Modeling Reality With Virtual Worlds

There several ways that virtual worlds can be used nowadays. For example, according to Mark Tutton, virtual world technologies are being applying by many businesses that use it for virtual meetings. "IBM sells its own virtual meeting tool, Sametime 3D, which allows businesses to share ideas and collaborate in a 3D world, and the company is currently testing a more advanced version of the product", says Mark. Such collaboration saves the company a lot of time and money. 

Other ways, in which virtual technologies are use, are file sharing and storage using "Dropbox" and project work via "Basecamp" that allows its users to collaborate online and finish their projects faster. 

But along with all the advantages such as saving of time and money, ability to work with long-distance partners, easy accessibility, there some cons to virtual worlds as well. No matter how advanced the technologies are, virtual worlds still lack real face-to-face communication which can lead to complete isolation. Mark Tutton in his article Going To The Virtual Office in Second Life says that another problem of the technology is that "virtual teams can't take advantage of the kind of impromptu "water cooler" conversations that occur in a real workplace, where colleagues can share information they may have forgotten to communicate in meetings". Indeed such closeness can be accomplished only in the real world.

Virtual worlds almost have no boundaries and require no budget. One can create his/her own character the way he wants him to look, dress him in a way he/she would never dress in reality. Very often we cannot express ourselves wearing our favorite styles, especially working in an office where a dress code is a must. But in virtual worlds you can free your creativity. It takes some sense of fashion, art, and experience in photography to create a virtual world. Dave Itzkoff in his article I've been in that club just not in Real Life says that "To fill these knowingly grungy environs VLES’s creators turned to Judi Rosen, the fashion designer and proprietor of the downtown boutique the Good, the Bad & the Ugly, to photograph real-life denizens of the Lower East Side. Then they created a variety of avatars using her photographs for fashion reference. “You can’t just have generic skater boys,” Ms. Rosen said, “because there’s punk skaters, there’s hippie skaters, there’s graffiti skaters, there’s square skaters. All those little nuances mean a lot.”

The future of virtual worlds still is not clear. It might become an even bigger hit or its popularity because it lacks some features of the real world that ca not be replaced by any advanced technologies. It is hard and impossible to substitute real communication and the bonding that we experience while interacting with the others. 

References:
1. Tutton, M. Going to the Virtual Office in Second Life, CNN.com: Nov 5, 2009http://www.cnn.com/2009/BUSINESS/11/05/second.life.virtual.collaboration/index.html
2."I've Been in That Club, Just Not in Real Life" by Dave Itzkoff, The New York Times, January 6, 2008, available athttp://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/06/arts/television/06itzk.html*