escaping reality in 2nd Life

I had heard of Second Life in another class prior to reading this chapter and was pretty amazed by it. The virtual world in which anyone can become whoever they want is really captivating. I thought that the "Linden money" concept, which is directly related to actual U.S. dollars. Therefore businesses such as amazon are able to make money off of books that Professor Levinson created in his virtual bookstore to actually be purchased. In turn, the new new media of 2nd Life connects to the new media of Amazon.com, to the media of the book created. What is truly amazing is that all of this can be done from the comfort of ones desk at their computer.
I appreciated the option to create town centers, seminars, islands and very specific cities such as the Victorian one that included a planetarium, which is a way to gather information and explore fantasy realms. These locations have the benefit of moving graphics and audio that other social media can not provide.
However, I did not understand the point of sex in second life, considering the entire point of sex is physical intimacy. I think that the purchase of "love furniture" would be a complete waste as well.

Second Life

Like some of my other classmates I found the sex part of Second Life creepy and quite disgusting. I think that the sexual world on second life creates a false understanding of ones body and sexual intercourse. The ability to buy and change body parts is wrong on so many levels and creates this idea that if you're not happy with your body you can just pay to change it. It does not promote healthy self-confidence and I am surprised more people aren't outraged with this program.

Levinson states "sex in second life has the advantage of not conveying sexually transmitted disease or resulting in pregnancy." While not all sexual encounters end in STDs or pregnancy but having it never happen--especially when you don't know anything about the person you are having "sex" with--creates a false world. It shows no consequences for actions and I think that this is an improper use for a medium that probably has a lot of younger kids using.

Second Life as Fantasy

In my opinion Second Life should be treated almost exclusively as fantasy. People have different fantasies of flying, being a supermodel, or being a professional athlete, and it is possible that these people get a certain amount of satisfaction by creating an avatar that can become these things. If I remember correctly, the PBS documentary also had a story of a video game convention where several people met up who had previously played with each other online. Some of the players described a joy they experienced from being something different then their real self. If people experience a certain happiness from Second Life I have nothing against it, but I have no need for it.

In my ethics class, someone brought up that a couple was so obsessed with their Second Life avatars that their real-life baby starved to death. When Second Life becomes so involved in real life, it is no longer a fantasy. In addition, I see the benefits for business meetings, but sexual acts seem rather strange. As strange as it is, if it's a single (not married) person's fantasy then I have no problem with it. However, when it involves married people, or people with different identities, ethics becomes an issue. I think we should treat Second Life as fantasy only unless it is used for practical business practices.

Second Life

The most interesting thing that I found about this chapter was that the majority of functions on Second Life require "Linden dollars" which translates into real money. This enables the site to establish real world complications between the "haves" and "have-nots", those who can afford to spend on Second Life and those who cannot. Although Levinson points out that things needed to be purchased are relatively, $5 USD to open up a bookstore, these functions can certainly add up and present a problem for the money conscious. In the this scenario Second Life might be more suited for adults with money to spend as opposed to a young middle school child who sees $30 or $40 dollars as a larger sum. Unlike other new media sites, such as Facebook and MySpace which are free, Second Life closes itself off to those who cannot afford to participate.

There's No Need For A Second Life

There’s No Need for Seconds

Second life offers users the ability to live vicariously through their online avatar. This offers just as many commercial opportunities as any other social medium although it often comes at a price. In the “Sims-Like” world of second life people must pay for the luxuries and amenities that they obtain. This capitalist idea not only makes for lots of money to be made, but those with the deepest pockets to be king. Levinson mentions in his New New Media book that things can be bought on Second Life including certain pieces of furniture that include sexual positions that can be done on them. If the real world didn’t have enough of a problem with aesthetics earned by money these problems would be much greater on second life.

In addition to people buying status in Second Life I think Second life defeats the purpose of social networking. The purpose of social networking is be able to communicate with those who you know when they are not around, but if you never see them it stops being social networking. When you never have physical contact with a friend it is no longer social networking, but antisocial networking.

Second Life Spoof

Like many of my classmates, I had also never heard of Second Life until reading the chapter in Levinson's book. I also had a similar reaction. I personally find the social network to be disturbing and creepy. I do not see any appeal in it. I thought it was interesting to learn that some businesses and companies use Second Life to conduct meetings and discuss matters without having to pay the travel expenses and coordinating schedules. However, those are just the expectations of such a job. I do not find it very necessary to conduct business in this way. Any other activity on Second Life such as paying actual money to buy virtual items and having sexual relations with other avatars completely boggles my mind.

I found the video below on Youtube. I think it's a funny yet accurate depiction of what Second Life activity would look like in real life. Levinson's chapter on Second Life didn't really delve into the movement of the social network. I was hoping he would elaborate on the movement and dynamic of the avatars. However, I read in an article that movements on Second Life are very jerky. This is shown in the video with people running into walls and furniture. The scenes of people typing on an imaginary keyboard while standing right in front of the other person is a good representation of the impersonal conversation held in Second Life through the chat option. Why chat in this way with a complete stranger? Why not actually engage in conversations with friends and family, or go out and form real friendships and relationships with people in actual locations. The fact that people want a "Second Life" is confusing to me. It seems to me that the social network site in a sense encourages people to avoid the reevaluation of their real lives by simply creating another virtually. In my opinion, if these people are using this site in the first place, their lives may in fact need some reevaluating. Harsh as that may be. Well, I got a good laugh out of the video and I hope you all do too!

Second Life- Extension on use of it in the Office

Jose posted a few thoughts about how IBM uses Second Life daily amongst its employers in his post below. This was seen in the PBS documentary we had to watch for this class.
I can remember seeing how the employers were informed that they had to join, and then were taught about the dynamics of the social media. At first, those who were learning looked extremely hesitant, as they saw Second Life as another distraction that was only going to prevent them from being productive in the work place.
Then the documentary featured those who had been using Second Life for some time already, and discussed with them how efficient it was for them, how enjoyable they found it, and even how much time they spent on it.
Whether or not these people really make business for IBM more successful, I can't help but find that the use of Second Life as a primary way for holding meetings and other events, as extremely weird and unnecessary.
I think wasting employers' time creating profiles for a network that they will eventually get distracted by, and spend too much time on isn't worth the benefits of using it. Does anyone else find it extremely weird how when they were holding one of their meetings, everyone was bickering about whether their avatars should be sitting indoors or outside in the sun??

Second Life

Professor Levinson describes Second Life as if it where another personality of the person and I guess for some people it is. I saw a report about IBM and this is how they conduct their meetings it doesn’t matter what part of the world you’re in you can log in to second life and join the meeting and the company loves it because it saves them money on flights and boarding but all the issues are discussed. I believe it’s another way for people to hide behind a computer and not socially interact with other humans face to face. Even though you have to admit that its like a video were you make yourself look as you wish and its your voice everyone hears but I repeat we are losing the face to face conversations and not to mention SEX in the virtual world. Creepy!!

Second Life Sex...Really?

Second Life, the name of a virtual reality I am yet to ever experience and after this chapter, hesitant to visit. The idea of sex in Second Life is flat out strange. People purchase body parts and use them in sexual acts with their avatars. Is that weird to anyone else?

Two issues come to mind, though I'm sure there are many more, when I read this chapter. Many people use the internet to escape reality and its limit, in doing so, some people switch genders. This makes it entirely possible that one's avatar could be doing sexual acts with a female avatar of a male user. Just food for thought. What does this mean for users and people on Second Life? Is there a concern or screening to prevent that?

Secondly, if your avatar gets with another avatar, are you cheating? I'm sure this question will get a variety of answers and explanations. In my book, yes. But I'm curious to hear others opinions. So please voice them.

Questionable Sanity of Second Life

A few disclaimers: I had never heard of Second Life before this class, have no experience with the actual site besides logging on to its homepage briefly two minutes ago and think that I am a fairly open-minded person when it comes to technology and new media. That being said, I find Second Life ludicrous and slightly disturbing.

At first, I tried to think of it as a video game- a virtual reality that you engage with briefly for leisurely fun. The more I read about it, however, the more I realized that for many of its users Second Life is not brief distraction from life- it is their life. Except it isn't- it is a life people can never actually have. The thing that most disturbs me is the amount of falsification involved in this. On Second Life, you change your last name, body parts and can lie about a vast number of other personality related things- you are living a life you do not have.

Professor Levinson vividly describes his experience as a bookstore owner, which was definitely interesting, since he is a writer in real life and can use Second Life to "enhance" his brand. But is that what it is really accomplishing? I have my doubts that a virtual bookstore reading is as meaningful as a physical one. Additionally, I understand that reality is not always ideal, but I think that these people whose life is dominated by Second Life should instead channel their energy into constructing a better actual life than avoiding it altogether.

A simple Google search affirmed my weariness about the site: numerous disturbing reports surfaced. In the UK, an unemployed couple divorced over a cyber-affair, a virtual adultery on Second Life. The couple originally got married both in Second Life and in reality, before the wife discovered signs of the affair on the game. Cleverly titled "Divorced from Reality," the original article goes into detail about the crazy story and their crazy blurred existence. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1085915/Divorced-reality-All-accounts-Second-Life-love-triangle-saw-woman-separate-husband-having-cyber-affair.html I think a look at their characters (reality right, Second Life left) shows the degree of incongruity on Second Life.






I do see how Second Life can be seen as democratic and harmless (to a degree). I apologize for being so cynical, I just think that this form of social media sincerely detracts from our actual existences, the exact opposite of social media's actual intentions.

Twitter

I just recently created a Twitter account for this class, and I have to say that I love Twitter. I always thought that Twitter was too public - writing where you are at, what you are doing - publicly announcing it to the world I thought was a bit too much. But being able to put private settings and being able to see quotes or just talk to your friends through twitter is interesting. I say interesting because we can easily call, text, email, or chat but twitter is a whole new world. Also the advertising is different - reaching to each person on a direct level but also a public level since everyone can view the tweets. Twitter really does bring interpersonal and mass communication as one.

Twitter

I can distinctly remember sitting in class Freshman year and the professor asked us if anyone had heard of two new websites that were just beginning to gain popularity. The first one was Second Life and the other Twitter. One or two people raised their hand for Second Life but no one had heard of Twitter. This was just three years ago and the majority of the class agreed that they saw no potential in this new site with the odd name. For most of the class, the need to post status updates was already satisfied by Facebook and there was no need for a new site. How wrong the class was!!
What is most striking to me about Twitter is its link to older media. Other forms of media, such as television or print actually report on Twitter and people's post. Often on television the broadcaster will show the latest photos posted on Twitter from their favorite subscriber or point out the day's best Tweets. Popular magazines often have pages devoted to pairing celebrities with their usernames and Tweets. There are even feuds between subscribers that are watched carefully by older media and reported on as though they are occurring face to face. When going through these older media I fail to see such in dept reporting on happenings that occur on Faceboook or Myspace or any other popular site. Twitter seems to be its own world that has its own events that get reported on as though they occur on another planet.

Twitter

I opened up a Twitter account at the start of this class and I don’t see any excitement in it. Yes! you can follow people on it but if they don’t follow you; you can’t send them a message not even a reply so what’s the use. I personally do not compare it in any way to Facebook, Facebook has an easier way to communicate and the following is mutual. Mr. Levinson speaks about congressman that tweets too much and of Iran I see twitter as a political or business venue

Twitter

On page 137 Professor Levinson states "in that function, Twitter becomes a type of wire service, like AP or Reuters. 'Followers' receive these messages but do not usually reply." I thought it was interesting that he said followers do not usually reply and I do think this is true but I believe the ability to reply is an amazing aspect of Twitter. It gives a voice to the consumer/viewer and creates a positive democratic web atmosphere.

An example of a follower replying to a company that came to mind while reading this section had nothing to do with a news article being sent out but a reaction to a mass marketing campaign. The campaign wasn't even through twitter but twitter was the only real way consumers and those upset with the campaign could reach out to the company. About a year and a half ago Motrin ran a campaign that incorporated the differences between moms who carry their children as opposed to use strollers. There was a huge outcry and the group who was offended quickly took to their twitters. The ads were removed by the end of the day showing that twitter in a inter-personal (people directly reaching out to Motrin) and a mass communication (others simply ranting about Motrin) has an overwhelming power.

Twitter Trims The Fat

Twitter provides users with a social medium in which they can make short comments as often as they would like. Twitter’s constant updating with tweets, may seem just like a facebook status, but I think it is much less, which in this case is a good thing. You don’t have to be friends with someone to look at their tweet's. Twitter is exactly like a constant facebook status, except it doesn’t have all the other distractions that facebook does to go with it. Often times when I am looking through facebook, I find myself browsing through pictures, looking at wall posts, and reading through event pages. If facebook consisted only of status updates, I would be more inclined to look at those every time I logged on. Twitter is exclusively status updates.
Twitter’s simplicity makes it an excellent marketing tool. As Levinson mentions in his book New New Media, Twitter is a marketing tool like t-shirt for political campaigns, but it extends much further than that and for a much larger demographic. Anyone in the world, who has access to the internet, assuming the site isn’t blocked, can look at your twitter site. Twitter is also much more logical for companies to use than a blog because people would always rather read less than more. Of course there are those who definitely tweet too much making it almost like a blog, but for the most part twitter’s simplicity is golden.

To Tweet or Not to Tweet?

After reading about Twitter in Chapter 8, I still don't understand the large lure it has. I remember when Twitter was just beginning to have a buzz and people were curious about it and not until this class had I visited it. Being required to make an account, I had done so, but used it only once I believe.

I understand that for some people, celebrities, politicians, or other influential people, the use of Twitter may be advantageous, but beyond them it's pointless. Levinson draws a connection to status updates on Myspace and Facebook, but those sites also have much more than the updates. I know personally, I update my status once a week, maybe more sometimes, but it's not something I look to update about what I ate or anything like that.

I recognize for some people Twitter is enjoyable and useful, but I don't have a need or purpose for it.

"Why do you love Twitter?"

I searched “Twitter” in YouTube and found this interesting video posted by Darren Rowse titled, "Why I Love Twitter." He tweeted “why do you love twitter?” and received over 100 responses in just a few hours. This alone shows Levinson’s idea of Twitter as the “epitome of immediacy” (Levinson, 134). Rowse composed the video of the many responses he received to his tweet. Although the video is rather lengthy, you can get a general consensus of people’s thoughts and reactions to Twitter. I found it interesting that more than a few users mentioned that they love Twitter because it makes them feel as though they are in an office or working place when in reality they work alone at home. This reveals the idea of community that is established by Twitter and its users. One user jokingly responded that he loves his wife but thinks he is having an affair with Twitter. In a sense, you are indeed forming a sort of relationship with the site and your followers by disclosing personal information, feelings, opinions, and ideas on any subject or topic of your choice. Many of the responses were general feelings about the connectivity with other people, quick resource for interesting information, news, and advice, and to communicate with others of the same interest. Some of the responses are funny and sarcastic so I hope you enjoy the video!

Twitter Incidents in Sports

Several professional athletes use Twitter as a way to communicate with their fans. However, there have been several incidents in which athletes have criticized their organization on Twitter or used Twitter at inappropriate times. Terrence Williams, a first round draft pick for the Nets out of Louisville, criticized the coaching staff about his playing time early in the season on Twitter. Williams tweeted, "Up early to the gym before practice to practice before practice, because NOW practice is my games. Welp that's life." Clearly, the Nets found issue with his tweet and Williams later apologized. Charlie Villanueva while on the Milwaukee Bucks tweeted at halftime of his game and was later instructed by the team not to tweet during games. In some instances, it may not be what an athlete tweets but what a relative or friend tweets that affects the athlete. Last year, Larry Fitzgerald of the Arizona Cardinals was involved in a controversy thanks to his brother Marcus criticizing the Cardinal's quarterback Kurt Warner about not throwing to Larry enough. Marcus later apologized on Twitter.

Although Twitter can be a great forum for marketing and promoting a company, product, or team, there are several pitfalls. Twitter definitely makes more work for people in public relations especially when they have to monitor all members of their company, organization, or team. Although many high-profile athletes may avoid the serious consequences of their tweets, other people may not be as fortunate and could be fired or sued based on their tweets. There are several other incidents similar to those mentioned above, and unfortunately, I'm sure there will be more in the future.

Caution with Twitter, too- just like every other social media

Similar to my last post, in regards to having caution on Facebook based on the groups and fan pages you join, I can say the same about Twitter. Instead, however, I would advise users to be careful not only about what they're tweeting, which is obvious, but about what they're saying regarding certain trending topics.
There are numerous odd and inappropriate trends on twitter that we should stray away from if we're concerned about who is paying attention to what we're saying. As I'm typing this, one of the top trends on Twitter is #dearfuturewife, which has brought up some humorous, but mostly inappropriate responses.
When we're applying for internships, jobs, and other opportunities, we must be aware that everything we do on these networks can be found easily. It all goes to show, that no matter what social media is in fashion at any given time, we must always be, as Professor Strate said in my last post, aware of our "online hygiene".
This is so important as we continue to incorporate the Internet, and more specifically, social media into our personal lives. Only a few years ago, most of us would never think of putting any personal information, opinions, or other ideas on the web simply out of fear.
But with the emergence and expansion of social media, those things we swore we would never do, have become the "cool" thing to do now. Maybe it's cool to brag about how drunk we were last night on Twitter to our friends, but is this because we are now just more comfortable with the web then we were at the beginning of the century? Maybe, but it doesn't change the notion that even if we're comfortable with it, that doesn't mean someone else is.
By now, we're conscious of our behavior on Facebook and MySpace (for the most part), but it doesn't end with these networks. It's the same way for Twitter, and will continue to be so with any other social media that may develop in the future.

Twitter in the News

Professor Levinson's reflections on Twitter were all very interesting, especially his analysis of Rep. Hoekstra and Iran.

From taking this class, I have become hyper aware of social media as a trending topic in the news and as it turns out, the New York Times writes about Twitter quite frequently. In the last month I have seen so many articles about Twitter in relation to business growth, diplomacy, networking, job searching, fashion and other seemingly unrelated topics. I think the strong presence of Twitter in this traditional print media source shows that society and journalists alike are extremely intrigued and perplexed with how the new medium will affect both the field of communications and our country in general.

Here are a few links to those articles:

Twitter & Diplomacy: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/13/world/europe/13moscow.html
Twitter & Business: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/04/technology/04basics.html
Twitter & Art: http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/17/a-virtual-tour-of-the-biennial-twitter-and-cameras-allowed/?scp=4&sq=Twitter&st=cse