Warner CEO: My kids have stolen music

Despite Nick Yee’s study that people carry social norms over to virtual environments (such as standing their avatars far enough away from each other that you’re not considered a ‘close-talker’) there’s one difference i’ve started to observe – people let their guard down a bit.

Both former Senator Mark Warner’s and Warner CEO Edgar Bronfman were interviewed in Second Life. Reading the transcripts you find an openness which is really refreshing. For example, here’s a sample from the Bronfman interview conducted by the Reuters embedded reporter:

AP: So, you have seven children, have you ever caught any of them using Gnutella or Limewire or the P2P network?

EB: I have. I explained to them what I believe is right, that the principle involved is that stealing music is stealing music.

Does this question get asked and answered in a real world press conference? Is there something about being interviewed by an avatar that makes you more conversational and less filtered?