[The tragedy of the Coronavirus pandemic is highlighting our need for, and the nature of, effective social presence. This personal reflection from WBUR, Boston’s NPR news station, highlights some of the issues, including the effectiveness of less ‘rich’ media. –Matthew] [Image: Each text, each silly emoji, reminds me that my people are out there, their cursors blinking in the darkness just like mine, writes Whitney Scharer. Credit: Christin Hume/Unsplash] COMMENTARY All Of My Friendships Are Virtual Again March 27, 2020 Whitney Scharer I went to college in 1995, a time when — as my 10-year-old daughter was horrified to learn…

[Several stories in the press describe efforts to simulate the cancelled 2020 NCAA March Madness basketball tournament, including the one below from Yahoo! Sports (where the original includes more pictures, tweets and a 3:18:45 minute video) and stories by The Washington Post, The Indianapolis Star and ESPN. –Matthew] March Madness after all: ‘Quarantourney’ live-streamed video game NCAA tournament is what we needed Frank Schwab March 26, 2020 It started a week late, but March Madness is up and running. Virtually. The real 2020 NCAA tournament was canceled, but if you had YouTube running on Thursday afternoon, there was No.…

[The Coronavirus pandemic is leading to innovative uses of technology to increase social connection, including the one described in this story from Mashable (the original version includes other pictures). See stories in The New Yorker and The Guardian for more information about QuarantineChat. –Matthew] QuarantineChat is here to help us survive social distancing By Anna Iovine March 24, 2020 “Are there stoops outside your window?” A stranger in Los Angeles asked me this over the phone as I peered out of my bedroom window in Brooklyn. We connected through QuarantineChat, which facilitates calls for people who are currently self-isolating. Now…

[VR is providing a new way to see what the Coronavirus does to a patient’s lungs, which in addition to helping the medical community could help the public understand the seriousness of the pandemic. See the original version of this story from WJLA in Washington, D.C. for four more images, a 1:47 minute news report and another 0:34 minute video. Surgical Theater has a 1:40 minute video showing the VR rendering on YouTube, which is taken from a 13:02 minute video and podcast available from George Washington University Hospital. –Matthew] A new perspective: Virtual reality shows exactly how COVID-19 can…

[This post in Medium provides an industry veteran’s thoughtful perspective on the requirements for successful telepresence experiences that replace attendance at in-person conferences and in other contexts. See the original version for a different image and follow the links for more information. –Matthew] [Image: Source: Liv Erickson blog] Coronavirus Exposes Our Need For True Telepresence Let’s meet nowhere Avi Bar-Zeev, Design and Technology Leader (fmr. HoloLens, Apple, Google Earth, Second Life, Disney VR) March 2, 2020 I’ve been convinced for 30 years that telepresence is the “killer app” for extended reality (XR). Now more than ever, it seems like it…

[Below are two stories about efforts to use presence-evoking technology to replace the experience of in-person graduation ceremonies (and other aspects of campus life) that have been displaced by the Coronavirus. The first story, about elementary students using Minecraft, is from Parentology; SoraNews24 adds these reactions from “Japanese netizens”: “The kids are all right.” “Parents are doing ‘telework’ and kids are doing ‘telegraduation.’” “I’m so jealous of what awesome things kids have these day.” “Those who say video games are bad, look at this!” “This will probably be an even better memory than a regular graduation for them.” NBC’s Today…