The use of built-in digital backchannels in professional communication within academic conferences in virtual worlds: A comparison with the use of Twitter in real life conferences

This paper deals with the use of built-in digital backchannels within academic conferences in three dimensional virtual worlds (VW) and combines qualitative and quantitative methods to answer the following research questions: does the use of built-in digital backchannels enhance communication, collaboration and knowledge expansion amongst participants in professional communication academic conferences within VW? How can those benefits be articulated? And how does communication in built-in digital backchannels in VW conferences compare to communication through Twitter in real life conferences? This paper builds upon authors' previous research in which, through purely qualitative methods, six distinct categories of learning were identified and provided insights on how participants should behave in a socially acceptable way in such virtual conferences, as well as on how VW presentations were received by members of the audience [1].