Taran Rampersad [12.12.06 04:18 PM]

Well, then there was the pre-show. I think someone else was driving Shuttleworth's avatar; they thought I was someone else at the time. During the actual event, I expect it was Shuttleworth there.

So - theoretically - I could show up looking like G.W. Bush as an avatar with enough media hype, toss out a few phrases about Iraq, and probably even answer questions about the doggycam in the White House.

The virtual veil will have to be lifted now and then... and that's where the video can come in to demonstrate, verily, this is the right person. But that can be faked too.

  Tbone [12.15.06 09:59 PM]

It basically comes down to space and time. You are either there or not there in the physical world, and participating in real time or checking in later:

present/remote and synchronous/asynchronous

In education for example, in a traditional classroom with a teacher and students in a room at the same time, you have: present+synchronous.

If some students on another campus are watching and participating via a realtime AV connection, you have remote+synchronous.

If someone watches a recording of the lecture later at home, perhaps reading and posting comments, you have remote+asynchronous.

I suppose there is not much point in being present and viewing the event later (present+asynchronous), unless there is something in the physical space that people need to see/touch/smell in person.