A day in the life of a beta-tester

It happened about 4 years ago.

I was invited by my fellow Ukrainian journalist to do VR glasses beta testing.
It was my second beta-testing experience and I was feeling amazed.

First of all, I didn't expect the mall workers to be so caring and cooperative.

They were literally cosseting me.

When I finally realized it was my turn, I took the glasses carefully and started watching.

There were two standard images that I happened to explore.

In order to keep you inspired, I will only name one of them, my dear inquisitive readers/critics/tutors/foreign friends.

Can you guess what I saw?

It was the outer space! It was Mars, to be more precise.

Let me be direct. I've been dreaming of a space trip since I was 14. I would imagine myself at least on the orbit of the Earth.

Then I started feeling 'not fit enough' for going into the outer space, a bit later I forgot of this wild dream, and then suddenly, after almost 14 years, I saw how I could have this fabulous trip.

It was through VR technology testing that I could go there!

So I was tripping on a red Mars surface, feeling excited. It looked and felt like a lonely yet inspiring place. The details were so realistic I couldn't help but smile.

Some other testers were not so happy about their first experience.
Maybe this was because I've been testing the system on a day off when most Ukrainian  VIP shoppers are on the spree, so the queue was quite long.

Anyway, this experience has changed a lot within me.

As a community manager and a moderator, as a reporter and editor, I started feeling more responsible and more in demand. That moment will stay in my memory as a sacred peak experience, a unique state of mind. With VR you not only reveal your talents, you also sense how close the world of the future is to you.

I hope this is not an illusion and I keep growing in my field (or sometimes in between fields).

Testing a new technology, like VR glasses or a new social network, can really inspire people and not only reduce stress level, but also enhance their creativity. In this way, for example, a CEO can keep his managers happy when a company is experiencing a temporary sales drop.

In this way you can also share your dream with your friends, family or beloved.

Each VR pattern is unique. Some patterns/scripts may be based on the user's previous search results, however the main point about virtual reality instruments is that they are flexible, transnational, complicated to create yet easy to deal with.

I feel grateful for living in this particular epoch, in the wake of a technology singularity process, and I hope my country (Ukraine) will raise to the top of the global tech Everest, since our talent pool is above rubies.


© Maryna Tchianova, for Ukrainian tech/education blogs.

In information partnership with European Journalist Observatory and  All-Ukrainian Advertising Coalition

Date of event: Summer, 2017

Date of coverage: Summer, 2021