Second Life, Any Benefits?

I wish that I could have a more positive outlook on Second Life. As we watched the Digital Nation piece on the site the other day in class I secretly hoped that it would change my opinion about the game. Sadly however, the Digital Nation piece did not change my opinion...I still find the site as strange as I did before. Today, however, I am going to try to change my thinking and attempt to recognize potential benefits Second Life can offer.

I was reading this article entitled "Second Life Teaches Life Lessons" and it talked about the benefits of Second Life for abused children. Second Life provides a safe platform for them to test out social skills and reintegrate back into the social landscape. Second life also provides a unique socializing platform for those who are disabled. In Second Life they are able to meet people without others even knowing that they are disabled. They are able to move freely and interact in a way they never have before. In addition, Second Life allows many who suffer from autism to be socially engaged, something which is very difficult for many who have it to do. I can also see the benefits Second Life can offer in terms of group therapy. Since one does not actually know the people it can be a lot easier if they simply have someone who can hear them out for free, and this is available at any time of the day.

Second Life's benefits seem to fall into the category of being a bridge between reality and the virtual world, however all of the above uses of Second Life are aimed at helping the person reintegrate into real world interactions who are inhibited from doing so by life experience or disability. Perhaps if the site was simply called something besides "Second Life" it would not seem so escapist and would be easier to look at in a more positive light.

Shirky and Group Formation

Shirky is right to be excited about the newfound power the internet offers in terms of group forming, however one thing he may have overlooked is that the internet makes group forming so easy, and group joining even easier that people may not even be active members of their groups or even know what the group they are joining is even about. I guess even group forming suffers from the ever present problem on the internet of over-saturation.

One specific place on the internet where it is easy to analyze the way in which people join "groups" online is on facebook. Three or four years ago, it was typical to be invited to multiple "groups" a week ranging from special interest topics, to similar geographic areas, to philanthropic causes. That trend has since faded out.

The new trend is to become a "fan" of something. Becoming a fan requires nothing but simply being a fan. Being a "fan" of something originally has the same appeal of groups: one is pleasantly surprised to see that someone feels the same way about a particular subject that they do. So becoming a fan, which requires less commitment than joining a group is the new trend.

Becoming a fan replacing joining groups seems like an inevitable step in the ways of Twitter culture. Now instead of writing a manifesto, establishing bulletin boards, and posting pictures people just write a statement reflecting what they feel, and see if others feel the same.