Virtual Reality
Play Money by Julian Dibbell dives inside the economy and camaraderie within virtual worlds and takes readers along for the ride. Chapters 1-21 focus largely on Ultima Online, one of the first successful massively multiplayer online games (MMOG or MMO) with a virtual economy. Through the author’s experiences, we learn a few tricks of virtual economies that help us to increase our earning potential while in the virtual realm. Overall, we learn that more often, people are getting paid while playing MMOs. Dibbell shows readers that this is not an easy process. At a minimum, achieving success requires collaboration with other players, the ability to predict how the economy will shift, and an understanding of business.
Although the thought of making money is enticing, there are negative aspects of this distant and impersonal means of conducting business. Gaining trust from business partners is one important, but difficult to achieve aspect while online. In virtual worlds, people are able to portray whatever image they like, and because of this, you don’t really know who you’re talking to, as Dibbell found that he had been allowing a teenager to live in his virtual home and give him business advice. In the popular virtual world, Second Life, I believe that conducting business is a little safer than it was during Ultima Online’s peak. Just today, I found a blog explaining multiple ways of making money on Second Life, and because the site does not rely on eBay to buy and sell goods, it can prevent some of the theft and fraud that was common on Ultima Online.
I actually logged on to MTV’s Virtual Worlds site while trying to enter Ford Modeling Company’s First Virtual Model Contest, and I was able to get a glimpse of what everyone is talking about. I was a little turned off at first when I saw that I had to use my credit card if I wanted buy anything or change my image, but after logging off and logging back in, I saw that I was given $1000 to get started. I had some technical problems and didn’t see much I liked, so I have only bought a tank top and necklace so far, but because of my low status, I noticed that no one would acknowledge me. I first felt the desire to upgrade myself when a guy in a Jeep pulled up beside me, looked at me for a few seconds and drove away. I suppose we all want to be admired… or at least acknowledged, which is part of what keeps people coming back for more. Once people are compelled to climb the social ladder, a world of opportunity opens up for entrepreneurs. Together, these components drive the virtual economy.
Socially, virtual worlds help users to fulfill an innate need to achieve regardless of whether they have been able to achieve that in the real world. Cars, houses, clothes, and other virtual goods allow users to establish status and gain admiration from other players. Shortly after his first login, Dibbell mentions how he wondered who the people were that lived in the big houses and how he wanted to become one of them so that people would wonder about him. This book really made me question if there have been studies conducted that examine who is most susceptible to getting hooked on virtual lives. If a person’s life is gratifying in the real world, are they less likely to spend excessive amounts of time and money in virtual worlds? Of course virtual worlds are not only a means of being admired, many people also seek out virtual worlds to play games and act out things that aren’t possible in their everyday lives. The Washington Post published an article October 6, 2007, that discusses how avatars in virtual worlds have been proven to help disabled individuals to fight and possibly recover from their diseases and disabilities. As this article proves, virtual worlds can be therapeutic, but I am sure that there are negative repercussions from this interaction as well. Many MMOs allow users to commit crimes against people that would have offenders incarcerated for years in the real world. Studies show that children who play violent video games are more aggressive in their everyday lives. Regardless of age, we should all be mindful of the activities that we participate in while visiting the virtual realm. Obviously, virtual reality holds powers that can carry over into actual reality.
The World As We Know It Is No More
Chapter 6 through the end of Wikinomics continues to discuss all the ways that people are collaborating to make the world a better and more efficient place.
One of the main points that the author wishes to convey is that businesses are thriving by bringing in external talent. IBM is one such company, which uses Linux software instead of making their own operating system. Companies are now able to work with other entities for less cost to develop equally valuable if not better products. Utilizing contractors versus permanent employees is also proving to be beneficial for companies not only because of outside expertise, but also because an employee with that skill set may not be needed on a long-term basis. Companies are also relying more often on the public to contribute and provide insight, sometimes offering bonuses or rewards, but often these individuals are most pleased with knowing they played a role in the company’s development. In order to receive assistance, a certain amount of company information must be divulged, so companies must know when to keep certain information internal; after all, if businesses gave away all their secrets, there would be no competition.
Outside of business, collaboration is being used by the masses to not for profit, but to help society. After Hurricane Katrina, a group of individuals came together to create central database compiling the information scattered throughout various Web sites in order to help victims locate their loved ones. What I found ironic is that citizens were able to self-organize and create a database before the state or Federal government. It seems that Louisiana should have been able to develop a similar database before a few citizens who were concerned about the diffusion of information. I suppose there is no need to point fingers. Instead I am grateful that technology has enabled people to work just as effectively if not more than our government, which exhibits democracy at its best.
Wikinomics ties in to The Long Tail in the chapter entitled “The New Alexandrians,” which discusses how our society is working to bring information to one place, like the Library of Alexandria, the one place is, of course, the Internet. The Long Tail explains how with this plethora of information, comes increased variety, which continues to shift how our civilization operates. Previously, products were always forced to compete for limited shelf space or air time, but the Internet does not limit either, forcing less popular products out of sight. The variety of products allows people to find more specific products that appeal to them versus the products that were once distributed to appeal to the masses. These small divisions are termed niche groups. Examples of online suppliers include Amazon and eBay, which sell tons of goods that would be considered too insignificant economically to carry in actual stores.
Variety extends past the Internet to theaters, supermarkets, and other stores. This variety lead to stores that follow “Wal-Mart model,” which are stores that carry many items for a low price. Stores such as these are great when it comes to saving money, but I suspect that we may have started the ball rolling that will slowly eliminate “mom and pop” stores to be replaced by WalMart. Of course small stores will exist, but judging by The Long Tail, they may only exist online.
The increased variety of movies and music has also drastically increased thanks to so many tools that allow almost anyone to create their own music and home videos. Songs and videos that are created by the professional are also hit hard by variety. Songs that are hits now would not have even made the list a few decades ago because people are listening to various genres and subgenres that seem to develop almost everyday. Also a factor of the lack of hits is the increase of piracy among citizens. Before albums are released, they are often available through various online sites, which definitely hurts record sales. Lawmakers are now actually working to make piracy a Federal crime.
Collaboration and variety are shaping our future society. As future leaders, we must adopt these trends and learn the best ways to make them work for our businesses.
Times Change
Smart Mobs was very informative, but I was quite relieved transitioning to Wikinomics, which is far easier for a novice, like me, to follow.
The second portion (chapter 7 through the end) of Smart Mobs discusses wireless access, more texting, surveillance, and what technological advances are doing to our society. All of which are very important when trying to understand the driving force behind smart mobs and how they operate.
Wireless access has been a huge leap for mankind. Enabling people in remote areas to have just as much access to the web as people in the inner city is remarkable. Initially, it was not considered cost effective to give people in these areas web access due to the price tag associated with running lines to these areas. Now these areas are not only equipped, but the system has also helped secure faster Internet access for people within the outlying areas. Coffeehouses usually facilitate wireless access, but public places like parks are also hopping on the bandwagon, which encourages people to visit these locations more often, even if it is only to access the Web. This concept could definitely help build social capital especially if it is paired into devices that help match compatible partners and friends. This of course leaves room to discuss the security of these tools, but I suppose they exist because it is the adult’s choice whether to use the device. All of this ties back into last week’s post which discussed tools for the common good. Overall, they are all tools that help make our society a more functional and fulfilling place to live.
Throughout the Smart Mobs, Rheingold frequently mentions texting explaining how this is yet another tool created to better our society. In this second portion, he spend a little more time on the stronger, more aggressive side of texting—netwars. Overall, a netwar is a campaign to organize a movement through electronic devices. The Philippines is known for one of the most effective campaigns, which led to the collapse of the government under President Estrada. Netwars are an example of the power that technology can embody which used effectively.
Surveillance is a tool that also holds a lot of power. Its biggest drawback is determining who will be able to gain access to that power. Just the threat of surveillance has proven to be an effective means of gaining social control. I hope that as surveillance increases we will see a decline in crime rates; however, as Sara mentioned in our class discussion this week, this may just encourage criminals to get smarter. I suppose if the possible Do-Not-Track list is established it would be that much easier for criminals to pass along trade secrets to avoid being caught by surveillance and other new technological advances. It appears that everyone is collaborating nowdays.
Smart Mobs generally discusses open-source collaborations, giving praise that many users are better than one great user (possibly sending a hint to Bill Gates), but Wikinomics provides an in-depth look at the “wiki” world. “Wiki” meaning “quick” in Hawaiian, refers to that way people are becoming more interactive with online content. Technology falling under this umbrella includes: social networking sites, open-source operating systems, sites allowing users to post pictures and videos, blogs, of course, Wikipedia, and any other site that allows users to interact with the site’s content. This new onset of contributing and collaborating is helping companies to save money and develop products faster and helping individuals to voice their opinion and communicate with society in ways that were impossible not very long ago. (Sometimes it is hard to remember a world before we could add our two cents.) Tapscott and Williams call people born between 1977 and1996 the Net Generation, and credit them as the group that will restructure the business world.
The days of keeping business ideas internal are gone. It is now about sharing your information to encourage growth. The concept is still confusing for some, since it seems crazy to advertise ideas to the public that could earn companies a substantial amount of money, but there is a formula for doing it right. An example of one company with the know-how is IBM. They managed to use Linux to their advantage—saving almost one billion dollars a year by outsourcing rather than creating their own operating system in-house. (It’s not all about giving out secrets.) If you are looking for talent to work on a project, I am sure there are contracts that can be established to ensure intellectual property rights are protected. I am surprised that this hasn’t been mentioned much in Wikinomics so far. A few very popular products have come from out sourcing including: Olay Regenerist, the Swifter Duster, and the Crest Spinbrush.
Collaborating and contributing are not just for business use. Everyone is able to participate, and judging by the rapidly increasing numbers of bloggers, members of social networking sites, personal media (videos and pictures), and Wikipedia users, a lot of people are taking advantage of this opportunity. It is true that with so many contributors, the Net is being flooded with content that many would perceive as unnecessary, but the Web must adhere to our Constitutional right to freedom of speech. As acceptable as it may be to publish information that only you may care about or agree with, it is still important that users only post accurate information on site viewable by the public. I am not sure how other sites monitor posted content, but Tapscott and Williams explain there are instances when inaccurate information is posted on Wikipedia, but the content is usually corrected within minutes by its loyal users and moderators. Because anyone can edit a page, many are unwilling to trust information posted on the site when it means writing papers or winning a bet, but most of my friends admit to using the page to verify questions they posed to themselves.
Smart Mobs provides the best closing thought for this week—how is technology affecting us? Rheingold examines this question by what it is doing to our liberty, quality of life, and humanity. Surveillance technology is trampling on the liberties that we once took for granted. Now when you’re walking and you hope no one saw you trip, you can pretty much assume that someone did! Those vacations you once had when no one expected to be able to reach you are officially a thing of the past. Just because you’re on vacation no longer means that you can’t respond to work e-mails. Our loss of humanity is described well by Putnam’s Bowling Alone. Our society has lost the social capital the existed before television and other technological advances. As much as we’re evolving, we all have to ask ourselves if we’re really becoming a better society because of it.
