The Lessons of Online Worlds:
The New Golf
Once the province of hardcore gamers and technocrats, virtual worlds have evolved to become full-fledged social environments appealing to a much wider audience. Tech investor Joi Ito recognized this potential early on and demonstrated that online games can be powerful social networking tools. The most successful virtual environments offer a palette of joint activities that create common ground between the participants, out of which social bonds can emerge and solidify.
Space Matters
The three dimensional nature of virtual worlds is both a resource and a constraint. On the one hand, their spatiality makes them immediately familiar and straightforward to navigate. On the other hand, this similarity with physical spaces also allows world designers to reproduce problems common in our day-to-day urban environments: dead public spaces, urban sprawl, deficient transport networks have all plagued 3D worlds since their inception. Virtual urban planning and architecture will be key to the success of future large-scale online communities.
Virtual Bodies, Real Identities
Virtual worlds users spend a great deal of time customizing and outfitting their avatar. Far from a trivial anecdote, this widespread trend shows the importance users place in being able to project the right image of themselves. Virtual worlds are therefore a tool for identity management. It is this link to a user's identity and self-image that explains the large and profitable market for digital content like clothing, hair, and many other avatar attributes. As such, user self-expression must be at the core of any successful virtual world.
A Workplace for the New Generation
Millions of children, teenagers, and young adults spend more time in online worlds than watching TV. In their guilds they learn how to successfully collaborate with each other - skills that translate beyond leisure and into the workplace. A new generation of professionals is taking virtual worlds and their affordances as a given, but there is much room left for improving these spaces and facilitating group activities.