A virtual world is an interactive simulated environment accessed by multiple users through an online interface. There are many different types of virtual worlds such as shared space that allows many users to participate, immediacy where interaction takes place in real time, interactive world allows users to develop and customize content, and the socialization world encourages the formation of social groups like teams, clubs, and neighborhoods.
Per “I've Been in That Club, Just Not in Real Life”, it seems that the socialization world can sometime be a good alternative and is accelerating especially in New York, where there are a lot of packed clubs that are not always pleasant to stay at.
A very interesting virtual world that has rapidly developed after the recession in 2009 is the business environment virtual world. As companies where cutting travel and conferences budgets, they were seeking innovative ways of bringing employees together for remote meetings.
Virtual community Second Life was developed as a new tool which allowed businesses to have virtual meetings on their own computer networks. The big advantage in the virtual world of the business environment is the ability to cooperate effectively using virtual tools as that technology offers more options than video conferencing, for example a range of environments, from auditoriums to parks for friendly conversations.
One of the things that a virtual team does not offer is the ability to share national and organizational cultures, and the difficulty to see things from their fellow workers’ point of view. Another issue is that it is very difficult for virtual teams to take advantage of real life face to face chilled conversations, such as talking about sports, news, or the weather.
There is no doubt that occasionally a virtual world can be a nice alternative, however the lack of human contact can lead to feelings of isolation, and an unreal collaborative environment. It seems that the virtual worlds are a great tool but must be kept in proportion as we still need human interaction; therefore the future of virtual worlds will have the function of what we all choose to make in our real world as long as we put it in its proper place.
Going to the Virtual Office in Second Life, CNN.com: Nov 5, 2009 http://www.cnn.com/2009/BUSINESS/11/05/second.life.virtual.collaboration/index.html
"I've Been in That Club, Just Not in Real Life" by Dave Itzkoff, The New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/06/arts/television/06itzk.html
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