DISQUS

Christopher S. Penn's Awaken Your Superhero: Virtual Reality Cannot Yet Replace Real Life Presence

  • 3d internet · 1 year ago
    Yep, at the moment that is totally true, and probably for a long time in the future. But, one beautiful day, the matrix will become real - and we will not be able anymore to distinguish between the real world and the virtual world...!
  • Ed Healy · 1 year ago
    I'm a firm believer that virtual worlds can be very useful. They can drive business and facilitate relationships - I make a good portion of my income through my Second Life activities.

    But nothing can replace a face-to-face meeting in real life. Nothing.

    As an example: I have met hundreds of publishers online over the last few years. I've done business with many of them. Online communication has been good to me. But, not nearly as good as going to GTS (GAMA Trade Show) in Vegas this past April. The number and quality of the business contacts I made there made the $1,400 flight from Bulgaria to Nevada worth every penny.

    Great post, CP.
  • Jay Moonah from Wild Apricot · 1 year ago
    To me, this is a great example of how media find their place. Face to face is a medium (or takes place within a medium, depending on how you look at it) that has it's own unique characteristics. New media forms like meetings within virtual spaces will never replace that or indeed any other distinct form of connection. Media that survive ultimately find their place as alternatives that are complementary current media. They may displace some of the uses of current media, but those older media will then find their place serving different roles, but they almost never disappear completely.