I’ve been looking for some time to read the discussion with Julian Dibbell, author of Play Money, over on The WELL (Link), and finally found it. Fortunately it hasn’t progressed as fast as I figured it would, so it didn’t take too long to catch up. At this point they’re on the usual topic of “why do people pay real money for stuff that isn’t real”, about which I’ve posted my own thoughts both here and elsewhere. They haven’t really discussed some of the more interesting social side effects of virtual world technology; just some hints here and there. I’d like to see them address some of the issues I raised in my post on the SL Future Salon blog (Link). Perhaps they’ll be covering those issues soon. Worth keeping an eye on.
via Open the Future
The interview has been kind of frustrating, actually. Julian disappears for days at a time, which means that either there’s “dead air” or I (and some of the readers) end up asking multiple questions, eliminating any sense of progression in the discussion.
You’re more than welcome to ask a question yourself, btw — either send it to me or to the address on the Inkwell page.
I might jump in, thanks.