"Through the Looking Glass" series on the national, weekly public radio program The Infinite Mind.
In August 2006, the national, weekly public radio series, The Infinite Mind, taped the first broadcasts ever to emanate from virtual 3-D cyberspace.
The landmark shows, hosted by veteran broadcast journalist John Hockenberry, aired as a special series, "Through the Looking Glass," on The Infinite Mind in October 2006.
The four one-hour programs were the first to examine the development of on-line virtual communities, as well to look at their technology, culture and art. The shows also examined how the mind processes this new medium of "3D virtual reality," and its powerful potential use for broadcast, as well as for education, healthcare, and social marketing.
The public radio programs were recorded live within the emerging on-line virtual community, Second Life, whose population grew from 320,000 at the time of the tapings to 3.1 million in February 2007.
The Infinite Mind was the first to identify the potential of 3-D virtual reality and on-line communities for broadcast, and much of the technology to facilitate the production of the programs had to be created by the show's producers.
The programs' guests appeared live in avatar form, and include author Kurt Vonnegut; singer/songwriter Suzanne Vega; futurist Howard Rheingold; and John Maeda, of the MIT Media Lab. The resulting four programs aired on The Infinite Mind, as part of a special series called "Through the Looking Glass: Virtual Communities," and examined 3-D on-line communities and their potential social uses.
"Through the Looking Glass: Virtual Communities" included guests Philip Rosedale, the founder of Second Life and Thomas Malaby, an anthropologist who studied human behavior in Second Life for a year under a National Science Foundation grant.
"Through the Looking Glass: Virtual Culture" looks at careers, real estate, relationships and education in virtual on-line communities, which some say are starting to look more like sophisticated civilizations than video games.
"Through the Looking Glass: Virtual Music" features musicians working in Second Life, and includes the much publicized interview and performance by Suzanne Vega, the first major musical artist to perform a virtual concert. Videos of Suzanne Vega's performance have been viewed more than 40,000 times on YouTube.
"Through the Looking Glass: The Transmission of Experience" examines the unprecedented ability of 3-D virtual reality to "transmit experience," and includes an interview with author Kurt Vonnegut, whose writing has chronicled the intersection of humanity and technology. Video of the interview has been viewed nearly 18,000 times on Google Video.
The series was covered widely, including a front page story in the Washington Post; Boston Globe; BusinessWeek; Current; and Good Morning America. The broadcast of the radio programs was contemporaneous with the opening of The Infinite Mind's 16-acre virtual broadcast center in Second Life, which includes a broadcast studio, listening and screening rooms, offices, and amphitheater.
Since the broadcasts, major corporations, universities and non-profit organizations have created virtual offices and facilities in Second Life. The Infinite Mind's producers remain committed to exploring the technology's use for broadcast, as well as social and educational purposes.
Read more about The Infinite Mind in Second Life in the Washington Post, Boston Globe, Rolling Stone, and Wired.