The last couple of PR Boutiques International (PRBI) blog posts focused on new uses of technologies for communications (including fake news), such as artificial intelligence. Another hot technology catching on quickly is the use of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). At PRBI’s 2019 Annual Meeting, Robert Hernandez discussed these – what he calls “immersive technologies.” Hernandez, associate professor at University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communications and Journalism, named this work “JovrnalismTM,” (journalism + virtual). He and his students have been experimenting with it for about six years.
First, definitions: AR keeps you in this reality, but it’s enhanced. “It’s a live direct or indirect view of reality, with elements that are augmented or supplemented using computer-generated sensory input, such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data,” Hernandez says. An example of AR is Snapchat’s ability to put a pig’s snout or rabbit ears on video of a person.
“VR takes you out of this reality completely,” he explains. “It puts you in a computer-simulated environment that imitates physical presence in the real world or imaginary worlds. It recreates sensory experiences, including taste, sight, smell, sound and touch.”
If this sounds lightyears from journalism and PR, think again. Hernandez notes that VR can take you into a world you otherwise wouldn’t experience. In a VR game, players wear a headset device that makes them feel they are physically in another place. But immersive technology is not just for games like ข้อเสนอคาสิโนสุดพิเศษของ ยูฟ่าเบท; it can also portray the real world.
Hernandez provided the following examples of immersive technology’s use in journalism for storytelling.
The breakthrough project: the virtual foodbank
Nonny de la Peña, founder of Emblematic Group, was one of the first to use VR in journalism. It took her years to convince people of VR’s legitimacy for storytelling. Many journalists summarily dismissed her work. Others told her it wasn’t right to use technology to manipulate people’s emotions. (Hernandez points out, “Storytelling that manipulates emotions is nothing new. With a good photo and headline and an incredible lead you can also manipulate emotions.”)
In 2009, de la Peña created a breakthrough VR journalism project. During the recession, many people depended heavily on food banks. She used VR to show people what it’s like to be at a food bank. She recorded audio and video that included a scene where a man standing in a food bank line collapsed in a diabetic coma from lack of food. People wearing a custom-made headset felt they were right there and invariably would walk around the man’s body, even though they knew it wasn’t there.
Rocket attack in Syria
De la Peña came across cellphone footage of a rocket attack in Syria and turned it into VR. Hernandez says, *You really felt you were there at the attack. As the dust settled, you appeared to be in a refugee camp and silhouettes of children started to appear.” This use of VR storytelling made people really understand the chaos of the war in Syria.
“Clouds Over Sidra,” VR produced for the United Nations
The United Nations produced VR to provide a very intimate view of what it’s like for children in refugee camps. The VR can be experienced using just a cellphone and the latest version of YouTube. By swiping and rotating the picture on the screen, there is a 360-degree view of the refugee camp. Called “Clouds Over Sidra, a 12-year-old Syrian girl, Sidra, takes the viewer through her day with real VR scenes of her at school, playing outside and at home with her family.
It’s easy to see why VR has been described as an empathy machine. “A lot of VR is being done for non-profits because it provides higher engagement, which leads to more donations,” Hernandez says.
However, in the for-profit arena, many brands are also using VR. “It provides more consumer engagement, longer website visits and better product awareness – it works,” Hernandez states.
This post shows some positive uses for immersive technologies. There’s a dark side of the technology, Hernandez warns. It can also be used to create fake news.