Grassroots and Government in Virtual Worlds « ubiwar . conflict in n dimensions
A couple of good posts from Max Burns at Pixels and Policy.
First, The Strange History of Political Campaigns in the Metaverse:
What we see here is a clear evolution of virtual worlds from places of impromptu political speech to zones of professional political speech. Gone are the amateurs, replaced by sitting United States Congressmen and former Governors. These speeches and rallies are stage managed and planned to the point that they don’t seem, well, real.
Yes, but they won’t stop being loci of ad hoc political expression just because professionalised campaigns enter those spaces. If anything, that element of it is likely to increase in frequency and efficacy too.
Then, Avatar for President: How Virtual Worlds Are Revolutionizing Politics:
So, is it likely we’ll see an avatar running for the White House in 2012? No, not very likely. However, I believe it is entirely likely that smart campaign staffers will piggyback on cost-cutting technology to increase the spread of their candidate’s message. It makes sense – can you name a single method of communication that was not co-opted for the expression of politics shortly after its standardization?
via Grassroots and Government in Virtual Worlds « ubiwar . conflict in n dimensions.
