Second Life: A Cultural Awakening

Disruptive technologies wreak havoc with the evolutionary path of existing technologies (Thornburg, 2009). Ever since the invention of the printing press newspapers have been rolling down the track of power, prestige, money, and resourcefulness, and then, Boom! along comes the Internet, giving people access to news and events almost as quickly as they occur. People no longer receive the news, they help create it; they contribute directly to the process. Newspapers around the world are rapidly dying. My brother-in-law, editor of a statewide, daily newspaper, has had to take furlough days along with the rest of the staff. Disruptive, indeed. From the dry plate to the Polaroid and flexible rolls of film, photographers have depended upon the evolutionary path of film technology to make their still images come alive. Yet, Kodachrome, once the film of choice for photographers everywhere, is no more. Digital photography, quite literally, killed the film industry.

Today, we are seeing similar disruptions caused by Second Life and other virtual world sites. According to Noor (n.d.), writer for ASME, “Virtual worlds may rival the movie industry in the next five to ten years” (¶ 8). Whereas movies generate content for the viewer to receive, virtual worlds allow the viewer to create their own imaginative space. Do you, perchance, remember the late 70s television show starring Ricardo Montalban called, “Fantasy Island”? It was based on the premise that visitors could go to a resort island and fulfill, literally, any fantasy requested. Or, perhaps you have played Dungeons and Dragons, a fantasy game existing in mental constructs formed by the players. Second Life has shifted the imagery of the television show and the game into 3-dimensional animation sequences. Virtual worlds lie at the intersection between our imagination and online reality.

Philip Rosedale (2008), creator of Second Life, described the virtual platform as a space where people can build products and scenarios that were previously housed only in the imagination. It is a place where a dream can become more than a fleeting, nighttime snapshot; it can become a real, online, shared experience. Second Life has the potential to not just disrupt the movie and gaming industries, it could potentially disrupt our social networking sites, our traditional classrooms, our textbooks, and, for that matter, the World Wide Web, as we currently know it. In all the above examples, information and content is generated by one and received, on an individual basis, by another. The words and images employed in the classroom, the textbook, or on the Web still assume a single, expert creator. For the most part, in each of the venues listed above, you can respond and react to the content presented, but not interact with it. Virtual worlds disrupt this. These sites allow you to work with others to collaborate and create new ideas and new environments. It is a bottom-up gathering of resources where you stand in the presence of others, not as an isolated recipient.

Perhaps this is premature and a bit grandiose, but I predict that some day, virtual worlds will end the power of oppressive, governmental regimes. As people experience free, democratic cultures, as the handicapped and impaired are given legs to walk with and voices to speak, as people come to understand the potential for global collaborations, as international problems are resolved through multi-national interactions, and as economies become driven by virtual inventiveness, then local, tyrannical governments will become less effective. What will replace Second Life? International Life will be the next, logical step down the path toward cultural awakening.

Given the current state of affairs in the Gulf, I thought this virtual world image (above) was fitting and timely. Burning oil, gas, chemicals, and fighting these fires can be studied in a virtual world without risk to people or the environment (Noor, n.d.).

“Exposed: The last roll of Kodachrome” is an interesting story on NPR by Brad Horn and Clair O’Neill tells the journey of the final roll of Kodachrome ever produced. It may be found here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128728114

Here is a pretty good video tour of Second Life: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b72CvvMuD6Q

References

Bakioglu, B. (2009). Spectacular Interventions of Second Life: Goon Culture, Griefing, and Disruption in Virtual Spaces. Journal Of Virtual Worlds Research, 1(3). Retrieved from http://journals.tdl.org/jvwr/article/view/348/421

Davis, C. (2010). Second Life avatars give disabled at Inglis House new experiences. Retrieved from http://www.philly.com/inquirer/magazine/20100727_Second_Life_avatars_give_disabled_at_Inglis_House_new_experiences.html

Noor, A. K. (n.d.). Disruption from the virtual world. Retrieved from http://memagazine.asme.org/Articles/2009/November/Disruption_from_Virtual_World.cfm

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

Thornburg, D. D. (2009). Disruptive technologies. Laureate Education, Inc. Retrieved from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=4199715&Survey=1&47=5797856&ClientNodeID=984645&coursenav=1&bhcp=1

Branding to Chipping: Identification Tags Throughout History

Long before the Western Territory was fenced, cattlemen branded their livestock so they could be easily identified if they wandered onto another rancher’s land. The brand, typically consisting of a hot iron formed into a unique symbol, was pressed into the hide of unsuspecting cattle and horses. The burn left a permanent scar on the body. Although historically used to mark property, brands have also been used to oppress, humiliate, criminalize, and persecute. In 1547 King Edward VI of England gave credence to human branding in the Statute of Vagabonds. Escaped slaves were marked with an ‘S’ and blasphemers were branded with a ‘B’, often on the face or forehead. Additionally, the Nazi Party, beginning in 1943, branded the Jews at Auschwitz by tattooing identification numbers into their skin (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, 2010).

Today, transponder chips are being placed under the skin of our dogs for identification purposes. Further, VeriChip (PositiveID) has gained FDA approval for performing the same service on humans (Holtzman, 2008). This recently emerged technology reflects what Thornburg referred to as the rhymes of history driving force (2009). Rhymes of history refers to a new innovation that rekindles something from the distant past as a means of driving the emergence of the new technology (Thornburg, 2009). Just as our livestock and criminals were branded in the distant past, chipping provides identification information for our pets and our children. Advocates for chipping technology cite lifesaving benefits, curbing identity theft, and the location and identification of victims in a disaster (Kanellos, 2004). The primary argument against chipping is the potential for human rights violations. Although the technology certainly exists, the potential for abuse and misuse knows no bounds. Branding was used as a simple (if painful) identification technique, yet humans were subjected to dangerous and despicable applications. It is not the technology nor the concept that I distrust, it is the power of institutions to misuse it in the name of the greater good that remains terrifying.


Lewis Wickes Hine, photographer. From the records of the United States National Child Labor Committee. Retrieved from http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.learnnc.org/lp/media/uploads/2009/09/housing_600.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/child-labor/5861&usg=__MG8wCA1JD4zC0uVqY1JQ8IAX0Bo=&h=425&w=600&sz=45&hl=en&start=11&itbs=1&tbnid=-qEERjZZkWNY3M:&tbnh=96&tbnw=135&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dtextile%2Bmill%2Btown%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG%26tbs%3Disch:1

On another note, Kelly (2007, December) stated that technology is rapidly becoming one machine housed in the World Wide Web. He noted that our devices are just portals into the belly of the beast where we are all connected and interconnected. This unification of technologies is represented by three elements: embodiment, restructuring, and codependency. This, too, is reflective of the rhymes of history as regards to rekindling ideas from our distant past. Just as the Web is a central hub that connects us and drives our learning, our socialization, and our economy, at one time the steel works and textile mills in the southern United States provided the same presence. They were the economic base, the social connection, and the educational foundation of every community. The factory embodied the livelihood of its workers, it gave structure to the community, and there was a codependent relationship. The textile or steel machine was the reason for the community; it fed the community who in turn fed the machine.

The VeriChip company is now known as PositiveID. You may access their website here http://www.positiveidcorp.com/

For a relatively comprehensive blog about RFID (Radio-frequency identification) applications: http://www.rfid-weblog.com/

Holtzman, D. H. (2008, February). Human ID dhips get under my skin. Retrieved from http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/feb2008/tc20080211_165324.htm

Kanellos, M. (2004, August). Idea of implanting ID tags raises Orwellian fears. Retrieved from http://news.cnet.com/Human-chips-more-than-skin-deep/2009-1008_3-5318076.html

Kelly, K. (2007, December). The next 5,000 days of the Web [Speech]. Speech delivered at the EG 2007 Conference, Los Angeles. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/ kevin_kelly_on_the_next_5_000_days_of_the_web.html

Thornburg, D. D. (2009). Rhymes of history. [Vodcast]. Laureate Education, Inc. Retrieved from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=4199715&Survey=1&47=4169653&ClientNodeID=984645&coursenav=1&bhcp=1

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. (2010). Tattoos and numbers: The system of identifying prisoners at Auschwitz. Retrieved from http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007056