In a recent article that I wrote for Adotas I touched upon the subject of Second Life and the distrust that many felt towards the idea of virtual worlds. I likened the virtual space to reality television in an attempt to give a common point of reference so as to disabuse people from their trepidation.
I have done a lot of thinking about virtual worlds since this article was published and I think that there were many other possible angles that I could have entertained in order to address the notion of fear (in relation to virtual worlds).
This brings me to my point; who is the subject of media?
1. Television- Consumers play a passive role and the subjects of the program are objectified by on lookers
2. Terrestrial Radio- Once Again, we apply our "gaze" and play the role of the third person
3. Magazine
(I think you get my point)
...and now for something completely different!
4. The Telephone- Scholars like McLuhan were obsessed with the decentralized and democratic nature of the telephone. The telephone was potentially the first time that "we" were an active subject
5. The Internet- Those who know how to leverage the power of the Internet are able to make active subjects of consumers although, some still treat the Internet as a passive medium
...virtual worlds do something different. They put us in the drivers seat with a visualization of ourselves as subject matter. THIS IS NEW!
I can talk about this for days but...I want feedback. BLOGGING IS NOT A PASSIVE MEDIUM DAMMIT!!! The reason blogging is revolutionary is due to the fact that is does not fossilize content and make it a special to merely look upon.
Join in, be active!