virtual worlds

library - reference - Second Life - virtual worlds

Google Gab

July 10, 2008 by 0 Comments

Google is often the fodder of much discussion among librarians. The vast majority of librarians I know love and use Google frequently (I use Google Reader, iGoogle, gmail, gtalk, Google maps, Google Scholar and Google Books). Librarians have often struggled to figure out the relationship they have with Google – some see great potential while others see Google as a threat. Google sought a partnership with libraries for their Google Books project and suggested they would like to continue the relationship, even starting a newsletter for librarians. As Steven Cohen and others have pointed out, they have not kept up this relationship. The Chronicle of Higher Education has since picked up this story. There is some great discussion occurring on the story, so take a look and consider what you think of the matter.

Google has also become the talk of librarians thanks to the release of Lively, Google’s virtual world. I’ve already jumped in and started looking around (I’m Darrwyn if you happen to be in Lively). At first glance, it seemed to be more like IMVU, a 3d chat room, than a virtual world. It wasn’t as intuitive as I thought it might be either. I found it a little odd that you choose your room before creating your avatar. I found it interesting that you can be in multiple rooms at once (simply tab between rooms). Rooms do show who is visiting, which will result in less empty world syndrome, a phenomenon that is commonplace in Second Life. It is also Windows only at the moment – I’m hoping this will change soon. I think there is potential though. I will be spending some time in there for the next while, learning the ropes, creating rooms and seeing how it compares with Second Life. One of the nice things is that Lively rooms can be put on a webpage – could this be a new step for virtual reference (I’ll have more on this idea later, so stay posted). We already have meebo widgets on our webpages, perhaps there will soon be a Lively room as well.

Update – It’s much easier to move around when using a mouse with my laptop. If I had started out this way, I may have felt the interface was a little more intuitive than I originally did.

Second Life - virtual worlds

Webinar Wonders

November 21, 2007 by 0 Comments

Well, I just finished my first webinar. It was a very interesting experience. I’ve attended a number of webinars but never presented one before. I’m quite comfortable with presenting in front of a group. I like being able to read the audience and adjusting as necessary. Webinars remove this important aspect from the presenter. I talked into a phone for 45 minutes, hoping that all was technically right and that everyone could here me and the ppt was moving well. I opted to leave questions until the end which meant lines were muted while I talked. It’s very difficult to tell if you’re connecting with your audience.

The experience reinforced one of the advantages of Second Life. The webinar made it difficult to connect properly with the participants. I find I have the same problem with distance education – chatting and email are fine but very impersonal in a way. Second Life allows me to connect a person with a physical representation through their avatar. It makes a profound psychological difference for me as it creates a different connection than chat alone can not allow – I can picture someone/something when I think of the person. If Second Life was robust enough, the webinar could have been much more personal and interactive. I can only hope that Linden Labs will reach the point where webinars can be held their effectively (I know that there are some offered now, but there is room for improvement).

All in all, the webinar was interesting experience and one I hope to do again. Thanks to all who joined me today!

virtual worlds

Universal Avatars

October 24, 2007 by 0 Comments

I’m catching up on blog reading and finding all the neat stuff I missed. In case you missed this, here’s another one that Stephen’s Lighthouse pointed to – this time on the work IBM is doing to create a universal avatar. This avatar would ideally be able to work in any virtual world (and possibly game). Another thing that struck me was that over $1 billion has been invested in virtual worlds in the last year.

virtual worlds

Google Virtual World

October 1, 2007 by 1 Comment

There has been a lot of speculation in recent months about the possibility of Google creating a virtual world. Second Life has opened the door to user created content in a 3D virtual world. Google could be an amazing solution to the myriad of problems SL has.  The 3D modeling capabilities that Google has already created would be an amazing boon to the creation of virtual worlds. The blogging world has already noted that Google is working on something new with the help of the Arizona State University. Google has also recently purchased the social networking platform Zingku. Could these be steps to a social virtual world or will it end in a Google social networking site. I would love to see what Google could do with a 3D virtual world and can only hope that they will be moving in that direction soon. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

odd stuff - virtual worlds

Virtually Yours

June 21, 2007 by 0 Comments

A 3d simulation of ancient Rome has been constructed after 10 years of work. The neat thing is that the simulation can show the different time spans of Rome – from late Bronze Age to its fall in the 6th century. Apparently students and tourists will be able to use the simulation, although its primary function is for scientific and architectural study. I’ve seen the ruins and I’d love to see how they’ve constructed the simulation. I wish I could take a look at it!