:: Netwoman ::

:: Monday, April 14, 2008 ::

Barack vs Hillary: A tale of two who Twitter
But can they Tweet?

I've been caught up in the twitterverse and become an avid user of Twitter. I tweet often and really like the loose interaction between friends & acquaintances I normally wouldn't email, IM, SNS or text very often. It's like a perpetual group chat with my different network clusters. I also like the exchange of information; links to media articles about virtual worlds, backchanneling & commentary at conferences and events. In other words, the micro-blogging side of it. But I'm also getting more personal information: what people had for lunch, what class they're teaching, who they're in a meeting with, life commentary and more. I feel connected and caught up with this kind of shared personal information, especially with some of my 'weaker' ties (the somewhat close ties & acquaintances). I may not chat with them directly (although I do find myself commenting from time to time on their tweets, which is a great quick little interaction), but I feel connected. So, Twitter actually strengthens my weak ties - much like Facebook only faster. Some people don't like the TMI-Tweets their friends share though, so it's not for everyone.

What does this have to do with Barack & Hillary?

I looked at Barack and Hillary's Twitter pages and examined their tweets. I was curious what route they would take with their tweets (not that I expected them to share what they had for lunch with the world). The first thing I notice is that they both have about the same number of updates: Barack has 98 and Hillary has slightly more at 110. Hillary started tweeting Jan 13 2008, whereas Barack started April 29 2007. Barack jumped on the bandwagon much earlier. Is Hillary trying to make up for lost time?

The next thing that jumps out at me is the number of followers. Hillary has 2960 followers on Twitter. Barack has 23,238 followers, a huge number more than Hillary (same thing on Facebook). Here's the other big difference: How many people is Hillary following? ZERO. Barack? 23,042. Regardless of whether he actually keeps up with them, at least he gives the impression of interest and some reciprocity in the people who are interested in him (and perhaps voting for him).

As I start to read the tweets of Hillary & Barack, I immediately see another difference. Hillary's updates sound scripted, cold and distant at times. There's a pattern of "I'm excited to be in...", "I'm looking forward to...", "I'm happy to be in.." and so forth. It lacked some feeling when I read it. Barack does the same type of thing, but he tweets much more commentary:

"Wondering why, four years after President Bush landed on an aircraft carrier and declared 'Mission Accomplished,' we are still at war?" 01:12 PM May 01, 2007

or this one:

"Troubled by today's unemployment figures, the latest indicator of how badly America needs fundamental change from Bush-McCain policies." 12:48 PM April 03, 2008

Barack also posts links to videos of his speeches, media articles, YouTube broadcasts and websites (mostly his own) - and I really liked the tweet about sending a texting for a free bumper sticker. I felt much more connected to Barack's twitterverse than Hillary's (even tho I'm a fan of hers). I liked Barack's tweets about ice cream socials and reminders of Martin Luther King drive towards social & economic justice. His commentary is also entertaining and engaging:

"In Columbus,MS & wondering how somebody who's in second place is offering the vice presidency to the person who's in first place. Vote Tues!" 12:46 PM March 10, 2008

I'm not sure what happened because Hillary's earlier posts seemed more connected to the world, but I don't get the feeling that Hillary 'gets' what twitter could do for her - or her supporters. Hillary could do with some of Dr. Kaye Sweetser's knowledge in Social Media & Public Relations.

While Hillary maybe losing the battle with Twitter, she's not having much luck in Second Life either; her virtual headquarters in Second Life has been under protest by Barack's virtual supporters:

"I had one of those brief Yay, we can win! moments, but then I saw they were all clutching Obama banners and flags, and my heart sank," Lestat types, her waif-like avatar starring off into the tropical distance. "Holding an Obama demonstration on Hillary Island ... have they no shame?"

Perhaps no shame, but they sure do know their social media tools!

:: Netwoman 10:48 PM [+] ::
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G.I.R.L. Game Design Competition

From Kotaku, info on SOE's new G.I.R.L. scholarship program:

Applications are now being accepted for the 2008 G.I.R.L. Game Design Competition scholarship of up to $10,000 designed to educate and recruit more women into the field of video game production and design. Sponsored by Sony Online Entertainment LLC. (SOE) a global leader in online gaming, applications and complete rules for entry are available online at www.girl.soe.com.

The SOE G.I.R.L. - Gamers In Real Life - competition is the first of its kind to encourage students toward career paths in the field of video game design and production, ultimately resulting in the development of games that are more interesting for women to play.

"The secret is out: Females game. We're just trying to encourage more women to make the games they obviously enjoy playing, said Torrie Dorrell, Senior Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing, Sony Online Entertainment. "With the application process starting today, we're taking a concrete step towards opening the door a little wider for women who want to go into game development, and that can only help expand our industry's audience."

The SOE G.I.R.L competition was created in response to survey findings that focused on women in the field of video games. The survey interviewed female students currently enrolled in Game Art & Design, Visual & Game Programming and Visual Effects & Motion Graphics programs at The Art Institutes schools. The SOE-sponsored survey revealed that:

-61% of students surveyed believe male dominance in the industry is a deterrent to women pursuing a career in gaming
-42% of those surveyed would like to see women portrayed as leaders in video games
-35% of the students surveyed want to create more games that are fun and interesting for women to play
-31% of those surveyed want to become involved in gaming because more women need to represent the industry

:: Netwoman 1:45 PM [+] ::
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Girls want to make games, too. It's just that they're intimidated

From Tracey John at the MTV Blog (Multiplayer, a blog built by MTV News and MTV Games):

...At least that's what a survey conducted by Sony Online Entertainment has revealed. Conducted among female students currently enrolled in game design, programming and visual effects at The Art Institutes schools, the survey showed that 61% "believe male dominance in the industry is a deterrent to women pursuing a career in gaming" and 42% "would like to see women portrayed as leaders in video games."

As a result, this inspired SOE to form G.I.R.L. (Gamers In Real Life), a scholarship program to educate and recruit women in the video game industry. The announcement of the scholarship program was made during the Game Developers Conference last month at an event for SOE's upcoming spy-themed MMO "The Agency."

Nice piece on some of the barriers that exist for female gamers.

:: Netwoman 1:24 PM [+] ::
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Upcoming Conferences & CFPs

ReLIVE08
The Open University is pleased to announce an international conference for Researching Learning in Virtual Environments to be held at its campus in Milton Keynes on the 20th and 21st of November 2008.
This conference will be of interest to anyone researching learning and teaching in virtual world environments such as Second Life.
The conference organisers are keen to construct a programme that features diverse and innovative research approaches to learning and teaching in virtual worlds. Given the emerging practice associated with virtual worlds, the conference committee are also keen to receive papers reporting on the experience of learning and teaching using virtual worlds that relate practice and outcomes to literature and research in this area. We anticipate that submissions will reflect a range of research methods and will examine issues such as rigour, methods of sampling, relationships between researchers and researched, and the ethics and politics of the research process.
Our keynote speaker is Edward Castranova, Associate Professor in the Department of Telecommunications at Indiana University, Bloomington. Dr Castranova is an expert on the economies of large-scale online games and has published extensively on the topic, including his most recent book Exodus to the Virtual World.

ACM SIGGRAPH Sandbox Symposium 08
Call for Participation
The third annual ACM SIGGRAPH Sandbox Symposium on videogames calls for papers, panel proposals, and presentations. We are looking for work that describes or illustrates innovative research in videogame theory, practice, methodologies, and criticism. Video games are a singular technological medium, comparable in cultural impact to the telephone, television or the Internet. What are the creative, technological, and commercial challenges facing this medium today and in the future? How do we relate engaging stories and worlds that leverage advances in technology? What is the continuing impact of this medium on individuals and society?

We seek original papers from the creative and technical communities that develop videogames and from academic researchers who study videogames and relevant technologies and disciplines. We also invite proposals for panel discussions. Selected papers and panels will be those judged to be highly-relevant to the research community and having the greatest potential impact on the practice of videogame development. All papers should meet the standards of their respective disciplines and will be peer-reviewed.

3rd International Conference on Digital Interactive Media in Entertainment and Arts
(DIMEA 2008) -10-12 September 2008, Athens, Greece
SPECIAL SESSION *** Mobile Mixed Reality Games ***
Submission Deadline: April 30, 2008

Mobile Mixed Reality games are games that are played in a physical environment augmented with virtual game artifacts. While former Mixed Reality applications were mainly stationary, advances in mobile computing and positioning technology have made this new type of games possible. Players wear mobile computers equipped with positioning technology, head-mounted displays, laptops, personal digital assistants, or mobile phones in order to play this kind of games.

Early prototypes such as ARQuake, Human Pacman, or NetAttack showed the technical feasibility but also the potentials of mobile Mixed Reality games. Players find it fascinating to play their own avatar, to physically move in the game world and to directly interact and compete with their co-players. The close integration of Mixed Reality games in the physical environment offers a new player experience that cannot be achieved with traditional computer or console games.

While the technology has matured since the first games in this field leading to Mixed Reality systems running on off-the-shelf computers and there are already some related commercial systems available such as Sony's Eye of Judgment, many issues related to the design, development and evaluation of mobile Mixed Reality games are still open and need to be further researched.

:: Netwoman 12:28 PM [+] ::
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Girl bloggers rise in numbers, could help narrow tech gender divide

by Shannon Montgomery

Nice article that talks about women, girls & technology, and the importance of encouraging girls to engage with web 2.0 tools:

...blogs are also a good social networking tool and can be used to share emotions.

"I think what we're seeing is a technology that speaks to (teenage girls), and they're responding to it."

Such a trend could also signal a tipping point when it comes to the number of women involved in technology, says Maggie Fox, co-founder of Toronto Girl Geek Dinners, which aims to make technology interesting and accessible, especially to younger women.

"When you look at the kinds of things that the United Nations has recommended in the past in terms of closing the gender gap on technology careers and understanding, it's stuff like using the web to engage and educate and mentor young women on technology use," she says.

"And that's exactly what social media - things like blogs, MySpace, Facebook - are letting women do."

:: Netwoman 12:17 PM [+] ::
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Our virtual identity is not separate from our physical identity

What Happens in a Virtual World Has a Real-World Impact, a Scholar Finds
Andrea Foster

Forget the pills, hypnosis, and meditation. Losing weight or boosting self-confidence can be achieved by adopting an avatar and living in virtual reality, says Jeremy N. Bailenson, an assistant professor of communications at Stanford University.

As the director of Stanford's Virtual Human Interaction Lab, Mr. Bailenson has explored ways that online behavior spills over to the real world. People assume that, if anything, online activities emanate from offline lives. But Mr. Bailenson and his colleagues have shown the reverse. Their experiments demonstrate, for instance, that people who watch their avatars — cartoonlike versions of themselves — gain weight from overeating are more likely to adopt a weight-loss plan in real life.

This research, which Mr. Bailenson described in February at a conference at Stanford, has impressed psychologists and holds promise for improving people's health and well-being.

:: Netwoman 10:57 AM [+] ::
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Old Fears, New Venue: US Congress questions Second Life

Members of Congress get a look at Second Life and are mystified, fascinated:
Frank Davies

Members of Congress tried to grasp the implications of Second Life, and many reverted to their fears about other online activity - that it can be addictive, or can help sexual predators and terrorists.

"Once a sexual predator gets into a virtual world, how are you going to find him?" asked Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., a former state trooper.

Rosedale said he takes "child protection very seriously," and Second Life tries to keep adults out of Teen Second Life (for kids 13 to 17) and bar minors from the adult grid. He said "vigorous self-policing by the residents" of Second Life helps expose improper behavior.

Rep. Jane Harman, a Democrat from El Segundo, fretted that Islamic terrorists could use Second Life to troll for recruits and even practice attacks in a virtual jihad. "I'm not advocating censorship, but I want to make sure these glorious tools are not abused," she said.

Rosedale said Linden Lab of San Francisco, the makers of Second Life, has cooperated with law enforcement and seen no evidence of activity by terrorists. He also said he suspected that law enforcement had created their own avatars to check out virtual worlds.

Rep. Anne Eshoo, a Palo Alto Democrat, tried to reassure her colleagues that this brave new world was a positive development "with endless possibilities."

:: Netwoman 10:52 AM [+] ::
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