Virtual Environments: Is one life enough?

Participants present their ‘elevator pitches’ in class today.

Most participants have now set up their blogs and sent links to us. John reminded you of the importance of posting something every week and ensuring, in particular, that you are keeping up with the posts specified for each week. That way you won’t have a panic at the end of the semester when all module submissions are required. To encourage this there is a assessment point this week and in week eight of the module. Final assessment will be made at the end. So, ensure you have sent us a link to your blog and that you keep it up to date. There was some discussion around privacy and it was agreed that you may keep the blog private if you wish – just don’t forget to invite John and Locks to have access.

The class then continued the discussion about personal branding from last week. The reading informed your responses and it is clear that you all have an instinctive understanding of the nature of your online presence. It was generally agreed that we try to present the best sides of ourselves on Facebook. Many of you noticed, however, that when friends get jobs they become more aware of their social activity and often separate their Facebook identity by changing their names. This led to some consideration of the different platforms available online: LinkedIN for professional networking; Facebook and Instagram for social activities; Twitter for impromptu comment. We didn’t get around to looking at Google Plus or some of the more recent apps that allow people to remain anonymous, or delete posts after they have been read. The rise of public interaction promoted by Twitter and Facebook is now beginning to result in privacy having a premium. Have a look at the app Path which is very much like Facebook except that it guarantees only your own circle of contacts can see you.

We took a break from the Media Centre and went downstairs to hear everyone’s elevator pitch. Although it can be difficult to sum up your personal life or personality in 30 seconds – particularly in a format more suited to pitching a simple idea – each of you put some considered thought into the process and presented very well. This led to a discussion of the appearance of your avatars in SL. Concern about the choice of female avatar costumes resulted in triplets in the class! John suggested using the meagre few L$ given to you at the start of the module to explore the shopping experience in SL to find alternative clothing – or indeed alternative avatars. Visit Redgrave for an extensive range of clothing for men and women. There are also plenty of places to find free clothing. Some of you have also raised this topic in your blogs and it is one to which we will return. In the meantime you might like to read about the Heron Sanctuary, an SL community for people with disabilities.

ACTIVITIES FOR NEXT CLASS:

1. Read: this thoughtful blog post Content Licensing in Virtual Worlds about the legal issues around protecting ‘things’ you create in SL and online in general. Read the comments also.
2. Read: The Laws of Virtual Worlds. From the California Law Review 2003 this is an excellent, if highly specialised, review of the legal position of avatars in virtual worlds.
3. Write the fifth post: to your blog about how you might convert your personal presence online into an identity for  professional networking.