No political debates please, this is just an informational post based on what Obama has done and its relation to WoW.Obama Appoints Gamers To FCC Post
Andy Chalk posted on 19 Nov 2008 12:52 pm
The videogame generation is in The House: President-Elect Barack Obama has appointed a pair of Net Neutrality advocates and MMOG fans to head his FCC transition team.
Wharton assistant professor of legal studies and business ethics Kevin Werbach and University of Michigan communications and internet law expert Susan Crawford will co-chair the transition team, providing information to the incoming Obama administration on U.S. internet and telecommunications policies, budgetary and personnel issues. The pair are described by GigaOM as "seasoned Net Neutrality advocates," and Werbach is also a World of Warcraft player.
Not just a casual player, either: Werbach is a member of two guilds. "One of them was started by my friend and inveterate tech connector, Joi Ito," he wrote in a 2006 blog entry. "The other guild is very different - it's composed primarily of academics and other thinkers who study and write about virtual worlds."
"What [Warcraft] does is provide an incentive for people to develop new software and ideas for collaborative production," the post continues. "Many of those ideas will translate to other group activities, including those within the business world. I think MMOGs will be, at a minimum, a significant testbed for these new technologies, because users see a direct benefit and are willing to experiment with new things."
Crawford has some legitimate gamer cred herself, writing on her blog that she is a "huge fan of Second Life," the online virtual world that's actually more akin to a social network than a straight-out game; she admits to having trouble maneuvering in the world ("If you see an avatar spinning and gesturing meaninglessly, that's me," she wrote) but expressed admiration for the way Second Life creator Linden Lab has elected to grant IP rights to individuals who create content in the game.
It's far too early to predict the impact this kind of gamer experience could have on the policies recommended by Werbach and Crawford, but the simple fact that they they have the experience to draw upon represents a significant change from previous administrations. Videogames are the "new normal," and while Obama himself may not have graduated past Pong, it's good to see that he's surrounding himself with people in relevant positions who have.
Source:
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/87561-Obama-Appoints-Gamers-To-FCC-PostAs Gigaom reports, Werbach described his interest in World of Warcraft, or WoW, on his blog in a 2006 post:
"It has been a rewarding experience, going far beyond the entertainment value.
Now, I’m not kidding myself. I play Warcraft because it’s fun. It’s taking time away from watching TV, reading books, and other entertainment pursuits. But I’m also playing because I believe MMOGs will be one of the primary forms of social software for the next decade. Defined broadly, they may become the dominant form of social software. And you can’t understand games without experiencing them first-hand."
