Second Life and Other Virtual Worlds: A Roadmap for Research

Brian E. Mennecke, Iowa State University
David McNeill, IBM Corporation
Matthew Ganis, IBM Corporation
Edward M. Roche, Columbia University
David Bray, Emory University
Benn Konsynski, Emory University
Anthony M. Townsend, Iowa State University
John Lester, Linden Lab

Abstract

Virtual worlds like Second Life are becoming important tools for, among other activities, socialization, social networking, entertainment, collaboration, and business development. These environments offer information systems researchers a unique opportunity to study how these environments are built and managed by operators, how they are used and misused by users, and the impact that they have on users, communities, organizations, and societies at large. This paper summarizes the discussion of this topic that was presented at the ICIS 2007 panel entitled “Second Life and other Virtual Worlds: A Roadmap for Research.” The paper provides an introduction to this topic and offers a roadmap for research on virtual worlds based on insights offered by several academics and practitioners who are actively involved in building, managing, and using virtual worlds.

Recommended Citation

Mennecke, Brian E.; McNeill, David; Ganis, Matthew; Roche, Edward M.; Bray, David; Konsynski, Benn; Townsend, Anthony M.; and Lester, John (2008) "Second Life and Other Virtual Worlds: A Roadmap for Research," Communications of the Association for Information Systems: Vol. 22, Article 20.
Available at: http://aisel.aisnet.org/cais/vol22/iss1/20