We Are Avatar

Recently we got invited to participate in a conference on virtual worlds. Our reaction was a little luke-warm as there’s something about the definition of virtual worlds we’re weary of: Lots of people are pointing to 3D worlds and saying that they’re the next big thing – but maybe virtual worlds are already here.

Virtual worlds don’t have to be 3D video games like Second Life. We all have avatars, they’re just don’t have to be quirky stick figures. We need to widen our view of what a virtual world is.

A virtual world is where we live digitally. Therefore virtual worlds include social networks like Facebook and LinkedIn, content forums like YouTube and Flickr and publishing zones like the blogosphere and Twitter. The examples are pretty endless. We aren’t all going to be one day living in a 3D game – we’re already living in virtual worlds with carefully crafted avatars.

An avatar is our presence in that digital world. A blog is an avatar – PSFK is a representation of the authors of PSFK – our feelings, thoughts and questions. A Facebook profile is an avatar and so is a MySpace page. All these things are changing, living things. The more they change, the more active your avatar is, the more we live in these virtual worlds.

While commentators seem obsessed to pinpoint virtual worlds, the future is already with us. Look at the stars and realize that we’re not alone. We shouldn’t be forcing everyone into some preconception of what a virtual world is – we should be wondering what useful thing to do next with the universe we’ve created.