[This short story from PYMNTS describes a parasocial interaction experience designed for Chicago sports fans (and soon for many others). See the press release for a short video (also available on YouTube). –Matthew] Augmented Reality at Chicago’s United Center Powers the 5G Connected Fan Experience By PYMNTS December 14, 2021 Sports fans visiting the United Center in Chicago will soon be able to take video and photo selfies with augmented reality (AR) versions of players and mascots. This “Pose with the Pros” experience results from a partnership between AT&T and two teams: the Chicago Blackhawks and the Chicago Bulls.…

[This CNN Business story describes a very positive application of presence via chatbots; see the original story for three other images. For more information see a press release on The Trevor Project’s blog. –Matthew] How chatbots are being used to train crisis counselors By Rachel Metz December 7, 2021 Drew, a 21-year-old in Irvine, California, needs help: He’s transgender, and after starting hormone replacement therapy he’s facing harassment from coworkers. It’s gotten so bad, Drew tells a crisis counselor via a text-based chat session, that he’s considering suicide. He can’t quit his job, however, because he needs the money. “i think…

[Many people and organizations are raising concerns about the infringement of rights in virtual and extended reality environments including the nascent metaverse. For example, see “Virtual Worlds, Real People: Human Rights in the Metaverse” by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and an interview in The Ghost Howls blog with Kristina Podnar about how we need to fight for “Privacy & Safety and Digital Human Rights.” But this essay in ZDNet makes an even more basic argument about the human right of autonomy in virtual platforms and how to address threats to it. See the original story for a 5:27 minute…

[CNBC reports on how advertising will, or should, evolve for a metaverse that will give users a “feeling of presence”; the story describes a transition from the decades-old model in which messages mostly interrupt users’ experience to one in which brands “create experiences people actually want.” See the original story for two videos, and see Influencer Marketing Hub for “A Deep Dive into Metaverse Marketing.” –Matthew] [Image: Source: Influencer Marketing Hub] Inside Mark Zuckerberg’s metaverse, how will the world of advertisements look? November 20, 2021 By Todd Wasserman Imagine at a point in the near future, you are taking your…

[We so often focus on the visual and to a lesser extent the aural senses, but the author of this essay from The New York Times uses vivid and personal examples to remind us how important the sense of touch is to presence experiences. –Matthew] [Image: Credit: Ariel Davis] We’re Longing for the One Thing the Metaverse Can’t Give Us By JoAnna Novak November 26, 2021 When Mark Zuckerberg announced the rebranding of Facebook to Meta late last month in a “founder’s letter,” I was on a video call with my writing group, discussing the tactile joys of our craft…

[I strongly endorse the vision of the author of this interesting piece from The New Yorker for a practical and user-friendly technology that uses spatial presence to create a digital version of environments that enhance “immersive single-tasking” work (and I’d add creativity). As he notes five years after first exploring the topic, we’re not there yet but we’re getting closer. –Matthew] [Image: Credit: Illustration by Ben Denzer; Source photographs in animated gif in the original story by Paul Denzer; Stephanie Denzer; Kathleen White; Lily Offit; Akshay Almelkar] Can Virtual Reality Fix the Workplace? The struggle to create a digital alternative…