rough draft of research paper on organisational communication of virtual teams

1. Introduction
   1. Definition of virtual team
   2. Types of electronic and virtual communication
   3. Thesis: Virtual teams rely on electronic communication that means information clarity, formal communication, and organizational camaraderie can be lost in electronic communication
2. Future of Communication
   1. Social Media
   2. Virtual meetings
   3. Advances in broadband
3. Information Clarity
   1. Using the right communication tool
   2. Preventing noise
   3. Overcoming lack of visual interactions
   4. Global cultures in virtual teams
4. Successful Formal Communication
   1. Ensure accountability
   2. Build trust
   3. Learn to adapt

1. Organisational camaraderie
   1. Using instant message and backchat as interpersonal communication
   2. Promote creativity

1. Conclusion

Businesses are always on the lookout for the next technology breakthrough. With the recent financial crisis businesses are also looking at ways to save money.   Using virtual worlds and online meetings have increased saving business money on travel but also have developed communication problems. At present, virtual work has become a reality with its pros and cons, and will probably spread very rapidly in coming years, in line with the growth in information technologies. (Altınoz, July 2008) Virtual teams rely on virtual communication that means information clarity, formal communication, and organizational camaraderie can be lost in electronic communication.

The future of communication

Technology is constantly changing the way we communicate.  The internet brought us email and has changed the way businesses delivered communications to its employees. Instant messaging brought quick synchronous communication. YouTube is providing streaming of video that anyone with a Webcam can use. All of these communication tools have become very active in organizational, mass, and interpersonal communications.  The internet has also brought Web Conferencing and took virtual teams into a new era. Looking forward, virtual worlds and advanced mobile communication are gaining on more traditional virtual team communication.

Information Clarity

The interaction required to direct a group toward a set of common goals is called organization communication.( Eisenberg,Goodall,Tretheway,2007)  Interactions happen all the time sometimes without us even noticing the communication that is going in. In traditional settings we have both eyesight and hearing to process the interactions into communication. In virtual communication the visual clues that can provide clarity to the information are not present. This missing information can cause common goals to be unclear. Every organizational has their own business culture. Even different departments within the same company that are separated by distance may not understand the visual connotation of written words that have developed. In the virtual team communication there needs to be concise writing so that information is not taking out of context due to cultural differences both business and personal culture.

In virtual teams there a number of ways to communicate.  Email, instant messaging, virtual meetings such as “go to meeting”, using virtual worlds such as Second Life, Each tool has its own uses and problems with effective organizational communication in virtual teams.  Organisations have to use the right tool for the right job and that is no different with the virtual team communication tools.

Noise is any distraction that hinders the information of a message to be delivered.   Noise is a big problem with Virtual communication because the communication can happen anywhere, at home, driving to work, during a face to face presentation.

Formal Communication

Formal communication in the past has been delivered one sided in the past with the manager or higher up employee delivering the message.  With electronic communication the lines formal and informal are blurred. Formal communication can be seen as noise if it is delivered by email to several recipients.

Reference

Altınoz, Mejmet (July, 2008) An Overall Approach to the Communication of Organizations in Conventional and Virtual Offices. World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology Volume 31 July 2008.  Retrieved from http://www.waset.org/journals/waset/v41/v41-81.pdf

Eisenberg, E.M., Goodall Jr., H.L., and Trethewey, A. (2007). Organizational communication: balancing creativity and constraint (5th ed.). Boston: Bedford/ St. Martinâ

Mass Communications and Marketing in Virtual Worlds

Imagine being able to  try on clothes before buying them from your own home, driving the latest hybrid car seeing what the interior looks like without leaving your living room, all of this and more is possible in virtual worlds. Virtual worlds have the ability to reach people and cultures without the boundaries of space all one needs is access to a computer.

McKinsey & Company, the management consulting firm whose observations about corporate behaviour are closely watched, said that virtual worlds were on the cusp of a major expansion – particularly as a way to reach younger customers – and that companies were “ignoring them at their peril.” (Richards, 2008)

With more and more companies looking to become involved in the next big thing, Virtual worlds are primed to be the next big innovation in mass communications.

VIRTUAL WORLDS FOUND ME

I was doing research on internships and working from home job opportunities when I came across an article on Second Life (the largest virtual world) and how companies are using the virtual world to hold interviews and company meetings.  It was free to join and that started my exploration of virtual worlds.   Mass communications is defined as a process in which messages distributed by institutions such as the media have the potential to reach very large, anonymous audiences. Virtual worlds provide an anonymous way to reach large audiences and are primed for mass communications.

VIRTUAL MARKETING

The Internet is the fastest-growing advertising medium, as traditional forms of marketing like television commercials and print advertising slow. For businesses, these early forays into virtual worlds could be the next frontier in the blurring of advertising and entertainment. (Silkos, R.2006).   Many companies are reinventing advertising strategies and gearing the concepts to virtual worlds.  Coca cola recently sponsored a contest to design a vending machine. CSI had episodes filmed inside the virtual world of Second Life.   In virtual world you can play with the next latest toy from Hasbro, stay at a replica of a hotel in the real world even visit replicas of cities such as London or San Diego.  Virtual world do not have the cost of building new products in the real world. You can build a virtual model and test it next to nothing.

As many as 10,000 people are in the virtual world at a time, and they are engaged in a gamut of ventures: everything from holding charity fund-raisers to selling virtual helicopters to operating sex clubs. Linden also makes money on exchanging United States dollars for what it calls Linden dollars for around 400 Linden dollars for $1 (people can load up on them with a credit card). A typical article of clothing — say a shirt — would cost around 200 Linden dollars, or 50 cents. As evidence of the growth of its “economy,” Second Life’s Web site tracks how much money changes hands each day. It recently reached as much as $500,000 a day and is growing as much as 15 percent a month. (Silkos, R. 2006).  So much revenue is being generated that congress is investigating whether virtual assets and income should be taxed. (Silkos, R. 2006).  The internet started as a way for scientist and educators to collaborate. It took advertising and marketing companies a long while to see the potential of the internet.  They are not looking to make the same mistakes and are now staying on top of new technologies to further mass communications.  The possibilities for advertising in virtual worlds are tremendous.   `Second Life goes outside of everything else. It’s not a game, not the actual Internet,” Fleck said. “So as eyeballs migrate away from traditional forms of media — television, radio, print — virtual worlds offer a new way for businesses to inject their brands. And the interactivity is almost unlimited.” (Abelson, J. 2006) In virtual worlds, we create representations of ourselves called avatars.   They do everything we do in the real world, buy clothes, watch movies, run businesses, etc.   Paul Hemp from the Harvard Business Review wrote about Second Life “Clearly, many of Second Life’s 100,000 or so residents are highly involved with this place. And that makes it potentially a dream marketing venue. Instead of targeting passive eyeballs, marketers here have the opportunity to interact with engaged minds. Commerce is already an integral part of Second Life. Residents spend—in Linden dollars, the local currency, available at in-world ATMs—the equivalent of $5 million a month on resident-to-resident transactions for in-world products and services. Certainly, introducing real-world brands, in some form or another, is a logical next step.” (Hemp, 2006)

THE VIRTUAL FUTURE

Technology is always expanding and with virtual worlds being a new product there is a long way to go for its development. As the technology grows more and more companies will come in and follow the people.  The companies are not just using the virtual words for marketing they are also using it for mass communications for their employees and for customer service.  With rising gas prices and companies globally expanding, it is more cost efficient and effective to have meetings in virtual worlds.  IBM is the first company to set the standard. IBM, one of the largest corporate users of Second Life, said that the new technology will allow its employees to move between its custom-built, firewall protected Second Life environment and the open version of the virtual world without having to log on and off. Linden and IBM’s goal is to enable other corporate workers to use a single Second Life client interface to access both public and private spaces. As part of their agreement, IBM and Linden plan to join industry efforts to ease communication among users of social networks run by different vendors. (Havenstein, H. 2008)  These collaborations will ensure that more and more people will be visiting and living in virtual worlds.  The same people will be looking for goods to buy, ways to obtain news and entertainment. The future of virtual worlds is still up in the air but with the technologies that are combined in virtual worlds no matter where it ends up mass communications will be there.  As a platform for commerce, Second Life first repeated the Internet’s indulgent failures. But at the moment, there’s at least some hope it’ll repeat its successes, too. (James Au, W. 2008).  The success of Second Life is already seeing the opening of several competing virtual worlds.  The latest being Google openings its virtual world “lively”.  With more and more worlds openings mass communications within these virtual worlds will also grow.

References

Abelson, Jenn (2006). Virtual marketing Firms create online worlds as a new way to reach big audiences. Boston Globe (July 21, 2006) retrieved from http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2006/07/21/virtual_marketing/

Havenstein, H. (2008, April 7). IBM, Linden Plan Corporate Version of Second Life. Computerworld, 42(15), 12-12. Retrieved July 19, 2008, from Academic Search Premier Database.

Hemp, Paul. (2006) Avatar-Based Marketing. Harvard Business Review (Jun 2006, Vol. 84 Issue 6 p48-57. Retrieved on 07/17/2008 from Business Source Premier.

James Au, Wagner. (2008) Second Life Marketing: Still Strong. (May, 25, 2008) Business Week. Retrieved June 17, 2008 from http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/may2008/tc2008054_665274.htm

Richards, Jonathan (2008) McKinsey: ignore Second Life at your peril. Times online (April 23, 2008) retrieved 07-15-08 from http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article3803056.ece

Silkos, Richard (2006) A Virtual World but Real Money (October, 19, 2006). New York Times. Retrieved on 07/17/2008 from http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/19/technology/19virtual.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

My part of outreach and support panel

Do your research to see if there is support groups in-world.  It is better to join a support group already in progress. The collaboration is a big part of support groups in real life and that carries over into Second Life.  When I started my HIV/AIDS support group there was already a group that existed but they did not meet as a support group.

Just something as simple as putting your illness or disability in your profile is a form of support. I have in my profile that I am hiv + and the questions that people asked of me in IM is what prompted me to start my outreach and support group.

Virtual Worlds are still fairly new and some people come in to get away from the realities of their lives. They will come when they need some advice but might not stick around that long or just come back when they need some support and that is fine.  Do not be discouraged if at some meetings no one shows up.  Over the year and half of my support group I have had large participation and then some day’s only one person show up. It is the occasion of actually helping someone that will get you through the times when you think no one is participating.

Have fun, be creative do other activities besides just sitting around chatting, go to a musical performance, plan a field trip, watch a movie as a group.  The camaraderie that can be achieved by doing other things will ensure that people stay interested in the group.

Remember to emphasis that it is peer to peer support (unless you are a professional) Ensure that the participants know of any confidentially concerns that if you are using text that LL records text…. Using voice is a work around it also brings a bit more personal aspects to the support

Starting a nonprofit and bringing it into Second Life

Slides for presentation are here: you can read the full post here or read them with the slides

Passion is a must for starting a nonprofit but it will take more than that to keep it running.  Non profits are still a business.  Their goal is just a bit different instead of making money they are geared towards helping others.  To start a nonprofit takes a lot of work.  You have to honestly ask yourself do you have the time and willing to take the effort.

There might already be a nonprofit that is doing the work that you are passionate about.  It is worth taking your time to see what is already established. It could be worth your while volunteering with a local nonprofit that is similar to what you are doing.  Volunteering is a way great way to see how a nonprofit works and to see what it takes to run a nonprofit. There are approximately 2,000 nonprofit groups within Second Life.   Most take volunteers. You can also volunteer at non profits in your area with your interests

Second Life has all the elements that are needed to make a nonprofit and learn before creating one in the physical world.  Everything that is used to create a physical world non profit will be used in creating a virtual world.  You will still need to follow the process of creating a nonprofit.  A business plan is needed even in the virtual simulation.  It will help you if you decide to make the nonprofit an established physical world non-profit.

All great nonprofits start with a solid business plan. A business plan tells the story of your business it includes

• Who you are
• Why  are you starting the nonprofit
• Where you operate
• How will you generate operating expenses
• Who  are you stakeholders
• Why is your nonprofit important

The business plan is the roadmap for your nonprofit.  Remember the business plan will change as your nonprofit grows and it’s perfectly fine to update it.  A business plan is a guide not a commandment written in stone.

Planning events is where virtual worlds can really come in handy.  You can plan and have an event in-world.  Holding an in-world event is great practice for holding physical world events. Planning, marketing, finding volunteers, creating presentations, getting guest speakers,  giveaways,  everything in a the planning of physical world events are part of virtual ones. Becoming a part of nonprofit commons is a great help in planning events.

Nonprofit Commons provides space for non profits and social benefit organizations within the world of Second Life. They offer free buildings and support for non profits and a great way to collaborate with other non profits for best practices and support. For planning events it is great they have volunteers that can help and there are spaces to hold virtual conferences like the one we are at now!!   After you have planned a few events you will meet people who are interested in your cause and can start planning a board of directors

A board of directors is not essentially needed in a virtual simulation but it is still a good idea to have a steering committee.  Collaboration is a big part of Second Life and having a board of directors/steering committee will make it a lot easier to plan events.  You want a board of directors that is diverse with various talents such as finance and technical and as committed to the nonprofit as you

A board of directors is the governing team of a nonprofit.  It has many responsibilities and is a requirement for the nonprofit to be incorporated and to become tax exempt. The board of directors sets the policy for the organization, monitors its operations, along with the director serves as a public figure and assists with fundraising efforts.  With all the responsibilities of the board it is important to find members that are passionate and have the time to be a part.

Social media such as twitter, facebook and linked in are great ways to find board members along with the volunteers that you found while planning your events.

Incorporating your nonprofit lets people know that you are serious about its development.  Even if you do not plan to become tax exempt, It is a good idea to incorporate. Incorporating will protect individuals legally.  Incorporating varies by state, check with your state treasury department on the specific rules and fees for your state.

Just because you become incorporated does not mean you are tax exempt.   Tax exempt 501 (c )( 3 )  is a federal program and is much more involved than becoming incorporated with your state.   To become 501 (c )( 3 ) there are numerous financial projections you have to make and an accountant would be a good idea to have on your board if you plan to become 501c3.   If you plan on seeking funds and donations it is necessary to become tax exempt so the donations can be claimed on taxes.

My speech for Lessons Learned and Success Stories at SLCC09

I am  a success in progress.  I came into Second Life looking for work after hearing how companies are holding interviews in Virtual Worlds.

After seeing that most of the job fairs were from other countries. I started exploring Second Life. The role-playing aspect never occurred to me so I put real life information in my profile including that I am HIV +.  Several people starting asking me questions about hiv  about what it is and about support.

It was from those questions that I started a support group for hiv/Aids.   It was the support group where  Carol Perryman of Health Info Island found me to speak for World Aids Day in 2007 and there  I meet some members of NPC.  On my first  Friday meeting I seen the potential and right away volunteered.  I have learned quite a lot from the members and have participated with several events including the health fair and earth day helping with planning and speaking.

I  decided to start my own non profit  the Metabody  community health center.  We will have our first events in September.  I have registered it as a non profit in the State of Texas  and pursuing to become a tax exempt  501 c3 organization.  Second Life is a great environment for learning the in and outs of nonprofits including event planning,  marketing, outreach, grant seeking/finance.

All companies should seek out  projects here first and not just non profit projects before implementing them in the physical world.  I still have a lot to learn and that is why I am a success in progress

all this health care reform ( my story)

My story started when I was asked diagnosed with AIDS and got laid off.  I had enough money to pay for COBRA insurance for two months. It took me 3 1/2 months to find a permeant job  as we know  you do not have insurance working temporary.

Most  insurances do not provide for preexisting  conditions for the first  year and no guarantee they will cover it later.

I seen a commercial that someone from Canada had to wait 6 months for a major surgery and then came to America to receive the surgery.  There was some missing information  it did not say if she paid for it out of pocket or with a government backed hospital

When I have  doctors appointment, it can take up of a total of 3 – 4 hours and takes two days at least one to wait around to get the orders to draw blood  and then another 3- 4 hour day to get results in about a week.  That is pretty much two days of missed work and happens every 3 months if there is not any other health problems. The medications almost always causes some side effects some more severe than others for me I developed diabetes and neuropathy which meant more doctor visits.  I eventually got let go  due to excess absences due to doctor visits.

With current system if you get a treatable but life long disease and lose your job  you get caught up in a circle and that alone is need for health reform change.

I am glad that Obama has chosen to tackle the preexisting conditions and that health reform is needed but also think that it will take more than one presidency and more than one act to get everything at least decent enough that everyone will have adequate health coverage and with that I mean more than just the basic current health insurance that is out there.

Thoughts for today

Today, I finally took another step in educational endeavors.   I decided to transfer to UTSA. I filled out the application today.  My decision was predominately based on that Kaplan University does not compare at all to the extra  benefits that come from going to a traditional college.  They have an almost non existent career center.  You can get help with writing your resume but that is it.  No internship programs,  not a very active alumi etc.  I have not been to a traditional class beyond high school so I am excited and hope I do not go way over my head financially especially since i am not working at the moment.

Social Media Cliques

I have come to notice that just like in the real world. When people start communication people sometimes establish cliques.  I have to remind myself that even though i am passionate about the subjects and would enjoy the engagement I really do not know this people and should not take no interaction personally  especially on twitter where the communication is so short and comes at breakneck speeds at time.

I NEED MONEY (lol)

SLCC (second life community convention is coming soon  I will be particapting in two panels creating a non profit and  best practices I learned from starting my hiv/aids group.

Are our cities due to fail because of  not being able to support the population. I watched this show on national geographic http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/episode/secrets-of-angkor-3774/Overview  and it is very similar on what is going on today.  It was really interesting how they told that at the time when the city failed that there was also major climate change.

Things I learned at TweetCampSA

I am thankful that the guru’s at TweetCampSA  is streaming the sessions. Learned that it is okay to use more than one page in a resume.  Although it was not twitter related it is a great way to show  how networking works.  My school is still promoting resumes to be just one page.

gravatar.com  to provide the same avatar/picture to bring consistency to your brand on different blogs, etc.

Google profile  a must for branding since it puts your name at the bottom of google.com when people search for your name.

Mr. Tweet  gives you suggestions on twitters based on what you tweet and other interests you have

Twitter added a new rule for twitting that you only get tweets from someone that sends a tweet to someone if you are following both  to get a tweet to  let everyone see put a period in front of the @

Repeat the last line ( a poem)

a sound begins

an utterance of a word

to subtle to be heard

to loud to be ignored

a most unusual gift

a sorrowful woe

painted  red rose

blood cut too short

in our  communcal and sometimes lonely existence we are blind to what we need

we write about it,

sing about it,

long for it,

dont recognize,

abuse it,

but above all if  you dont hear it from anyone else

I LOVE YOU

depression dream (poem)

Drawing strength from  earth woven

in the black night I cuddle

pulling the warmth closer to my soul

I dream of the stars

pursuing thoughts of  innocence

playing in a grown folks world

painfully and stubbornly overlooking the obvious

hiding in refuge seeing the good behind the news

in my escape

I sleep more than I should

awaken I defer to the dream

depression