New York Times Joins Virtual Reality Hype Wave, Because That Worked Out So Well for Reuters

The New York Times is jumping into the virtual reality hype wave, not as a dispassionate reporter, but a participant and an advocate:

The New York Times announced on Tuesday a virtual reality project in collaboration with Google, which will include the distribution of more than a million cardboard VR viewers to subscribers... Dean Baquet, the executive editor of The Times, said the magazine “has created the first critical, serious piece of journalism using virtual reality, to shed light on one of the most dire humanitarian crises of our lifetime.” The magazine’s editor, Jake Silverstein, said, “The power of VR is that it gives the viewer a unique sense of empathic connection to people and events.” It has huge potential, he said, to help bring viewers news and stories from the most inaccessible places.

This of course vividly reminds me of that other time another august news outlet, Reuters, opened up a news bureau in Second Life, convinced that the virtual world was the next major Internet platform, even though it had no clear idea of what was actually interesting or newsworthy about it.

In a similar way, this move means the New York Times is implicitly assuming that virtual reality is a scalable mass market product, when that's actually still very much an open question that should be covered by august news outlets... like the New York Times.

But instead of asking the hard questions that another virtual reality hype wave requires, the world's most respected news outlet is becoming part of that hype, and will likely become a proof point other news outlets will reference. (Just as Reuters' Second Life bureau became a key part of SL's hype wave.) Of course virtual reality is the next big thing, reporters everywhere will think -- after all, the New York Times pretty much said so!

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Comments

[Iggy]

Stop the Presses!

NYT prepares content for...Cardboard!

At least it's more durable a paper product than newsprint.

See y'all in the Trough. Again.

[La Viola]

A flying penis is newsworthy and should be covered.

[John Branch]

The Times's move seems precipitous to me too. One thing I wonder is how many of the Times's subscribers are looking for "a unique sense of empathic connection" to people in "dire humanitarian crises." In years past, claims were made that television would advance our understanding of each other; I think something similar was said about telephone service and/or the telegraph. That you might find it easier to empathize with someone if you're talking to them by phone, seeing them on TV, or seeing them in VR doesn't mean you'll choose to pay them any attention at all.

[irihapeti]

is quite interesting to see a new person at the UN getting into it again. With the budget to make it happen

there was Reuters. then there was NYT

there was the UN and SL Teen Grid. then there was UN and Cardboard

wonders whatever happened to all them UN Teen Ambassadors who used to hang out on the TG making 3Ds about world probs and peace back in the day

hope this time it will actual make a difference in the RL

[Nalates]

Few people know anything about history. So, I am not surprised people think increased awareness of current human problems will change something.

Other than up donations for a particular disaster relief, nothing seems to change.

The UN is a majority run organization and the majority of members are dictators, anti-citizen-freedom and anti-free-speech. China and Russia have veto power over any effort. Previously Libya and now Saudi Arabia is in charge of human rights... expect to see rights restricted. The question is how to keep them out of VR...

The NYT has proven they are mostly clueless. Stock price continues to drop (10+yr), 2014 saw an operating cost producing a US$9 million loss. Partnering with Google has not helped their stock price, yet.

[RoblemVR]

Comparing the failure of Reuters island to NYT distributing Google Cardboard VR viewers? An SL island that can maybe support 75-80 viewer before it becomes unusable is nothing like a Google VR experience. VR scales just fine put the experience in the cloud and MILLIONS can eperience it with no problems at all. Apples and Oranges, no matter how much you chant "hype wave".

But hey my grandfather still prefers getting his news on big sheets of paper too. Maybe you are both right and all this VR nonsense is just a fad ready to fail.

[Armadillo]

I think your seeing the promotion arm of Zuckerberg and his investors. Since Zuckerburg and investors made Facebook the cool platform with a media onslaught against Myspace,now you'll see VR being promoted with Zuckerbergs investment in Oculus. NYT all the news that's fit to advertise.

[Amanda Dallin]

"hope this time it will actual make a difference in the RL"

We can hope but technology doesn't change human nature no matter how much we wish. People do not want a "unique sense of empathic connection to . . . " anything bad or unpleasant. They might want an "empathic" (and naked) connection to the current hot movie star or singer but not to the hungry political refugee fearing for their life.