- 11 January 2008
- Author: Onyx Health
- Posted in: Social Networks
- Tagged under:
Getting a Second Life
As we head towards the end of the second week in January our New Year’s resolutions are probably already broken, I wonder how many people are thinking there has got to be more to life. For those of you who fancy a bit of escapism there is always Second Life, an online virtual world with over 10 million residents. Participants can chose exactly who they would like to be, where they live and how they live their life. Using their assumed identify – second life, the person can if they so wish look fabulous, be successful, be a landowner, create friendships, network and much more.
Until recently Second Life was developing entire subcultures, that are miles away from their real life and was ruled by entertainment and people having a great time. But as its world has developed, its residents are using the site for education purposes. Although most people have a pseudonym many are discussing real life issues, as the technology platform allows use of video, audio, images, text and links to in-world activities.
The number of medical projects being initiated on Second Life are growing substantially, as people from the same field are able to collaborate and share information much more readily on Second Life. The Ann Myers Medical Centre is a virtual medical school where medical students learn more about disease process, recognition and treatment. Most of the doctors behind this project are consultant specialists who are giving their time voluntarily.
There has also been a proliferation of patient support networks created on Second Life. If you are a patient, you can find people coping with the same problems as you and meet them virtually. Many patient support groups are looking in to how they can further support disease awareness programmes on Second Life.
At present the major opportunities seem to be in medical education, disease awareness, diagnosis and patient communications. If for example your brand is for a disease where signs and symptoms are often missed and you are constantly having to re-educate doctors about this, it might be worth talking to the Ann Myers Medical Centre, as they recently ran a virtual event for medical students where they had to analyse a patient’s history and various lab results to identify a diagnosis. The doctors then met in a discussion group with a virtual mentor to discuss the condition and how best to treat it. Alternatively, the Virtual Neurological Education Centre offers an on-line virtual training environment for those specialising in neurological disorders and NHS London has already created its own hospital on Second Life.
Second Life may be a bit of escapism for some people but it does seem that it is starting to also become an essential business community that we cannot ignore.