Avatars To Have Business Dress Codes By 2013 221
nk497 writes "With businesses increasingly using digital tech like virtual worlds and Twitter, their staff will have to be given guidelines on how they 'dress' their avatars, according to analysts. 'As the use of virtual environments for business purposes grows, enterprises need to understand how employees are using avatars in ways that might affect the enterprise or the enterprise's reputation,' said James Lundy, managing vice president at Gartner, in a statement. 'We advise establishing codes of behavior that apply in any circumstance when an employee is acting as a company representative, whether in a real or virtual environment.'"
Makes Sense (Score:5, Interesting)
were not talking personal avatars/twitters etc, thats a seperate, more difficult problem.
this is about representing a company, situations like gaming with developers, company islands in second life, twitter feeds for businesses. situations where an employee is representing their organisation on an official level in a digital context.
i think the same company office policy should simply extend to the online realm. in second life you avatars dress code should reflect the dress code of the business, same with behavior, etc.
for example i apply a simmilar policy to my work mobile. no custom tones or backgrounds, it uses a generic ringtone and the company logo as the background, no good sitting down to a meeting with a client and having the "crazy frog" or star wars theme start blaring out of my phone.
Great. Here it comes... (Score:5, Interesting)
"casual friday" for avatars.
Bill Lumbergh: Oh, and remember: next Friday... is Hawaiian shirt day. So, you know, if you want to, go ahead and wear a Hawaiian shirt and jeans.
Re:Resigning Issue... (Score:3, Interesting)
I'd resign if anyone tried to tell me what to wear in the real world, never mind the virtual. I've never worked at a company with a dress code and I never will. Not because I have an aversion to looking smart, but because that kind of control is normally just the tip of the iceberg.
The golden rule: Those who have the gold, make the rules.
There's nothing in that where it says the rules have to make sense. Often, they don't. But the majority of jobs out there want it. You can skirt around it, but it'll cost you opportunities you'd otherwise have if you'd just get with the program. No, what you wear has no bearing on what's between your ears. Yet, curiously, it does have a bearing on the size of your paycheck.
It's like this: I could choose to dress in a provocative manner, but I'd be attracting a kind of attention I don't want. Likewise, how you dress says something about you as well. What message do you want to convey? Contrary to popular geek belief, clothes do more than just cover your body.
Re:Resigning Issue... (Score:4, Interesting)
I actually have a habit of wearing clothes that get me dirty looks from people who see me on the street (my dreadlocks probably don't help this (and most people who look at me like I'm worthless scum are the typical "gray suit and tie" Volvo drivers)) and I wear the same clothes to work. But yeah, a speedo may be a hard sell in an office environment.
That said, unless the job requires special clothing (either for identification purposes such as with police officers or firemen or for safety or hygiene reasons) I see no reason for people not to wear whatever they feel like but then I tend to cringe when I enter a store and notice all the employees wearing identical clothing...
/Mikael
Re:Resigning Issue... (Score:4, Interesting)
And, even worse, people won't learn that. You even conform if you are not working, and it is really hard to evade that. Example:
"The Mothers Of Invention : The Little House I Used To Live In
Lyrics
FZ: Thank you, good night . . . Thank you, if you'll . . . if you sit down and be quiet, we'll make an attempt to, ah, perform Brown Shoes Don't Make It.
Man In Uniform: Back on your seats, come on, we'll help you back to your seats, come on . .
Guy In The Audience: Take that man out of here! Oh! Go away! Take that uniform off man! Take that bloody uniform before it's fuckin' too late, man!
FZ: Everybody in this room is wearing a uniform, and don't kid yourself.
Guy In The Audience: . . . man!
FZ: You'll hurt your throat, stop it!"
About 4 decades ago.
CC.
Re:Resigning Issue... (Score:2, Interesting)
Fair enough. I work in the dairy food industry, and our hygiene policy has a total ban on the use of scotch-brite pads, because no matter how much you wash and rinse them with industrial bleach, they continue to harbour large colonies of bacteria. Since you can't subject your head to that kind of agressive cleansing, one can only imagine what kind of wildlife will be festering in your dreadlocks. There is just no way you can convince me those damn things are clean.
Re:Resigning Issue... (Score:3, Interesting)
I have no intention of going near the executive suite. And my income is more than enough for anyone. I don't need any more.
Re:Resigning Issue... (Score:3, Interesting)