[OPLIN 4cast] OPLIN 4Cast #727: Can the holidays go virtual? We're about to find out

[OPLIN OPLIN]

Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser.
<http://www.oplin.org/4cast/>
[image: OPLIN 4Cast]

OPLIN 4Cast #727: Can the holidays go virtual? We're about to find out
December 2nd, 2020

[image: Santa holding a gift from a laptop screen] More than ever, people
are looking for ways to make the holiday season more palatable, as most are
restricted from traveling or getting together with their friends or family.
Several new iterations of existing technology are helping to meet this
need. Interestingly enough though, the idea of a "virtual holiday" isn't
new; pre-pandemic, in 2019, a third of Americans planned to celebrate that
way
<https://www.zdnet.com/article/one-in-three-americans-will-have-a-virtual-holiday-season-this-year-reveals-survey/>.




   -
   - 11 ways to virtually visit Santa this holiday season
   <https://mashable.com/article/best-virutal-santa-visit> [Mashable]
   "While your kids aren't able to sit on Santa's lap in 2020, they can still
   interact with him through a screen. A bunch of helpful online services are
   offering virtual Santa visits in the form of pre-recorded video messages or
   live video calls. They vary in price depending on type and duration of
   experience, date booked, and personalization, so we thought it would be
   helpful to round up a few of the best options for you to browse."
   - A Mission to Make Virtual Parties *Actually* Fun
   <https://www.wired.com/story/zoom-parties-proximity-chat/> [Wired]
   "Gather is part of an emerging genre of communication platform that's
   halfway between Zoom breakout rooms and chatting during video games. It’s
   called proximity chat. The basic idea is that you have an avatar or icon
   that can walk around virtual spaces or jump between virtual "tables," and,
   much like in real life, you can see and hear only the people who are
   nearby."
   - Mall of America's High-Tech Concierge Offers Personalized Assistance
   <https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/mall-concierge> [TrendHunter] "The
   Shopping Hologram Concierge makes the most of VNTANA's patented software
   platform, which connects an existing chatbot (such as Microsoft Azure,
   Amazon Alexa, IBM Watson and more) with a 3D model to create a smart
   avatar."
   - From holograms to Plexiglas walls: How Santa comes to the mall during
   a pandemic
   <https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/malls-santa-claus-christmas-technology-innovation-covid-19-1.5818886>[CBC]
   "'It'll be 3D,' said Jillian Mason, the mall's marketing manager. 'It will
   look like Santa is floating in thin air because he is, because Santa is
   magic. He will be in his office in the North Pole writing letters, eating
   cookies and drinking milk. When he sees a child pass by he'll wave to
   them.'"

*From the Ohio Web Library <http://ohioweblibrary.org>:*

   - Año wants Christmas carolers to go digital for 2020 holiday season
   <http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy.oplin.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=cmh&AN=96XFPDI20201110.00064.2>
   (Año wants Christmas carolers to go digital for 2020 holiday season. (2020,
   November 10). *Philippines Daily Inquirer*.)
   - Office Christmas party 2020: you in a glitter frock by the kitchen bin
   <http://web.b.ebscohost.com.proxy.oplin.org/ehpl/detail/detail?vid=0&sid=2001b4a3-f6cc-44bd-8015-22d90ee08d77%40pdc-v-sessmgr02&bdata=&preview=false#AN=7EH164441732&db=cmh>
   (Carol Midgley. (2020). Office Christmas party 2020: you in a glitter frock
   by the kitchen bin . *Times, The (United Kingdom)*, 2.)
   - THERE'S NO STOPPING SANTA
   <https://search-ebscohost-com.proxy.oplin.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=pwh&AN=147034917&site=ehost-live>
   (MULL, A. (2020). There’s No Stopping Santa. *Atlantic*, *326*(5),
   28–30.)

------------------------------
The *OPLIN 4cast* is a weekly compilation of recent headlines, topics, and
trends that could impact public libraries. You can subscribe to it in a
variety of ways, such as:

   - *RSS feed.* You can receive the OPLIN 4cast via RSS feed by
   subscribing to the following URL:
   http://www.oplin.org/4cast/index.php/?feed=rss2.
   - *E-mail.* You can have the OPLIN 4cast delivered via e-mail (a'la
   OPLINlist and OPLINtech) by subscribing to the 4cast mailing list at
   http://lists.oplin.org/mailman/listinfo/OPLIN4cast.

© 2020 Ohio Public Library Information Network
[image: Find us on Slideshare] <http://www.slideshare.net/oplin>  [image:
Find us on Facebook] <http://www.facebook.com/oplin.org>  [image: Find us
on Google+] <https://plus.google.com/107751358238995507967>  [image: Find
us on Twitter] <http://www.twitter.com/oplin>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.oplin.org/pipermail/oplin4cast/attachments/20201202/c49f159b/attachment.htm>