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Friday, January 16, 2004
Posted by tom
11:53 PM 0 comments

SHOULDER TO SHOULDER WITH MY AVATAR

Like flying cars and paperless offices, we were supposed to have virtual selves in cyberspace by now, and avatar technology exists since the 80's, so why didn't the Lawnmower Man happen? The answer may lie in our own discomfort at showing each other what we think of ourselves, like writing our own CV is more difficult than writing the CV of a friend. Where avatars are beginning to live and work are in on-line gaming. There my character is mostly designed by the game itself and I can only personalize it, like a dressed up Barbie or Ken doll. Another example is in on-line communities like Habbo (www.habbo.com), where the cartoon-like depiction of myself, and the miniature 3D perspective, allow me to keep a distance from my avatar, and therefore keeps me from exposing my self image to the world. These are more like dressed up Playmobil characters.

It is said that men prefer communicating shoulder to shoulder rather than face to face, distracted by the task at hand they feel more comfortable expressing themselves; beer in hand watching the game, fishing, building a treehouse or raising a barn, whatever. The on-line gaming avatars are currently interacting in this way, a group of players from around the world gathered in cyberspace to slay a dragon and, on the side, exchange views. I predict this trend will continue and avatars will arrive but when they do they won't be in your face, but rather by your side, and the best avatars will be made by your friends.