By: Anya Daligdig

Anya Daligdig — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 15:40:18 +0000

I didn’t see Tom saying he had different learning goals from the two different subsets (small group versus massive; learning Japanese vs. learning Japanese culture) but that his goal was the same with each group: to learn Japanese. I believe his point is that different forms of research will lead to different types of learning, but what one learns in either case will be valid insofar as the group makeup fits the goal.

By: Ich

Ich — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 19:45:27 +0000

Tom Bukowski is ein Vollspack

By: Azriel Sands

Azriel Sands — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 15:45:19 +0000

Check out Tom’s book coming out in April 2008: Coming of Age in Second Life: An Anthropologist Explores the Virtually Human. Princeton University Press. He’s a great writer!

By: Prokofy Neva

Prokofy Neva — Tue, 31 May 2005 01:42:02 +0000

The analogy of learning the Japanese language from a few people as a “data set” versus learning about Japanese culture from expose to lots of people doesn’t hold up for me. You seem to be saying that you can have an immersive study of say, 7 people in a grouplet, and that will be just as valid as if you had used the methods of a neighbouring field, sociology, and done a weighted, proper, sociological survey of say 1500 people on 30 sims or whatever. Will you use any of those sociological survey methods? I think montserrat is right to probe on the issue of self-selectivity. You didn’t mention the role of your regular “focus groups” or informal meetings on different topics. These are surely self-selected, they join the group Digital Cultures and then they are notified of the meetings (or see the notices among the Tringos). The other day I went to one of these and it was the usual forums types promoting the usual socialism — sorry, but there it is, the usual small-but-vocal-minority stumping against business, land-dealers, etc. and bemoaning the “commercialization” of SL blah blah. I pointed this out, made a vew comments, got the usual smackdown, told I was “lying” etc — the usual. So I left the group and said I’d put an alt on it. I see someone else who has like 4 alts on that group (wonder what’s up with that — trying to give Tom some good group numbers to win a contest or something lol?) Oh, well, if nothing else, Tom can study alts. My point is, I think you have to get out more. Groups like that are a terribly tiny slice of the SL life. You really have to roam around a lot more, and honestly, to really study SL, Tom, you should get 4 alts yourself,male, female, furry, etc., and go around and hang out and wildly different places. It’s the only way.

Comments on: Interview with the Anthropologist

By: Anya Daligdig

By: Ich

By: Azriel Sands

By: Prokofy Neva