NEW YORK TIMES VIRTUAL REALITY
Let’s start with the definition of virtual reality. What is it? This term comes from the definitions for both ‘virtual’ and ‘reality’. The definition of ‘virtual’ is near and reality is what we experience as human beings. So the term ‘virtual reality’ basically means ‘near-reality’.
In technical terms, it is the term used to describe a three-dimensional, computer generated environment which can be explored and interacted with by a person. That person becomes part of this virtual world or is immersed within this environment and whilst there, is able to manipulate objects or perform a series of actions.
The NYT takes a step into virtual reality.Our free phone app can be used to simulate richly immersive scenes from across the globe.Virtual reality is the new kid in the digital neighborhood.
Until now,virtual reality has been seen mostly as a revolutionary new platform for video games. But it has the potential to transform Journalism as well. The NYT is taking the next step ahead of the pack and has started to incorporate virtual reality technology to better its news journalistic progress.
The NYT want to make the news feel more real. One of greatest advantages of virtual reality as a medium is its potential to create empathy-to place viewers in someone else’s shoes,in 360- degree,imersive 3-D,as said previsouly. Dean Baquet ,the Times’ executive editor,told:”Virtual reality is a different way of telling a story…a dramatic visual way of storytelling…a powerful piece of journalism.”
More generally, Google is instead trying to make virtual reality into a new kind of casual,mostly passive,entertainment like watching tv or surfing online videos-one perhaps more likely to win a mass audience and thus become a lucrative platform for ads or premium content.
It is worth noting that virtual reality is going to change the way everybody does business. No other technology can so vividly and immersively create new experiences that leverage the underlying power of big data at the human level.
SOURCES
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_reality
http://www.forbes.com/sites/howardhomonoff/2015/11/16/the-new-york-times-makes-virtual-reality-umm-real/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNx3A4tXR2E
http://www.nytimes.com/newsgraphics/2015/nytvr/
