Pixels and Policy

Analyzing the Growth of Virtual Worlds as Scientific Research Tools

Virtual worlds have grown by leaps and bounds over the past few years, and their applications in expressing political messages and building competitive online-based businesses seem to expand with each new release. But what about scholars at universities and think tanks who hope to use virtual worlds and the social microcosms they create as part of serious academic study?

Pixels and Policy has been skeptical about how some news agencies have looked at virtual worlds as pop-sci "fun fact" generators, but for those willing to invest the time and resources in virtual world research, the Metaverse can yield very interesting and useful data on how people interact, work, and manage a second life in the virtual realm. Pixels and Policy takes a look.

 

What The F*&# Happened to Pixels and Policy?

As most of you have noticed, Pixels and Policy hasn't been terribly...current lately. In my experience, writing a post pledging to post more is the first sign a blog is on that long grim slide to death. Now, there are certainly former friends who now advocate for Pixels and Policy's hasty demise. Some have been true-blue in their novella-length distaste for the blog and its content, and I've gladly provided a forum for their venting.

Yesterday, I received a rare e-mail at Editor@PixelsandPolicy.co that jogged old memories. I'll put down the most salient points and respond to them as best I can for the few people still following the blog:

What happened to the blog? As best I can say, I'm still jazzed about virtual worlds and the interplay of new media, old media and public policy. However, writing three articles a day got laborious, and back in March I wasn't willing to invest 5-6 hours a day in the research, writing, advertising and outreach necessary to sustain the site. Content started slipping into tabloid style. I wasn't terribly pleased. My goal had been to write analytical work that pursued interesting questions. I became a sort of Hank Venture clone of New World Notes. So I put the blog on break.

What are you doing now? I'm still writing and researching, both as a staff writer at former CNN Director Frank Sesno's environmental project Planet Forward and within The George Washington University's School of Media and Public Affairs. Current projects include ghostwriting for The Huffington Post and working on a forthcoming research paper on whether blogs and new media simply reframe stories originally produced by mainstream news outlets. I also provided research on the 60 Minutes piece "The People Behind the Mosque." I'm enjoying the new level of resources, and hope to turn out new Pixels and Policy content as time allows.

What's next? To be honest, I'm hoping to continue Pixels and Policy when I get a break. I still think virtual worlds are fundamentally redefining how we communicate with each other and how government communicates with the public. I think recent trends in international politics are placing a premium on understanding digital communication. But I don't want to come back with an inferior product and waste the reader's time. It's my hope that my work at George Washington can provide some interesting academic guest-posters and some collaborative relationships on virtual worlds research.

That said, I'm more than happy to work with others in the virtual world community to host content and facilitate discussion through Pixels and Policy. I'm hoping to have some work up in the near future by the author of "The Myth of Digital Democracy," Dr. Matt Hindman. I'm also hoping to restore connections with thoughtful writers like Ariella Furman, Gary Arthur Douglas and applied people like the mercurial but wonderful Ron Blechner.

I'll be placing some of my research and draft work up here as I write, as well as posting interesting discussion topics and commentary on some of the new applications of virtual and social media in political campaigns. Less Second Life gossip, I'm hoping. Fewer hard drive waving contests between people who share the same interest in virtual worlds but come to differing opinions.

Always expect more.

Turning Words into Pictures: A Pixels and Policy Proposal

Virtual communication allows for all sorts of fun and interesting innovations on the traditional written word. Here's one of my favorites. This is a word cloud that contains the most-used words in Pixels and Policy's recent article, "A Commentary on the Ethical Dilemmas of All-Virtual Workplaces."

Click the thumbnail for a full-sized image.

Not surprisingly, virtual was the most-used word, but honesty and communication also pop up frequently. I'm considering including these word clouds at the top of every article to give readers in a hurry the quick gist of a piece. 

Data and content visualization is an emerging hobby of mine, and I think it makes for a much more interesting reading experience - in addition to providing something that both looks good and offers a bit of content consolidation.

What do you think?

The Future of Pixels and Policy: Expanding and Refocusing on Analytical Research

It's rare a blog gets to say it will be reducing its publication rate due to an excess of success, but I'm proud to say this is the case for Pixels and Policy.

As readers know, I recently took up the position of Editorial Coordinator for the Journal of Virtual Worlds Research. This position, though demanding, is a great privilege and a chance to help publicize some of the best virtual worlds research out there. It's published work from a wide range of professionals including Robert Bloomfield of Metanomics, Garrison LeMasters, Edward Castronova, and Dor Abrahamson.

I love the work and feel it will result in a much better product coming from Pixels and Policy, both in the form of guest pieces from established researchers and in the form of a renewed look at our analytical style and focus. Since its inception, Pixels and Policy has been about innovation and staying ahead of the curve. I intend to keep the blog fresh and novel with periodic facelifts and new features.

What readers may not know is that the success of Pixels and Policy's research and engaging articles goes well beyond features in the BBC's Magazine Monitor, Foreign Policy in Focus, Truthout, and other news and research organizations. Pixels and Policy's unique approach to analyzing how virtual worlds are affecting our real-world public policy and international relations was integral in my application packet to The George Washington University's prestigious School of Media and Public Affairs.

I'm proud to say The George Washington University sees as much potential in Pixels and Policy and the role of new media in setting policy agendas as I do. I'll be joining their fantastic team both as a student in the Media and Public Affairs program and as a research assistant to a professor and long-time advocate of the role of media's influence - both old and new forms - on the international relations scene. 

This offers unique opportunities for Pixels and Policy, but it does come at a cost. As a result of my work both with The George Washington University and the Journal of Virtual World Studies, in addition to other concerns, I've decided the best course of action is to scale Pixels and Policy back to publication three times per week on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday instead of our current six times per week. This will provide the time necessary to write deeper, more analytical pieces that do justice to the blog's original mission of shedding light on the growing importance of virtual worlds and digital communication in the business and policy spheres.

Pixels and Policy isn't going away. In fact, it's in a stronger position than ever to bring together a wide range of industry and academic voices. This is already underway, with recent guest pieces by everyone from virtual world entrepreneurs Ariella Furman, Pooky Amsterdam and Gary Arthur Douglas II to planned pieces from educators making use of virtual world technology to bridge the achievement gap in troubled schools. Pixels and Policy will even be adding a new regular columnist and a junior researcher, finally allowing me to use the royal "we" that is the symbol of so much P&P controversy.

I look forward to continuing this journey with you, and as always, I invite your questions or comments. Feel free to leave them in the comments section of the blog, or shoot an e-mail directly to me at Editor@PixelsandPolicy.com. I'd love to hear your thoughts about the downshift in publication frequency.

Video: Your Thoughts On Our Appearance on Tonight Live with Paisley Beebe

Pixels and Policy would like to thank Paisley Beebe and everyone involved in the production of Tonight Live for the great interview we had on Sunday, February 28th. Paisley asked some great questions about the evolution of virtual currency and its importance to the real-world economy, and we even got a chance to give due credit to the virtual currency work of Jon Matonis over at The Monetary Future.

Below you'll find the recording of the show, courtesy of Treet.tv. Would love to hear your thoughts, and we'll be putting up some further analysis a little later in the week! Thanks to everyone who came out to see us and for all the great commentary we've received via e-mail and Twitter!