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Secrecy and illusion : Second Life and the construction of unreality

Demetrious, Kristin 2008, Secrecy and illusion : Second Life and the construction of unreality, Australian journal of communication, vol. 35, no. 1, pp. 1-13.

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Title Secrecy and illusion : Second Life and the construction of unreality
Author(s) Demetrious, Kristin
Journal name Australian journal of communication
Volume number 35
Issue number 1
Start page 1
End page 13
Publisher University of Queensland, School of English
Place of publication Brisbane, Qld.
Publication date 2008
ISSN 0811-6202
Keyword(s) internet;
public relations
Summary This paper analyses the main Second Life Grid-an Internet-based business platform with dynamic social, techno-economic, sensual-aesthetic, and psychological complexities-as an example of public relations. It argues that Second Life is a more subversive, politically oriented, and powerful form of public relations, because it invisibly exploits and invades the process of the formation of public opinion. The paper argues that Australian organisations such as Telstra, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), and the Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS), which lend Second Life credibility through their recruitment, need to ask critical questions about the ethical implications of promoting this market-driven cyber-illusion. The paper begins by defining public relations (Habermas, 1995, 1984, 1989; Gramsci in Storey, 2006) and investigating any links between public relations and Second Life. In particular, it investigates Second Life's defining claim that it is 'imagined, created and owned by its residents', and concludes with a series of questions that organisations seeking involvement in Second Life should consider as part of their decision-making.
Notes
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Language eng
Field of Research 200199 Communication and Media Studies not elsewhere classified
Socio Economic Objective 970120 Expanding Knowledge in Language, Communication and Culture
HERDC Research category C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal
Copyright notice ©2008, University of Queensland, School of English
Persistent URL http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30017713

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