Hamlet James Au from New World Notes is interviewed by Henry Jenkins and one key point raised was Au’s assertion that:
“For the most part, there is no tension, because the native participatory culture hardly knows the corporations are even there, or care all that much that they are. Residents have scant or limited interest in their ‘colonization’ “.
In an Australian context this claim doesn’t ring true for me – the small active Australian population means that we well and truly notice the corporate presence. I’d even go as far to say that primariliy due to Telstra’s presence, a significant proportion of Australians actually owe their existence in SL to effective corporate promotion. This makes the dynamic very different and is likely enhancing the level of feeling either way in regard to the increasing presence of business. Although there’s not being any significant backlash against Australian corporations to date, you can be sure that most Aussie residents of SL know of the corporations who are there.
Au is dead right that business in SL is only one facet and that creative individuals are the lifeblood of any virtual world experience. For better or worse though, the two aspects are intertwined in a sigificant way now.
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