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The Archives
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05.29.10Metanomics Masterclass: Inside Virtual WorldsHmmm. I forget how to blog. I haven't had much time the past few weeks. Er, actually, I forget how to get all 'meta' or whatever it is people say I do. So let me throw some spam your way. Er, useful promotion and information. Metanomics Summer Season The summer season of Metanomics will kick off in a few weeks and I'll be jumping in to do some hosting as we take a look at some of the nuts and bolts of virtual world development. Which doesn't mean, of course, that I won't also go off on a tangent about the psychosocial meaning ...
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04.09.10Government Looks At Impact of the Virtual on the RealFollowing a request for information from the US government's Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Agency (IARPA), Federal Computer Week (FCW) has helped to clarify what interest, exactly, the federal government has with avatars and so-called immersive environments. The quick backdrop: the gov is seeking RFI's to find: focused, quantitative research to understand how virtual worlds and immersive games may have RW effects, particularly those effects that could positively impact individual and group analytic performance. What are the important VW (and RW) environmental variables that control the strength and persistence of such effects? Examples of variables include, but are not limited to: degree ...
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10.11.09Child Avatars in Virtual Worlds: Freedom and Progress?I hadn't quite expected to find Adam Thierer's appearance on Metanomics to be so, well, stimulating. I'm immediately suspicious, I suppose, of organizations with names like the "Progress and Freedom Foundation", as if the name itself is a sleight-of-hand for anything but. But Thierer made a compelling case for a light (or non-existent) regulatory hand on-line, although I found the outer reaches of his argument a little frustrating - there's a kind of iron-clad logic that brooks little argument which bothers me. But Thierer DID come up against the limits of his viewpoint when it came to digital representations of children ...
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10.07.09Obama Executive Order Could Benefit Virtual WorldsPresident Obama issued an executive order a few days ago that will go a long way to kick-starting government's examination of new ways to meet and collaborate. The order states: "As the largest consumer of energy in the U.S. economy, the Federal government can and should lead by example when it comes to creating innovative ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, increase energy efficiency, conserve water, reduce waste, and use environmentally-responsible products and technologies," said President Obama. "This Executive Order builds on the momentum of the Recovery Act to help create a clean energy economy and demonstrates the Federal government’s commitment, ...
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01.18.09Web 2.0 Squared: A Pitch for Interactive Government Across WorldsHackshaven Harford makes the argument that his avatar is better connected than, well, him, (Eric Hackathorn) in this video that outlines how in his role at the NOAA he has used social media across worlds and identities to further the cause of the agency. Hackshaven helps imagine government agencies that crowd-source insight and future scenarios. He argues that identity is increasingly fluid, and that this is an important insight for government agencies. A really useful and compelling video. Have a look: Hackshaven argues for more interactive government, pointing us to a Change.org proposal. Many thanks to Sunn Thunders for pointing this ...
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01.03.09Washington Post and the Benefits of Second LifeMoments after talking about how progressive and positive the Canadian media is about virtual worlds, I ran across an article in the Washington Post on government in Second Life with the provocatively positive title: "O Brave New World That Has Such Avatars in It! Arlington Among Governments Establishing a Virtual Presence". The Post gives a wonderful summary of some of the government initiatives in Second Life and is, perhaps, further proof that the media is starting to see the fallacy of always highlight the sexy and the salacious (and hey, they have Sony's Home for that now anyways). It includes the following video: The ...
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