Virtual Environments: Is one life enough?

We started the class by hearing from the participants about their experiences meeting new people in SL. It is quite a different experience from RL. Second Life is a platform specifically designed for interaction, communication and community building therefore it is acceptable to speak to nearby people/avatars, even complete strangers. For the most part they are willing to engage. Participants discovered that it was not as easy as it may sound to start conversations: do I use voice or text? I feel uncomfortable using voice; everyone is talking at the same time and it is not easy to distinguish one voice from another; mostly people respond with a greeting but don’t engage any further; it is difficult to break into a group of people who seem to know each other already… Nevertheless, some of you reported having interesting and engaging conversations and nobody experienced unpleasantness.

We then went on to a discussion about online identity – informed by the articles, blogs and website links given here after the last classes. The imagery in Humans of New York provided an interesting opportunity to consider how we present ourselves. Participants talked about how you use Facebook and Instagram and how you perceive ‘friends’ in these spaces. However, it seems you don’t give much conscious thought to how you might be seen by others and how you present yourselves online.

To develop this topic for the next class you should re-read the articles given in class 2. Keep the following questions in mind while you are reading. When I post to Facebook what impact am I trying to make? How would somebody who knows me only through Facebook recognise me from Instagram or any other platform? What criteria did I use in selecting my profile picture? When I am looking for a job what social media links will I include in my CV?

ACTIVITIES FOR NEXT CLASS:

1. Think: about three adjectives you would use to describe yourself.
2. Prepare: an ‘elevator pitch‘ describing yourself in 30 seconds. You will present the pitch in class.
3. Write the fourth post: on your blog describing the adjectives you selected and why; discuss how these traits influence your Facebook presence; and write your elevator pitch.