Putting your virtual foot in it

In case you did not know, much of my time of late has been spent researching and writing a book for the Science Museum (Being Virtual, to be published by Wiley in 2008) covering the concept of identity in the digital age. It is going well, thanks for asking, and I might even have the manuscript finished in time to meet the deadline. One of the problems with writing about who we really are today, is that I have been spending a lot of time in the virtual world. Well, virtual worlds to be precise. While these are great places to go and escape from the reality of day to day existence, companies looking to exploit the massive market potential of emerging and immersive 3D environments cannot escape the realities of business risk management and brand security issues. IT research specialist Gartner has today warned companies that are sensitive to brand issues, as well as social and ethical positioning, to exercise particular caution in uncontrolled worlds such as Second Life.