Task Seven: Societal Implications of Virtual Worlds

Culture, age, and income effect the societal implications of virtual worlds. In other words, how people are raised, what time period they were raised in, and how much money their family had influences how much people use virtual worlds. Use of mediated technology is definitely connected with social exposure to it. There are feelings that encourage or discourage its use. “ The digital revolution has been accompanied by both optimism and pessimism about its ultimate impact on individuals, society and the global community.” (Jackson, Barbatsis, von Eye, Biocca, Zhao, Fitzgerald, 2003, p142).

Studies prove that culture differences influence media use because personal contact is either more or less important in certain cultures. For example the African American culture is an extremely high context culture, because they need to express themselves both physically and verbally. Therefore they tend to use the media less frequently than other cultures. “African Americans earning less than $40,000 annually, and African Americans at all levels of education, use the Internet less than do comparable European Americans. Similarly, Jackson and colleagues found race differences in Internet use among college students who had similar access to the Internet (Jackson et al. 2001a).” (Jackson, Barbatsis, von Eye, Biocca, Zhao, Fitzgerald, 2003, p143). European cultures are somewhat less high context so they would use the media more often for communication than the African American culture. Asians are most likely to use the media because of their low context culture. “Asians/ Pacific Islanders and European are more likely to use the Internet (71% and 70%, respectively).” (Jackson, Barbatsis, von Eye, Biocca, Zhao, Fitzgerald, 2003, p142).

Age is another factor that determines media use. People who have grown up with the media available to them are more likely to use it. This applies to most of the younger generation. The baby boom generation had been exposed to the media for half of their lives. Most of this exposure was work related and forced on them as a replacement for the old way of doing business. For the generation that lived before the baby boomers the media remains a matter of choice. They had very little exposure to the media in the work place and were never forced to use it. If they find it fascinating they would use it, but if they find it intimidating they would never use it. “Younger people still use the Internet far more than do older people; Internet use rates are highest between the ages of 12 and 50, and fall off precipitously after age 55.” 9Jackson, Barbatsis, von Eye, Biocca,Zhao, Fitzgerald, 2003, p142).

All three factors discussed point towards the part of the social information theory that says people’s social influence has a large effect on the use of technology. Whatever social class people are in determines how much they will use the media that is available to them. Also whatever age, race and income bracket a person falls into also determines their media use.

References

Jackson, Barbatsis, von Eye, Biocca, Zhao, Fitzgerald. (2003, Summer). Internet use in low-income families: implications for the digital divide. It&Society, 1(5), 142 &143.

Task Six: A Plan for the Implementation of Virtual Worlds into an Organization

MasterCard lost great sums of money prior to the development of their Priceless campaign in 1997. Their monetary losses were occurring because the company had grown to be a worldwide corporation-but their poor organizational structure couldn't support effective worldwide communication.

Prior to 1997, MasterCard supported different promotions and advertisements in every country. Because MasterCard communicates with 96 countries in 45 different languages, neglecting to develop one campaign for their company resulted in company losses. The Priceless campaign finally created a strong and cohesive movement towards better communication with consumers.

Ten years later, after successfully becoming an industry leader, what else can be done to improve communication? Some companies are turning to technology and utilizing virtual worlds like Second Life. Registered companies include: Adidas, American Apparel, Dell, H&R Block, NBA, Nissan, Samsung, Sears, Sprint, Sony Ericsson and many more. Like MasterCard's Priceless campaign, they are attempting to eliminate divisions that exist within their company. When you're a worldwide industry, getting together to discuss business over coffee isn't exactly convenient for all involved. It's impractical and it's costly to host meetings in one location and expect the world to meet you there…unless a company joins Second Life. In this community, meetings can be held that bring people together regardless of their location.

MasterCard would benefit from a Second Life account because they could host meetings for employees and promote their services to Second Life users. Structurally, it would host an "office" that could be accessed by logging into Second Life. This would give all 96 countries one place to call "home" without actually leaving home at all. In their meetings, they wouldn't have to worry about conference calls or travel costs, but they could take advantage of watching Power Points together and record their discussions. The PR value of creating this office would be fairly high when considering the announcements to presses, customer newsletters, and websites. Staffs could improve their communication through collaboration and staff training seminars. Databases could be developed to track visitors and better position marketing strategies. Second Life could also ,"host permanent 24/7 3D multi-user collaborative and interactive exhibitions– showcase products, play corporate videos, links to website, brochure handouts ," etc. (http://www.nbhorizons.com/benefits.htm). Finally, having a “second life” can be fun. Company morale might be boosted through virtual bonding experiences. All of these things would help MasterCard improve their communication.

Task 5 Snapshot Manpower

Task Three: Second Life Scavenger Hunt of Me-Kay Krell (Sara)

Here's a shot of my good friend The Atlas and I on Help Island : )

Kay Krell (Sara)

Well...didn't have any technical mishaps getting in to Second Life. Don't like how slow walking is and how disoriented I get flying though, so maneuvering is a challenge for me. (Plus I still get lost in Waukesha even after going to school here for four years, so me in a strange new place is always an adventure). I haven't experimented with any new "clothes" or "hair" yet. I've only gotten out of orientation island and on to help island before I decided to call it a night.

Task Three: Second Life Scavenger Hunt of Topher Pudless (CHris)

The name of my avatar is is Topher Pudless. I so far have pretty much left my avatar the way it was when I started. I have been trying to get familiar will the whole program and how its works. The challenges that i have come to realize is how it is difficult for me to multitask and talk with others and walk around and go in the right direction. I really like second life. It reminds me of the SIMS but with real people.

Task Three: Second Life Scavenger Hunt of April Furman(maria)

My name is April Furman. I found that it was very easy to move around. I think that is because I have just been play video games with my boyfriend and so it is a lot like playing a game. I feel that it would be very easy for me to get around in secondlife. I hope every one is have as much fun as I am. See you in class. (maria Valdes)