Tuitorial Task 8b

Tuitorial 8 part 2

Internet Field Trip

I am not much of an msn freak but I do like the occasional hour or two on Instant Messenger on Facebook. Like a flutter at the racetrack; it is a thrill. To talk to people you never get the chance to call and those you email or message, to speak with in that instant is a great thing.

However, I am a first time user of 3D environment socializing. I was a little skeptical coming into this as usually I know the people who I am interacting with and you can normally tell who is be truthful with you, I have acquired a fairly good bullshit detector.

Despite the very obvious differences between a normal Instant messenger and 3D environment socializing there seem to be a lot more differences that are only visible once you scrape the surface. For instance you are in a whole new network of people, most in which you don’t know and even if you do know them unless you know they are on or who they (depend on animation) you would not know it was them. 3D socializing is not so much about catching up on all the gossip or chatting to the people, it is about testing your limits, pushing yourself and learning more about yourself. IM does not have the same flexibility or anonymity as 3D socializing. Active worlds, imvu, habbo hotel and Second Life all share these same attributes. It is more about virtual reality then reality.

The 3 dimensionalism in virtual worlds does not make it any better than IM, only different. Just as it has been stated in the paragraph above, the differences in socializing are mainly the networks that you penetrate. IM is friends and family or friends of friends. Very rarely strangers and 3D socializing is mostly strangers and I guess that is where the interest lies. However for me, I love IM as I love catching up on the wonderful things that go on in my friends lives and as my time is limited it is not viable for me to spend copious amounts of time in a virtual world of 3D socializing as reality is my main focus at this point in time. But for those who wish to make a new and better life, this is your chance.

Good luck with whatever form of communication you choose. Just be sure you do it for the right reasons.