Capturing and sharing memories in a virtual world

ABSTRACT

Virtual worlds (VWs) such as Second Life® (SL) contain a rich social culture where people engage in a multitude of experiences much like real life. With this comes the need to capture and share memories with others. To understand what tools people use to accomplish this and what limitations they may face, we conducted interviews with participants in SL. Our results identify two clusters of users - Casuals and Lifers - who differed in the ways in which they captured and shared memories. Here we describe the use of photos, landmarks, friend lists, and conversation logs. We also show how a lack of real life physical and social constraints in the VW affects user routines, and, in some cases, how it does not. This suggests design directions for memory tools in the VW and also real life that break the bounds of current everyday practice.

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.5 INFORMATION INTERFACES AND PRESENTATION (I.7)
      H.5.3 Group and Organization Interfaces
          Subjects: Synchronous interaction

General Terms:
Design, Human Factors

Keywords:
memories, photo sharing, second life, virtual worlds