This is a reflective post on an experience I had in SecondLife this afternoon.
For all the posts I’ve devoted to the virtual world, all the screenshots and the video clips, I have had very few of what you could call “social conversations” in SecondLife. Virtually all of my previous experiences have been exploratory in nature, conducted with colleagues from my department, or at most observational attendance of in-world presentations (which has only happened twice). The only exception perhaps have been the chats I’ve had with with my best friend from California – but even they have been few and far-between.
This afternoon I met with Lisa Lane, a fellow student from CCK08, at the Connectivism Village, for a social chat and just to catch up. It was a great conversation and I’m grateful to her for the chance to do it. Not only was it nice to meet with another student, whose blogging contributions to the course have been tremendously significant to me; it also enabled me to participate in a side of SecondLife use I hadn’t really experienced yet.
In the wake of this I’d like to explore a couple of ideas about what the experience was like.
From a usage standpoint, the interesting thing I found was that, despite the phenomenal depth of the virtual world, my primary focus during the discussion was on the chat box, and not my surroundings. In fact I couldn’t tell you much about what was going on around me. There was a sense of depth and physical presence – to a degree – but not as pronounced as I had previously expected.
Part of this, I think, was due to the sluggishness of the chat tool. I found entering text to be a tedious experience; even though I type really, really fast. There were times when several seconds passed between when I entered a word in the keyboard and when it finally appeared onscreen. From an accuracy standpoint this made things difficult to maintain, because I couldn’t see my typos for quite some time; and going back to change them wasn’t as easy as using the back arrow, since this adjusted the direction my avatar was pointing.
All of these factors might be resolved by settings in the SecondLife viewer – but the fact remains that, at least in this instance, they distracted from the visual experience that should have been the primary focus during the conversation. There was simply no time to consider gestures, or our surroundings; only to focus on ensuring what we wanted to say was actually what made it into the chat panel.
That said, one obvious solution to this dilemma would be use of audio chat; and at one stage I did just that. In that instance interaction felt far more fluid and comfortable; I could focus on what I was seeing when talking rather than what my fingers were doing. Lisa did not use audio however, and as a result we reverted to text chat after a short period of time. Audio chat definitely seems the easier way to go.
That said though there are issues of comfort to contend with as well. One of the advantages of virtual worlds lay in the anonymity they offer; however audio chat – in its representation of one’s own real voice – is in some regards a step away from anonymity towards a depiction of one’s true self. It also demands real-time delivery, whereas text can be edited, examined, and amended before delivery. So there is a greater sense of exposure when communicating via audio than there is with text.
On the other hand, the physical component – albeit a virtual one – was significant in a couple of key ways. I’ve interacted with Lisa on many occasions via comments on her blog as well as chat during our weekly Elluminate meetings, however this has always revolved around a purely textual experience. The introduction of avatars resulted in a far greater sense of human presence than had ever existed before. Additionally, whereas text is very limiting in its ability to convey non-verbal communication, an avatar in SecondLife can go a great deal farther to implying personal characteristics – particularly with regards to how the avatar is dressed, along with their physical characteristics.
Avatars don’t necessarily reflect identical representations of the individual of course; but nonetheless it can still provide insight into the personality of the individual, since design sense can suggest the presence of certain traits or characteristics.
One thing was made very clear in this experience, you cannot gain a proper appreciation for what SecondLife is like – and therefore its value and corresponding opportunities – without first interacting with others and embracing the social aspects of the virtual world.
Thanks again, Lisa!
Mike
What a delightful post. I apologise for not visiting your site sooner.
I am fascinated by learners’ biographies and stories. Your post is a great example to share. I will return to use Seesmic!
Keith
Hi Keith,
I’ve only just begun to explore reflective writing in earnest. So it’s great to get your feedback in that respect. Seesmic is a great tool I must say, so if you start to use it more frequently please let me know and I’ll be sure to jump in the conversations.
In case you didn’t know you also have the option of posting video comments on this blog. Just click the “Or add a Video Comment” link just below the Submit Comment button to toggle to the Seesmic option.
Cheers,
Mike
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Hi Mike! Yes, it was interesting for me too, another SL newbie. The chat loaded faster on my end, so I suspect some sort of computer/server thing. I’m in California, where I assume the SL server is — could that have made a difference?
My audio being unavailable, I did feel at times that this would have been a more “efficient” conversation just using IM, though the images/setting gave a more interesting feel. I am not a gamer, and still think it odd to appear to be standing in front of someone while typing to them. Like at a cocktail party, I was never sure what to do with my hands…
Under all that, though, was a chance to get to know you a little better, which was absolutely delightful in any format!
RE: Iteracting in SecondLife {seesmic_video:{“url_thumbnail”:{“value”:”http://t.seesmic.com/thumbnail/sf8deUwRow_th1.jpg”}”title”:{“value”:”RE: Iteracting in SecondLife ”}”videoUri”:{“value”:”http://www.seesmic.com/video/6bSAG674oI”}}}
Mike said:
“One thing was made very clear in this experience, you cannot gain a proper appreciation for what SecondLife is like – and therefore its value and corresponding opportunities – without first interacting with others and embracing the social aspects of the virtual world.”
I’m Chimera Cosmos in Second Life, and a college chemistry faculty member for 35 years. I have many educational and technology interests that overlap with your own.
What you say in the quote above is absolutely correct and far truer than you realize at this point!
I hope you will contact me in Second Life. I’d be happy to show you around my home, the Wash U plot on Jokaydia (http://jokaydia.com) – an Australian-developed educational community) and point you towards interesting sims.
All of your questions and speculations will be answered as you spend more time becoming fluent with the SL interface and meet a variety of residents. There is much to learn, but it is a fun process. Once you join some interest groups, regularly attend events, meet people from around the world, and start to explore the vast territory, you will begin to see yourself as a resident as well. IBM alone has 10,000 employees worldwide who regularly meet and work in the virtual world! I now have over 150 Second Life friends that I also connect with on Facebook and Twitter.
One way to begin to understand the culture (and there most definitely is one that has evolved since 2003) is to watch one of the Second Life TV networks. You can do that on the web at http://slcn.tv, but you can also attend live tapings of the shows “in-world.”
Another way is to scan some of the dozens of blogs and online news sites like “New World Notes.” Also look for “Not Possible in Real Life” (http://npirl.blogspot.com) with descriptions of fantastic places to visit. For education, see http://sl.nmc.org. Put the tag “second life” into flickr to find thousands of photos. Or put “second life” and any other key word(s) into Google and see what turns up.
Next time you meet up with Lisa or others from CCK08, consider using Skype. We often use it for working meetings in SL because you can talk naturally while moving around, without thinking about the interface.
I regret not having the time to engage as fully as I would like with CCK08, but one of the things that caught my interest was the Second Life cohort meetings at the Connectivism Village. This week is the Educause national conference, so I’ll miss even more.
Please, anyone reading this, do offer Friendship to Chimera Cosmos next time your are in SL and tell me you come from CCK08.
Hi Liz,
Thanks very much for all the useful information and insight you’ve offered. I’ve just sent through a friend request and would love a chance to catch up with you in SecondLife for a tour of Wash U @ Jokaydia.
I’ve also noticed that the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) has a number of ongoing events as well. I’ll be looking into this organisation as well.
Are there lists and/or groups that you’d recommend joining – either in SecondLife or elsewhere? I’m keen to start interacting with other people and start to explore the social (constructivist) aspects of SL.
Thanks very much!
Cheers,
Mike
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