A View to Review

I seem to have made it a personal mission for some reason to keep half an eye on what's going on regarding Second Life (maybe only a quarter of an eye, given that I really only notice when someone happens to mention it in some piece I was already reading; I don't actually seek out material or go into Second Life or anything so actively research-y).

Given this fact, I could not help but sit up and take notice of genomicrepairman's post on an article in Science that discusses whether grant review could be done in Second Life. The full article is subscription-only, but here's the free summary:

Can the hard work of grant review be done without face-to-face meetings? With budgets tightening, scientific organizations like the National Science Foundation are exploring ways to reduce the number of their physical meetings by holding virtual-reality meetings in the online world of Second Life. Proponents see it as a win-win scenario, saving not only time and money but also carbon emissions. Whether the technology is up to the task is another matter.

So, yeah. Grant reviews and business-meeting-type stuff. Can we do it online as effectively as in person? Can we do it online in a virtual world like Second Life more effectively than with conferencing programs?

Tune into the future for the answers to these and other fascinating questions!

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