Ross Dawson is an Australian futurist, prolific public speaker and creator of frameworks that assist in understanding trends. I've spoken on virtual worlds at a couple of get-togethers he's organised and he certainly understands the field broadly. He's recently launched Future of Sex, devoted to the future trends in sex. Virtual worlds feature as a key component but the site … [Read more...] about Virtual sex: the futurist perspective
Politics
Election 2010: virtual worlds make their debut
As Australia draws to the end of its five-week election campaign, I'd pretty much given up on the political parties doing anything beyond the odd YouTube or Facebook campaign strategy. As I wrote in 2007, Australia has lagged some other countries in the use of virtual environments for politics, and this campaign hasn't changed that, with the debate over competing broadband … [Read more...] about Election 2010: virtual worlds make their debut
Have your say on the internet filter: it’s delayed but not forgotten
Sorry, this is really for Australian readers only: a large number of Australian media sites are running a common poll on the proposed internet filter. Sure, it's a very simple question, and there'll no doubt be some debate over its wording, but it really has one intention: to get a idea of wider community perceptions of the issue. The majority of the tech community are arguably … [Read more...] about Have your say on the internet filter: it’s delayed but not forgotten
Government and virtual worlds: Australia on the catch-up
The issue of virtual worlds getting on a government's policy agenda is something we've examined pretty closely, and like most of you reading this, it can get frustrating sometimes seeing the pace at which change is occurring. In recent days I was again struck on the world leadership role the United States Government are taking in regards to virtual worlds. This report by Dawn … [Read more...] about Government and virtual worlds: Australia on the catch-up
Discussion on internet filter on Tonight Live is… live!
As mentioned previously, I had the pleasure of appearing on Tonight Live with Paisley Beebe. The topic of discussion was the Commonwealth Government's proposed internet filtering legislation and its potential impact on virtual worlds. Paisley asked some incisive questions that helped set the scene for both the challenges and opportunities the legislation may provide. As I say … [Read more...] about Discussion on internet filter on Tonight Live is… live!