBA released " I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do ", which again received little airplay on Radio 1, but did manage to climb to number 38 on the UK chart, while making top five in several northern and western European countries, and number one in South Africa. Later that year,
14904-540: The US Billboard Hot 100 , reached the top twenty in several other countries, and was a number-two hit in West Germany, although it only reached the top 30 in Australia and the US. In the UK, ABBA's British record label, Epic, decided to re-release a remixed version of "Ring Ring" instead of "Honey, Honey". A cover version of "Honey, Honey" by Sweet Dreams peaked at number 10, and both records debuted on
15088-509: The US. Stockholm Stockholm ( Swedish: [ˈstɔ̂kː(h)ɔlm] ) is the capital and most populous city of the Kingdom of Sweden , as well as the largest urban area in the Nordic countries . Approximately 1 million people live in the municipality , with 1.6 million in the urban area , and 2.4 million in the metropolitan area . The city stretches across fourteen islands where Lake Mälaren flows into
15272-591: The United Kingdom, Germany and Australia and the top two in a few other western and northern European countries. In the United States, both " I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do " and " SOS " peaked at number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, with the latter picking up the BMI Award along the way as one of the most played songs on American radio in 1975. "Mamma Mia", however, stalled at number 32. In Canada,
15456-489: The United States, Canada, the Soviet Union and Japan, and the top ten in France, Spain and Italy. All three songs were number-one hits in Mexico. In South Africa, ABBA had astounding success with each of "Fernando", "Dancing Queen" and "Knowing Me, Knowing You" being among the top 20 best-selling singles for 1976–77. In 1977, Arrival was nominated for the inaugural BRIT Award in the category "Best International Album of
15640-515: The United States, where it peaked at number 114 on the Cashbox singles chart and number 117 on the Record World singles chart. Labelled as Björn & Benny (with Svenska Flicka) meaning Swedish Girl, it was released there through Playboy Records . According to Stig Anderson, "People Need Love" could have been a much bigger American hit, but a small label like Playboy Records did not have
15824-534: The Year". By this time ABBA were popular in the UK, most of Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. In Frida – The DVD , Lyngstad explains how she and Fältskog developed as singers, as ABBA's recordings grew more complex over the years. The band's mainstream popularity in the United States would remain on a comparatively smaller scale, and "Dancing Queen" became the only Billboard Hot 100 number-one single for ABBA (though it immediately became, and remains to this day,
16008-472: The ability to use a Mii as an avatar must be unlocked, such as in Mario Kart 8 . In late 2008, Microsoft released an Xbox 360 Dashboard update which featured the introduction of Avatars as part of the console's New Xbox Experience . With the update installed users can personalize the look of their Avatars by choosing from a range of clothing and facial features. In October 2018, Microsoft launched
16192-495: The age of 18 having a number-one record in Sweden with a self-composed song, which later went on to sell over 80,000 copies. She was soon noticed by the critics and songwriters as a talented singer/songwriter of schlager style songs. Fältskog's main inspiration in her early years was singers such as Connie Francis . Along with her own compositions, she recorded covers of foreign hits and performed them on tours in Swedish folkparks . Most of her biggest hits were self-composed, which
16376-621: The annual Nobel Prize ceremonies and banquet at the Stockholm Concert Hall and Stockholm City Hall . One of the city's most prized museums, the Vasa Museum , is the most visited museum in Scandinavia. The Stockholm metro , opened in 1950, is well known for the decor of its stations; it has been called the longest art gallery in the world. The city was the host of the 1912 Summer Olympics , and has played host to several other international sports events since. Stockholm
16560-568: The autumn the leaves change color. During the winter months, the trees lose their leaves. For details about the other municipalities in the Stockholm area, see the pertinent articles. North of Stockholm Municipality: Järfälla , Solna , Täby , Sollentuna , Lidingö , Upplands Väsby , Österåker , Sigtuna , Sundbyberg , Danderyd , Vallentuna , Ekerö , Upplands-Bro , Vaxholm , and Norrtälje . South of Stockholm: Huddinge , Nacka , Botkyrka , Haninge , Tyresö , Värmdö , Södertälje , Salem , Nykvarn and Nynäshamn . Stockholm Municipality
16744-496: The band's "pin-up girl", a role she disdained. During the Australian tour, she performed in a skin-tight white jumpsuit, causing one Australian newspaper to use the headline "Agnetha's bottom tops dull show". When asked about this at a news conference, she replied: "Don't they have bottoms in Australia?" In December 1977, ABBA followed up Arrival with the more ambitious fifth album, ABBA: The Album , released to coincide with
16928-468: The canners for the rights to the name. Fred Bronson reported for Billboard that Fältskog told him in a 1988 interview that "[ABBA] had to ask permission and the factory said, 'O.K., as long as you don't make us feel ashamed for what you're doing ' ". "ABBA" is an acronym formed from the first letters of each group member's first name: A gnetha, B jörn, B enny, A nni-Frid, although there has never been any official confirmation of who each letter in
17112-428: The chance to tour Europe and perform on major television shows, as a result of which the "Waterloo" single charted in many European countries. After winning the contest, ABBA spent an evening of glory partying in the appropriately named first-floor Napoleon suite of The Grand Brighton Hotel . "Waterloo" was ABBA's first major hit and their first number-one single in nine western and northern European countries, including
17296-585: The city consist of fourteen islands that are continuous with the Stockholm archipelago . The geographical city centre is situated on the water, in Riddarfjärden bay. Over 30% of the city area is made up of waterways and another 30% is made up of parks and green spaces. Positioned at the eastern end of the Central Swedish lowland and near the Bergslagen region, the city's location reflects
17480-455: The city is said to have been founded by Birger Jarl to protect Sweden from sea invasions made by Karelians after the pillage of Sigtuna on Lake Mälaren in the summer of 1187. Stockholm's core, the present Old Town ( Gamla Stan ) was built on the central island next to Helgeandsholmen from the mid-13th century onward. The city originally rose to prominence as a result of the Baltic trade of
17664-478: The city of Stockholm, it is one of Sweden's most important buildings. As the primary financial centre in Sweden, Stockholm is an influential hub for trade, finance and technology in Europe , and one of Scandinavia's largest financial centres. The Stockholm region is the leading region in Sweden by both GDP and GDP per capita, and is amongst the ten wealthiest regions in the European Union when measured by
17848-463: The country. This TV performance, among many others, is included in the 3 + 1 ⁄ 2 -hour documentary Frida – The DVD . Lyngstad released several schlager style singles on EMI with mixed success. When Benny Andersson started to produce her recordings in 1971, she had her first number-one single, "Min egen stad" ("My Own Town"), written by Benny and featuring all the future ABBA members on backing vocals. Lyngstad toured and performed regularly in
18032-446: The creator's real-life persona. YouTube's 2020 Culture and Trends report highlighted VTubers as one of the notable trends of that year, with 1.5 billion views per month by October, and in May 2021, Twitch added a VTuber tag for streams as part of a wider expansion of its tag system. Samsung's AR Emoji which comes on Samsung Galaxy smartphones lets users create animated avatars of themselves. Cartoons and stories sometimes have
18216-415: The current municipal area. In the ensuing decades several other areas were incorporated (such as Brännkyrka Municipality in 1913, at which time it had 25,000 inhabitants, and Spånga in 1949). The municipal border was established in 1971; with the exception of Hansta, in 1982 purchased by Stockholm Municipality from Sollentuna Municipality and today a nature reserve. The population was 984,748 in 2022 and
18400-565: The data collected. The Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication published a study of the reactions to certain types of avatars by a sample group of human users. The results showed that users commonly chose avatars which were humanoid and matched their gender. The conclusion was that in order to make users feel more "at home" in their avatars, designers should maximise the customizability of visual criteria common to humans, such as skin and hair color, age, gender, hair styles and height. Researchers at York University studied whether avatars reflected
18584-498: The debut of ABBA: The Movie . Although the album was less well received by UK reviewers, it did spawn more worldwide hits: " The Name of the Game " and " Take a Chance on Me ", which both topped the UK charts and racked up impressive sales in most countries, although "The Name of the Game" was generally the more successful in the Nordic countries and Down Under, while "Take a Chance on Me" was more successful in North America and
18768-646: The design school Konstfack , founded in 1844, the University College of Opera (founded in 1968 but with older roots), the University College of Dance , and the Stockholms Musikpedagogiska Institut (the University College of Music Education). The Södertörn University was founded in 1995 as a multi-disciplinary institution for southern Metropolitan Stockholm , to balance the many institutions located in
18952-476: The distribution resources to meet the demand for the single from retailers and radio programmers. In 1973, the band and their manager Stig Anderson decided to have another try at Melodifestivalen, this time with the song " Ring Ring ". The studio sessions were handled by Michael B. Tretow , who experimented with a " wall of sound " production technique that became a distinctive new sound thereafter associated with ABBA. Stig Anderson arranged an English translation of
19136-643: The early orientation of Swedish trade toward the Baltic region. Stockholm belongs to the Temperate deciduous forest biome, which means the climate is very similar to that of the far northeastern area of the United States and coastal Nova Scotia in Canada . The average annual temperature is 7.9 °C (46 °F). The average rainfall is 531 mm (21 in) per year. The deciduous forest has four distinct seasons, spring, summer, autumn, and winter. In
19320-554: The employees of the City administrations and companies take over. The elected majority has a Mayor and eight Vice Mayors. The Mayor and each majority Vice Mayor is the head of a department, with responsibility for a particular area of operation, such as City Planning. The opposition also has four Vice Mayors, but they hold no executive power. Together the Mayor and the 12 Vice Mayors form the Council of Mayors, and they prepare matters for
19504-505: The end of the nineteenth century, less than 40% of the residents were Stockholm-born, with most migrants being from poorer rural Sweden; major settlement began to expand outside the historical city limits. The nineteenth century also saw the establishment of a number of scientific institutes and universities, including the Karolinska Institutet and KTH Royal Institute of Technology . The General Art and Industrial Exposition
19688-418: The fantasy of who we want to be". Another form of use for avatars is for video chats/calls. Some services, such as Skype (through some external plugins) allow users to use talking avatars during video calls, replacing the image from the user's camera with an animated, talking avatar. Through the use of facial motion capture and a webcam , an avatar can be configured to mimic the motions and expressions of
19872-480: The first group from a non-English-speaking country to achieve consistent success in the charts of English-speaking countries, including the United Kingdom , Australia , United States , Republic of Ireland , Canada , New Zealand and South Africa . They are the best-selling Swedish band of all time and the best-selling band originating in continental Europe . ABBA had eight consecutive number-one albums in
20056-414: The first publication of Snow Crash , I learned that the term avatar has actually been in use for a number of years as part of a virtual reality system called Habitat ...in addition to avatars, Habitat includes many of the basic features of the Metaverse as described in this book. An avatar can refer to a two-dimensional picture akin to an icon in Internet forums and other online communities. This
20240-515: The folkpark circuit and made appearances on radio and TV. She had a second number-one single with "Man Vill Ju Leva Lite Dessemellan" in late 1972. She had met Ulvaeus briefly in 1963 during a talent contest, and Fältskog during a TV show in early 1968. Lyngstad linked up with her future bandmates in 1969. On 1 March 1969, she participated in the Melodifestival, where she met Andersson for the first time. A few weeks later they met again during
20424-529: The form of an image of one's real-life self, as often seen on platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn , or a virtual character that diverges from the real world. Often, these are customised to show support for different causes, or to create a unique online representation. Academic research has focused on how avatars can influence the outcomes of communication and digital identity. Users can employ avatars with fictional characteristics to gain social acceptance or ease social interaction. However, studies have found that
20608-444: The foursome closer together during the summer. After the 1970 release of Lycka , two more singles credited to "Björn & Benny" were released in Sweden, "Det kan ingen doktor hjälpa" ("No Doctor Can Help with That") and "Tänk om jorden vore ung" ("Imagine If Earth Was Young"), with more prominent vocals by Fältskog and Lyngstad–and moderate chart success. Fältskog and Ulvaeus, now married, started performing together with Andersson on
20792-493: The game world. A later example is Linden Lab's Second Life , which has the player use a custom avatar to interact in a virtual 3D world; after peaking in 2007, its user count declined due to the encroachment of more traditional platforms such as Facebook . More recently, the concept has been combined with virtual reality ; VRChat allows the user to interact with other avatars in custom environments, and Mark Zuckerberg 's Meta Platforms has promoted it as part of his vision of
20976-559: The group received its first international prize, with "Fernando" being chosen as the "Best Studio Recording of 1975". In the United States, "Fernando" reached the Top 10 of the Cashbox Top 100 singles chart and number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100. It topped the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, ABBA's first American number-one single on any chart. At the same time, a compilation named The Very Best of ABBA
21160-485: The group's music, with later songs featuring darker and more introspective lyrics. After ABBA disbanded in December 1982, Andersson and Ulvaeus continued their success writing music for multiple audiences including stage, musicals and movies, while Fältskog and Lyngstad pursued solo careers. Ten years after the group broke up, a compilation, ABBA Gold , was released, becoming a worldwide best-seller. In 1999, ABBA's music
21344-400: The implications, possibilities, and transformed social interaction that occur when people interact via avatars. Another use of the avatar has emerged with the widespread use of social media platforms. There is a practice in social media sites: uploading avatars in place of real profile image. Profile picture is a distinct graphics that represent the identity of profile holder. It is usually
21528-555: The island . Andersson and Ulvaeus were at this time recording their first album together, Lycka , which was to be released in September 1970. Fältskog and Lyngstad added backing vocals on several tracks during June, and the idea of their working together saw them launch a stage act, "Festfolket" (which translates from Swedish to "Party People" and in pronunciation also "engaged couples"), on 1 November 1970 in Gothenburg . The cabaret show attracted generally negative reviews, except for
21712-480: The keyboard and eventually started writing original songs for his band, many of which became major hits, including " No Response ", which hit number three in 1965, and " Sunny Girl ", " Wedding ", and " Consolation ", all of which hit number one in 1966. Andersson also had a fruitful songwriting collaboration with Lasse Berghagen , with whom he wrote his first Svensktoppen entry, "Sagan om lilla Sofie" ("The tale of Little Sophie") in 1968. Andersson wrote and submitted
21896-458: The lack of student accommodations, the difficulty in finding other accommodations and the high rent. The Stockholm region is home to around 22% of Sweden's total population, and accounts for about 29% of its gross domestic product . The geographical notion of "Stockholm" has changed over time. By the turn of the 19th century, Stockholm largely consisted of the area today known as City Centre, roughly 35 km (14 sq mi) or one-fifth of
22080-503: The largest investment firms in Europe are headquartered in the city, including Investor AB and Nordstjernan ; also headquartered in Stockholm is EQT AB . Stockholm is one of continental Europe's leading hubs for the technology industry; this influential industry is based in Kista , a suburb in northern Stockholm which is Europe's largest Informations and Technology cluster. Stockholm has
22264-565: The latter. Many of Sweden's largest companies are headquartered in the city; they are drawn by its central location, skilled workforce and preeminent financial sector. These companies include some of the Nordic region 's most valuable corporations, like Ericsson , which is one of the world's largest telecommunications companies, or Atlas Copco , which is one of the world's largest industrial companies; other large companies based in Stockholm include Electrolux , H&M and Securitas AB . Some of
22448-513: The lyrics by Neil Sedaka and Phil Cody and they thought this would be a success. However, on 10 February 1973, the song came third in Melodifestivalen; thus it never reached the Eurovision Song Contest itself. Nevertheless, the group released their debut studio album, also called Ring Ring . The album did well and the "Ring Ring" single was a hit in many parts of Europe and also in South Africa. However, Stig Anderson felt that
22632-670: The major markets of the UK and West Germany, and in South Africa. It made the top ten in other countries, rising to number three in Spain, number four in Australia and France, and number seven in Canada. In the United States, the song peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, paving the way for their first album and their first trip to the US as a group. Although only a short promotional visit, this included their first performance on American television, on The Mike Douglas Show . The Waterloo album peaked at only number 145 on
22816-539: The majority of users choose avatars that resemble their real-world selves. The word avatar is ultimately derived from the Sanskrit word ( avatāra / ˈ æ v ə t ɑːr , ˌ æ v ə ˈ t ɑːr / ); in Hinduism , it stands for the "descent" of a deity into a terrestrial form. It was first used in a computer game by the 1979 PLATO role-playing game Avatar . In Norman Spinrad 's novel Songs from
23000-566: The male gender. In Second Life avatars are created by residents and take any form, and range from lifelike humans to robots, animals , plants and legendary creatures . Avatar customization is one of the most important entertainment aspects in non gaming virtual worlds, such as Second Life , IMVU , and Active Worlds . Some evidence suggests that avatars that are more anthropomorphic are perceived to be less credible and likeable than images that are less anthropomorphic. Social scientists at Stanford 's Virtual Human Interaction Lab examine
23184-404: The modernism and functionalism movements survived this era of demolition. Throughout the century, many industries shifted away from industrial activities into more high-tech and service industry areas, which still dominate the city's economy today. Stockholm's metropolitan area has become one of the fastest-growing regions in Europe. In 2020 alone, Stockholm's population increased by 1,477. As
23368-538: The moniker of "buddy icon" as 3D customizable icons became known to its users from the mainstream popularity of PC Games. Yahoo's instant messenger was the first to adopt the term "avatar" for its icons. Instant messaging avatars were usually very small; AIM icons have been as small as 16×16 pixels but are used more commonly at the 48×48 pixel size, although many icons can be found online that typically measure anywhere from 50×50 pixels to 100×100 pixels in size. More recently, services such as Discord have added avatars. With
23552-497: The most detailed and comprehensive in-game avatar creation processes, allowing players to construct anything from traditional superheroes to aliens, medieval knights, monsters, robots, and many more. Robbie Cooper 's 2007 book "Alter Ego, Avatars and their creators" pairs photographs of players of a variety of MMO's with images of their in-game avatars and profiles; recording the player's motivations and intentions in designing and using their avatars. The survey reveals wide variation in
23736-435: The most precipitation falling in December and January (as either rain or snow). The average winter temperatures range from −3 to −1 °C (27 to 30 °F), and occasionally drop below −20 °C (−4 °F) in the outskirts of the city. Spring and autumn are generally cool to mild. The climate table below presents weather data from the years 1991–2020. According to ongoing measurements, the temperature has increased during
23920-437: The name Stockholm dates from 1252, by which time the mines in Bergslagen made it an important site in the iron trade. The first part of the name ( stock ) means log in Swedish, although it may also be connected to an old German word ( Stock ) meaning fortification . The second part of the name ( holm ) means islet and is thought to refer to the islet Helgeandsholmen in central Stockholm. According to Erik's Chronicle
24104-561: The need for registration or authentication. If an account is compromised, a dissimilar identicon will be formed as the attacker is posting from an unfamiliar IP address. GIF avatars were introduced as early as 1990 in the ImagiNation Network (also known as Sierra On-Line) game and chat hybrid. In 1994, Virtual Places offered VOIP capabilities which were later abandoned for lack of bandwidth. In 1996 Microsoft Comic Chat , an IRC client that used cartoon avatars for chatting,
24288-785: The northern part of the region. Other institutes of higher education include the Military Academy Karlberg , the world's oldest military academy to remain in its original location, inaugurated in 1792 and housed in Karlberg Palace ; there is also the Swedish Defence University , Ersta Sköndal University College , Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences and the University College Stockholm . The biggest complaints from students of higher education in Stockholm are
24472-477: The number of daylight hours is relatively small during winter – about six hours – while in June and the first half of July, the nights are relatively short, with about 18 hours of daylight. Due to its eastern position within Sweden's respective time zone, sunsets occur as early as 2:46 PM in mid-December. Around the summer solstice the sun never reaches further below the horizon than 7.3 degrees. This gives
24656-467: The number of images as well as the time in which they are replayed vary considerably. Other avatar systems exist, such as on Gaia Online , WeeWorld , Frenzoo or Meez , where a pixelized representation of a person or creature is used, which can then be customized to the user's wishes. There are also avatar systems (e.g. Trutoon) where a representation is created using a person's face with customized characters and backgrounds. Another avatar-based system
24840-549: The original Swedish production of Jesus Christ Superstar and attracted favourable reviews. Between 1967 and 1975, Fältskog released five studio albums. An attempt at combining their talents occurred in April 1970 when the two couples went on holiday together to the island of Cyprus . What started as singing for fun on the beach ended up as an improvised live performance in front of the United Nations soldiers stationed on
25024-549: The original Swedish rendition of " Fernando ", a hit on the Swedish radio charts before the English version was released by ABBA. During filming of a Swedish TV special in May 1969, Fältskog met Ulvaeus and they married on 6 July 1971. Fältskog and Ulvaeus eventually were involved in each other's recording sessions, and soon even Andersson and Lyngstad added backing vocals to Fältskog's third studio album, Som jag är ("As I Am") (1970). In 1972, Fältskog starred as Mary Magdalene in
25208-728: The other's bands on stage and on record, although it was not until 1969 that the pair wrote and produced some of their first real hits together: " Ljuva sextital " ("Sweet Sixties"), recorded by Brita Borg, and the Hep Stars' 1969 hit "Speleman" ("Fiddler"). Benny Andersson (born 16 December 1946 in Stockholm , Sweden) became (at age 18) a member of a popular Swedish pop-rock group, the Hep Stars , that performed, among other things, covers of international hits. The Hep Stars were known as "the Swedish Beatles ". They also set up Hep House, their equivalent of Apple Corps . Andersson played
25392-435: The performance of the Andersson and Ulvaeus hit "Hej, gamle man" ("Hello, Old Man")—the first Björn and Benny recording to feature all four. They also performed solo numbers from respective albums, but the lukewarm reception convinced the foursome to shelve plans for working together for the time being, and each soon concentrated on individual projects again. "Hej, gamle man", a song about an old Salvation Army soldier, became
25576-413: The pictures were made, Heilemann found out that Benny Andersson reversed his letter "B;" this prompted discussions about the mirrored "B", and the members of ABBA agreed on the mirrored letter. From 1976 onward, the first "B" in the logo version of the name was "mirror-image" reversed on the band's promotional material. Following their acquisition of the group's catalogue, PolyGram began using variations of
25760-736: The player what he looked like without the use of a console command for third-person view). Many Massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs) also include customizable avatars. Customization levels differ between games; for instance, in EVE Online , players construct a wholly customized portrait, using a software that allows for several changes to facial structure as well as preset hairstyles, skin tones, etc. However, these portraits appear only in in-game chats and static information view of other players. Usually, all players appear in gigantic spacecraft that give no view of their pilot, unlike in most other RPGs. Alternatively, City of Heroes offers one of
25944-507: The player's character to be their Earth self manifested into the virtual world. Due to the ethical content of his story, Garriott wanted the real player to be responsible for their character; he thought only someone playing "themselves" could be properly judged based on their in-game actions. Because of its ethically nuanced narrative approach, he took the Hindu word associated with a deity's manifestation on earth in physical form, and applied it to
26128-509: The population. Around 57.5% of them (143,167) immigrated to Sweden when they were at least 10 years old, and 109,213 (43.9%) of them were foreign citizens. The largest nationality groups among the foreign-born people were the Iraqis (16,137), followed by Finns (15,693), Iranians (12,329) and Poles (11,569). Of the population, 336,275 residents (34.4%) of Stockholm had a foreign-background. Avatar (computing) In computing , an avatar
26312-447: The portrait of an individual, logo of an organization, organizational building or distinctive character of book, cover page etc. Using avatars as profile pictures can increase users' perceived level of social presence which in turn fosters reciprocity and sharing behavior in online environments. According to MIT professor Sherry Turkle : "... we think we will be presenting ourselves, but our profile ends up as somebody else – often
26496-435: The post without having to read their username. Some forums allow the user to upload an avatar image that may have been designed by the user or acquired from elsewhere. Other forums allow the user to select an avatar from a preset list or use an auto-discovery algorithm to extract one from the user's homepage. Some avatars are animated , consisting of a sequence of multiple images played repeatedly. In such animated avatars,
26680-455: The purpose of representing users and their actions, personalizing their contributions to the forum, and may represent different parts of their persona , beliefs, interests or social status in the forum. The traditional avatar system used on most Internet forums is a small (80x80 to 100x100 pixels , for example) square-shaped area close to the user's forum post, where the avatar is placed in order for other users to easily identify who has written
26864-481: The quartet's first hit. The record was credited to Björn & Benny and reached number five on the sales charts and number one on Svensktoppen , staying on the latter chart (which was not a chart linked to sales or airplay) for 15 weeks. It was during 1971 that the four artists began working together more, adding vocals to the others' recordings. Fältskog, Andersson and Ulvaeus toured together in May, while Lyngstad toured on her own. Frequent recording sessions brought
27048-535: The queen for several years prior to his death. Inventors, like Christopher Polhem , moved to the city during the time of the Swedish Empire. Academics also spent much time in Stockholm, like Olaus Rudbeck , rector of the Uppsala University . Throughout Sweden's history, walls were created in Stockholm to defend the city from attacks. These defensive walls were modified throughout the 13th to
27232-563: The recording studio, and sometimes added backing vocals; Fältskog even co-wrote a song with the two. Ulvaeus still occasionally recorded and performed with the Hootenanny Singers until the middle of 1974, and Andersson took part in producing their records. Anni-Frid "Frida" Lyngstad (born 15 November 1945 in Bjørkåsen in Ballangen Municipality , Norway) sang from the age of 13 with various dance bands, and worked mainly in
27416-485: The release of their self-titled third studio album ABBA and single " SOS " brought back their chart presence in the UK, where the single hit number six and the album peaked at number 13. "SOS" also became ABBA's second number-one single in Germany, their third in Australia and reached number two in several other European countries, including Italy. Success was further solidified with " Mamma Mia " reaching number-one in
27600-603: The second most unicorns per capita in the world, after Silicon Valley; the city also has one of the highest startup rates in Europe. Prominent startup technology companies in Stockholm include Mojang , Spotify and Klarna ; the latter two either have been or are among the largest startup companies in the world. Most of Sweden's largest banks are headquartered in the city, including the SEB Group , Handelsbanken and Swedbank ; Nordea had its headquarters in Stockholm until moving to Helsinki in 2018 for legal reasons involving
27784-549: The sequence refers to. The earliest known example of "ABBA" written on paper is on a recording session sheet from the Metronome Studio in Stockholm dated 16 October 1973. This was first written as "Björn, Benny, Agnetha & Frida", but was subsequently crossed out with "ABBA" written in large letters on top. Their official logo, with its distinctive backward "B", was designed by Rune Söderqvist, who designed most of ABBA's record sleeves. The ambigram first appeared on
27968-422: The single went on to sell over 10 million copies worldwide. In Australia, "Fernando" occupied the top position for a then record breaking 14 weeks (and stayed in the chart for 40 weeks), and was the longest-running chart-topper there for over 40 years until it was overtaken by Ed Sheeran 's " Shape of You " in May 2017. It still remains as one of the best-selling singles of all time in Australia. Also in 1976,
28152-495: The sky a bright blue colour in summer once the sun has set because it does not get any darker than nautical twilight . Also, when looking straight up towards the zenith , few stars are visible after the sun has gone down. This is not to be confused with the midnight sun , which occurs north of the Arctic Circle , around 7 degrees farther north. The Stockholm Municipal Council ( Swedish : Stockholms kommunfullmäktige )
28336-649: The song "Hej, Clown" for Melodifestivalen 1969 , the national festival to select the Swedish entry to the Eurovision Song Contest . The song tied for first place, but re-voting relegated Andersson's song to second place. On that occasion Andersson briefly met his future spouse, singer Anni-Frid Lyngstad , who also participated in the contest. A month later, the two had become a couple. As their respective bands began to break up during 1969, Andersson and Ulvaeus teamed up and recorded their first album together in 1970, called Lycka ("Happiness"), which included original songs sung by both men. Their partners were often present in
28520-479: The three songs rose to number 12, nine and 18, respectively. The success of the group in the United States had until that time been limited to single releases. By early 1976, the group already had four Top 30 singles on the US charts, but the album market proved to be tough to crack. The eponymous ABBA album generated three American hits, but it only peaked at number 165 on the Cashbox album chart and number 174 on
28704-452: The town square Sergels torg ) is the largest shopping district in Sweden . It is the most central part of Stockholm in business and shopping. Stockholm has a humid continental climate in the 0 °C isotherm ( Köppen : Dfb ) bordering on an oceanic climate ( Cfb ) in the -3 °C isotherm. Although winters are cold, average temperatures generally remain above 0 °C for much of
28888-400: The true breakthrough could only come with a UK or US hit. When Agnetha Fältskog gave birth to her daughter Linda in 1973, she was replaced for a short period by Inger Brundin on a trip to West Germany. In 1973, Stig Anderson, tired of unwieldy names, started to refer to the group privately and publicly as ABBA (a palindrome ). At first, this was a play on words, as Abba is also the name of
29072-701: The user. This can be integrated directly into games, such as Star Citizen , and via standalone software such as FaceRig. Both 3D and 2D avatars have been used in Learning and Development content for education, onboarding, employee training and more. Photorealistic 3D AI avatars have been used as stand-ins for real actors via video editing tools like those made by Synthesia among others. Virtual YouTubers use animated avatars designed in software such as Live2D , which often resemble anime characters. A whole ecosystem of talent agencies and investors exists to manage these online personalities, which often differ from
29256-471: The virtual simulation of the human form in the Metaverse , a fictional virtual-reality application on the Internet . Social status within the Metaverse was often based on the quality of a user's avatar, as a highly detailed avatar showed that the user was a skilled hacker and programmer while the less talented would buy off-the-shelf models in the same manner a beginner would today. Stephenson wrote in
29440-918: The warmest July months of the Nordic capitals. Stockholm has an annual average snow cover between 75 and 100 days. Despite its mild climate, Stockholm is located further north than parts of Canada that are above the Arctic tree line at sea level. Summers average daytime high temperatures of 20–25 °C (68–77 °F) and lows of around 13 °C (55 °F), but temperatures can reach 30 °C (86 °F) on some days. Days above 30 °C (86 °F) occur on average 1.55 days per year (1992–2011). Days between 25 °C (77 °F) and 30 °C (86 °F) are relatively common especially in July and August. Night-time lows of above 20 °C (68 °F) are rare, and hot summer nights vary from 17 to 18 °C (63 to 64 °F). Winters generally bring cloudy weather with
29624-513: The ways in which players of MMO's use avatars. Felicia Day , creator and star of The Guild web series , created a song called " (Do You Wanna Date My) Avatar " which satirizes avatars and virtual dating . Nintendo 's Wii , 3DS and Switch consoles allow for the creation of avatars called " Miis " that take the form of stylized, cartoonish people and can be used in some games as avatars for players, as in Wii Sports . In some games,
29808-603: The wet stage during the concert. However, all four members would later recall this concert as the most memorable of their career. Upon their arrival in Melbourne , a civic reception was held at the Melbourne Town Hall and ABBA appeared on the balcony to greet an enthusiastic crowd of 6,000. In Melbourne, the group gave three concerts at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl with 14,500 at each including
29992-558: The world of academics. According to psychiatrist David Brunski, the emergence of online avatars have implications for domains of scholarly research such as technoself studies, which is concerned with all aspects of identity in a technological society. Across the literature, scholars have focused on three overlapping aspects that influence users' perceptions of the social potential of avatars: agency, anthropomorphism, and realism. According to researchers K. L. Novak and J. Fox, researchers must differentiate perceived agency (whether an entity
30176-399: The year. Summers are pleasantly warm, and precipitation occurs throughout the year. Due to the city's high northerly latitude, the length of the day varies widely from more than 18 hours around midsummer to only around 6 hours in late December. The nights from late May until mid-July are not completely dark even when cloudy. Stockholm has relatively mild weather compared to other locations at
30360-405: The year. The precipitation is not uniformly distributed throughout the year. The second half of the year receives 50% more than the first half. Snowfall occurs mainly from December through March. Snowfall may occasionally occur in late October as well as in April. In Stockholm, the aurora borealis can occasionally be observed. Stockholm's location just south of the 60th parallel north means that
30544-451: The years 1991–2020 as compared with the last series, from 1961 to 1990. This increase averages about 1.0 °C (1.8 °F) over all months. Warming is most pronounced during the winter months, with an increase of more than 2.0 °C (3.6 °F) in January. For the 2002–2014 measurements some further increases have been found, although some months such as June have been relatively flat. The highest temperature ever recorded in Stockholm
30728-464: Was 36 °C (97 °F) on 3 July 1811; the lowest was −32 °C (−26 °F) on 20 January 1814. The temperature has not dropped to below −25.1 °C (−13.2 °F) since 10 January 1987. The warmest month ever recorded was July 2018 with a mean temperature of 22.5 °C (72.5 °F) which is also the nationwide record. Annual precipitation is 546.4 mm (21.51 in) with around 170 wet days and light to moderate rainfall throughout
30912-602: Was able to enter the city in 1520 and on 8 November of that year, a massacre of opposition figures called the Stockholm Bloodbath took place and set off further uprisings that eventually led to the breakup of the Kalmar Union with the attainment of Swedish independence. With the accession of Gustav Vasa in 1523 and the establishment of royal power, the population of Stockholm began to grow, reaching 10,000 by 1600. The seventeenth century saw Sweden grow into
31096-467: Was adapted into Mamma Mia! , a stage musical that toured worldwide and, as of October 2024, is still in the top-ten longest running productions on both Broadway (closed in 2015) and the West End (still running). A film of the same name , released in 2008, became the highest-grossing film in the United Kingdom that year. A sequel, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again , was released in 2018. ABBA are among
31280-438: Was adopted by early computer games and science fiction novelists. Richard Garriott extended the term to an on-screen user representation in 1985, and the term gained wider adoption in Internet forums and MUDs . Nowadays, avatars are used in a variety of online settings including social media , virtual assistants , instant messaging platforms, and digital worlds such as World of Warcraft and Second Life . They can take
31464-416: Was chosen as the best song in the competition's history as part of the 50th anniversary celebration of the contest. During the band's main active years, it consisted of two married couples: Fältskog and Ulvaeus, and Lyngstad and Andersson. With the increase of their popularity, their personal lives suffered, which eventually resulted in the collapse of both marriages. The relationship changes were reflected in
31648-459: Was chosen. The group were now inspired by the growing glam rock scene in England. With this third attempt, ABBA were more experienced and better prepared for the Eurovision Song Contest, and they won the nation's hearts on Swedish television on 9 February 1974. Winning the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest on 6 April 1974, and singing "Waterloo" in English instead of their native language, gave them
31832-470: Was embarrassed to display in the offline world. Research by Nick Yee of the Daedelus Project demonstrates that an avatar may differ considerably from a player's offline identity, based on gender. However, most players will make an avatar that is (proportionately) equal to their height (or slightly taller). Turkle has observed that some players seek an emotional connection they cannot establish in
32016-614: Was filmed as a reference for the filming of the Australian tour for what became ABBA: The Movie , though it is not exactly known how much of the concert was filmed. After the European leg of the tour, in March 1977, ABBA played 11 dates in Australia before a total of 160,000 people. The opening concert in Sydney at the Sydney Showground on 3 March to an audience of 20,000 was marred by torrential rain with Lyngstad slipping on
32200-413: Was founded in 1827 and is Scandinavia's largest higher education institute of technology with 13,000 students; it is Sweden's foremost polytechnic, and spearheaded several governmental research projects in the twentieth century. Stockholm University , founded in 1878 with university status granted in 1960, has 52,000 students as of 2008 . It also incorporates historical institutions, such as the Observatory,
32384-431: Was held in 1897, drawing international attention. From 1887 to 1953 the Old Stockholm telephone tower was a landmark; originally built to link phone lines, it became redundant after these were buried, and it was later used for advertising before its demolition in the twentieth century. The early twentieth century also saw the creation of the Nobel Prizes , some of Stockholm's most renowned institutions. Stockholm became
32568-423: Was later revealed that the box-office received 3.5 million requests for tickets, enough to fill the venue 580 times. Along with praise ("ABBA turn out to be amazingly successful at reproducing their records", wrote Creem ), there were complaints that "ABBA performed slickly...but with a zero personality coming across from a total of 16 people on stage" ( Melody Maker ). One of the Royal Albert Hall concerts
32752-457: Was quite unusual for a female singer in the 1960s. Agnetha released four solo LPs between 1968 and 1971. She had many successful singles in the Swedish charts. Björn Ulvaeus (born 25 April 1945 in Gothenburg , Sweden) also began his musical career at the age of 18 (as a singer and guitarist), when he fronted the Hootenanny Singers , a popular Swedish folk – skiffle group. Ulvaeus started writing English-language songs for his group and even had
32936-812: Was released in Germany, becoming a number-one album there whereas the Greatest Hits compilation which followed a few months later ascended to number two in Germany, despite all similarities with The Very Best album. The group's fourth studio album, Arrival , a number-one best-seller in parts of Europe, the UK and Australia, and a number-three hit in Canada and Japan, represented a new level of accomplishment in both songwriting and studio work, prompting rave reviews from more rock-oriented UK music weeklies such as Melody Maker and New Musical Express , and mostly appreciative notices from US critics. Hit after hit flowed from Arrival : " Money, Money, Money ", another number-one in Germany, France, Australia and other countries of western and northern Europe, plus number three in
33120-411: Was released in June 1972, featuring guest vocals by the women, who were now given much greater prominence. Stig Anderson released it as a single, credited to Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid . The song peaked at number 17 in the Swedish combined single and album charts, enough to convince them they were on to something. "People Need Love" also became the first record to chart for the quartet in
33304-460: Was released in continental Europe and Down Under becoming a number one hit in Belgium and a Top 10 hit in the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland and South Africa, but barely charting Down Under. The B-side of "Eagle" was " Thank You for the Music ", and it was belatedly released as an A-side single in both the United Kingdom and Ireland in 1983. " Thank You for the Music " has become one of the best loved and best known ABBA songs without being released as
33488-403: Was released on 5 November 2021 to positive critical reviews and strong sales in numerous countries. ABBA Voyage , a concert residency featuring ABBA as virtual avatars, opened in May 2022 in London. Despite ABBA disbanding in 2022, the YouTube channel is still active. Agnetha Fältskog (born 5 April 1950 in Jönköping , Sweden) sang with a local dance band (headed by Bernt Enghardt) who sent
33672-582: Was released. America Online introduced instant messaging for its membership in 1996 and included a limited number of "buddy icons," picking up on the avatar idea from PC games. When AOL later introduced the free version of its messenger, AIM, for use by anyone on the Internet, the number of icons offered grew to be more than 1,000 and the use of them grew exponentially, becoming a hallmark feature of instant messaging. In 2002, AOL introduced "Super Buddies," 3D animated icons that talked to users as they typed messages and read messages. The term Avatar began to replace
33856-416: Was replaced eventually by Stockholm Palace ; the time of the Swedish Empire also saw several architectural modernisations of the city. The beginning of the Swedish Empire saw a renaissance in the arts and sciences; the new queen, Christina , was a strong supporter of science and culture. Réne Descartes , one of the most prominent European philosophers of his time, died in Stockholm; he had been hosted by
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