T he Social Life of Virtual Worlds Aleks Krotoski Brighton Girl Geek Dinner Twenty-Fourth April Two Thousand Seven

Two thousand US Dollars

D ear Jesus – what is she talking about?

D ear Jesus – what is she talking about?

Gross Domestic Product

I t’s all about who you know

I t’s all about who you know

But before we get ahead of ourselves… The differences between online and offline : Anonymity Physical appearance Quality of Relationships( Absence of social cues

The differences between online and offline :

Anonymity

Physical appearance

Quality of Relationships(

Absence of social cues

So how can the interactions in cyberspace be meaningful ? In traditional definitions of “community”, there’d be no such thing in cyberspace How can you develop meaningful relationships with people you’ve never met ?

It’s been happening for years These virtual worlds are the places which the online communities are tied to

London Memorial in Second Life Between noon and two pm on the seventh of july over seven hundred and fifty Second Life residents visited. It was open for a week and racked up thousands of visitors Fewer than ten per cent claimed any British ties Maker’s motivations were altruistic and purely community-driven Places of ritual ?

London Memorial in Second Life

Between noon and two pm on the seventh of july over seven hundred and fifty Second Life residents visited. It was open for a week and racked up thousands of visitors

Fewer than ten per cent claimed any British ties

Maker’s motivations were altruistic and purely community-driven

Places of collaboration ? Neualtenburg: an experiment in collective democracy

Places of friendship ?

Anonymity becomes Pseudonymity

So how does it happen ? The same reasons offline community does: Make friends , offer support , meet like-minded others What we know about online relationships: Proximity and frequency of contact Similarity Self-presentation Reciprocity and self-disclosure Consistency

The same reasons offline community does:

Make friends , offer support , meet like-minded others

What we know about online relationships:

Proximity and frequency of contact

Similarity

Self-presentation

Reciprocity and self-disclosure

Consistency

Virtual worlds are designed for sociability people must rely upon one another to survive and advance Whatever role trust plays in offline communities, it plays in online communities because these interactions are human-bound

So what do we know about the social lives of virtual worlds? Economics Politics Psychology Sociology Medicine

Economics

Politics

Psychology

Sociology

Medicine

Who Plays? Men: Eighty per cent in Fantasy titles Twenty to twenty-Eight years old 25) Students or tech-heads

Who plays? Women Twenty percent of Fantasy-based games Sixty percent of The Sims Online Thirty to thirty-five years old * In a Relationship* Seventy percent play with partner* New mums

Social Virtual Worlds Second Life: Forty-sixty gender split Older on average Unless you’re into Disney

Second Life:

Forty-sixty gender split

Older on average

Unless you’re into Disney

Diving in What does it mean to TRUST in this world? Who’s FRIENDS with whom in this world? What makes and breaks REPUTATIONS? What’s VALUABLE in this world?

What does it mean to TRUST in this world?

Who’s FRIENDS with whom in this world?

What makes and breaks REPUTATIONS?

What’s VALUABLE in this world?

Virtual communities operate in very similar ways to other communities – both on and offline They bring together distributed individuals based on common experience, motivations and reputation This is particularly true for virtual world participants because of the explicit social design of the software Trust varies according to communication medium Trust is paramount Don’t jeopardise that trust.

Aleks Krotoski www.toastkid.com