Avatar Secrets

  • elan-lee-avatar-secrets

    Can watching video games be a social exercise?

    Jun 30, 2015 9:49am | by Stephanie Werner

    Gaming is quickly surpassing yesteryear’s entertainment giants, such as film and television. According to Elan Lee, former chief design officer for Xbox Entertainment Studios, “There are more cumulative hours spent playing games than there are in any other form of entertainment.” Gaming is no doubt a booming industry. In 2014, the global games market was […]

  • jessicaHammer

    Turning to the Internet for help

    Apr 12, 2015 9:00am | by jesse

    The Internet’s ubiquity makes it an easy place to turn for connections, distractions, and answers to some of life’s most difficult questions. The growing ability for search engines to anticipate our queries and help direct us to helpful material also reinforces the belief that we can turn to the web for any issue that may […]

  • SET 17_AS_solid

    The power of video game communities

    Mar 12, 2015 9:11am | by jesse

    For centuries, guilds and religious orders played a powerful role in shaping and governing basic elements of human society. In the modern era they were replaced by corporations, unions, and political parties. In the digital era, are gaming clans and online communities becoming the new manifestation of social power? The organizations that shape and govern […]

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    Is your virtual experience real?

    Jan 15, 2015 12:44pm | by jesse

    The fusion of the real and virtual into a kind of hybrid reality has been happening in a sort of slow motion over the past decade. While the experience varies, especially across generations, we’ve all become hypnotized by screens that seem to teleport us into different kinds of realities. Carnegie Mellon University Professor Jessica Hammer […]

  • SET 17_AS_solid

    How much do you value tech savvyness?

    Dec 30, 2014 3:32pm | by jesse

    In a society saturated with technology, literacy plays a central and enabling role when it comes to success and prosperity. Add to that a rapid rate of technological change, and the ability to learn fast, let alone a zeal for education, is crucial. While there are some who may dismiss and belittle game playing as […]

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    Are we too reliant on technology?

    Dec 16, 2014 10:06am | by jesse

    We shape our tools, and in exchange our tools shape us. This interaction that exists between our tools and how we use them creates a broader culture of technology that drives us to constantly find better and smarter tools. Carnegie Mellon University Professor Jessica Hammer describes this as a larger responsibility: “I think we have […]

  • HOME_SPLIT

    Who are you online?

    Dec 1, 2014 7:51am | by jesse

    There is a powerful promise to the notion that you can be anyone that you want to be. This may explain part of the appeal of online environments, the opportunity to construct a new identity or a new side of our self that has been neglected, untapped, or ignored. Whether it’s in the creation of […]

  • vint-cerf-avatar-secrets

    Should everyone on the web be identified?

    Nov 24, 2014 8:53am | by jesse

    One of the great ongoing battles of the Internet in our era is over the ability to become anonymous. For many this has been a founding virtue of the network of networks, and for others it has been a dangerous myth that never really existed. Ironically it makes sense that our perception of the way […]

  • Set 22_LAD_solid

    How much do you share?

    Nov 19, 2014 8:59am | by jesse

    The rise of social media has been both rapid and euphoric. While we remain critical of its side effects and by-products, such as the erosion of our privacy, we are, as a society, seduced into the Facebook fold and the Twitter flock because it appeals to fundamental instincts of love, friendship, and community. Dr. Sue […]

  • Sue-Johnson-Avatar-Secrets

    What can we learn from the failure of Samaritans Radar?

    Nov 10, 2014 7:48pm | by jesse

    The UK based charity Samaritans recently released an app designed to address issues related to depression and suicide. Called Samaritans Radar it seeks to turn your social net into a safety net by using an algorithm to spot when friends are in need of help. Could it play a role in fostering greater social support […]