What are different ways these virtual worlds can be used?
As Nicole Saidi explains in her article, virtual worlds can be used to treat people suffering from autism, social disorder etc. Although no scientific proof is yet established, scientists like Dr. Volkmer have expressed confidence by getting further studies done on the subject.
One very interesting concept put in by Mark Tutton at CNN.com is the use of virtual worlds by businesses on their own networks. With IBM as a beta user, if successful, this can revolutionize how global business is done. I am sure airlines will be banging their heads against a cement wall when company executives start deciding to have a virtual meetings instead of flying to London or Monaco! A combination of various tools like file or project sharing can make a virtual meeting into a very fruitful meeting.
Another important thing to note: With this technology, a virtual simulations of war (land, air & sea) can be created to train soldiers in real life combat.
What are the pros and cons?
Pros:
- While we gather knowledge and technology about the creation of virtual worlds, as I mentioned above, there can be therapeutic advantages for people with disabilities. Something that cannot be done in real life, can be accomplished in a virtual world.
- As Alice Krueger's experience suggests (see Youtube video here), there can be virtual help rooms or discussions or groups about people's problems, where people can join in and gain knowledge without any social stigma attached.
- Another advantage (and great potential) I see is the ability to create virtual meetings.
- Entertainment is a big advantage of virtual worlds. Entertainment means involvement and business.
Cons:
- Dave Itzkoff does not like the overcrowding and the smell of stale beer at the Cake Shop. But watching that band on a computer screen is no 'rosy feet' either! Life is what it is - good, bad and ugly. Comes in various shapes, sizes and smells. You cannot avoid life!
- Humans are wired to be social with other humans. I believe too much virtuality can disrupt that wiring and create small worlds in our computers rather than in our lives leading to more isolation (Kahai Surinder in 'Going to the Virtual Office in Second Life').
- I cannot begin to describe the lack of physical activity due to this involvement in computers. The problem of obesity is well known in this country. If one is able to balance their real life & virtual life, there is no problem, but once the balance shifts in favor of the virtual world it definitely becomes dangerous.
How do virtual worlds foster creativity?
It depends on what we call creativity. Some people think cooking soup out of left-over veggies is creative, while some people think manufacturing a robot that does the cooking for you is creative. Creativity in a virtual world is confined to your mind and what you can do with click and drag & drop. But there is a definite mind set required to be able to create a virtual world or anything in it. I personally do not think myself as creative so I had a hard time navigating in Second Life. But then again, I respect that lady who learned additional skills in Second Life and got a job in real life (see Youtube video here). Now that is quite creative and brilliant! I think I would like to learn how to repair a car!
What do you think the future of virtual worlds will look like?
I am in a very confused state of mind when answering this. For a person just beginning to see and understand this virtual world, it certainly seems quite mind blowing. For argument sake, let us say everyone has a virtual world. Everyone will be more busy socializing in that world than being away from their chair. Would that overwhelm their real world? Would it become like Matrix where we - or what we think we are - is just an element of a program? But again, with the rapid changes happening today in technology and social thinking, it might just become a reality. Because of the ease of being able to get into a virtual world and behaving the way we want to, I believe people will start to blur that boundary between real and virtual (Kahai Surinder) .
Showing posts with label Social Networking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Social Networking. Show all posts
Monday, March 15, 2010
Monday, March 8, 2010
Check Out Social Networking Sites
All social networking sites are my worst dream come true - in terms of navigation and content! But I will still try to convey my feelings in the best possible way here. I have accounts with MySpace, Facebook & LinkedIn. I had stopped using MySpace a long time ago (too many junk friends requests) and had a hard time resetting my password to get info for this article.
Navigation:
It is a nightmare for me to navigate on either one of these sites with all the apps lurking around in the sentences/posts. So many people are into so many things - reading the wall posts makes me dizzy. Browsing through the information posted on the wall (some times about 50 of them), I come across maybe one item that will catch my eye - an old photo of the school cricket team. I guess that is time well spent dodging the bullets of people's rants and raves. This happens more on Facebook than MySpace. Not many people I know are on MySpace so it is quite alien to me (and everyone else). But I believe same things can be done there too.
Information:
I realize there is so much information on one page that it is quite cumbersome to decide what to do or get a good idea of the application until you spend some time on it. I compared the 'Events' pages of MySpace and Facebook. Facebook has quite a good layout of the events and seems to be more popular than MySpace. Event listing on both sites were more commercial in nature than an actual group event set up by an actual person, although Facebook seemed to have more of a personal touch to it.
One thing missing from both sites was the ability to find local events. I believe that means you can RSVP in an event happening on the other side of the world, but cannot get any clue as to what is happening locally.
Ad or App?:
I sometimes cannot tell if a certain thing is an ad or an app. I usually realize after clicking it and when 3 other windows open or I lose sight of the main page. My life is not that complicated and hence, all these apps or ads on one page make things more cumbersome than necessary. But it seems many of my friends/acquaintances are actively involved in these Apps. For example, I get requests for becoming a neighbor on 'Farmville' (an app that creates virtual farms). With some apps I had to sign up for something using my phone number. Then I got a $9.99 charge on my bill next month for some service - not by Facebook. I wonder if these ads or apps just present their catch phrases in a way that appears to have been send by your friend! Whatever maybe the case, I stopped clicking and signing any of them from that point on. I had a hard time getting that $9.99 removed from my bill.
Contents:
Without going too deep, my first impression of MySpace was that it seems to gear more towards dating and that sort of thing. Facebook however focuses on connecting and that seems to work more for a social network rather than a dating network. I have received more junk friend requests on MySpace than Facebook - be it when I actually online or offline by email. I understand you can set your preferences but then what is the point of social network if you are going to keep the door closed. I know it does not work that way, but I would rather be friends with a stranger I have met than a stranger on Facebook or MySpace. I believe in eye-contact more than wall-posts.
What do I like?
I like something professional and something that can create value. I do like the fact that many companies have their Facebook page. That is a great way to keep a following, inform the followers of the most current news or promotions, and more importantly gain feedback on a personalized basis. I like LinkedIn for my professional side. But I do feel some restraint when 'connecting' to the superiors on LinkedIn. If I am unable to connect in real life, I might not be able to connect online. Call me old school, but that is how it works for me! From personal experience, I have gained more knowledge from connections on LinkedIn than MySpace and Facebook combined.
Navigation:
It is a nightmare for me to navigate on either one of these sites with all the apps lurking around in the sentences/posts. So many people are into so many things - reading the wall posts makes me dizzy. Browsing through the information posted on the wall (some times about 50 of them), I come across maybe one item that will catch my eye - an old photo of the school cricket team. I guess that is time well spent dodging the bullets of people's rants and raves. This happens more on Facebook than MySpace. Not many people I know are on MySpace so it is quite alien to me (and everyone else). But I believe same things can be done there too.
Information:
I realize there is so much information on one page that it is quite cumbersome to decide what to do or get a good idea of the application until you spend some time on it. I compared the 'Events' pages of MySpace and Facebook. Facebook has quite a good layout of the events and seems to be more popular than MySpace. Event listing on both sites were more commercial in nature than an actual group event set up by an actual person, although Facebook seemed to have more of a personal touch to it.
One thing missing from both sites was the ability to find local events. I believe that means you can RSVP in an event happening on the other side of the world, but cannot get any clue as to what is happening locally.
Ad or App?:
I sometimes cannot tell if a certain thing is an ad or an app. I usually realize after clicking it and when 3 other windows open or I lose sight of the main page. My life is not that complicated and hence, all these apps or ads on one page make things more cumbersome than necessary. But it seems many of my friends/acquaintances are actively involved in these Apps. For example, I get requests for becoming a neighbor on 'Farmville' (an app that creates virtual farms). With some apps I had to sign up for something using my phone number. Then I got a $9.99 charge on my bill next month for some service - not by Facebook. I wonder if these ads or apps just present their catch phrases in a way that appears to have been send by your friend! Whatever maybe the case, I stopped clicking and signing any of them from that point on. I had a hard time getting that $9.99 removed from my bill.
Contents:
Without going too deep, my first impression of MySpace was that it seems to gear more towards dating and that sort of thing. Facebook however focuses on connecting and that seems to work more for a social network rather than a dating network. I have received more junk friend requests on MySpace than Facebook - be it when I actually online or offline by email. I understand you can set your preferences but then what is the point of social network if you are going to keep the door closed. I know it does not work that way, but I would rather be friends with a stranger I have met than a stranger on Facebook or MySpace. I believe in eye-contact more than wall-posts.
What do I like?
I like something professional and something that can create value. I do like the fact that many companies have their Facebook page. That is a great way to keep a following, inform the followers of the most current news or promotions, and more importantly gain feedback on a personalized basis. I like LinkedIn for my professional side. But I do feel some restraint when 'connecting' to the superiors on LinkedIn. If I am unable to connect in real life, I might not be able to connect online. Call me old school, but that is how it works for me! From personal experience, I have gained more knowledge from connections on LinkedIn than MySpace and Facebook combined.
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