Digital Event (GovCamp Singapore 2011)

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Digital Event

Joshua Nair19 Jan 2011

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What we’ll cover today

How do people use virtual worlds?- Generalize this to social media as a whole.

An argument: We should focus on the user’s experience

- Present a simple way of understanding the users’ experience

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My Background

Special Interest Group on Interactive Digital Enterprise (SIGIDE)

Studying virtual worlds Selling and creating Virtual Worlds for govt/corporate use

This presentation is in my personal capacity. Drawing on data and experiences from my workplaces

Singapore Melbourne/ Singapore/ USA

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What’s a virtual world?

Digital Spatial Environment (2D/3D)

Virtual World

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What’s a virtual world?

Digital Spatial Environment (2D/3D)

Virtual World

Second Life VastPark

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What’s a virtual world?

Digital Spatial Environment (2D/3D)

“Game-like” tools

Virtual World

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What’s a virtual world?

Digital Spatial Environment (2D/3D)

“Game-like” tools

Supporting Features (e.g Social Network, Tools for User Created Content)

Virtual World

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ObamaGhana

“The news is full of commentary about how significant the speech that President Obama is going to give in Ghana tomorrow

is going to be. And the White House is making a serious social media effort –Facebook, SMS, Twitter… “

“Citizens from numerous countries will meet together in virtual worlds to collectively watch a speech from President Obama, view Twitter feedback on his talk, and a join in discussion with musician

and activist D.N.A. (Derrick Ashong), Ambassador Kenton Keith and African historian Professor Tim Burke. “

- Raph Koster

July 10th, 2009

In the eyes of the participants:

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ObamaGhana

Video

virtual world platforms

bridge

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Metaplace

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Second Life

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Primary Tools

Technology in ObamaTalk

Secondaryconversation TwitterBlogs

Metaplace Second Life Ustream

Skype A user’s PC (UGC)

What’s going on? It doesn’t help to focus on the technology.

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What did the user experience?SL: Grace McDunnough: We go to great lengths to be together and watch video ... I kinda love that SL: Grace McDunnough: Does this feel like this to anyone else? http://www.oldwickdental.com/editor/assets/img005.jpg

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What did the user experience?

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What did the user experience?

2) Reciprocal Attention

1) All together at the same time

3) Participants oriented towards/observing the same object

Concept adapted from: Knor Cetina & Brugger 2002, A.Schultz 1969

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What did the user experience?

2) Reciprocal Attention

1) All together at the same time

3) Participants oriented towards/observing the same object

Metaplace

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What did the user experience?

2) Reciprocal Attention

1) All together at the same time

3) Participants oriented towards/observing the same object

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What did the user experience?

A “Digital Event”:1. Users are together at the same time (“interlocking

time dimensions”)2. Reciprocal attention between users3. Participants oriented towards/observing the

same object

This creates a sense of “shared space”, “common experience” and “community(?)”.

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What have other governments explored?

US Department of Agriculture (2010)

3D interactive activities - Training with realistic 3D

environments- Integrate training materials

in existing formats (PowerPoint)

Community Center- For knowledge

sharing/networking - Presentations, simulations of

govt issues

Training and Education Courses- Education delivered ‘lecture-

style’ - Can review exercises from

multiple perspectives

Collaboration- Meet and work together - Share desk-top, work on

office documents, use a program together.

All use cases include, voice chat, text chat and live audio/video streaming.

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What have other governments explored?

US Department of Agriculture (2010)

All use cases include, voice chat, text chat and live audio/video streaming.

3D interactive activities Community Center

Training and Education Courses Collaboration

Each of these are Digital Events.

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How should I approach social media?

Focus on the user’s experience NOT on the technology

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What does the user perceive?

Surfing the internet alone

Writing on the “Digital Noticeboard”

Attending a “Digital Event”

Reciprocal attention

Oriented towards a particular web-thing

Forums, Social Networks, Twitter

Reciprocal attention

Oriented towards a particular web-thing

Real-time interaction

VWs, Video-chat, web-meeting solutions

A nice informative web page

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Focus on Users

Three Questions to ask: Who do I need to communicate with?

What’s the best setting to communicate with them? Digital Event? Digital Noticeboard or Informative Web Page?

What technology should I use to create this online setting?

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THANK YOUjoshuanair@gmail.com josh@vastpark.com Feel free to contact me for a chat.

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US Govt

“At first I saw that Virtual Worlds were an incredible environment for education and training. Anybody that does anything to do with education gets it right away, how powerful and immersive the environment is.”Paulette Robinson Founder and Director of the Federal Consortium for Virtual WorldsAssistant Dean, National Defense University

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Social media in an organization

Questions to ask? 1) Who are the ‘stakeholders’? (users)2) What’s important to them? What’s my

mission? 3) What’s the appropriate setting to connect

them? 4) What’s the right technology to use? What are

the right features to have?