Modeling Reality with Virtual Worlds

Virtual worlds can impact many aspects of our daily life. One of the ways virtual worlds can be used is in our learning environment. This course is a great example of the use of virtual worlds. Typically, us as students have to commute to our college and sit in on our lectures. Virtual worlds has allowed for an easy way to communicate with and learn from a professor. There are two sides to consider the pros and cons of the situation: students and professors. Students may view online courses with many pros because the hour long commute is no longer a problem. One big con to this is the "reliance of information service providers, viruses and low speed of connections" (Posey et al 1). On the side of the professors, they are able to get creative with their presentations. 

Another aspect of our daily life in which virtual worlds have now become a part of is our social life. Virtual worlds have made in a way made people more keen to staying in and experiencing things virtually rather than going out into the real world. An example of this is VLES (Virtual Lower East Side). I had been completely unaware that such a program existed where an actual neighborhood is presented virtually and you are able to experience it fully. The only pro I can see to this is for outsiders to familiarize themselves with an area to feel more comfortable navigating it in reality. The major con is one that Dave Itzkoff brings up in his article, "For decades, the Lower East Side has derived its coolness from at least a veneer of danger and inaccessibility. Venturing there for the first time required risking the disapproval of the locals, whether they were the immigrants who once populated its tenements, the drug dealers who shouted from rooftops to warn of unfamiliar faces, or the bartenders and bouncers who didn’t recognize you as a regular." It is a little concerning to think of the idea of 3-D social networking because it'll play a huge role in people no longer feeling comfortable enough to communicate in real life. 




Itzkoff, Dave. “I’Ve Been in That Club, Just Not in Real Life.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 5 Jan. 2008, www.nytimes.com/2008/01/06/arts/television/06itzk.html.

Posey, Guy, et al. “The Advantages and Disadvantages of the Virtual Classroom and the Role of the Teacher.” Normal, Alabama.

About Twitter...

Using Twitter for a class discussion has ups and downs. Although I think it is a great way to engage the students in participation, it is a little harder to track. Clicking on the #3810NET2 hashtag displays all our tweets but it is difficult to visually see a discussion like on Blackboard. I think it's new and something to get used to so I'm not against it, just not accustomed. Comparing it to an in-class discussion is a different situation though. Within these past few years, it seems as though nobody wants to participate anymore! Although, I am one of those students and always have been, it's just something I've observed. Twitter is definitely useful in this sense because it's easier to articulate something when you have the chance to sit and type then speak on the spot. Definitely looking forward to how Twitter can improve our communication.

Social Networking Sites

Nowadays, there is a multiplicity of social networking sites. A few of these are: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr. Each of these platforms are different but same in the sense that it creates a community of users. Facebook has definitely changed over the years. I remember when every teen was solely on MySpace and Facebook seemed like a website for the older community. Now, Facebook has become a feed of viral videos and memes. People don't post much about themselves anymore. Twitter also contains a lot of reblogging videos and text posts but still remains a place to update what is going on in your life. With Twitter, you can choose to connect to the people you know in real life and so much more. Instagram is more or less the same but instead of text posts, the majority of posts are photos. Instagram is more a coordinated display of what your life is and has been. I think Tumblr is very different from these three social networking sites. I see Tumblr as a more private judgement free space where people can post personal thoughts to the public. The reason for this is that you can be anonymous on Tumblr. People don't really need to know who you are so there is a plethora of people you can connect with that may relate to you. Although all these sites have their differences, I think they all serve a big purpose in improving our community.

Blog Social Networking

          Social networking has been used in the corporate world when it comes to recruiting. This site called Linkedin has allowed for recruiting to become much easier in the sense of narrowing down candidates. The company's co-founder said that there is a setting that when you sign up for the site that says, "Are you open to being contacted about job opportunities?" (Langfitt, Frank). This is a benefit because doors to bigger opportunities remain open without the hassle of actively searching for them. It is important that the recruiters still recognize that nothing can replace a phone call to get to know the candidates better than a website. 
          Although there are many benefits that come with the evolving technologies, there is a dark side too. The opportunity that these new websites allow for is anonymous comments. Gossip web sites are very dangerous and have already been brought up in legal matters. An attorney claimed the sites to be "abusive, harmful, and embarrassing personal attacks on high-school-aged children" (Young, Jeffrey R). There are also sites about college campuses. This is the dark side because people can get involved in a lot of drama. Also, the content on these sites may cause distress to the people mentioned. 
          Technology is always advancing and developing. I think in the future, as things become more evolved, there should still be some regulations. The creators of gossip sites say things will not stop them but I believe there be some sort of regulations placed so these do not continue to operate. 


Langfitt, Frank. “Social Networking Technology Boosts Job Recruiting.” NPR, NPR, 22 Nov. 2006, www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6522523&sc=emaf.

Young, Jeffrey R. “They're Back, and They're Bad: Campus Gossip Web Sites.” The Chronicle of Higher Education, 31 Aug. 2009, www.chronicle.com/article/theyre-backtheyre-bad-/48220.