Task 5 required me to research how different organizations implemented their presence within Second Life (SL). Throughout this course this semester, I gained a new interest in Web 2.0 technologies and what they could do for me. After an earlier discussion on social networking sites, I logged in to my LinkedIn account, and spent time updating and sending out invites to people I knew. One person who happens to be an acquaintance I know through mutual friends accepted my offer. She also happens to be an IT Applications Manager for Manpower, one of the companies I was now investigating for Task 5. I sent her an message through LinkedIn to say hi and explain my assignment to her. She thought it was great and forwarded my request on to the Second Life development team. I finally got a response back from her with some information but unfortunately, it was past the due date for my assignment. I learned a couple things from their email:
• Manpower is using SL Life specifically to target tech-savvy people in the 24-44 age groups.
• Using SL to remain competitive and to explore new communication and marketing methods.
• As a company they want to demonstrate the collaborative technologies and their applications in the way people work and play.
Interestingly enough, the SL team, did not run in to many issues starting up except of the hectic schedule since they wanted to create the site quickly. Since their initial launch they have had more than 10,000 visitors and plan to increase that number during the 2008 phases.
Manpower is actually using SL to recruit people for positions in real life. They have conducted virtual job and career fairs and plan to continue to post those positions along with those relevant to the audiences of virtual worlds.
All of the above information was learned through an email (personal communication, May 8, 2008). I thought my own personal experiment in the usage of a social networking site to contact someone for information worked quite well. While I did not get this in my original writing for task 5 I feel it really exemplifies what technology allows us to do.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Task 7: Implementation of a Virtual World
Virtual worlds, computer generated virtual environments in which a user can explore using a character called an avatar, have the potential to impact individual users as well as society. An avatar is a user created character that is used to explore a virtual world and communicate with other users in that virtual world. Virtual worlds vary from real life simulators like SecondLife and The Sims to epic fantasy worlds commonly found in Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPG’s) like EverQuest and Warcraft. The impacts virtual worlds can have on individuals and society are as varied as the virtual worlds and the users that inhabit them.
When discussing effects of virtual worlds, the concept of the “digital divide” often surfaces. According to Jackson (2003) the “digital divide” refers to the gap between those who have and use technology like the Internet and virtual worlds and those who do not. There is a fear that there will be a disconnect between the users and the non-users. This fear is most often framed negatively, with economic issues as the cause and a greater separation of society as the effect. The “digital divide” is becoming a thing of the past in the United States. Even back in 2002 a Department of Commerce (DOC) report revealed that “Internet use is continuing to increase for everyone regardless of income, education, age, race, ethnicity or gender” (Arrison, 2002, para. 3). As Internet access becomes more reliable, widespread, and affordable the digital divide is continuing to close. According to the Nielsen Ratings as summarized by the Internet World Stats website (2007), about two thirds of the U.S. population uses the Internet. As Arrison (2002) points out, how many of the one third of the U.S. population that do not use the internet choose to not use it as opposed to not having access to it. With this in mind, the potential effect of the “digital divide” is minuscule.
An often-neglected positive effect of virtual worlds is in the area of gender roles, especially in such virtual worlds as EverQuest. Women can and do explore gender roles that are traditionally and stereotypically defined as male. For example, female players can enjoy exploring the elaborate and massive virtual worlds of MMORPG’s like Everquest and Warcraft. "While men and women alike can enjoy traversing these spaces, women are afforded an experience they are likely not to have had offline. While both the landscape and its creatures might threaten the explorer, in the game space this threat is not based upon gender." (Taylor, 2006, p. 98) Positions of leadership are more accessible to women in virtual worlds. “Grouping in worlds such as EverQuest provide an interesting opportunity for women not only to participate in group play, but to work closely with men and even lead them” (Taylor, 2006, p. 106). Virtual worlds can be viewed as an equalizer to the gender discrimination that has been prevalent in American society for centuries.
Virtual worlds can have both positive and negative effects on individuals and society. This relatively new form of communication is still in its infancy and its ramifications on individuals and society have yet to be fully explored and understood.
References
Arrison, S. (2002, March 13). Perspective: What digital divide. CNET News. Retrieved May 7, 2008, from http://www.news.com/2010-1071-858537.html,
Taylor, T. L. (2006). Play between worlds: Exploring online game culture. Cambridge: MIT Press.
Internet World Stats. United States of America internet usage and broadband usage report. (2008) Retrieved May 11, 2008, fromhttp://www.internetworldstats.com/am/us.htm
When discussing effects of virtual worlds, the concept of the “digital divide” often surfaces. According to Jackson (2003) the “digital divide” refers to the gap between those who have and use technology like the Internet and virtual worlds and those who do not. There is a fear that there will be a disconnect between the users and the non-users. This fear is most often framed negatively, with economic issues as the cause and a greater separation of society as the effect. The “digital divide” is becoming a thing of the past in the United States. Even back in 2002 a Department of Commerce (DOC) report revealed that “Internet use is continuing to increase for everyone regardless of income, education, age, race, ethnicity or gender” (Arrison, 2002, para. 3). As Internet access becomes more reliable, widespread, and affordable the digital divide is continuing to close. According to the Nielsen Ratings as summarized by the Internet World Stats website (2007), about two thirds of the U.S. population uses the Internet. As Arrison (2002) points out, how many of the one third of the U.S. population that do not use the internet choose to not use it as opposed to not having access to it. With this in mind, the potential effect of the “digital divide” is minuscule.
An often-neglected positive effect of virtual worlds is in the area of gender roles, especially in such virtual worlds as EverQuest. Women can and do explore gender roles that are traditionally and stereotypically defined as male. For example, female players can enjoy exploring the elaborate and massive virtual worlds of MMORPG’s like Everquest and Warcraft. "While men and women alike can enjoy traversing these spaces, women are afforded an experience they are likely not to have had offline. While both the landscape and its creatures might threaten the explorer, in the game space this threat is not based upon gender." (Taylor, 2006, p. 98) Positions of leadership are more accessible to women in virtual worlds. “Grouping in worlds such as EverQuest provide an interesting opportunity for women not only to participate in group play, but to work closely with men and even lead them” (Taylor, 2006, p. 106). Virtual worlds can be viewed as an equalizer to the gender discrimination that has been prevalent in American society for centuries.
Virtual worlds can have both positive and negative effects on individuals and society. This relatively new form of communication is still in its infancy and its ramifications on individuals and society have yet to be fully explored and understood.
References
Arrison, S. (2002, March 13). Perspective: What digital divide. CNET News. Retrieved May 7, 2008, from http://www.news.com/2010-1071-858537.html,
Taylor, T. L. (2006). Play between worlds: Exploring online game culture. Cambridge: MIT Press.
Internet World Stats. United States of America internet usage and broadband usage report. (2008) Retrieved May 11, 2008, fromhttp://www.internetworldstats.com/am/us.htm
Task 6: Implementation of Virtual Worlds
In order to develop a plan for the implementation of Second Life (SL) into the existing UWM organization, a few initial steps would have to be taken. First, there needs to be a clear benefit to the organization in making the change. This could be proven by comparing the media characteristics inherent to SL with the current models, and by conducting research studies to show that there is an interest or need for adding virtual world technology to the existing infrastructure for either students and/or staff. Second, the hardware needed to access these programs would have to be proven sufficiently available to a majority of the targeted user population. Also, in order to initially connect the two worlds, orientation and advanced training in using the program would need to be accessible to both students and staff. Additional considerations might include planning for the introduction of virtual classrooms, administrative services, and social meeting spaces by constructing curriculum specific to the medium, addressing potential staffing restructuring, and, importantly, obtaining a critical mass of users to make the effort successful.
One way to show that selecting SL would meet the communication needs of UWM is to consider the objective media characteristics of SL. In other words, what does SL offer UWM that might expand or enhance its current communications systems? For starters, SL, unlike the traditional physical campus setting, can offer students and faculty a meeting space and access to synchronistic communication with administration potentially twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Therefore, it could be possible for staff and faculty to work from home, and take advantage of a flextime model of scheduling. As stated in Organizational Communication: Approach and Process, from a human relations approach to the process, "emphasis is placed on technological impacts on workers attitudes" (Miller, 2006, p. 303). Hence, if surveys were to suggest that UWM workers would welcome the addition of SL, the organization would also benefit.
Another possible benefit UWM might experience in expanding its virtual campus is that SL has the potential to link previously unsynchronized tasks together. For instance, currently students must make use of 4 separate university sites (the official UWM website, Panther Mail, Paws, and D2L) in order to gather information, access mail options, manage class schedules and finances, and connect to posted online course material. SL has the operational capacity to streamline this process, by offering all services on one website. From a systems approach, "organizational communication technology is seen as a way to link organizational sub-systems, and to link the organization with the environment" (Miller, 2006, p. 303). Therefore, expanding into SL would prove beneficial to the university from this systems perspective as well.
After considering just a few of the objective media characteristics of SL, it is also worth considering what are the university’s needs and interests that are driving the exploration of virtual worlds. In other words, what social information exists to support the organizational change? For starters, UW-Milwaukee's campus is pushing its physical limits. The student population is growing, the demand for programs and classes is increasing, and the space for these is extremely limited. From the perspective of the University, there is great opportunity for growth, but limited options for expansion. Technology offers an idealistic solution to many of the “space” issues pressuring UW-Milwaukee and offers solutions to many of the student populations individual concerns. The implementation of a UW-Milwaukee virtual community would allow for infinite student expansion and time flexibility appropriate for the schedules of all students and staff.
The need obviously exists for the creation of a virtual UW-Milwaukee world, but does individual interest exist? A University wide survey about this possible expansion would benefit both the designers of the site and those who will most likely be users. It seems as if the use of professional virtual worlds within organizations are on the brink of major expansion. In recent history another technology comes to mind that without warning completely altered the way that people personally and professionally communicate, "Electronic mail has clearly changed both personal and organizational life in the last 15 years" (Miller, 2006, p.286). The same opportunity exists for virtual worlds right now.
Even if there are students on either end of the “digital divide”, the same virtual world can be used productively by both. In some cases, UW-Milwaukee may have to
offer or even require an introductory segment to courses that offer a virtual world component similar to San Jose State University (SJSU). SJSU’s School of Library & Information Science Second Life portal is the country's first graduate degree course for library and information science to utilize the immersive SL experience. An initiate would first take the introductory tutorial lesson to learn how to operate within the SL world before exploring the virtual campus on their own. Interactive classes are held in this environment, as well as archives of lectures, community discussions, research studies, and access to multi-media library resources. Faculty offices are open, and representatives from the university are available for information as well as to host virtual meetings. This full service campus exemplifies the potential protocol for schools such as UWM to follow. Precautionary steps such as these will ensure user comfort and security transitioning in to the virtual environment of SL. Because some students may continue to feel inexperienced and fearful of certain aspects of the virtual world, it is important to offer face-to-face support and education for any student at any time.
The UW-Milwaukee virtual community should consider the potential to bring together campuses separated by physical geography. Different sectors of the virtual world can be dedicated to individual campuses, departments, and even specific classes. The creation of the virtual community should also recognize user diversity. Some students and staff may utilize only a “homepage” for basic communication and information gathering, while others will conduct all of their academic activities within the virtual world. Also, something that has already been recognized with the creation of courses conducted on the Internet through D2L is individual time constraints. Students often times, especially on a campus like UW-Milwaukee with a high commuter population, require access to University resources 24/7.
While the UW-Milwaukee virtual world can offer many things that are not currently available in the on campus environment, there are still those who will deny this technological advancement. Continuing to recognize skepticisms and reluctance of some is important when making these changes so not to isolate the face-to-face student population and staff from the virtual word population.
References
Miller, K., (2006). Organizational communication: Approach and process (4th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
One way to show that selecting SL would meet the communication needs of UWM is to consider the objective media characteristics of SL. In other words, what does SL offer UWM that might expand or enhance its current communications systems? For starters, SL, unlike the traditional physical campus setting, can offer students and faculty a meeting space and access to synchronistic communication with administration potentially twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Therefore, it could be possible for staff and faculty to work from home, and take advantage of a flextime model of scheduling. As stated in Organizational Communication: Approach and Process, from a human relations approach to the process, "emphasis is placed on technological impacts on workers attitudes" (Miller, 2006, p. 303). Hence, if surveys were to suggest that UWM workers would welcome the addition of SL, the organization would also benefit.
Another possible benefit UWM might experience in expanding its virtual campus is that SL has the potential to link previously unsynchronized tasks together. For instance, currently students must make use of 4 separate university sites (the official UWM website, Panther Mail, Paws, and D2L) in order to gather information, access mail options, manage class schedules and finances, and connect to posted online course material. SL has the operational capacity to streamline this process, by offering all services on one website. From a systems approach, "organizational communication technology is seen as a way to link organizational sub-systems, and to link the organization with the environment" (Miller, 2006, p. 303). Therefore, expanding into SL would prove beneficial to the university from this systems perspective as well.
After considering just a few of the objective media characteristics of SL, it is also worth considering what are the university’s needs and interests that are driving the exploration of virtual worlds. In other words, what social information exists to support the organizational change? For starters, UW-Milwaukee's campus is pushing its physical limits. The student population is growing, the demand for programs and classes is increasing, and the space for these is extremely limited. From the perspective of the University, there is great opportunity for growth, but limited options for expansion. Technology offers an idealistic solution to many of the “space” issues pressuring UW-Milwaukee and offers solutions to many of the student populations individual concerns. The implementation of a UW-Milwaukee virtual community would allow for infinite student expansion and time flexibility appropriate for the schedules of all students and staff.
The need obviously exists for the creation of a virtual UW-Milwaukee world, but does individual interest exist? A University wide survey about this possible expansion would benefit both the designers of the site and those who will most likely be users. It seems as if the use of professional virtual worlds within organizations are on the brink of major expansion. In recent history another technology comes to mind that without warning completely altered the way that people personally and professionally communicate, "Electronic mail has clearly changed both personal and organizational life in the last 15 years" (Miller, 2006, p.286). The same opportunity exists for virtual worlds right now.
Even if there are students on either end of the “digital divide”, the same virtual world can be used productively by both. In some cases, UW-Milwaukee may have to
offer or even require an introductory segment to courses that offer a virtual world component similar to San Jose State University (SJSU). SJSU’s School of Library & Information Science Second Life portal is the country's first graduate degree course for library and information science to utilize the immersive SL experience. An initiate would first take the introductory tutorial lesson to learn how to operate within the SL world before exploring the virtual campus on their own. Interactive classes are held in this environment, as well as archives of lectures, community discussions, research studies, and access to multi-media library resources. Faculty offices are open, and representatives from the university are available for information as well as to host virtual meetings. This full service campus exemplifies the potential protocol for schools such as UWM to follow. Precautionary steps such as these will ensure user comfort and security transitioning in to the virtual environment of SL. Because some students may continue to feel inexperienced and fearful of certain aspects of the virtual world, it is important to offer face-to-face support and education for any student at any time.
The UW-Milwaukee virtual community should consider the potential to bring together campuses separated by physical geography. Different sectors of the virtual world can be dedicated to individual campuses, departments, and even specific classes. The creation of the virtual community should also recognize user diversity. Some students and staff may utilize only a “homepage” for basic communication and information gathering, while others will conduct all of their academic activities within the virtual world. Also, something that has already been recognized with the creation of courses conducted on the Internet through D2L is individual time constraints. Students often times, especially on a campus like UW-Milwaukee with a high commuter population, require access to University resources 24/7.
While the UW-Milwaukee virtual world can offer many things that are not currently available in the on campus environment, there are still those who will deny this technological advancement. Continuing to recognize skepticisms and reluctance of some is important when making these changes so not to isolate the face-to-face student population and staff from the virtual word population.
References
Miller, K., (2006). Organizational communication: Approach and process (4th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Task 5: Profits and Nonprofits Set Up in Second Life
Organizations in Second Life
Several organizations have implementation within the virtual environment of Second Life (SL). After spending several hours exploring different corporate Implementations I came back to reality feeling very disappointed. Most of the corporate sites I visited seemed as if they were hastily created and were void of any avatar presence. Across that expansive void, I found a couple gems. These organizations stand out as active participants in creating a new medium for socializing, collaboration, and information sharing.
Manpower (104, 97, 27)
“Manpower’s mission is to help people, companies, and governments understand what’s coming next in the changing world of work” (Manpower, para. 1). They are using SL to help define the next stages of virtual work affecting people, companies, and governments to best support their needs with proper services.
After teleporting to Manpower’s virtual island, an actual staff member of Manpower greets you. They have personnel available nearly 24/5 and post a notice when no one is available with a date and time when someone will next be online. The Manpower Lounge is located in the building directly behind the greeter. There you can find terminals to learn about virtual work, how to find jobs in SL, and even interview tips! I had a great conversation with Horatio and Belize Decosta SL brothers and long time Manpower employees. They explained that Manpower’s virtual island not only for job seekers but a way for Manpower’s global employees to meet and interact with each other (personal communication, April 24, 2008). SL provides Manpower employees scattered across the globe a single platform for creating social bonds not easily created through less rich medium as email. According to Horatio, many employees continue to socialize in SL outside of Manpower sponsored meetings. “Extracurricular activities do more to cement a team than a passel [large amount of] of team meetings or team-building sessions” (Geber, 1995, p. 37) and Manpower also includes a beach where you can even go wind surfing. While the extracurricular activities might be virtual, employees are interacting and creating social bonds with each other.
IBM (106, 6, 23)
IBM is leading the way in virtual reality technologies for organizations. According to Brodkin (2008), IBM and Linden Lab, the creator of SL will be jointly working to create enterprise-ready virtual worlds. These worlds will be located behind the corporate firewall instead of Linden Lab’s servers providing much needed security but still allowing travel to the public spaces in SL.
When I teleported to IBM’s “front door” in SL I found a 3D representation of the different locations across IBM’s multiple islands. However, this map provides no information about what you would find at these locations. There are no staff members to assist visitors either. Actually, I was unable to find any IBM personnel and only a handful of other visitors. This surprised me since IBM uses SL for a variety of corporate functions and meetings. Ms. Kearney, IBM’s global director for 3-D Internet and virtual business says, “5,000 of I.B.M.’s 300,000 employees worldwide now participate in the company’s virtual business” (as cited in Wetzler, 2007, para.8). IBM has private locations for their employees and their public area is visually interesting, but information poor.
Alliance Library System - ALS(114, 238, 34)
American Library Association - ALA (128, 109, 28)
In 2006 several people of the Alliance Library System out of Illinois ventured in to SL and created the Library 2.0 to bring programs and services to the virtual world. Originally the ALA created their first presence in SL in the ALS’s Information Archipelago, and then at the end of 2007 purchased their own island in the archipelago. Their site consists of several islands with small and large library districts and academic organizations contributing to the innovative Library of the future.
The main library reference desk normally has someone there to greet and assist people. Many of the librarians are reference librarians in real life (RL) and are more than happy to answer any questions you might have. ALA’s island, created with assistance of San Jose State University Master of Library Information Science students, has information about the organization and a wide variety of activities to keep you occupied. Similar to Manpower and IBM there are several areas for conferences and networking for librarians and ALA members.
Oberon Octagon, known in RL as Donavan Vicha is the Web Program Officer for the ALA. Due to RL requirements, we were unable to connect in SL, but using SL’s IM feature he provided information on the ALA Island creation strategy. The vision of the ALA is to “develop and maintain a dynamic virtual space to support the goals and objectives of the organization and to facilitate the collaborative and informational needs of its diverse global membership” (Vicha, personal communication, 23 April 2008). Donovan further described that the space is intended to be different from traditional brick and mortar building by having an open air garden type feel to it. They are not “pushing SL out to members” but have created another mediated communication tool to interact with members and the public. “The effects of technological advances can take many years to come to fruition” (Miller, 2006, p. 296), observing how virtual reality changes the perception of libraries remains to be seen.
Though many of the organizations I traveled to offer little to keep my interest, these three provide promising examples on how to create a presence within a virtual environment. They all provide a way for staff or members to participate and socialize though they are separated by distance. IBM is expanding the technology behind the scenes, Manpower is porting their RL mission to the virtual and the ALS/ALA are bringing the future to libraries.
References
Brodkin, J. (2008, April 03). IBM, Second Life create business-friendly virtual worlds. Retrieved April 24, 2008, from Network World: http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/040308-ibm-second-life-virtual.html
Geber, B. (1995). Virtual teams. Training, 32(4), pp. 36-40.
Manpower. (n.d.). Manpower Inc. and Second Life. Retrieved April 24, 2008, from Manpower: http://www.manpower.com/press/secondlife.cfm
Miller, K. (2006). Organizational communication: Approach and process (4th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth
Wetzler, C. M. (2007, September 16). Exploring the vast business potential of the metaverse. The New York Times.
Several organizations have implementation within the virtual environment of Second Life (SL). After spending several hours exploring different corporate Implementations I came back to reality feeling very disappointed. Most of the corporate sites I visited seemed as if they were hastily created and were void of any avatar presence. Across that expansive void, I found a couple gems. These organizations stand out as active participants in creating a new medium for socializing, collaboration, and information sharing.
Manpower (104, 97, 27)
“Manpower’s mission is to help people, companies, and governments understand what’s coming next in the changing world of work” (Manpower, para. 1). They are using SL to help define the next stages of virtual work affecting people, companies, and governments to best support their needs with proper services.
After teleporting to Manpower’s virtual island, an actual staff member of Manpower greets you. They have personnel available nearly 24/5 and post a notice when no one is available with a date and time when someone will next be online. The Manpower Lounge is located in the building directly behind the greeter. There you can find terminals to learn about virtual work, how to find jobs in SL, and even interview tips! I had a great conversation with Horatio and Belize Decosta SL brothers and long time Manpower employees. They explained that Manpower’s virtual island not only for job seekers but a way for Manpower’s global employees to meet and interact with each other (personal communication, April 24, 2008). SL provides Manpower employees scattered across the globe a single platform for creating social bonds not easily created through less rich medium as email. According to Horatio, many employees continue to socialize in SL outside of Manpower sponsored meetings. “Extracurricular activities do more to cement a team than a passel [large amount of] of team meetings or team-building sessions” (Geber, 1995, p. 37) and Manpower also includes a beach where you can even go wind surfing. While the extracurricular activities might be virtual, employees are interacting and creating social bonds with each other.
IBM (106, 6, 23)
IBM is leading the way in virtual reality technologies for organizations. According to Brodkin (2008), IBM and Linden Lab, the creator of SL will be jointly working to create enterprise-ready virtual worlds. These worlds will be located behind the corporate firewall instead of Linden Lab’s servers providing much needed security but still allowing travel to the public spaces in SL.
When I teleported to IBM’s “front door” in SL I found a 3D representation of the different locations across IBM’s multiple islands. However, this map provides no information about what you would find at these locations. There are no staff members to assist visitors either. Actually, I was unable to find any IBM personnel and only a handful of other visitors. This surprised me since IBM uses SL for a variety of corporate functions and meetings. Ms. Kearney, IBM’s global director for 3-D Internet and virtual business says, “5,000 of I.B.M.’s 300,000 employees worldwide now participate in the company’s virtual business” (as cited in Wetzler, 2007, para.8). IBM has private locations for their employees and their public area is visually interesting, but information poor.
Alliance Library System - ALS(114, 238, 34)
American Library Association - ALA (128, 109, 28)
In 2006 several people of the Alliance Library System out of Illinois ventured in to SL and created the Library 2.0 to bring programs and services to the virtual world. Originally the ALA created their first presence in SL in the ALS’s Information Archipelago, and then at the end of 2007 purchased their own island in the archipelago. Their site consists of several islands with small and large library districts and academic organizations contributing to the innovative Library of the future.
The main library reference desk normally has someone there to greet and assist people. Many of the librarians are reference librarians in real life (RL) and are more than happy to answer any questions you might have. ALA’s island, created with assistance of San Jose State University Master of Library Information Science students, has information about the organization and a wide variety of activities to keep you occupied. Similar to Manpower and IBM there are several areas for conferences and networking for librarians and ALA members.
Oberon Octagon, known in RL as Donavan Vicha is the Web Program Officer for the ALA. Due to RL requirements, we were unable to connect in SL, but using SL’s IM feature he provided information on the ALA Island creation strategy. The vision of the ALA is to “develop and maintain a dynamic virtual space to support the goals and objectives of the organization and to facilitate the collaborative and informational needs of its diverse global membership” (Vicha, personal communication, 23 April 2008). Donovan further described that the space is intended to be different from traditional brick and mortar building by having an open air garden type feel to it. They are not “pushing SL out to members” but have created another mediated communication tool to interact with members and the public. “The effects of technological advances can take many years to come to fruition” (Miller, 2006, p. 296), observing how virtual reality changes the perception of libraries remains to be seen.
Though many of the organizations I traveled to offer little to keep my interest, these three provide promising examples on how to create a presence within a virtual environment. They all provide a way for staff or members to participate and socialize though they are separated by distance. IBM is expanding the technology behind the scenes, Manpower is porting their RL mission to the virtual and the ALS/ALA are bringing the future to libraries.
References
Brodkin, J. (2008, April 03). IBM, Second Life create business-friendly virtual worlds. Retrieved April 24, 2008, from Network World: http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/040308-ibm-second-life-virtual.html
Geber, B. (1995). Virtual teams. Training, 32(4), pp. 36-40.
Manpower. (n.d.). Manpower Inc. and Second Life. Retrieved April 24, 2008, from Manpower: http://www.manpower.com/press/secondlife.cfm
Miller, K. (2006). Organizational communication: Approach and process (4th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth
Wetzler, C. M. (2007, September 16). Exploring the vast business potential of the metaverse. The New York Times.
Task 4: Second Life vs. Facebook- a Media Characteristic Face-off
“Computers are transforming work, and in some cases, lives.” (Kiesler, Siegel,& McGuire, 1994, p. 1123) Second Life’s media characteristics have transformed the norms for social networking. While participating in Second Life’s virtual work, you can communicate in a format similar to face-to-face with others. You can do this by having normal flowing conversations and having the resources available to use nonverbal cues, such as waving, shaking your head or even blowing kisses. These attributes make Second Life high in media richness. While face-to-face interaction is at the top of the list in order of media richness, the researchers that made the media richness descriptions probably did not even imagine the new phenomenon of Second Life. “In Traditional forms of communication, head nods, smiles, eye contact, distance, tone of voice, and other nonverbal behavior give speakers and listeners information they can use to regulate, modify, and control exchanges.” (Kiesler, Siegel, &McGuire, 1995, 1125) Second Life has the capabilities that normal face-to-face communication has, including immediate responses and the use of non verbal cues, which in some cases is immediately responsive as well. For example, when you type in goodbye in Second Life, it automatically waves goodbye to the person you were communicating with.
Self-presentation also has a place within social networks. In Second Life you are creating a thought out image, which may be intended to attract a certain demographic or get a certain response to your image. The option to ‘edit’ yourself is also something that could be taken into consideration, even though your real self might not resemble your Second Life self, you have the option to choose what your Second Life self looks like, and that shows a bit about you, the user. Facebook, which is another social network which we will be comparing Second Life to, you make your own page for all of your friends to see. With this you can premeditated the responses you give, only showing a certain side of yourself that you want others to see, what you think will attract others to becoming your friend.
Comparing these to social networks, there are many differences. Second Life has become a sub-world, there are the options to travel to places, watch sporting events, purchase goods, go to libraries, and seek employment opportunities at a select number of businesses that are in the real world as well. Where Facebook is a social network more geared towards meeting people through profiles, combined groups and a common school or location.
The advantages of Second life compared to Facebook are geared more towards social aspects. Second Life lets you meet people from all over the world, you can see differences in the language being used, the groups others have joined and sometimes even with the difference of clothing being worn. Because Facebook started as a social network where the prerequisite was a college e-mail, it seems the majority of Facebook users are college-aged, who live in the United States. Second Life, as the title describes, can be a double life from your own, this means that there are things to ‘do’ on the network, the network is programmed to make the user interact with the site as well as communicate with others.
The advantages we stated can also be reviewed in a negative way. On Second Life you do not have to option to ‘browse’ for people that would be geographically close to you, you meet people from all over the world but do not have the option to just seek people that are closer by. Facebook lets you search for people, so you can find people that you go to school with, or look for people that you have things in common with. Because of this, you have a better chance of meeting someone through Facebook and continuing that relationship outside of the social network rather than you do with Second Life. Another disadvantage that comes up with second life is that you do not have privacy from other users, anyone can come up to you and start talking to you, saying whatever they please, whether it be appropriate or not, Facebook lets you have the privacy settings in your control.
While the two have very different aspects of social networking, they have joined together and there is now a Beta application available that integrates your Second Life profile into Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=10242435556). This allows Second Life users to find other Second Life users based upon region and other information, combining both worlds. It also allows you to add your Second Life character to your friend list, and add your real friends Second Life characters as to it as well.
Reference
Kiesler, S., Siegel, J., & McGuire, T. (1984). Social psychological aspect of computer-mediated communication. American Psychologist, 39 (10), 1123-1134.
Self-presentation also has a place within social networks. In Second Life you are creating a thought out image, which may be intended to attract a certain demographic or get a certain response to your image. The option to ‘edit’ yourself is also something that could be taken into consideration, even though your real self might not resemble your Second Life self, you have the option to choose what your Second Life self looks like, and that shows a bit about you, the user. Facebook, which is another social network which we will be comparing Second Life to, you make your own page for all of your friends to see. With this you can premeditated the responses you give, only showing a certain side of yourself that you want others to see, what you think will attract others to becoming your friend.
Comparing these to social networks, there are many differences. Second Life has become a sub-world, there are the options to travel to places, watch sporting events, purchase goods, go to libraries, and seek employment opportunities at a select number of businesses that are in the real world as well. Where Facebook is a social network more geared towards meeting people through profiles, combined groups and a common school or location.
The advantages of Second life compared to Facebook are geared more towards social aspects. Second Life lets you meet people from all over the world, you can see differences in the language being used, the groups others have joined and sometimes even with the difference of clothing being worn. Because Facebook started as a social network where the prerequisite was a college e-mail, it seems the majority of Facebook users are college-aged, who live in the United States. Second Life, as the title describes, can be a double life from your own, this means that there are things to ‘do’ on the network, the network is programmed to make the user interact with the site as well as communicate with others.
The advantages we stated can also be reviewed in a negative way. On Second Life you do not have to option to ‘browse’ for people that would be geographically close to you, you meet people from all over the world but do not have the option to just seek people that are closer by. Facebook lets you search for people, so you can find people that you go to school with, or look for people that you have things in common with. Because of this, you have a better chance of meeting someone through Facebook and continuing that relationship outside of the social network rather than you do with Second Life. Another disadvantage that comes up with second life is that you do not have privacy from other users, anyone can come up to you and start talking to you, saying whatever they please, whether it be appropriate or not, Facebook lets you have the privacy settings in your control.
While the two have very different aspects of social networking, they have joined together and there is now a Beta application available that integrates your Second Life profile into Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=10242435556). This allows Second Life users to find other Second Life users based upon region and other information, combining both worlds. It also allows you to add your Second Life character to your friend list, and add your real friends Second Life characters as to it as well.
Reference
Kiesler, S., Siegel, J., & McGuire, T. (1984). Social psychological aspect of computer-mediated communication. American Psychologist, 39 (10), 1123-1134.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Task 3: Lisa M. Explores Second Life
My name in Second Life is Jacquelin Bienstock, ha ha. This is my second go-around with the program, and my first avatar's name was Lisa Frieman. I was fine with that name, but I had so many complications I just let her die and recreated myself. Some of the not so funny things that happened during my first use of SL include:
* Before the graphics had fully loaded onto my screen, and SL looked a lot like a grey planet for nude ameobas, a group of Germans began speaking to me. I was the only English speaker on the island, and I ended up turning off the sound.
* I tried on "fine hair" from my inventory, and it sat like a blonde wig over my black ponytails. I looked like a fair skinned cousin to mini-mouse.
* In trying to remove the hair by modifications, I ended up with a reverse mohawk, in other words, a friar-like balding pattern.
* In learning to walk, I stumbled into some bushes, and fell into the ocean. I had to learn to fly in order to find my way back to the center of the orientation island.
Here is a photo of me looking a lot more confident than I was feeling.
Thankfully, on my second visit, and with my new, non-balding city girl chic body, I arrived on orientation island and was greeted by a mentor named Udge. Udge was beautifully dressed in white feathers from head to toe, and as we typed to each other her feathers fluttered. I was starting to become engaged in the play of it all. With my mentor's patient assistance I gave myself green eyes, made myself taller, changed my capri tights to denim colored baggy jeans, and made my white t-shirt into an orange tank, switched my gold flats for matching orange heels, and made my skirt length longer. I guess I was trying to differentiate myself from the numerous other city girls walking around orientation island with me. After saving the changes, and reviewing myself from behind again, I noticed two teardrop shaped holes in my skirt, which went straight through to my jeans. Udge informed me that the problem was, technically speaking, my butt was too big for the skirt I had chosen. Ha ha!! Just like real life...
The biggest challenge to me in using SL, besides my obvious ineptitudes, are that I just don't value the virtual world enough to want to participate with it in an interactive medium. I get that the site is constantly changing because it is created by other users, and conceptually that's really cool, but what is the point? As a child I was also disinterested by video games, but even as the graphics improved, and the story boards expanded, even now when I see that "anything's possible", and this realm will continually be advancing, I am disinterested. I have a limited number of hours in the day, and I choose to spend the majority of those hours in endeavors that fulfill my needs and represent my values. I just don't think SL, or any other virtual world, is going to provide me with opportunities to develop myself in ways that are important to me, at least not in ways I wouldn't rather do in my own body.
Marie T.'s Second Life Experiences
4/13/08
Today I attended a celebration celebrating two years of the Alliance Library System (ALS) and the American Library Association (ALA) presence in Second Life (SL). Several speakers spoke highly of Lorelei Junot who in real life (RL) is the Director of Innovation for the ALS, credits Lorelei with getting him involved in SL back in August of 2006. He explained how she created a highly successful pirate display that prompted the ALA to team up with graduate students to purchase and create what is known today as Information Island. Today also happens to be the start of National Library Week and the first time the ALA is celebrating it in SL. They dedicated a floating gallery as the Lorelei Junot Gallery in her honor.
Of course, after all the speeches the party began. There were fireworks, a live DJ, and spectacular light show!
Today I attended a celebration celebrating two years of the Alliance Library System (ALS) and the American Library Association (ALA) presence in Second Life (SL). Several speakers spoke highly of Lorelei Junot who in real life (RL) is the Director of Innovation for the ALS, credits Lorelei with getting him involved in SL back in August of 2006. He explained how she created a highly successful pirate display that prompted the ALA to team up with graduate students to purchase and create what is known today as Information Island. Today also happens to be the start of National Library Week and the first time the ALA is celebrating it in SL. They dedicated a floating gallery as the Lorelei Junot Gallery in her honor.
Of course, after all the speeches the party began. There were fireworks, a live DJ, and spectacular light show!
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