Pixels and Policy

Virtual Worlds are Reshaping How Indians and Pakistanis Think, Act and Socialize

You may not be familiar with The Hindu, India's national newspaper. I recommend it to anyone who wants to read some insightful work from an up-and-coming world power.

A fascinating article by The Hindu's reporters looks at how the technology powering virtual worlds is evolving, and how the way people communicate is evolving with it.

Pixels and Policy takes a look at why India has such an interest in virtual communication, and what their research tells us about the importance of the Metaverse across cultures.

Virtual Voices: Why Americans Need Online Voting

We’ve talked about how campaigns are changing to accommodate both a virtual presence in games like Second Life and a real-world campaign office.

We’ve talked about how government is increasingly involving itself in virtual worlds as cheap, effective means of spreading information.

But what about the voter? When does the ballot box move online? Pixels and Policy explores the technological problems and hard work needed to bring online voting to America.

Can Virtual Medical Consultations Expand and Improve Health Care?

For 44 million people, health care is a luxury beyond reach. No wonder, then, that health care reform is the topic du jure across the country this year.

As Washington politicians debate an expansive and expensive universal health care bill, many are looking for ways to bring the cost of health care within reach of those left behind. How many are looking at the ways virtual world technology is evolving to lower the cost of physician consultations and medical screening?

Pixels and Policy investigates.

Politicians Stump for Elusive Virtual Votes

Barack Obama spent nearly $800 million pursuing the White House in 2008. Over half of that was media spending: Television, direct mail, rallies, and internet infrastructure, including a virtual Second Life headquarters.

Compared to his expansive broadcast media strategy, Obama's foray into virtual worlds hardly ranks.

Yet the campaign's tiny investment in a corner of the Metaverse will make a big difference in 2012, when politicians begin to integrate virtual worlds into official campaign strategy.

Virtual Tourists Show Little Interest in U.S. Government Sims

        The DoE's island is impressive, but empty.

Until recently, the Department of Energy''s involvement in Second Life has been limited to hosting a speaker through the University of Delaware's Second Life lecture series,"Global Agenda." This attracted a few dozen avatars, some of whom even stayed through the entire speech.

Fascination with virtual worlds, especially Second Life, has led several government agencies to construct outreach and public education centers in the Metaverse.

Now, after several years of concerted development, these virtual temples to the Department of Energy and the NOAA sit mostly unused, victims of what one tourist calls "the big empty."