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].