Watching Tennis in Second Life: What’s the point?

There is some comfort for tennis fans wanting to watch this year’s Wimbledon but without the incessant rain: why not watch it in Second Life?

Apart from the guarantee of clear skies in a virtual world, why (on earth) would anyone want to?

The answer it seems is the introduction of Hawkeye technology to track the trajectory and impact point of each shot in three dimensions, making dubious line-calls and John McEnroe-esque rants, a thing of the past. On Second Life this means you can watch the game from any angle on your terms.

It seems to prove the point once again that just because something is technically possible, doesn’t necessarily make it worth doing.

Anyone really interested can watch the video:

Comments

[Alex Manchester]

I'm not sure about watching a match in Second Life either, much prefer the real version thank you! But saying that, it is clever that they've been able to make this happen and I think one of the key messages in that clip is about exploring possibilities that such applications can offer:

"When you're not restricted by the laws of physics, you can do all sorts of things and explore where we might be able to take Wimbledon and the brand and how that might fit with Wimbledon's business plans..."

What the application allows them to do is try things, which to do physically would either be impossible or prohibitively expensive.

For example, one might imagine seeing what the new roof looks like on Centre Court and watching it roll backwards and forwards and trying different designs in a fully realised 3-D environment.

Or, with regard to camera angles, seeing which ones work the best for TV fans and commentators alike, trying out all sorts of possibilities, without lugging cameras around everywhere. Plus, they could ask commentators (and fans?) who are based all over the world to give their opinion on a new camera angle, rather than needing them to be at Wimbledon.

It crops up time and again, but for me the biggest problem with Second Life is that it's called "Second Life". Immediately, people react and say they "haven't got time for a first life" and it sours the very concept of what you're are looking at.

How about this: imagine you're on the Wimbledon website, and had the option to: "click here to book the perfect Wimbledon seat and see the exact view from where you'll be sitting" - and it happens to be using Second Life or a similar application.

It would be far better than looking at one of those relatively useless 2-D floorplans that give you little feeling for what you've just doled out hard-earned cash for. The same thing could be done for concerts, exhibition halls, airplane tickets, office planning, product design etc etc...

[Robin Crumby]

Don't get me wrong. I'm a big fan of experimentation with social media. Some of it gets adopted and some of it gets swiftly assigned to the 'huh?' bucket.

And I guess that if a venerable 100+ year old institution like Wimbledon's Lawn Tennis Association is making innovative use of new technology like online video and Second Life, then there's no excuse for the rest of us.