Virtual Reality

It is only a matter of time until reality and the virtual world become indistinguishable and merge into a new dimension. Whether in the form of a world portrayed by the movie “Matrix< or the like, the technological revolution has just begun.

Interactive games that operate thanks to motion-sensitive controllers such as Wii-Nintendo will soon be a thing of the past. Instead, according to the Economist, brain-controlled games will enter the market shortly. Imagine swinging your virtual golf club without lifting a finger.

But games are not the limit, since virtual interaction has now reached out to businesses. Developments in Second Life are almost not worth mentioning as they evolve so rapidly: CNN described how a recruitment wave has recently hit the virtual world: “Instead of posting a resume on Monster.com that will hopefully net a flesh-and-blood job interview, your avatar can be interviewed and hired all within Second Life, often for jobs possible only in virtual reality”

So what does the future hold for the marketing world?

Emotion-recognition software, which has already been applied to describe the mood condition of the Mona Lisa painting (New Scientist), could also be used for marketing purposes in the future. What if your computer could detect whether you have been cast by the shopping spell and based on your mood, it could stream targeted advertisements right there and then.

And if “neurowaves< were connected to our brains, advertising could take on a completely new form. The information could be transmitted while we’re sleeping, presuming that this is the period of the day when we are the most receptive to advertising messages (Spiegel – German).

Do you have any futuristic ideas?