Myers argues that virtual worlds are "bringing back to humanity the power and influence of the heart and gut," and that "[o]nline communities like MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, Second Life, Cyworld and even dating sites are huge successes because they empower emotions and offer a welcome environment where the heart and gut can thrive." He writes, further, that virtual worlds will "welcome us into a new society that devalues the intellectual stimuli and rewards emotional connections," and that "success in these worlds will be based on emotional rather than intellectual skills." He then gives some advice to marketers: "traditional brain-based methods and behaviors will be useless. But advertisers who have retained emotional connections as the foundation of their strategies will survive."
Beginning with chapter four, Myers gets into more hard data on what companies and people are doing in virtual worlds and how money is made and spent there. This is where the book gets more interesting. And here we get more citations and named sources. He writes of stores and ad agencies opening up shop in Second Life and encouraging their clients to do the same. There are lecture series and business meetings held at Idea City, GSD&M's headquarters in Second Life. There are even businesses that exist only in the virtual world. There are concerts, discussions, promotions, and offerings. Especially interesting is the brief discussion of uses of virtual worlds by the University of California at Davis to simulate schizophrenia. Also interesting is MTV's Virtual Laguna Beach (MTV actually has more virtual worlds) and Wolfgang's Vault, a concert vault with an "inventory of more than 300 full-length concerts dating back to the Sixties."
Virtual worlds will, and no doubt already do, have an enormous impact on the the younger generations. We are living in a connected world, though mainly in so-called developed countries, where "[b]eing connected is what 16-32 years olds (sic) live for," according to Sky Dayton, the founder of EarthLink and now CEO of Helio. This demographic wants to be connected 24/7, and what they are connected to, aside from the friends they don't necessarily need to see in the flesh anymore, is companies salivating at the prospect of being able to reach their willing consumers, always.
In the last chapter, in closing, Myers returns to his vision of virtual worlds as gateways to an almost Utopian future where "expressing yourself is rewarded and where emotions, rather than intellect, define actions and relationships." He speculates that humans might even learn, though the use of virtual worlds, to develop "new powers of intuition, psychic abilities, mental telepathy and spiritual communications...by learning to elevate the emotions to a position of authority over the repressive forces of the brain...." He anticipates the emergence of controversy, where forces will seek to control these universes, but dismisses these forces by saying that they are merely "intellectual capital demanding to maintain its power over emotional will."
Article comments
1 - Vikk Simmons
When I read the title I thought this would be a book that would touch on the consequences of living in virtual worlds but apparently you didn't find it so. That's a shame. Having worked in an environment where at least half of the staff played War Craft--including the GM--and having a 15-year old grandson taking his responsibilities to his online virtual friends more seriously than those of his real family, I continue to wonder at the long term effects of the growing virtual society and game playing. I have no doubt that there are many plusses. But I refuse to believe there the dark side is nonexistent. I still may read the book more for th sections you found interesting but it is a shame the writer chose content as he did--but understandably so.
2 - Abram
Thanks for your comment, Vikk. As I mentioned near the beginning of the review, the impact of virtual worlds cannot be ignored. The reason the book interested me at first was precisely because I expected it to take a serious look at the phenomenon, to study it, examine it from different angles, etc. It was, unfortunately, a book by someone whose mind is already made up, based, I think, on insufficient evidence. It is too significant a phenomenon, with the potential for a profound (for better and/or worse) impact on present and future generations, to arrive at easy, one-sided and premature conclusions. Please do read it for yourself. All perspectives need to be heard and examined.