“Outside the office, online role-playing games already count tens of millions of “inhabitants” of persistent virtual worlds” (Avatars, pg 126). Having the ability to live and interact through avatars exactly how one chooses in the virtual world, the making of avatars in the workplace may be the most efficient and convenient way of communication with one another. It seems that many businesses are starting to utilize this type of virtual space catering to employees who cannot work together physically. “Cisco, for example, has employees who use Second Life both for internal communication and for customer education and training” (Avatars, pg 126).
Who doesn’t want to save time and money? All businesses do. From clients to co-workers, employees can choose how and where they want to work. There is no need to fly out to a different state or even drive to a different city to meet with someone. Meetings can be done using an avatar in the virtual world with the ability to view files and share documents where as you would not be able to do in person without a computer or over the phone.
Furthermore benefits include employees excelling in areas they would not normally in person. Some employees for social or personality reasons are not comfortable fully expressing thoughts and feelings when working in person causing group projects to be less of what it could be. Using an avatar can eliminate that and will boost an employees’ confidence level since the avatar is created in the way that the employee feels most comfortable in.
All in all, the way we interact and collaborate with one another is constantly changing. From phone calls to emails to online web trainings, using an avatar in the virtual space will become one of the best sources of communication for it can replace physical meetings.
Reference:
Avatars in the Workplace. New Atlantis: A Journal of Technology and Society. Retrieved From EBSCO on August 4, 2010.
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