Virtual everything is this where marketing is going?
Posted by Patrick Murphy on Sat, Jan 22, 2011
About a decade or so ago, these little animated people started appearing on our computer screens. They are characteristically known as Avatars. For online chatting purposes you can become one of these Avatars and fool the person you are chatting with into thinking you look like someone or something else.
Commonly used online these days, organizations use Avatars for interacting with consumers and clients. Ikea is a prime example with Anna. She actually looks like a computerized drawing of a person. The average Avatar is characteristically of cartoon quality graphics. You can look any way you wish. Online innovation techniques are turning people into animated puppets.
These Avatars will even talk to you with a process called digital conversation, this is commonly known as a Structured Language Processing Avatar. (SLP).
More realistic innovation tactics are the Google Earth Maps. Virtually anywhere in the world can be viewed on this online innovative system. Check out the house in which you grew up for instance; or go and look at the business building of a partner in another country; then you can check out the source of your outsource. Virtual online innovation is just another step in the advancement of technology.
More virtual practices are online gaming with someone across the other side of the world. Flying simulators with the guy next door while not leaving your living room; or becoming a virtual assistant, working for someone on the other side of the planet, online innovation bringing you only steps away instead of thousands of miles.
Some call it virtual reality, but how can it be virtual if it’s reality? Virtual is actually defined as “Being as specified in essence or effect though not in actual fact, form or name”. So therefore it isn’t reality it’s online innovation. What kind of Avatar are you?