The imaginary world yields real-world profit for Gen Y

ARTICLE: "My Virtual Summer Job: With summer jobs in short supply, more young people are pursuing money-making opportunities in Web fantasy worlds," by Alexandra Alter, Wall Street Journal, 16 May 2008, p. W1.

ARTICLE: "Second Life has a special guest: AI," by Michael Hill, USA Today, 19 May 2008, p. 6B.

The two pieces interest me simply as milestones in the migration of human activity into virtual worlds.

I fully expect to witness the opportunity, in my old age, to migrate myself into such virtual environments as an alternative to advanced infirmity. You see elders in nursing homes using Wii. This is just the beginning.

The Matrix is coming, and it will be a voluntary migration, led primarily by elders.

Comments

[Tom Mull]

Hey Dr. Tom: I worked ten years in an assisted living facility as a maintenanceman. I know where we're going. I hope that they have the VR5 thing worked out by about 20 years from now. I'm about ten years older than you so I'll greet you to the Matrix when you arrive. =)

[Galrahn]

Is this really anything more than the business evolution of the hobby industry though? At the end of the day, virtual world productivity is the absence of physical world productivity.

Disclaimer: I have owned and worked in several businesses associated with RMT trading in MMORPGs.

[Louis Heberlein]

I think our news media and political folks are the main players.