JVWR Newsletter

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JVWR Previous Issues

Vol. 1, Issue 1 - Virtual Worlds Research: Past, Present & Future

   Editor:

  • Jeremiah Spence, University of Texas at Austin, USA

 

Vol. 1, Issue 2 - Consumer Behavior in Virtual Worlds

   Guest Editors:

  • Natalie Wood, Saint Joseph′s University, USA
  • Caja Thimm, University of Bonn, Germany

 

Vol. 1, Issue 3 - Cultures of Virtual Worlds

   Guest Editors:

  • Mia Consalvo, Ohio University, USA
  • Mark Bell, Indiana University, USA

 

Vol. 2, Issue 1 - Pedagogy, Education and Innovation in Virtual Worlds

   Guest Editors:

  • Leslie Jarmon, University of Texas at Austin, USA
  • Kenneth Y.T. Lim, Nanyang Technology University, Singapore
  • B. Stephen Carpenter, II, Texas A&M University, USA

 

Vol. 2, Issue 2 - 3D Virtual Worlds for Health and Healthcare

   Guest Editors:

  • Maged M. Kamel Boulos, University of Plymoth, UK
  • Susan Toth-Cohen, Thomas Jefferson University, USA
  • Simon Bignell, University of Derby, UK

 

Vol. 2, Issue 3 - Technology, Economy and Standards in Virtual Worlds

  Guest Editors:

  • Yesha Y. Sivan, Shenkar College & Metaverse Labs, Israel
  • Jean H.A. Gellissen, Philips Research, Netherlands
  • Robert Bloomfield, Cornell University, USA

 

Vol. 2, Issue 4 - Virtual Economies, Virtual Goods and Service Delivery in Virtual Worlds

  Guest Editors:

  • Mandy Salomon, Smart Services CRC, Australia
  • Serge Soudoplatoff, ESCP-EAP / Hetic, France

 

Creative Commons License

CrossRef Member

Demographics of Virtual Worlds

Jeremiah Spence

 

Abstract

Virtual worlds, as both a concept and an industry, has changed radically over the past 10 years, from a toy for the technological elite, to an over-hyped marketing phenomenon, to a needed reexamination of the uses and utility of virtual world technologies and experiences, as provided in this paper. Within academia there are a number of issues that require further examination. The academic community appears to be divided into four camps: 1. those who embrace virtual worlds; 2. those who ignore the shifting use of technology; 3. those who are aware but have not yet explored the technology; and 4. those who are entirely unaware that virtual worlds exist. There is an overwhelming focus of research, publications and funding on a single virtual world: Second Life, which does not serve more than a fraction of the entire population utilizing virtual worlds or similar technologies. An overview of the size, shape and forms of virtual worlds may have a positive impact on both of these issues. This paper presents an in-depth survey and analysis of virtual worlds and related technologies.

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