Second Life

I listened to the theory on Second Life and I realized that I don’t really think it is a disruptive technology.  I feel that it is another way for people to express themselves and gives a sense of security to those who may not be socially able to meet people otherwise. When I first heard the term second life I thought in terms of second term battery lives and second lives of items.  The video by Philip Rosedale really opened up my thinking of Second Life.

Second Life replaced the way people socially interact and the use of online games. (Rosedale, 2008) It is a way of being around people without being around people.  As far as it being in its final stage I do not believe that to be true. To me it is still an emerging technology that has a long way to go before it is fully integrated into society. Movies like the Avatar have me realizing that second life is in its beginning stages rather than the end. 

The social benefits are that people that usually are introverts will become more involved in a virtual world.  There are people that are considered recluse and this is a way for them to come out of their shells.  The Sims started this trend to me and has taken on a life of its own. 

References:

Rosedale, P.(2008)Philip Rosedale on Second Life[video].Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/the_inspiration_of_second_life.html

Scoble.R.(2010)Is Second Life about to enter its second life?Retrieved from http://scobleizin.com/2010/02/22/is-second-life-about-to-enter-its-second-life/

Second life references

http://www.thesims3.com/

http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1809804784/info

http://secondlife.com/

Rhymes of History

An example of technology that represents a rhyme of history to me is the video game system. I can remember back in the early 1980’s my brother had an Atari game system. Our favorite was the tennis games that had a black screen and a green ball that made a beep when it was hit by a blinking insertion bar. (That’s what it looks like to me now.) The system was brown large, heavy but loads of fun to us.  The graphics were horrible and the colors probably contributed to some of us wearing glasses at a young age. (Not a proven fact.) The joystick was huge and you used your whole hand to control it and not two fingers like they do now.

The video game market has increased its value a thousand times over with 3D graphics, virtual systems and interactive games that have taken video games to a whole new level.  The Nintendo WII system, Xbox and PS3 all remind me of the days when one simple technological device changed the way we played.  It was the beginning of inside play and kids not wanting to go outside anymore. 

Check out the sites below to show the evolution of the gaming systems from then to now.

http://www.time.com/time/interactive/0,31813,2029221,00.html

http://www.atariage.com/2600/index.html?SystemID=2600

Video on Kelly’s concepts of rhymes of history

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/kevin_kelly_on_the_next_5_000_days_of_the_web.html