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Communication in virtual world: Second life and business opportunities

Author

Listed:
  • Gajendra Sharma

    (Harbin Institute of Technology)

  • Ye Qiang

    (Harbin Institute of Technology)

  • Sun Wenjun

    (Harbin Institute of Technology)

  • Lu Qi

    (Harbin Institute of Technology)

Abstract

Second Life is an online 3D virtual world imagined and created by its residents. The residents can communicate, explore, participate in social activities, create and trade virtual properties and services. The most common communication media used in Second Life are text, voice, instant messaging and video conferencing. The purpose of the current study is to investigate why people communicate in Second Life and opportunities of making real business value. An online survey from Second Life residents was performed to study communication behavior and business opportunities in Second Life. The theoretical backgrounds used in this study were the communication theory and social systems and word of mouth communications for consumer learning. The result was focused on the effectiveness and superiority of communication in Second Life among other social networking sites such as Facebook, Myspace and Youtube. The communication is significant to policy makers, managers and leaders for information sharing and decision making.

Suggested Citation

  • Gajendra Sharma & Ye Qiang & Sun Wenjun & Lu Qi, 2013. "Communication in virtual world: Second life and business opportunities," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 15(4), pages 677-694, September.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:infosf:v:15:y:2013:i:4:d:10.1007_s10796-012-9347-z
    DOI: 10.1007/s10796-012-9347-z
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    3. Yulei Gavin Zhang & Mandy Yan Dang & Hsinchun Chen, 2020. "An Explorative Study on the Virtual World: Investigating the Avatar Gender and Avatar Age Differences in their Social Interactions for Help-Seeking," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 22(4), pages 911-925, August.
    4. Hatice Kizgin & Ahmad Jamal & Bidit Lal Dey & Nripendra P. Rana, 2018. "The Impact of Social Media on Consumers’ Acculturation and Purchase Intentions," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 20(3), pages 503-514, June.
    5. Ioannis Krasonikolakis & Adam Vrechopoulos & Sergios Dimitriadis & Nancy Pouloudi, 2021. "User perceptions of 3D online store designs: an experimental investigation," Information Systems and e-Business Management, Springer, vol. 19(4), pages 1321-1354, December.
    6. Ricard L. Fogués & Jose M. Such & Agustin Espinosa & Ana Garcia-Fornes, 2014. "BFF: A tool for eliciting tie strength and user communities in social networking services," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 16(2), pages 225-237, April.
    7. Yan Mandy Dang & Yulei Gavin Zhang & James Morgan, 0. "Integrating switching costs to information systems adoption: An empirical study on learning management systems," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 0, pages 1-20.

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