Art, Virtual Worlds and the Emergent Imagination

This paper presents a framework for the emergent imagination that arises out of the transitional spaces created in avatar-mediated online space. Through four categories of transitional space identified in artworks created in virtual worlds, the paper argues that, as the virtual remains connected to time, the imagination becomes connected to space. The author’s analysis of the imaginative effects of artworks presented in the two virtual (and physical) gallery exhibitions of the Kritical Works in SL project demonstrates a mode of artistic exploitation of the particular combination of user-generated and avatar-mediated space

Sales and sincerity: The role of relational framing in word-of-mouth marketing

In word-of-mouth marketing, marketers often provide financial rewards for referrals. These rewards introduce a financial motive into an interaction among friends or acquaintances, which may harm the perceived sincerity of the referring customer. We show that this negative effect can be mitigated by disclosing the presence of financial motives, but also by the activation of a market pricing (‘sales’) relationship norm. However, such a norm has a negative effect on compliance with the referral. The effects of relationship norms are strongest when cognitive capacity is impaired, which suggests that the influence of relationship norms occurs outside the awareness of consumers. Conversely, the impact of disclosures is stronger when consumers have full cognitive capacity available