One area of concern when looking into the development of virtual reality is withdrawal from society, however for HTC development of the platform has to be built on the idea of being social.

A stereotypical image of VR is a recluse in sweat stained underwear, covered in remnants of last night’s dinner with energy drinks scattered around the room, but this is an image which the team are now trying to change. Speaking at VR & AR World, HTC’s Chris Chin highlighted the idea of virtual reality is to drive social engagement.

Although only six months old, the HTC Vive has taken the world by storm and is arguably the industry leader. The device is affordable and broader in its applications for content. It is a genuinely good product which has been embraced by the industry.

For Chin, one of the most important factors when developing any new content for the platform is firstly to design beyond the boundaries, but more importantly, design to be social. Creating a siloed experience may work to wow the consumer, or help sell a car, but to create a lasting experience in the B2C world the environment has to be social.

Humans are creatures of company. John Donne famously said “No man is an island” back in the 16^th century and same applies today. People thrive of the company of others and in the rush to create the blockbuster, viral piece of content, this lesson can sometimes be forgotten.

For social standardization will be key. If we’ve learned in the technology industry, it’s that some naughty so-n-so’s will try to create a lock-in situation. For VR to succeed, this cannot be the case and there has to be a truly multi-platform environment.

So what are the lessons learned from the first six months of HTC Vive journey, for Chin it’s all about being social. Social will drive the adoption of VR, it will drive the normalization and it will drive the success of VR.

You can watch a live stream of VR & AR World right here.