Video in Primative Cultures

I think I have an analogy that can provide some perspective on the problems that Second Life is having in getting traction. First consider all the ways in which we use video. It is hard to get your arms around all the uses. We use video for entertainment. We sell products via commercials. We inform people through news programs. We educate people through educational programs and train them with training programs. We use video to document events and to explore possibilities. In fact, the uses of video in today's culture are virtually endless.

Next imagine showing up at a village in the Amazon rain forest with video equipment trying to introduce the villagers to video technology. You give them cameras and take some video of villagers. They are all impress and every body wants to be in front of the camera. However, when it is their turn to do something, they are not quite as enthusiastic. They like it when you shoot the video but when it is their turn they cannot think of what to shoot. They are not really sure what they can shoot. They are not really sure what this technology is good for. "Everything," you say, "it is good for everything. The possibilities are endless." They might even agree that the possibilities are endless but still cannot come up with anything that they may want to do. So, you leave the village frustrated.

I think this analogy is apt because introducing virtual world technology in the early part of the 21th century is a lot like introducing video equipment to primitive villagers. There are a lot of Ooo's and Ahh's but few really grasp what can be done. And moreover, by thinking this analogy through a little further, I think we can see what needs to be done in virtual worlds to overcome this problem.

Let's say our visitor to the Amazon village had to get them to adopt video technology. Let's say they were working on a UN technology transfer grant or for some eccentric philanthropist just to make it believable. How would they get the villagers to accept video technology? Well, doing demos and talking about endless possibilities is probably not the way. This is way too ethereal and way to difficult to grasp.

What would make sense would be to select a single very concrete application to demonstrate the value of video. You might record the chief's speeches to the villages for historical value. You might record wedding ceremonies for their social value. You might record young hunters learning how to hunt for its educational value. It would probably be difficult to select one thing, but that is what you would have to do. Pick one thing and show how video is useful in that one case. Once people became more familiar with video they could see other uses. But, initially they would need a very concrete example.

I think the same could be said for virtual world technology in general and Second Life in particular. There are way too many possibilities and people need a concrete example. I think the uses that I discussed in the previous post for using Second Life for personal development are still not concrete enough. They are very compelling but probably not the place to start. I think the place to begin is with a very mundane, very concrete application. Perhaps something like using Second Life for virtual meetings. This application is as promising as it is boring. And I will take it up next.