Communication in virtual world: Second life and business opportunities

摘要

Second Life is an online 3D virtual world imagined and created by its residents. The residents can communicate, explore, participate in social activities, create and trade virtual properties and services. The most common communication media used in Second Life are text, voice, instant messaging and video conferencing. The purpose of the current study is to investigate why people communicate in Second Life and opportunities of making real business value. An online survey from Second Life residents was performed to study communication behavior and business opportunities in Second Life. The theoretical backgrounds used in this study were the communication theory and social systems and word of mouth communications for consumer learning. The result was focused on the effectiveness and superiority of communication in Second Life among other social networking sites such as Facebook, Myspace and Youtube. The communication is significant to policy makers, managers and leaders for information sharing and decision making.