In-World Interviews
By Josh Martin on Monday, November 5th, 2007In Behavioral Research, we do a lot of interviews - and virtual worlds are no exception.
“In-world” interviews are an amazing way to uncover avatar needs, preferences, and expectations in virtual worlds. In the last few months, we’ve used this method to produce some really intriguing findings.
Take a quick look at what an in-world interview looks like:
Well, that was very boring to watch, but the setting of the interview is fantastic!
I look forward to seeing a focus group in-world. Why not use the Place To Meet Island Executive room for that?
I have to agree with Del, riveting stuff there. Are we missing something?
What struck me is that it looks not too different from a real world interview*. You’re sitting down with someone and chatting in a casual setting. I’m guessing people may respond differently as well, because their true selves are masked by their avatars. Does that mean they are more likely to be honest? In any case, very interesting to see the virtual world analog of real-world science like this! I look forward to hearing what you learn.
(* The hand-waving was odd, until I realized what he was doign. If you look closely, you’ll see that he’s air-typing his interview responses…the text appears at the bottom of the window)
I think it’s absolutely fascinating to be able to interact “in-world” and gather data that way. People tend to be more comfortable in that setting. I was talking to someone today that designs these worlds for “second life” and he said that a lot of residents that identify as female are actually male and vice versa.
Hey Del,
You were right, the Crowne Plaza - Place to Meet Island is a great place to conduct a focus group. Check out this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqFiZv2301Y