Can Women Make Virtual Reality Mainstream?
The female bosses behind the new Oculus Go headset are on the front lines of a technological revolution.
So how can VR companies win over women? Hire them.
As key decision makers, the women shook up the status quo by rethinking the physical headset (it’s cordless, lined with the same fabric found in bra straps, and a dove gray rather than Oculus’s signature stark black) and the social experience. (The Venues and Spaces apps allow users to hang out, cheer on sports teams, or watch movies with friends who are physically in different locations.)
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Enter Rachel Franklin, head of social VR at Facebook. After designing high-profile games, including the Sims, Franklin, 47, joined Facebook in 2016 to perfect Oculus avatars. Many of the headset’s virtual experiences require you to generate one, and she wanted to make the options as inclusive as possible. “We created bouncy curls, Afros, tight curls,” she says. Franklin thought of her children—she is Caucasian and her husband is African-American—and a coworker with alopecia (and therefore no hair or eyebrows) when crafting the virtual personas. “People need to have a ‘digital me’ to feel part of the experience.”
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See the full story here: https://www.marieclaire.com/career-advice/a22560159/virtual-reality-for-women-oculus-go/