Virtual Communities

An Imaginary World Called "Second Life".

Second Life is an online game which serves the purpose of more than a virtual playground to numerous players. Second Life gives players the opportunity to express themselves freely. This online game was meant to be an imaginary world for players, but instead it helps players to test their entrepreneurial talents and it also helps abused children to rediscover themselves. Second Life creates an opportunity for every players to socialize and to communicate with the outside world without having the thoughts of being stigmatize especially handicapped and disabled peoples. Second Life is extremely powerful, it helps people to experience themselves as being someone else especially through emotional and personal presence.

http://www.wired.com/gaming/gamingreviews/news/2005/04/67142

How Obama Did It!!!!!!!!!!

The Methods &Implications of the Obama Campaign!!!!!

Afther carefully read Obama's online pdf file "How Obama Did It", I've really admired his strategy of winnning the hearts of the Americans.The Obama campaign was built around a social network and used social technology. The Obama campaign dominate the media with numerous techniques by building an ultimate online political machine by nourishing it with rich- media content. The campaign created an Obama website call "MyOB" where his supporters could comment on and have a reply message back.MyBO had more than one million user accounts and 75,000 local events. On MyBO, visitors use credit card to make donations, allows supporters to set up their own target, run their own fund raising effort, and watch personal fund raising thermometer rises.The Obama campaign used SMS, phone tools, web capacity " Teachout events". They also creates social- networking sites such as facebook and myspace. While the competitor's campaign was refusing small amount of donations from Americans, Obama campaign was accepting any amount.

http://www.innovative-analytics.com/docs/HowObamaDidIt.pdf

Issues raised on the PBS presentation

The Impact of the World of Internet & Online Life of the Young Generations!!!!!!!!

Children is the first generation to come of age on the Internets and have created a virtual society of their own. The Internet is a largely hidden world from their parents. Kids are living their lives online and Internet is the continuation of where they exist "socializing". Also, whenever parents installs parental control on their kids computer, their kids actually put a different screen for their parents to watch while their doing something totally different.

* Parents are worried that whenever their kids is on the keyboard, their letting everyone in.
* Whenever kids are online, nobody is in charge of them.
*Parents don't get opportunities to have a face to face communicate with their kids, therefore
they have to email their kids in order to have some attention.
*Parents are worried that Internets was for adults and now its a province for teenagers.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/kidsonline/#