Within a a couple of years peoples interaction with the virtual worlds that reside in our computers will make a dramatic leap forward. 3D capable goggles will allow us to interact with these worlds in a much more natural and intuitive way and finally unlock all the possibilities of 3D that has been laying dormant for over 30 years. Although computers have been capable of computing and visualizing three dimensional objects and whole worlds, only computer professionals or gamers have been using this capability. We do not walk through three dimensional cities when we surf the web and we do not meet in three dimensional forums to chat about the latest episode of “Big Bang Theory”. 3D has never actually dawned on to the computer generation, but it is about to now. The technology is finally ready and affordable. It will enhance our interaction with these existing worlds to the degree, that it feels natural enough that normal people will adopt it.
The move to a 3D web will take a while. Early adopters will have to prove that people stay longer and interact deeper with web sites that use 3D visualization. New graphical user interface element standards need to be found that allow users to easier navigate through this virtual worlds. A lot of these elements will try to simulate the world as we know it. Rooms to display goods and doors to connect rooms with another. Virtual agents users can interact with will become less and less indistinguishable from avatars of real people.
But it will be the real people that we meet in this three dimensional world that will make all the difference. People that move their heads to look at us and listen to what we say. People that can show you around because they know the place you just discovered. People will meet in their private worlds, because this is what our private web sites will become, and get to know each other.
Video chat is a technology that suites to replace the phone if you contact your family or very close friends, but it does not suite your needs when you want to socially interact with people you still do not know well. Chatting with the keyboard is so distracting and slow, voice chatting with strangers too weird as nothing else distracts you from the sound of your own voice.
Gamers around the globe have been playing in these virtual reality worlds using voice chat for several years now and have shown that this works.
If you think about this long enough, it becomes clear why Facebook decided to buy Oculus Rift: because it is the next step in the human social interaction.