Here's a look at how the News views Facebook and Second Life.
Ever wondered why you get jumps in traffic on websites and programs? Well, look no further cause IT'S IN THE NEWS! It's true!
Take for instance the New York Times. They created an article back in May 27, 2009 giving the good and the bad of Facebook. “Like other social networks, the site allows its users to create a profile page and forge online links with friends and acquaintances. It has distinguished itself from rivals, partly by imposing a spartan design ethos and limiting how users can change the appearance of their profile pages. That has cut down on visual clutter and threats like spam, which plague rival social networks.” So it's like other social networks? Have you guys taken a look at Myspace lately? At least it isn't cluttered with ads and have a navigation that's all over the place. Artists would probably go into a spaz attack at Myspace's appearance though perhaps not too much at Facebook's layout. Their layout appears clean, modern, and uses space quite effectively so it does not strain a viewer's eyes.
In the same article, they explained that while Facebook has come so far, it wasn't without it's own conflicts. “Three other Harvard students maintain that they came up with the original idea and that Mr. Zuckerberg, whom they had hired to write code for the site, stole the idea and surreptitiously created a rival company.” Is it true? Who knows. This was just one of their trials they had to face.
Now in PC Magazine's online website, this one user's comment drew attention. Information Workshop said, "The part that sucks is that they haven't told us what is different, what you do and don't get with each option. Is one a superset of the other? Why do we not have the changes explained to us. I couldn't find where to go except Google News to find out what is happening. That is the biggest boneheaded thing anyone can do -- make changes and then force even smart people to scratch their heads and do research. WTF?" Think perhaps Facebook needs to take a look at what users are saying instead of ignoring them based upon all the comments on this article.
So you have the pro and the mostly cons of what the news thinks of Facebook, what about Second Life? Well, we have a couple videos on what the news thought from BBC and Fox News.
BBC News Video on Second Life
Fox News Interview
Did you know that businesses from our real world actually have begun to drift into Second Life? It has! Cnet.com's news showcases one business's decision to move to the virtual world. Then if you look in Second Life's showcase, you can see sims created from Universities from around the globe to even NASA and WWF. How cool is that?
Now the unfortunate part of the news. Not everything about Second Life is happy joy joy like how people seem to think. The latest news Linden Lab (owners of Second Life) have spoken is their latest roadmap of the popular item sharing site (quite like Ebay) called XStreet.com. Basically, they are now considering free items as promotional items. What does this mean? It means that each free item a merchant lists, costs then 99L. So say you had 5 free items. This would mean it would cost you 495 linden at least a month to have those items listed on the website. Is that fair? Nope. There is a huge argument and petitions circulating around for Linden labs to stop but will they? More likely no. So what can users do but to go to other websites which are more user friendly?
Linden Lab on the other hand in their blog stated "We've received feedback from our users that the volume of free, cheap (L$ 10 and under) & stale listings in the Xstreet SL Marketplace did not make for an optimal experience for shoppers or merchants." Linden Lab believes that since xstreet.com was not to replace in-world purchasing and spending, that it did not make a good experience for users purchasing the freebies and having to sift through hundreds, if not thousands, of items at a time which bogged down the system. "Since it is clear that the increasing quantities of free, cheap and stale goods are hindering that experience for shoppers and merchants alike, we will take action to counteract and balance them within the marketplace, for the benefit of all. To be clear: we believe in a free marketplace and will not implement price controls on what merchants can charge for their goods." This basically states that Linden Lab will not tell merchants what prices they should be charging for their items but are aiming to help increase the quality customers are looking for and to have merchants remove items which are not selling. You can read the article on their blog for more details.
This wasn't the only bad news for Second Life. There was also a lawsuit filed over virtual land that was sold without the owner's permission. Based on Wired.com's article, "In what might be a first-of-its-kind lawsuit, a Pennsylvania lawyer is suing the publisher of the rapidly growing online world Second Life, alleging the company unfairly confiscated tens of thousands of dollars worth of his virtual land and other property." Farther in the article, other sim owners think that the case does not amount to much, if anything. In other words, "a leg to stand on."
Even with all the bad, there were good news articles that showcased both Second Life and Facebook. People will still flock to these sites and communities curiously and want to know more about them specially after reading all these articles. Some may be deterred while others will not.
Showing posts with label facebook. Show all posts
Showing posts with label facebook. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Similarities and Differences Between Second Life and Social Media Sites
Did you know that both Facebook and Second Life let you communicate with others using your cell phone? It's true! Facebook has enabled parts of their website to be able to be used on mobile phones. If you use Second Life, you can talk with other people in-world in the program by using iLife. As mentioned on Second Life Insider, "Comverse Technology is the first to shoehorn the Second Life Client* onto a java enabled cell phone." Now this is awesome isn't it? Can talk with others in-world and who knows? Perhaps you will be able to purchase items in the future if not already. You can also do this on Facebook too. Messaging friends, update your status, comment on other statuses of your friends, and more! For these two communities, you have to have a web-enabled phone that also can use Java.
Another cool thing is well, their both free to use! All you need to do is create an account and BOOM your in the amazing world! Facebook is pretty easy to navigate around. You have your applications, networks to join, statuses that remind you of Twitter, and more! In Second Life, after you create your account and download the program, you get to create your first avatar, choose defaulted clothing, and go through Help Island which gives you a basic "how-to" of how to use the program and navigate around the areas. Moving and chatting with other people in real-time is all free! Isn't it great?
The only problem with "free" is that though it's free to access, it's not completely free. If you want to change how your avatar looks in Second Life, you need to go to their website and buy the in-world currency called Lindens. Then you can buy clothes, shapes, hair, and even land in the virtual world. This makes you seem unique and not, as most residents feel, a newbie. Facebook is also the same in a way. Their applications which are made by 3-rd parties, offer you ways to get more of their game currency by using real money. This way they make a profit and I'm sure there are also other fees Facebook has come up with and not just paid for by advertisements.
Facebook also has some annoying qualities. Take for instance their applications. To move farther ahead, they always have popups asking you to invite more friends! Seriously. I've seen statuses on people's profiles saying not to invite them to any more applications. If your friends are cool with this, then I give you Kudos, if not, good luck.
Thankfully, you can use any machine to access Facebook. Just have your operating system up to date and flash too.
Now Second Life is a killer of computers. It uses a TON of resources. Probably why their recommendations are so high. Like using NVIDIA graphic cards and RAM. You can view their whole list on their website here. If you use their bare minimum requirements, be prepared to wait hours just for places to actually load. Basically, all you would be able to do is chat with friends if you use the bare minimum. Now if you had a super computer, I'm sure lag and other atrocities that terrorize hundreds of players every time they log in, won't be too much of a problem for you.
Even though you have the ups and downs of these programs, people still flock to them in waves. Why? Because humans are social creatures by nature and have the need to communicate with others. That.. and being addicted to these social and virtual communities.
Another cool thing is well, their both free to use! All you need to do is create an account and BOOM your in the amazing world! Facebook is pretty easy to navigate around. You have your applications, networks to join, statuses that remind you of Twitter, and more! In Second Life, after you create your account and download the program, you get to create your first avatar, choose defaulted clothing, and go through Help Island which gives you a basic "how-to" of how to use the program and navigate around the areas. Moving and chatting with other people in real-time is all free! Isn't it great?
The only problem with "free" is that though it's free to access, it's not completely free. If you want to change how your avatar looks in Second Life, you need to go to their website and buy the in-world currency called Lindens. Then you can buy clothes, shapes, hair, and even land in the virtual world. This makes you seem unique and not, as most residents feel, a newbie. Facebook is also the same in a way. Their applications which are made by 3-rd parties, offer you ways to get more of their game currency by using real money. This way they make a profit and I'm sure there are also other fees Facebook has come up with and not just paid for by advertisements.
Facebook also has some annoying qualities. Take for instance their applications. To move farther ahead, they always have popups asking you to invite more friends! Seriously. I've seen statuses on people's profiles saying not to invite them to any more applications. If your friends are cool with this, then I give you Kudos, if not, good luck.
Thankfully, you can use any machine to access Facebook. Just have your operating system up to date and flash too.
Now Second Life is a killer of computers. It uses a TON of resources. Probably why their recommendations are so high. Like using NVIDIA graphic cards and RAM. You can view their whole list on their website here. If you use their bare minimum requirements, be prepared to wait hours just for places to actually load. Basically, all you would be able to do is chat with friends if you use the bare minimum. Now if you had a super computer, I'm sure lag and other atrocities that terrorize hundreds of players every time they log in, won't be too much of a problem for you.
Even though you have the ups and downs of these programs, people still flock to them in waves. Why? Because humans are social creatures by nature and have the need to communicate with others. That.. and being addicted to these social and virtual communities.
Social Media & Virtual Communities Introduction
Social media sites are becoming similar to virtual communities in the present day. According to Urban Dictionary.com, Social Media is defined as "participatory online media that utilizes the group to write and direct content, rather than a read-only media. Allows for direct contact between participants." This would include sites like Facebook, Wikipedia, Twitter, and others. Virtual communities on the other hand is defined as "A virtual community uses Internet technology to share information, ideas and resources among a group of like-minded participants located anywhere in the world," according to TelecomsAdvice.org. This would consider programs like Second Life and IMVU chat program as virtual communities. How can social sites and virtual communities be similar?
These close similarities have changed how we communicate with each other from day to day. We now use texting, emails, Skype, Twitter, Facebook, Second Life, and more to communicate with friends, family, colleagues, professors and classmates, employers, and complete strangers. How does this change our communication? We can talk to people over long distances for one cheap price, see them on our computer screens, learn in different venues, and more. This allows a broad spectrum of information sharing across the globe. With the freedom of the Internet and online world, information can flow freely and easily in a matter of seconds.
After interviewing a couple people of the pros and cons of using social media sites and virtual communities, a lot has been learned not only of the standpoints each interviewee made but also on the technical aspects to use these websites and programs. The interviewee’s also explained the differences and similarities of the programs as well as their ideas on what it means for our future of communicating with media sites and virtual communities.
Not only have people experienced the good and bad of the communities, but news articles can either bring people in or send them away. In some articles and blogs, people have expressed their opinions on what the article was about and on the programs and websites themselves. This has given people a venue to let their voice be heard across the vastness of the internet and to persuade people into believing their views are correct.
These close similarities have changed how we communicate with each other from day to day. We now use texting, emails, Skype, Twitter, Facebook, Second Life, and more to communicate with friends, family, colleagues, professors and classmates, employers, and complete strangers. How does this change our communication? We can talk to people over long distances for one cheap price, see them on our computer screens, learn in different venues, and more. This allows a broad spectrum of information sharing across the globe. With the freedom of the Internet and online world, information can flow freely and easily in a matter of seconds.
After interviewing a couple people of the pros and cons of using social media sites and virtual communities, a lot has been learned not only of the standpoints each interviewee made but also on the technical aspects to use these websites and programs. The interviewee’s also explained the differences and similarities of the programs as well as their ideas on what it means for our future of communicating with media sites and virtual communities.
Not only have people experienced the good and bad of the communities, but news articles can either bring people in or send them away. In some articles and blogs, people have expressed their opinions on what the article was about and on the programs and websites themselves. This has given people a venue to let their voice be heard across the vastness of the internet and to persuade people into believing their views are correct.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)