Virtual Worlds

I think virtual worlds can have many different uses, both with pros and cons that can affect the greater public.

In the article “In room 100, it’s Sid and Nancy all over again” from the NY times by Saki Knafo which was published in 2009, this virtual world was created to “recreate” something which is no more (Hotel Chelsea). This is just one way to use this positively to help better inform the public and other people who are interested and what to experience place that no longer exist.

In the article “Toy with a Second Life” from the Bloomberg magazine published in 2007, the topic of discussion is the virtual world created for toys. Is this something we have heard of before? Yesssss, do you remember back in the 90’s when they had “giga pets”? Well I do and it looks like that trend is starting all over again except this time its more for users to do with it. I personally see this as another way to make money for the toy companies’ but who am I to say? I can’t really establish if this is a negative or positive yet. But I do remember me worrying about making sure my “giga pet” was bathed and feed before I went to sleep every night, and it did take a good portion of my time to ensure I was walking it throughout the day.

There can be many pros and cons to a virtual world. The biggest determining factor would be; the reason it was created, and who are the user. Virtual worlds are just that “virtual” meaning not real, not actual, not life. For example the article about the virtual toy world could- pro (bring more computer literate up coming children to society) or con (be swarmed by pedophiles looking for children where they can hide their identity). When everything it is always a pro and con.

Virtual worlds most definitely foster creativity for whoever is using it. Its using your imagination to virtually create, experience, and use these site and places for our benefits. I can say when I was a younger I was just getting into computers and the game “the sims” came out and it was something that sparked my interest in computers and money management. This focused me to be a computer science major in vocational high school. The creativity given to the users of virtual worlds are endless and I think that is where creativity lives- without boundaries.

The future of virtual worlds will in my opinion not be changed greatly other than the “graphics” of it. Of course over time computer programmers will find a way to better develop these worlds to make them more visually attractive for the users and public. But I do think that they will be used more for companies that are trying to improve and it will illustrate a greater awareness to the public on what it is and what it takes to get what we all expect out of business and services.