[This is a short, uplifting story about an effort to evoke social presence at a couple’s wedding ceremony while practicing social distancing. It’s from WSBT TV (Atlanta) via WXIX-TV (Cincinnati, Ohio) via CNN; see the WSBT website for a 2:03 minute video news report and for more details read a story in The Herald-Palladium. –Matthew] [Image: Source: The Herald-Palladium] Couple replaces wedding guests with cardboard cutouts due to coronavirus April 2, 2020 DOWAGIAC, Mich. (WSBT/CNN) – A Michigan groom got creative for his church wedding during the coronavirus pandemic, commissioning cardboard cutouts of guests, so his wife wouldn’t have to…

[There isn’t a single overview story (yet) about the many efforts to continue to provide the comfort and therapeutic value of in-person interactions with dogs (and other pets) in a mediated format during the pandemic, but this story from the Winnipeg Free Press is a good, and heartwarming, example. Here’s a key quote: “It was like a regular real visit, but just through the phone. They (the [seniors home] residents) were just ecstatic. … They were talking to him as if he were actually here. They were just enthralled with the fact they could still see Mark-Cuss for a visit.”…

[This story from the BBC features thoughtful reflections on the nature of actual and virtual travel in and beyond the era of the pandemic. See the original for three more pictures. –Matthew] [Image: Credit: mustafagull/Getty Images] With most of the world homebound, it’s time to reflect on what it actually means to travel – and whether it’s possible to travel without, well, travelling. By Toby Skinner 31 March 2020 Against a backdrop of whistling wind and heavy breathing, a man with a Germanic accent is yelling at me: “Take your time!”. I try to focus on the ascender clips on…

[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…

[Here are two stories about how singers are creatively using technology to evoke a sense of being together when they have to be physically separated. More about virtual choirs can be found in stories in Kent Online and CNN and a 2:48 minute radio segment from ABC News in Australia. –Matthew] [Image: The Sofa Singers. Credit: twitter.com/@swissmiss] [From Positive News] Online choir spreads joy and togetherness during coronavirus outbreak When it became impossible to run his real-life choirs as normal this week, vocal leader James Sills launched The Sofa Singers. The virtual group invites people from all over the world…

[As this story from Wired notes, a device that lets people collect diagnostic data and video conference with a doctor from home is of great value in general and especially in the context of the Coronavirus pandemic. See the original story for two more pictures. I hope you’re all staying safe and healthy in this strange and scary time. –Matthew] Review: TytoCare TytoHome Medical Kit Soon, this easy, in-home diagnostic device will be standard home equipment for every family. Rating:8/10 WIRED: Small and easily storable. Simple to operate. Accurate. Eliminates the need for doctor’s visits. Lets care providers monitor patients…

[This story from Ars Technica describes how an accidental simulation of an epidemic in the virtual World of Warcraft helped epidemiologists understand how people respond in similar real (nonmediated) crises. See the original story for a second image and a 1:23 minute video. –Matthew] [Image: Players gathered in an in-game urban center during the epidemic. Infected individuals walk among the uninfected, the recently dead, and the skeletons of those who died earlier.] What a WoW virtual outbreak taught us about how humans behave in epidemics Revisiting a seminal 2007 paper modeling WoW‘s Corrupted Blood incident. Jennifer Ouellette March 16, 2020…