Virtual Worlds & Councils

There has been some conversation about what role a virtual world such as Second Life should play in a council's engagement strategy.

I'm a sceptic myself.  You need to download and install special software, you need a beefed-up computer, the controls are far from intuitive, and the sight of clothed cats and semi-naked people is somewhat off-putting for serious use.

Still in the IDeA Community of Practice for Social Media there are some fans.  Top comment thought came from Justin Kerr Stevens of extended reach:

Personally, I'd prefer to see my local council in virtual world more akin to world of warcraft... I think I'd be able to make a few more salient points that way.

As you can imagine World of Warcraft is more about disengaging limbs from citizens than engaging citizens with democracy.  I suspect Justin is among the majority.