Being in the Same Place at the Same Time

At the moment I am sitting with Jade Lily in the State of Play III conference room here in Tribeca, New York.  I am also sitting in the virtual conference room inside Second Life where on Sunday we will have our first ever Second Life Community Convention.  I look forward to participate in an experience on multiple levels simultaneously.  I think that the virtual world experience will be much richer than an IRC back channel because of the nature of the environment.  I can see virtual worlds replacing IRC channels if they become ubiquitous enough and easier to run. Virtual space may become the metaverse that runs parallel or over top of real world events, providing more meaningful user experiences and possibly a greater understanding of events.