Posts Tagged: online

Virtual societies are still a confusing topic for most people.  In a sense, these online worlds could encourage a further decline in real life social interactions among our already digitally crazed communities.  But virtual societies are an interesting phenomenon if studied closely.

We’ve all heard the stories of online world players being sucked into their games and devoting all of their free time (and even work time!) to progressing through the digital scenario.  This obsession has become so extreme in some cases that it disrupts not only the natural flow of the person’s day-to-day routines but also the people around them.  These virtual players are more a part of their online communities than the real world.  Food and sleep are the only elements of actual life that these gamers continue to resort back to in our actual human environment.  Otherwise, they have no use for reality.

It is interesting to note that virtual worlds compress human behavior by stripping away offline interactions and focusing on the core elements deemed important to its participants.  Virtual societies are not concerned with the day-to-day stresses of actual life.  Some may see these digital places as an escape from reality.  While online communities used to be seen as purely recreational, they are now being considered normal.  They are becoming ingrained into social situations outside of simple games by entering the corporate and educational realms.  Virtual classrooms and office meetings can now be found in virtual environments, allowing participants in any time zone and from any location.

We used to have the mindset of “I’m going to sit down and go on the Internet” during the 90s.  Today, the Internet is connected and always changing even when we may not be sitting in front of a screen.  This is now the case with virtual societies.  These are worlds that continue to progress no matter which players are online or not.  Nothing stops the progression just like in the real world.

By studying people’s habits, actions, and reactions to virtual societies, we can learn about basic human behavior.  It allows us to take away the burdens of our actual lives and see what truly motivates individuals.  Maybe we can learn a thing or two about ourselves from digital communities?  Or maybe virtual societies will become the only reality of the future.  Only time will tell.

Online media has changed the game of politics.  New opportunities in relation to public promotion and branding have both helped and hurt candidates in recent elections.  “Infoenterpropagainment” is a result of when politicians and the media blend political information with aspects of propaganda, including media or political bias and present it to the public in a way that entertains.  Candidates that choose to ignore this new media platform have not made it very far in their respective run for office.

Everyone knows the great example of the Obama vs McCain campaigns.  Never before had a political candidate jumped on the online bandwagon so heavily and soared to the top as an underdog, eventually taking it all with a White House win.  Sadly, McCain stuck mostly to traditional advertising and promotions, which isolated him from the younger voters found online.

Although most aspects of online political promotion seems positive, candidates need to watch their digital reputations as much as any other medium.  Before, photographers and television crews could uncover tidbits a political figure would rather keep personal about their lives.  Now, anyone can post anything about political figures and the story (true or not) spreads faster than wildfire.  The web provides new channels that keep candidates on their toes.

The public now has a new line directly to those wishing to represent them.  They can post questions on websites focused around discussions held by political figures.  They can follow tweets or “like” fan pages dedicated to those running for office.  Just as society obsesses over the whereabouts of celebrities, political figures are beginning to reach that status as well.  Using online media to promote ones self in the political arena has proved a successful catapult that all candidates must embrace in the future.