1. Bring on the voice technology! From my perspective I find communication is limited when only using text in SL. Adding voice will increase the ability to communicate better as tone provides much more than simple words can. The challenge may be poeple understanding my aussie accent!

And finally, here's hoping the good people at Linden Labs are also working on body language recognition software. If not for the social set, certainly for business apps.

Arkin Ariantho (SL)
Mark Brown
http://brownblog.info/

Posted at 11:14PM on Feb 28th 2007 by mbrownsky

2. Lately, it seems the easiest obstacle with VoIP to overcome, is attaining a headset, mic and broadband.

Currently a bigger obstacle is integration and ease of use among changing groups. When setting up a voice client I am often lagging out SL or SL is lagging out my voice client. The two integrated into one may help "share the road" of broadband. Most group chats are "hosted" meaning a group chat can end when a particular person leaves.

There is also the issue of inadvertent isolation of those not using the same technology. A group of avatars stand together while others wonder why no one is typing.

Integrating voice in SL is likely to give everyone access to voice, but access to join in does not equate the ability, nor the desire to join in via voice. Could this be a new divide? Will the grid split between "voicers" and "typists"?

I hope not.

Remaining obstacles may involve technology, but are very much about the human factor. I have deaf friends in SL who I simply will never be able to chat with using my voice. Others can't speak or don't wish to for private reasons. Yet others can type and read English but not speak it comforatably. In my mind this is not a limitation, I just see "typed English" as a separate channel of communication from spoken English.

I'd like to see typing remain the "Lingua franca" among SL'ers, yet look forward to what voice can offer (though I shiver at a few of the darker possibilities).

Boo-ba-doo-ba-doop! Ring ring ring ring ring ring ring banana phone!

*ahem.. as I was saying...

If the proposed feature works, I can't help but imagine that voice will take a strong hold into how people communicate. Karaoke anyone? I have a strong feeling that integrated voice in SL, especially if it works as smoothly as LL is hoping it will, will change Second Life a great deal.

This has been true of any change that drastically effects not just how SL works, but how citizens in it interact. Each of these changes (animations, land changes ..etc) was heralded as the _end_ of SL.

It's more like, the end of the world *as we know it*.

Not only that, but it will invite a whole new type of person to SL. There are many people who can't imagine typing all day to chat with friends. Either they can't type well, don't like to type or just prefer to speak. Mix this with people who prefer to type or cannot speak and you can see my concern about a "split".

SL has these concerns in mind, and SL has mixed (or at least made room for) a wide range of diversity before.

Posted at 5:16AM on Mar 1st 2007 by Blueman Steele