Connecting Virtual Reality and Social Computing – What is Next?

Soon you can have your blog content exposed on a billboard or a wall in the virtual city, according to the article, The Mashing of Virtual Reality, Social Computing. IBM Lotus programmers and engineers from IBM's research groups are currently working on ways to employ virtual reality technologies with Lotus Connections social computing software. It could also work the other way as a virtual reality avatar might walk into a virtual library and access Lotus Connections social bookmarks from the “real word” through a card catalog. It could be “toons’ in real life. It could be Bob Hoskins pulling Roger Rabbit out of his computer file drawer.

The article gore son to say, “Gartner analyst Adam Sarner described this paradigm shift as the move to the Generation Virtual, where people aren't connected by age or gender as much as they were in the past, but by common interests. Sarner said applications such as Second Life are more immersive than Facebook and other social networks, providing more visuals, which hews well to self-actualization for people.”

I wrote about Facebook serving as the intranet for companies like Serena Software. Second Life has already served for “real” online meetings for companies. I wonder what other business applications might emerge from the merger of the two. Thanks to Tomoaki Sawada for this link.

Comments

[Derek Abdinor]

Hi Bill,

I just can't see this really happening, apart from a 'Doom' like interface where virtual meetings are held, with literally limitless resources available to attendees. I think VR tries to parallel real time too much, while all the signs are that power users are drawn to synchronous and asynchronous apps like twitter which don't require "walking, meeting, viewing scenery".