What impact will virtual world bring to the real world?

What impact will virtual world bring to the real world?

A major controversial and debatable point about the development of virtual world is what impact will it bring to the real world.

Second Life seems to be quite the progressive tool. Everyone seems to be very positive about this new technology and the impact that it already has on the world in terms of significantly improving communication, social networking and business platforms. However, people are beginning to raise concerns about the possible effects of the booming of virtual world. Will it negatively affect human behavior in terms of bringing violence to the real world the way other computer games do? Will it undermine some basic social concepts like marriage, family, ethics or even morality? Since virtual worlds use the same resources in real world like time and human power, will the flourishing of the virtual world reduce or even deplete the resources and productivity in the real world?

The bright side of the virtual world is quite easy to see and to be excited about. Many believe that “Second Life” is where society and technology should be headed – simply because the possibilities are endless. Who wouldn't want to go to a place where all of your imperfections in real life are nonexistent; a place where you can look as slim and as sexy as you always wished you were; a place where all of the problems of the real world (e.g. pollution, climate change, hunger, genocide, over population, war, etc.) do not exist? It may be wonderful to take just the good aspects of the real world and build an alternate reality with them. Virtual worlds have allowed us to do so - but is that good? We may still be distant from the extreme of computers taking over mankind, but we cannot deny the possibility of a situation arising one day when we have to choose between the red or blue pill as Neo did in the Matrix.

Free Twitter Money

Twitter recently launched a virtual currency that users can use to donate to charities or give to friends for doing good deeds. The conversion rate is equivalent 10 cents for 1 Twollar, but users pay $0 to start with 50 Twollars. All in all, Twollars is a Twitter "thank you money" which is designed to benefit good causes. The process behind Twollars is as follows: users donate the currency to charities, brands sponsor charities by purchasing the Twollars from the charities and the charities get real world dollars from the sponsor. If 5000 Twollars are donated to a charity event then the brands would make the pledge to pay for the event $500. In the article, "Twollars: An Innovative Approach to Fundraising on Twitter", http://mashable.com/2009/05/26/twollars/, Stan Schroeder goes into details about the redesign and the full life cycle of commerce using the currency.

The technology behind Twolllar is not complicated or costly. Queries are used to parse Twitter's data and look for a format such as "20 Twollars @username to charity name"

The Twollars concept emerged from the social media environment, and I believe it should be used as tool to help traditional marketers approach this channel more effectively. Traditional bands tend to approach the social media market with a broadcast mentally as opposed to a user participation ideology. The Twollar approach facilitates user involvement by interacting with the brands as well as the charities.

I believe this model has legs as long as Twitter survives by generating revenue from other sources. Twollar can replicate this model to other social networks and cross trade the currencies across multiple platforms. Twollars needs to maintain its reputation by not over supplying the market with too much cheap currency and therefore diluting the value even more.

Facebook Credits

I find the virtual currency economy an interesting area. Cyworld and SecondLife have been successful in implementing their virtual currencies, but many others have failed such as Flooz.com. In recent weeks, the buzz about Facebook’s Credits, a virtual currency system that allows users to purchase virtual gifts or send the currency to friends. Facbook's objective is to generate revenue streams by fostering commerce on its platform. The currency system encourages participation by having users develop more content, and accumulating credits. Facebook has grown at a rapid pace to over 200 million users, and the potential to generate revenue streams is enormous.

I know that generating revenue in a social media ecosystem is complicated - especially when the users are accustomed to the platform being a free and fun service. Introducing the payment system that works well will be a challenge for the management team. Other feature that should be considered are expanding the currency use on Facebook Connect sites and being able to easily convert the credits to real work dollars. A successful deployment of currency system will make it more relevant and potentially a major competitor for PayPal. Facebook has to justify their $10 billion market value, and banking on the currency payment system as significant revenue stream is an excellent idea but a risky one too.

Get a First Life

With all the talk of Second Life and the hype that has ensued in the media, as well as our class discussions, one might begin to take this virtual world too seriously. I mean, real money being made? A Bigger economy than some countries?

And then, someone creates this:
http://www.getafirstlife.com/

My favorite quote:

"Go outside - membership is free!"