IA Summit in Second Life

We simulcast three sessions from the 2008 IA Summit into Second Life. Here's Andrew Hinton delivering his closing plenary
"Linkosophy." Also simulcast were Jared Spool's opening plenary "Journey to the Center of Design" and Jason Hobbs' "Hotel Yeoville."

Wayfinding in Second Life - An IA Puzzle

The founders of the Nonprofit Commons sim in Second Life asked me for input on how to improve navigation for visitors to this 3D environment. The sim houses the virtual offices of more than 25 nonprofits, including CARE, Alzheimer Society of Ontario, AngelAID, Transgender Resource Center, Missouri Humanities Council, Techsoup, and the IA Institute.

IA in Second Life - Redux

The remixed Information Architecture in Second Life: Summit Redux slidedeck was presented this weekend to DCIA, the Washington, DC information architecture crowd. The deck summarizes observations of panelists Josh Knauer, Andrew Hinton, Lori Bell, Beth Kanter, and Sarah Dilling on 1) opportunities for information architecture work in Web 3D and 2) how IAs can use Second Life as a platform for collaboration and education.

Technical: Web 3D and Telepresencing

Shared 3D virtual environments like Second Life can be used for group meetings. I know of three basic approaches. Each requires significantly more infrastructure than the last.




The simplest approach is just to meet in Second Life. This enables you to talk, share slides, and do things together.

The next most complicated approach is to augment a real life meeting with some Second Life participation using Skype as a streaming server. This can be done using items found around the home, but provides an awkward connection.

A true mixed reality event links all locations together fairly well. It requires more equipment and more setup, but allows participants to see, hear, and speak to one another from either real life or Second Life.

An argument for using Web 3D for telepresencing, and some tips on how to do it, are in my slidedeck Using Gaming Platforms for Telepresencing.

Technical: Real Life/Second Life Event

I moderated a panel discussion on Information Architecture in Second Life at the IA Summit in March. It was a joint Real Life/Second Life event, and it worked rather well.

IA Exercise: Catalogs

Browsing for things can be challenging in Second Life. Here are few examples of "catalogs" of various kinds.

An IA Approach to a Second Life Buildout

The IA Institute is preparing to build a SL presence. The team is defining requirements. We're also simply trying to get a handle on the enormous job of representing good IA practice while communicating the mission, values, and activities of the Institute in a Web 3-D environment.

I've suggested starting with scenarios, figuring out key elements of the virtual environment, conducting research, then building information structures that support the scenarios. But what approach would YOU take?

Scenarios
Who are the audiences? What are the 5 or 8 things people intend to do on Info Architecture island? For instance:
* Wanting to locate and visit to find out what’s on the island
* Wanting to attend a specific event
* Wanting to acquire a tour HUD
* Wanting to organize a meeting on the island
* Wanting training in how to make buildings
* Wanting to discover points of interest elsewhere in SL

Key Elements
Identify the key elements in the virtual environment that support or hinder people accomplishing their intentions. For instance:
* Finding things (geolocations, info repositories, events, objects...)
* Creating things (info repositories, events, buildings, applications...)
* Interacting with people (meet, hear presentations...)

Research
What research is needed before scenarios and key elements can be finalized? For instance:
* Participant observation
* Surveys of other islands’ solutions
* In-world focus groups or other interviews
* Literature review

Buildout
Plan and begin buldout of information structures that support the scenarios. For instance:
* Teleport hubs for the island with appropriate signage
* Outdoor meeting place with screens for presentations
* Sandbox for building practice and tutorials
* Kiosks or other structures for delivering objects
* Catalog solutions for providing access to information repositories
* Easy-to-use instructions on “how to hold an event”
* Library of relevant case studies—e.g. “IA Challenges in Second Life”
* Think of how to support the SL build with non-SL channels

IA Exercise
Does the focus on communication and information-seeking cover enough of the territory? Are the scenarios good ones? Are the key elements sufficient? What research is really needed? What information structures are sufficient?

IA Exercise: Finding An Event Location at the Second Life Library

There are a number of in-world ways to find locations and events in Second Life. But let's say I'm a regular person. I've heard about an presentation scheduled at the Second Life Library on Info Island, and I want to find the outdoor amphitheatre.

The first thing I'd do is search for the library website and look for coordinates there. I happen to know that a "Slurl" will give me a jumppoint from the web to a location in Second Life. From the Info Island website, however, I have some difficulty finding the Slurl. But finally I do manage to get it. I find myself at the telehub.

Well, the signage and the view from the telehub has changed quite a bit since the last time I was here, many months ago. But hey, there's a reference librarian here. This is lucky -- she can just tell me where the event is being held.

However, let's imagine there is no-one at the reference desk. The signage at the telehub may tell me where the event is, but I'm having trouble interpreting all the posters. One thing I'd try is to just fly around and look for something that looks like an outdoor amphitheater.


Ah, here's one. I think I've been here before. This looks like an amphi- theater to me. But on closer inspection I see I'm on Cyberary City. I'll aim for Info Island and scan for the amphitheater. Let me check out the map -- which I can do by pulling up the map feature. This tells me I'm heading towards Info Island, so I just keep flying until I get there.

And just beyond a great big, brand new building is the Info Island amphitheater. Looks just like the other amphitheater. What a good idea! And beyond that, the telehub again.



IA Exercise
Where does the user experience start? In Second Life at the telehub? In Second Life's search feature, or at the map feature? Or before Second Life, at the website?

What should signage look like? What about live help? Should structures (like amphitheaters) resemble their functions? Can structures look really interesting and still work?

IA Exercise: Congress in SL

Here's the U.S. Capitol in Second Life -- we can tell by the ghostly dome that floats above the House / Senate floor.

After flying over the Capitol grounds I come across a park surrounded by pavillions. Landing in front of one, I see it represents the National Security agenda for the 110th Congress.

It looks like I can find out the Democratic Plan by clicking the lectern. Fascinating!

But what about other parts of the agenda? I suppose they must live in other Pavillions.


Hmm, they're really far away.

Do I really need to walk across the park in order to find out what the Democrats are planning to accomplish? There must be a better way!

IA Exercise
The metaphor is too literal for the information-rich potential of this space. But this is a beautiful park, so I don't want to see billboards. I want to understand my information options at a glance, and for it to be easy to delve deeper. As an exercise in IA for 3D spaces, first steps would include inventorying the main functions, information types, and user scenarios for this space.