Being Virtual: Who You Really Are Online
By Davey Winder
To be published by Wiley - May 2008
Are you a virtual liar?
What happens when our virtual and real words collide?
What real word rights do you have as a virtual citizen?
Is it really possible to fall in love with someone you have never met?
Is it possible to have any secrets in such a connected world?
Thanks to the Internet and technological developments, it’s never been so easy to become the person of your wildest dreams. 3D worlds, such as Second Life and There.com, take you into another universe where the extraordinary is commonplace. More importantly, you have the divine power to create life and mould it into anything you please. In the real world we rely heavily on knowing the identity, or at least something about, of the people who we communicate with – in the virtual world its simple to create a mask to hid behind. Now, more than ever, it becomes harder to honestly answer the question: who am I?
Davey Winder explores the technology now used by people as extensions of their real lives so letting them engage with others in ways not previously imagined. He focuses on the real content of virtual worlds: the people who inhabit them and their stories. No matter how different you may be from your “avatar”, it is you who invented it, and it is in some way reflective of who you are. Along the way we meet:
• Mark has built a new virtual life and career online which flourishes as his real one continues to crumble financially and emotionally.
• Sally, a 68 year old website owner, has found an environment where older people are represented by their actions, not their grey hair.
• Richard discovered a dark side of himself through the medium of multiplayer online games, a dark side that led him becoming addicted to murder.
• Ronnie fell in love and got married in a virtual world, eventually splitting up with his wife before they ever met for real.
• Simon lived out his fantasy of being a rock star during an elaborate virtual hoax that lasted many years.
• Buddy is severely disabled, but in the virtual world can override patronising stereotypes while making friends in the real world who have agreed to assume his care should anything happen to his mother.
Being Virtual is one of the first books in the TechKnow series, published in conjunction with the Dana Centre – the Science Museum’s café/bar venue for contemporary science events. The book will be launched at the Dana Centre with a free event on 22 April where audience members can discuss, challenge and contribute to the issues in Being Virtual .
Being Virtual presents a snapshot of cyberspace to discover, question and provoke new debate on one of the most fascinating technological developments of our lifetime, helping us begin to understand the true impact of these environments on today’s society, and visa versa.
Davey Winder has been a freelance journalist for 16 years, and is Contributing Editor of the best-selling IT magazine, PC Pro. He's picked up many awards including Technology Journalist of the Year and IT Security Journalist of the Year. Davey is founder member of the Internet Society of England and author of more than 20 books. His blog can be found at www.happygeek.com
For further information, to request a review copy or arrange an interview, please contact Julia Lampam
For US queries, please contact Lori Sayde-Merhtens
The TechKnow series will get you up to speed with the most-thought provoking issues of the day. And leave you wanting more.... Each book brings to life a particular area of technology and takes an informal, sometimes controversial yet always challenging look at where we are now, where future developments will take us - and how they'll affect as individuals and as a society. Peppered with real-life stories from across the globe and interviews with those at the cutting edge, these books will fuel your mind and get you thinking beyond the technology headlines!
About Wiley
Founded in 1807, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. has been a valued source of information and understanding for 200 years; helping people around the world meet their needs and fulfill their aspirations. Since 1901, Wiley and its acquired companies have published the works of more than 350 Nobel laureates in all categories: Literature, Economics, Physiology or Medicine, Physics, Chemistry, and Peace.
Our core businesses publish scientific, technical, medical and scholarly journals, encyclopedias, books, and online products and services; professional/trade books, subscription products, training materials, and online applications and websites; and educational materials for undergraduate and graduate students and lifelong learners. Wiley’s global headquarters are located in Hoboken, New Jersey, with operations in the U.S., Europe, Asia, Canada, and Australia. The Company’s Web site can be accessed at http://www.wiley.com. The Company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbols JWa and JWb.
About the Dana Centre
The Dana centre is the Science Museum’s purpose built, adults-only venue for interactive events that explore how advances in contemporary science, technology, engineering and medicine impact on our culture and society. Every week the Dana Centre hosts free events which bring together experts from many disciplines, including art, history and sociology, as well as science and technology. Their viewpoints are contrasted with personal opinions to provide different and often controversial perspectives on issues that affect us all. For further information, or to book free tickets, visit www.danacentre.org.uk or call 020 7942 4040.
Being Virtual: Who You Really Are Online By Davey Winder
To be published by Wiley May 2008
9780470723623 £12.99 Paperback Original
To buy the book, click here
Other books publishing in the TechKnow series are
Powering Up: Are Computer Games Changing Our Lives? by Rebecca Mileham May 2008
Enhancing Me: The Hope and Hype of Human Enhancement by Pete Moore May 2008
Higher, Further, Faster: Is Technology Improving Sport? By Stewart Ross September 2008
Desirable Future? Consumer Electronics in Tomorrow’s World by Jack Challoner October 2008
