Question: What role do virtual worlds like Second Life play in publishing? Is it a social medium, like Digg; a delivery system, like RSS; or is its role in publishing (if any) unique?
My answer:
A lot of people drank the Second Life Kool-Aid in 2006 and 2007, and got burned when it didn't pan out as a magical place to do business or attract new customers. Several news organizations attempted to set up outposts in SL and failed to make any impact on their audience or newsgathering mission. Wired and Reuters spring to mind as examples. I actually remember someone in IDG floating the idea of building a brand outpost in SL at a meeting after some PR agency pitched it. I and another colleague objected, and nothing ever came of it, thankfully.Some of my other answers from the interview:
That said, there is a value in Second Life for understanding news. It is a visual medium, and is very much able to simulate places, objects, and events. Companies are already using SL to simulate products and demonstrate their services. At some point, I expect news organizations will use Second Life to simulate an event. Imagine a news organization that wants to explain to readers how a crime or fire took place, and using SL to model these events.
Second Life is also an effective way for people and small groups to communicate. I have reported on demonstrations (and counterdemonstrations) taking place in Second Life, and I expect these types of events will become more commonplace as they are easier to carry out than travelling to a site in person, and don't involve danger or embarrassment.
No comments:
Post a Comment
All comments will be reviewed before being published. Spam, off-topic or hateful comments will be removed.