We're happy to have Ian Lamont joining us as a guest author on Terra Nova for the month of May. Ian's self-introduction follows:
I'm the senior online projects editor at Computerworld, a trade publication covering the IT industry, and a graduate student at the Harvard Extension School, studying modern Chinese history and mass media. My thesis is based on a computer content analysis I performed on traditional media content (news articles published by the New China News Agency) but my research interests extend to Chinese Internet usage and regulations. Thanks to my studies, my job, and my blogging efforts, I have many opportunities to write about these and other technology-related topics that interest me, most notably 3D software tools, virtual worlds, and emerging media technologies.
I've observed that writers on Terra Nova like to reminisce about their first experiences with virtual worlds and 3D environments, which range from 70s-era 3D games (!) to early MUDs and Internet-based virtual communities. For me, reading William Gibson's Neuromancer in the mid-1980s opened my eyes to the concept of virtual worlds. However, I didn't actually experience networked 3D environments until about 10 years later, when I was living in Asia and tried Doom for the first time. These days, I don't spend a great deal of time in 3D gaming environments (that might change when sequels to Half Life 2 or Return to Castle Wolfenstein come out) but I do make an effort to explore Second Life on a weekly basis.
I really appreciate this opportunity, and am looking forward to joining the Terra Nova dialogue!
Welcome, Ian!
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