Do VW's or MMOG Games improve collaboration skills?

[Tia Carr Williams]

There are conflicting opinions about the efficacity of social media technologies truly enhancing mass abilities to create valuable relationships, whether for socialising or business partly due to an ineptitude to create good conversational exchange or simply finding the time to follow through and sustain connections. What then is the value add that VW's present? Will they effectively improve one to one. one to many exchanges? What are the sociological implications of our virtual socialising?

[Ken Rigby (Tele3DWorld/MellaniuM/InterVerzaL)]

Tele3DWorld and MellaniuM Design have the ability to create realistic real time virtual 3D models and environments for social and business networking purposes. These 3D environments can be explored on a computer and over the internet from of the user's home or office.

People requiring social and business networks, etc., can walkthrough and interact with existing or future environments just as if they were physically there. Using 3D avatars and models with animation can assist in social environment more effectively using guidance speech, music and sound effects are played as the 3D environments are experienced simultaneously by as many as 32 people at any given time. This ability is very useful for creating an atmosphere conducive to Social and Networking.

Welcome to the future of Virtual Social and Business Networking.

What is an Interactive Virtual Social and Business Networking Environment?

An Interactive Virtual Social Networking Environment allows you to actually interact with other people either passively and/or actively. The object of social networking is to enable humans to communicate with one another in an atmosphere conducive with the subject being discussed. With this new 3D media social networking can present an environment that will enable like minded people to converse freely without color, creed, gender, disability, or age being a problem.

Who will benefit from this Service?

People with similar interests;

Business people;

Anyone considering an social network or Virtual Reality experience;

Some examples of possible users are:

o Bedridden and bored;

o Disabled;

o Lonely;

o Specialist subject discussion groups;

o Aged and infirm people;

o teachers and trainers;

o Chat lines;

Examples of typical Virtual 3D Social Networking Users?

Universities.

Lecturers;

Field studies.

Home carers.

Clubs and Pubs.

Etc.

See Mellanium at http://mellanium.com and referenced articles for more information.

[Jim Brock]

Personally I think the conflict isn't so much about VW's, the conflict is created by the abundance of communication tools and the overwhelming amount of people we can reach these days. Whether we're talking inside a VW or by IM, email or phone, we're still lacking non verbal communication. Overtime we'll develop a sub vocabulary to compensate but it won't be the same as talking face-to-face.

Social media technologies help us express and reach out despite the lack of time or geographical restraints to meet for real. Take LinkedIn for example, it's working....

As to valuable relationships... Different people look upon relationships differently. It's a matter of adjusting your expectations. Take the general population in SL for example, while half of them has a relationship and has partnered, the other half of the population sees it merely as a communications platform. For me it's working. I've met people and became friends and that's exceeded VW cause I don't seperate SL and RL. I just as easily grab the phone or send an a message inworld.

The value VW's bring as opposed to other social media technologies lies in the fact that it simulates face-to-face meeting and it offers the ability to 'do' things together instead of isolated actions..

[Jeremy Koester]

Hey Tia,
Great question and I'm of the opinion that, as far as mass consumption is concerned, this medium is still very undefined, unresearched and untapped. I would answer your questions personally, but there is a growing body of research that does a much better job. I would start with Steinkuehler, Squire, Jenkins (participatory culture), Gee, and Castronova. You can also come check out the Gaming and Learning in Second Life website/Google group that should be coming out of the construction phase this summer.
Thanks,
Jeremy

[Jeff Covelli]

I understand it is difficult for an Avatar to start an external application while remaining inside a virtual world. I have seen audio/video files played in second life virtual projection screens but what I'm referring to is having an Avatar log into a virtual desktop PC and link to a Unix server to practice some Sys Adming skills, while another Avatar (expert instructor) watches and critiques.
Is this possible today?
J

[Roger]

I am not an expert in this area. Perhaps Jeremy's academic experts touch on this, but I think that we need to understand on an intuitive level that communication is about creating linkages between separate thought threads among different consciousnesses. That is, we each have our own model of the world in our minds and we need to communicate to reach consensus about the congruence of those models with external reality. An extreme state of being unable to reach consensus may be labeled "insanity" for example.

But to get to Tia's questions

1) The value add is not clear because 3-d is still an emerging technology, as Jeremy suggests. Many 2-d apps are struggling to establish value add. Look at Twitter, for example. Great app, hugely popular, yet to monetize effectively. 3-d is in the same situation. Once the technology matures, with perhaps some disruptive models, the value add will become apparent. For example, imagine being able to check out what a new pair of shoes will look like with a certain outfit. If 3-d can provide a customer better visualization, the customer will be more likely to use that functionality prior to a purchase decision. Similarly, imagine trying to narrow down choices for a hotel room or a auto purchase. 3-d may help the customer get a feel for those products and thereby assist the decision. Functionality that saves time and simplifies decision-making will definitely be value add.

2) It's hard to say if VW interactions/connections will "improve" exchanges. We evolved over millennia to optimize our in-person interactions. It's hard to improve on that, unless one imagines a kind of Star Trek mind meld. I don't think VW is headed that direction! (Other technologies might be.) What I think will happen is a new evolution of VW interactions. There will be a whole different quality of interaction which may be more or less useful, depending on the user need and purpose. If I want to follow a sales lead with a product demonstration, VW may be ideal in terms of immediacy and cost savings. If I want to teach a scientific concept, VW might help explore hypotheses not viable in RW. If I want a beer with my pals, I'll turn off the computer and head down to the pub.

3) I think that begins to address your question 3. That is, our virtual socializing will augment our in-person socializing but cannot, I believe, completely supplant it. Many people will benefit and have lives enriched by virtual socializing. Indeed we may come to see our online relationships on a par with in-person relationships, and online relationships may become central parts of our lives, but I think (short of a VW mind meld!) there will always be an essential role for interacting in person.

[Tia Carr Williams]

Im almost getting to the point that Im thinking that virtual interactions can educate us to the sophistications of real world engagement. Such is the parlous state of degraded values for courtesy, respect and poor social skills experienced by teachers from their students..the purpose of our design for Relationship Capital over at www.RNIA.org will be released initiatlly into Enterprise initiatives, closely followed up by 3D virtual educational adventures where being polite, collaborative and compassionate will earn you serious equity..kindness will be visibly rewarded.

[Roger]

Tia,

It seems that online interactions are generally less courteous and respectful than in-person interactions. To realize your vision, there would have to be an enforceable set of rules (therefore sanctions) as there are in real life. I think VW developers are still struggling with that.

That does not in any way negate the work done by RNIA. Politeness, collaboration and compassion should be rewarded whether online or in-person. The question is whether in-person etiquette more effectively determines online behavior rather than vice versa. I believe RNIA is well-placed to develop a paradigm for online etiquette that complements in person behavior. But learning appropriate personal behavior will always start with in-person interactions. It's just an inescapable consequence of biology. Online education may well help fine-tune the personal behavior.

[Tia Carr Williams]

Roger,
That is not my finding I must confess. Whilst we are reduced to soundbites, the capacity for skype has connected me with a plethora of quite well behaved folk as well as inworld exchanges. I have found on many F2F networking or conference affairs, people are challenged in their social courtesies or conversational capabilities and as much so in the office.
I think there is serious and real scope in constructing games and environments that applaud improved people skills because the migratable benefits are tangible.

[Roger]

Hmm. I think what's needed is a formalization. For example, in SL some users can be rude or just weird. In 2-d social media, people can be vociferous and even insulting or can carry on perfectly civilized discussions (as we are!). I don't use Skype, but in Twitter (similarly reductionist), folks are generally well-behaved too, but that's self-selecting because of people one follows (or does not). I'd be very interested in learning of studies that show the tangible benefits of learning social etiquette in VW.

[Ken Rigby (Tele3DWorld/MellaniuM/InterVerzaL)]

The best we can do is to simulate Real Life in both environment and behaviour. An environment that tricks the brain into feeling comfortable will enable stress free engagements i.e., the feelings of inferiority from color, creed, age, disability will diminish as you are represented by an avatar of your choosing. Therefore you will judged on your input rather than on your bearing, status, etc. Virtual Worlds will be a great leveler and collaborative tool for humans to pool ideas and concepts.