Information Dynamics in Virtual Worlds

Introduction

The first part of this book looked at information services and information-seeking behavior in virtual worlds; in the second part, I want to share play-by-play experiences of actually spending time in virtual worlds, and then suggest ways that the worlds will molt into something new. The following does not even pretend to approach a formal ethnography of virtual culture, but (such as it is) is explicitly concerned with moving through virtual worlds as an information professional.

Simply put, here are my experiences as I spend some shoe-leather trying to reach out to other actors in various virtual worlds. My interactions are by and large concerned with getting and sharing information. I’ve shared accounts of ‘initiations’ into ...