In many cases of CMC, we see people striving from a virtual conversation to face-to-face conversations. People feel that they have learned as much as they can from the person by using CMC and want to meet the person they have been interacting with, so much online, in person. Usually this applies to two people conversing either as friends or something more. But now, it seems to be the case that, entire virtual communities are convening in order to meet people and learn more about the virtual community they are involved in. Second life has conventions across the nation where real people involved in the game get together to discuss the new technologies of Second Life among other topics.
In this article, Second Life Avatars Hold Real-World Convention, it talks about a convention that occurred in Chicago where 800 people attended. At this convention work shops were set up along with seminars all concerning the inner workings of the game Second Life. People were considering it a “third life” meaning that “real people, who have virtual alter egos in Second Life, get together in a real-life convention to celebrate their alternate existences”.
We have seen this trend of virtual communities going out into the real world before. In Rheingold’s book, The Virtual Community, which we have been reading select chapters out of; we see, in his first chapter, that the virtual community he was involved would annually meet and have picnics together. This is also becoming the apparent trend for other online communities. Not only Second Life, which I found the appropriate one to discuss since it has been the discussion of class, but many other virtual communities meet in person. Right beside the Second Life convention in Chicago was an ESPN fantasy league convention. With this trend of virtual communities expanding in to the real world my question is; does this make them a more tightly knit community? In my opinion this significantly strengths the virtual community since they are now meeting in different venues of communication and seeing both people’s online and actual personality. But your opinion may be different.
1 comment:
I find it funny that people are meeting face to face yet calling it "third life." After all, it is not like they are going to look like their avatar, let alone act like it. Flying around the room isn't exactly possible. But I guess maybe people who share the same interests or have similar social problems and enjoy websites like second life, can meet and interact with their peers and feel more confident at things like "third life" conventions.
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