Monthly Archives: May 2009

SFSU “Meteor Slams Dorms” experiment 2PM today

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Join SFSU Design and Industry class (http://online.sfsu.edu/~jkv4edu/VWS/627/index.html) on Virtual World Design for an experiment from 2-3 PM today “Meteor Slams Dorms“. You must be added to the group by emailing gnusart[at]sbcglobal.net with your avatar name or contact avatars Jane Valentino, JD Mint or Cassandra Avedon to be added. More instructions here:

http://dai627bethr.blogspot.com/2009/04/virtual-news-experiment-instructions.html

This experiment is designed to test the theory that Internet users would be likely to choose to enter a virtual world to experience a news event such as a disaster or a crime, or to gain information on a hot topic.

The scenario: A major news event has occurred on the SF State campus, and, although news teams are on the scene, access to the site is limited.
The coverage: The basic information about the story has been reported by the San Francisco Chronicle and other news organizations, but since reporters and photographers can’t get close, visuals are limited. Please read the newspaper story at http://gnusart.com/meteor_story.htm and try to visualize the disaster scene based on that information. We assume that such an important event would be widely publicized, so your virtual experience would be augmented by some prior knowledge.
The simulation: Based on information gathered from witnesses and social networks, a team of virtual world artists has constructed the disaster scene in Second Life.
Go to the site: At 2 pm on Friday, May 8, log into Second Life. If you did not get into the scene in the previous experiment, you will be sent an invitation to join the SF State News group. The system should should automatically set that as your group. If you’ve been here before, right-click on your avatar, select “groups,” and then activate the SF State News group. After the group is set, teleport to “SF State Housing” to begin the exercise.
You will arrive across the street from the main disaster scene. You may wander at will through and around the two dorm buildings involved, but you will not be allowed in the upper floors. Most of the damage is on the exterior and ground floors, so please walk the entire perimeter. You may also fly over. Please note how you go about this, how helpful it is in comprehending the situation, and how long it keeps your attention.
More information is available on scene: Avatars Jane Valentino, JD Mint, and Cassandra Avedon will be on the scene as reporters. You will know them by their fedora hats, and signs that float above their heads that say, “I am a reporter. Ask me a question.” Reporters will answer questions (via local chat) about navigating the virtual scene, and provide factual information about the disaster itself, such as “What is that thing made of?”
Follow-up: The portal will close at 3 pm. Please fill out a survey on SurveyMonkey by following this link
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=XwhdrrxJ2UOt31KB5_2f1ANA_3d_3d as soon as possible after the event. Very important to our research!

More instructions here:

http://dai627bethr.blogspot.com/2009/04/virtual-news-experiment-instructions.html

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Metaverse Manifesto review by professor Jonas Löwgren

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From:

Jonas Lowgren, Professor of Interaction – Arts and Communication at Malmo University Malmo, Sweden
Interaction Design Bookshelf: http://webzone.k3.mah.se/k3jolo/idBookshelf/index.htm

Thanks Jonas!

Montagne, O. (2007). Metaverse manifesto. San Francisco: Studio SFO. [IM]
“Written in classical manifesto style, with each epigrammatic sentence forming its own paragraph, the book lays out a fundamental split between those humans who »cling to the dim vestiges of of a default reality« and those who create new realities. The rest of the book, simply put, outlines the ideological stance of participatory grassroots media as applied to Second Life and similar virtual worlds. The tone is confrontational, as befits a Manifesto.”

The Manifesto is slowly but surely having an impact.  Can I call it an “underground classic” in Silicon Valley circles??  Let me know any mentions or reviews you see! http://twitter.com/mro