Berkeley, CA - February 5, 2008—More and more people are spending more and more time online. Peachpit’s new I, Avatar: The Culture and Consequences of Having a Second Life, explores the social, economic, and cultural effects of the growing phenomenon of online living.

Digital pioneer Mark Stephen Meadows explores answers to such questions as: What is an avatar? Why are there nearly a billion of them, and who is using them? Do avatars impact our lives, or are they just video game conceits? Is an avatar an inspired rendering of its creator’s inner self, or is it just one among millions of anonymous vehicles clogging the online freeways? Can we use our avatars to really connect with people? And, as we become more like our avatars, do they become more like us?

Meadows’ examination of avatars through the lenses of sociology, psychology, politics, history, and art will change the way readers look at even a simple online profile and revolutionize the idea of avatars as part of our lives.

I, Avatar is now available from Peachpit.com, Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Borders, and other retailers nationwide. For more information, please visit www.peachpit.com/title/0321533399.

About The Author

Mark Stephen Meadows (known in the virtual world as Pighed) is an artist, writer, and engineer with 15 years experience in interactive media. Founder of both HeadCase Humanfacturing (dedicated to developing tools to create intelligent, autonomous avatars) and Echo & Shadow, he also spent time at Xerox-PARC, Stanford Research Institute, and The Waag. The author of Pause and Effect (New Riders, 2003), he helped build the third commercial web server (1992), the first open-protocol 3D multi-user environment (1997), and he has won awards such as the Arts Electronica Golden Nica and the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum’s highest honors. Based in Los Angeles, Meadows speaks at universities and conferences worldwide.

About Peachpit

Berkeley-based Peachpit has been publishing the industry's best-selling books on the latest in graphic design, desktop publishing, multimedia, Web design and development, digital video and general Macintosh computing since 1986. Its award-winning books feature step-by-step explanations, time-saving techniques, savvy insider tips, and expert advice for computer users of all sorts. It is the home of the internationally recognized Visual QuickStart Guide series, the design imprint New Riders and its highly popular Voices That Matter series, and is the publishing partner for
Adobe Press,lynda.com, NAPP, Apple Certified,AIGA Design Press and others. Peachpit is part of Pearson, the international media company. Pearson's primary operations also include the Financial Times Group and the Penguin Group. Learn more at www.peachpit.com andwww.pearson.com.

Press Contact:
Laura Pexton,
Publicist,
510-558-4166,
press@peachpit.com