Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) Research has a long tradition in the evaluation of virtual worlds as possible tools for collaboration in geographically dispersed teams. One advantage of virtual worlds is that they can convey a broad spectrum of interactional cues to the user. Interacting with others as an avatar, the user can make gestures and move his avatar in a 3D space. However, in current conferencing tools like Acrobat Connect Professional or Skype, where one sees his colleagues using a camera, the transmission of gestures is much more real than in an virtual environment like Second Life.
Nevertheless, the spatial dimension of a real life meeting may get lost in such video conferences. The spatial dimension though may be especially interesting for networking. The following example shall show why:
For solving a small problem like discussing a mistake in a sales report a quick video meeting with a predetermined group of colleagues is very efficient. However, if the problem is more complex like coming up with a new idea for a product the group of involved people must not be predefined and working out the idea will take several days or months. A software engineer for instance might have a fantastic idea about a new software platform in mind but will not be able to tell right away how to realize it and how to design a business model for it. Big projects mostly rely on networks between people that are located in different places. Virtual worlds give the user the chance to experience networking like in real life: A worker in England can just approach his colleague in China and ask him a question as if he would be in the room next door.
Thus, we should extend the notion of virtual collaboration from the idea of a meeting to the entire process of collaboration. In this context the 3D-space could open up a new perspective for global networking.
Coming soon: Part 2: Web 2.0 in Virtual Worlds
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