12-Third-Hand Digital Tools

“If we did not have online organizing tools, it would be much harder to be where we are now.” Chris Hughes, Founder of Facebook | New York Times, 7 July 2008

“One of my fundamental beliefs from my days as a community organizer is that real change comes from the bottom up…and there’s no more powerful tool for grassroots organizing than the Internet.” Barack Obama, Democratic Presidential Nominee | New York Times, 7 July 2008

“I think the basic economic benefits associated with technology usually drive adoption. And I think there’s a basic economic benefit in having meetings. That means there we be a competitive imperative created by companies using virtual worlds to collaborate; this will give them a slide edge that will cause adoption by their competitors. I think that competition at a very small scale will drive adoption and use overall. 

“[With respect the benefit of anonymity in virtual worlds] I think one of the biggest is that you do feel more comfortable talking in a meeting. The feeling of presence is very high but it doesn’t have quite the intimidation that a real meeting does.

“Some people people are willing to express ideas or call thing into question where they wouldn’t in a normal meeting. And that small difference is a significant economic benefit to a company.

“Once you get a small work group into Second Life and there comfortable with it, they might be separated by great distances but working together in a space that is 10 times more compelling than being on the telephone, or worse yet, being on a conference call.

“The ability to sit down and have a ‘face-to-face’ meeting - I know it seems strange but it really does feel like that [in Second Life] - is a very obvious cost-saving for business. Businesses willing to push and get a few work groups going will immediately see the benefits - and the hard costs can be realized in travel cost reduction and improvement in collaborative efficiencies.

Philip Rosedale, Founder, Second Life | 18 June 2008 Financial Times