[A press release from Verizon reports some interesting findings related to medium-as-social-actor (and actor within medium) presence in the context of customer service. For much more information follow one of the links to the whitepaper below. –Matthew] What makes a digital connection human is changing, global study finds November 9, 2021 Media contact(s): Erin Cheever erin.dowling@verizon.com What you need to know: New Longitude survey of over 5,600 people across 16 countries highlights acceptance of automated machines is growing among consumers, but transparency is key As Artificial Intelligence (AI) chatbots and other intelligent tools take on more human-like attributes, human involvement…

[The opinions in the Big Think story below by an augmented reality pioneer highlight the promise and especially the peril of the presence-evoking technology. See also “Hey, Facebook, I Made a Metaverse 27 Years Ago. It was terrible then, and it’s terrible now.” by Ethan Zuckerman in The Atlantic; here are the last three paragraphs: “Facebook can claim originality in at least one thing. Its combination of scale and irresponsibility has unleashed a set of diverse and fascinating sociopolitical challenges that it will take lawmakers, scholars, and activists at least a generation to fix. If Facebook has learned anything from…

[This story from IBC describes the process a group of technology experts and musicians used to create a series of live, high definition audio and video performances in the challenging genre of jazz across three cities; it seems likely that such distributed live music performance experiences that allow artists and audience members to overlook the role of technology will become common in the future. See the original story for more pictures. –Matthew] How Blue Note Used Networked AV for Distanced Jazz Concerts Thanks to the efforts of a close-knit technology partnership, jazz musicians in three US locations were able to…

[If you’ll be in Adelaide, Australia this month you might want to experience presence in a new attraction described in this story from InReview; see the original story for more pictures and a 55 second trailer (also available via YouTube). Coverage in CityMag adds these details: “Immersion is presented within the Ellipse, a purpose-built room at Light which has been created with a 360-degree LED display stretching 13m by 8m in an oval shape and reaching 4m in height. [Event director Nathan] Bazley describes the audience experience as being like virtual reality ‘but shared with 39 other people and not…

[This story from 5280, “Denver’s Mile High Magazine,” reports on one person’s quest to create valuable long-form presence experiences for trail explorers and racers; see the original story for a second image. –Matthew] [Image: Credit: Run Infinite] Run Infinite’s Virtual Reality Library Helps Viewers Hit the Trails A local coaching company is creating the world’s first 360-degree VR trail library one trail run at a time. By Sarah Banks November 4, 2021 Brandon Yonke wants you to experience the iconic Leadville 100 trail race, and he’s doing the hard part for you. This past August, using his own macgyvered GoPro…

[Note the references to various forms of presence in this short press release from the Church of England (including the Church’s tagline “A Christian Presence in Every Community”). You can watch the 7:17 minute 4K 360-degree video on YouTube. –Matthew] Ancient Blessing of the Light service in Virtual Reality first October 31, 2021 People from around the world will be able to ‘join’ in traditional worship at a church in London through Virtual Reality for the first time. The Blessing of the Light, which draws on one of the ancient evening rituals of early Christianity, has been filmed in 3D…