Second Life? I Barely Have Time for the First One!

I attended a course on social media yesterday, and came upon some interesting discoveries. The notion of "social" media, for anyone who isn't familiar with it, refers to the fact that the consumption of media today follows a more interactive path than the standard one-to-one experience. Sure, it can be argued that this was always the case, but the stakes have certainly changed.

Think about it: "back in the day", you could read a newspaper or magazine article and if you wanted to comment on something, you'd have to pull out a pad of paper and a pen (or a computer), compose your letter to the editor, fit it into an envelope, stick on a 35-cent stamp, and chuck it into the mailbox. Even just a few years ago, you could certainly send an e-mail to the publisher, but a quick hit of the "delete" button meant that your commentary was likely never heard by anyone but the recipient. Today, via blogs like this one and Website commenting features, one is able to give his two cents at the drop of a hat for literally the world to see! When it comes to TV, the viewing experience used to be 100% passive. Nowadays, we're constantly prompted to call (or text!) in a vote, questions, or even join in a game to win prizes...right from your couch!

The entire nature of media has changed. "Texting" has replaced what was known as "normal" conversation for the younger generation; and, taking things a step further, "virtual" worlds are constantly colliding with our real one. Part of the discussion yesterday was about Second Life, a virtual, online "world" where people can create avatars (likenesses) of themselves, and basically live a second life. Companies have built buildings and stores in Second Life; people buy and sell things with real money, join together for conferences, and pretty much do anything they can do in real life (and more). Supposedly people have made millions running "virtual" businesses in Second Life. Needless to say, we were all wide-eyed in awe that anyone would have the time to live a second life, and asked ourselves why would they even want to?

I took a step back and tried to think with an open mind. If computers and portable devices are replacing books and newspapers, and interactive TV is taking over the old passive, TV-viewing experience, what are virtual worlds replacing? Second Life is like a video game, and people use video games, and other similar activities, to somewhat escape from the real world, right? Then it dawned on me. Virtual worlds are like movies where you're the star. It's your own, interactive movie experience. But why would people want to control the outcome of a story? I'm not sure, but they obviously do: this got me thinking back to the old Choose Your Own Adventure series of books that let the reader flip to page X if he wanted the character to do one thing, or flip to page Y for an alternate course of action. This notion of control, and being involved in the media you're engaging in, has obviously been around longer than we realize.

Would I participate in a virtual world? Probably not. But then again, I did love those Choose Your Own Adventure books when I was a kid because, to some degree, I could control the story.

There's always an underlying fear that all this "social" media could lead to a very anti-social community as people communicate more with their computers and less with real people. But then again, maybe this is just a different way of communicating, and not a way to replace the old methods.

Introduction

Welcome to the Marketnews blog! For those who don't know me, my name is Christine Persaud, and I work for a Company called Bomar Publishing, which operates two technology magazines: Marketnews (www.marketnews.ca) and here's how! (www.hereshow.ca). I like to say we're a small group that does big things. It's definitely a fun industry to be in. We constantly have cool and fun products coming in and out of the office to try out, review, and introduce to the industry and consumers.

Playfully called "gadget girl" in the office, I'm a relatively rare breed of female that doesn't just enjoy using technology, but loves to learn about it and try out new, and sometimes complicated, devices. I review personal electronics for our consumer magazine here's how: MP3 players, cell phones, headphones, you name it. If it can be carried in your hand or shoved in your pocket, I've likely taken it out for a test ride! So I'm always get excited when a new gadget arrives in the office for our evaluation.

Right now, I have 5 really neat portable messaging devices in my possession, as I'm working on an article that asks "can anyone compete with the Blackberry?" Let me tell you, having played around with these nifty things for the past month or so, I can completely understand where the term "crackberry" comes from. I used to think it incredibly rude when talking to someone and they'd constantly be checking their e-mails under the table while nodding approvingly at what I was saying, as if they were actually listening. Now, the second I jump in my car to head to the office, the first thing I do is grab the smartphone out of my purse and start checking e-mails. Sure, I'm well aware that I'll be in the office within 20 minutes, but why wait when I can see what's going on now? We've evolved into a culture that simply can't wait for anything. I'm not sure how I'll be able to part with these 'phones once the evaluation period is over. But it might be a good thing to get back to normal life where I concentrate on driving instead of replying to notes and surfing the 'net!

Stay tuned for more on what's going on at Marketnews Mag, and the tech industry. We'll give you the scoop!