The article in The New York Times titled, “The Life of the Chinese Gold Farmer” was was really an eye opener for me with the idea that, once again, you can make a living while participating in a virtual world. So many of these workers hours are 12 hour shifts, 7 days a week. Now I understand that, for the most part, virtual worlds and games are used for a leisure activity. But as technology becomes more advance, and the normal 9 - 5 office setting is becoming less of a norm, it only makes sense that online work would be increasing. However, when I think of virtual work, I think of advertising, customer service, and mass communication. So my question that arose from this article was, What is the point and the benefits of making a living in games such as WoW? It may come across as an easy and very accessible money maker, but is it really? It seems as if making a living while playing these games leaves little room for promotions, raises, benefits, insurance, and leisure time. Quite often in this article, many employees were found saying, “It’s not all work. But there’s not a big difference between work and play” (pg. 3). This kind of depresses me because these people appear to be trapped in their own work. Or are the trapped in their own leisure and/or hobby? What attracted these employees to the “career” they are now apart of was the excitement and thrill of the game when it was just simply a leisure activity. Now that they are playing it 12 hours a day everyday, it seems more of a responsibility and liability.
I enjoyed reading the Linden Lab Case Study because it showed the beginning process of big, virtual company meetings on Second Life and the initial responses to those who were a part of the process. Finally becoming somewhat familiar to Second Life, it was reassuring to see that the business people in the article had the same thoughts on SL as myself. The steps IBM took into setting up the virtual meeting was very similar to that of our first day meeting in SL for this class. We were given assistance in how to register to SL, change our avatar, fly, sit, and build things. But what really compelled me about SL was the accessibility and the idea that everyone with a computer has access to it. The elimination of traveling gets rid of the additional stress of driving, flying, staying in a hotel, booking a babysitter, and all that takes place during a work meeting. This can also be applied to class, because on Tuesdays, I did not have to worry about finding parking, wondering if route 18 was going to be backed up, or where to find the money I need to put gas in my tank.
Another part of the article that I enjoyed was the quote from Joanne Martin in which she said, “..part of me felt like I was physically there. And I would watch myself walk around and talk to people” (pg. 6). I like this about SL because there are no guidelines and/or restrictions. You can walk about and greet people just as you would do normally in a job or class setting. It is somewhat of an escape, where you can still be yourself, but not have to worry about the real world bullshit.
