Ethan Zuckerman of Global Voices about a discussion/interview he had with Chris Dahlen of Pitchfork Media:

"The most interesting aspect of the discussion to me was the idea thatChris brought to the table - that we might pay more attention toimagined worlds than to the real one. First, this helped me understandprecisely why I find the Second Life hype so disconcerting - I find itdeeply odd that journalism is expanding into these illusory spaceswhile it’s shrinking in the real world. I think the answer may be thatthese new spaces - whether SecondLife, World of Warcraft, the cultureof fanfiction or machinima - are far more coverable than many events inthe real world. Chris uses an example I offered about the difficulty offinding out what’s what in Somalia - there are literally hundreds ofsituations in the globe where, despite political importance and theimpact on human beings, we’ve got very little idea what’s actuallygoing on. By contrast, virtual and pop-culture worlds are knowable in adeep, comprehensive, net-friendly and encyclopedic manner. That, plusfewer vaccinations, could make anyone want to be a virtual worldscorrespondent rather than a real-world journalist."

Read the entire post here.

February 11, 2007