Social Trends

Virtual reality

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CONTENT

Virtual reality in a social world

How Facebook develops VR  What do the experts say about the future?- The Impact  - The headset- Integrations  How to prepare for the future  Replay the panel discussion (Blab)

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VIRTUAL REALITY IN A SOCIAL WORLD

Virtual Reality is not something new. We have been talking about it for decades. But now the technology is finally ready to take off. Are you ready?  You’ll probably never go to Mars, dance with a dinosaur, swim an Olympic 400 meters, or sing on stage with Elvis. But if VR ever lives up to it’s promise, you might be able to do all these things, and many more, without even leaving your home. We have seen applications in the entertainment industry before, but now it seems like we are ready to taker off for all industries and parts of our society. And that’s why we see this as an important trend for 2016.

”Our mission with Oculus is empower you to experience anything, anywhere with anyone”

Mark Zuckerberg during F8 2015

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HOW FACEBOOK DEVELOPS VREven though both the term and technology of VR started to develop in the 80’s, VR has really taken flight since Facebook bought Oculus VR in 2014. With a headset like Oculus Rift, you feel like you are in a different world. And that is what VR is about; bringing you to a world you would normally not be able to explore. You are not just a passive observer anymore, but rather an active participant in the experience.  Connecting the world online, moves towards more and more rich communication forms. Only 5 years ago, we were used to writing texts to tell a story. With an image you can make a richer story, and with video you can say even more. The first formats of VR are now being developed. The expectations are that it will change our lives really fast, and even more than motion pictures did.  

The first project of Facebook to bring VR to their main service, is by supporting 360 degree videos. They will let you look in any direction within an image, as though you were really there. How does it work? Simply tap on the computer screen or move your phone around, allowing its gyroscope to make you feel like you’re in the video. Komfo is an official partner of Facebook and we believe Oculus will be part of the future and soon our clients, and network, will include VR in their Customer Journey strategy.

Facebook is now supporting 360 degree video’s (Click Image)

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WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY ABOUT THE FUTURE

Bo Gustafsson Creative Director VR Team – Mediamonks

“VR is much more immersive than a normal video, and that you can easily have it at home is amazing!”

Jonas AlsProduct Director - Komfo  

“VR will be soon used everywhere. If you start treating it like a gimmick, it will become a gimmick”

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The impact The power of VR is wonderful and intense. The emotional reaction is much bigger compared to video, and therefore, some people don’t feel well after ‘a ride’. Your eyes and mind are experiencing motion, but your body and physical presence tell you that you are standing still. This can unfortunately result in motion sickness. Luckily, with all technical developments, and learnings from the professionals, the frame rate is increasingly better, and the producers can positively influence the experience with their creative decisions.  

The headset  The headsets that you will need to wear today to see VR, are pretty big and unfashionable. Companies like Samsung and Google are building ecosystems that includes gear. The cheapest and most easily accessible version today, is definitely the Google Cardboard headset. In the future, we expect that VR will be integrated in smartphones. Just like you receive earplugs with your phone today, you will also receive a VR headset.  Integrations During a panel discussion with Bo and Jonas, we discussed if VR will replace communication like video, beacons and augmented reality in the future. “VR will be used everywhere! You will see it next to text, images and video. They are not going to disappear. But if you treat VR like a gimmick, it will become a gimmick”, says Bo.  

Google Cardboard, 6.99 USD on Amazon

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HOW TO PREPARE FOR THE FUTURE

“Every marketer needs to think about storytelling and experiences, in order to be able to start creating ideas. Not every format fits in VR. They only way to learn is by testing. Sometimes we talk

too much. It’s like Frank Zappa’s quote: Writing about music is like dancing about

architecture” Bo

“Today, Social Media is an integrated part of the

customer journey, make sure you own it!

Get yourself a Cardboard today. Download some of the

cool apps and watch 360 degree videos to get an idea

about the possibilities. “ Jonas

Talk more with BoMore cases at Mediamonks.com

Talk more with Jonas More info at komfo.com

Gina Tricot Say Blue videoProduced by Mediamonks

Replay the panel discussion with Astrid Haug, Jonas Als and Bo Gustafsson on Blab