Second Life was started in 2003 by a Silicon Valley techie inspired by a sci-fi novel, “Snow Crash.” It is owned by a private company called Linden Lab. The original idea of the game was to unleash creativity. Residents don’t have to wear the latest fashions; they don’t have to look — or act — human at all. They can take any animal, robotic, or inanimate form they want.
Sunday, September 9, 2007
A Snow Crash Reference
NY Times Article About SL -- "Even in a Virtual World, 'Stuff' Matters"
yeah, her avator is way hotter than she really is
I love this article, "Even in a Virtual World, Stuff Matters" because it shows that our consumerism translates even into a virtual world where it shouldn't matter. The girl above even keeps a list of things she wants to buy. That's just sad.
... Right?
The items are made of pixels, and don't actually exist, yet people still spend money on them. This girl makes Linden dollars interviewing for the fashion industry.... Anyone see a problem here? Yeah, in real life she wouldn't get that job because, sorry, but she's not that fashionable. She doesn't look trendy, she needs a haircut and a new pair of glasses at the very least. The only thing she's got going for her in the picture is the Apple computer.
Last month, she earned 40,000 Linden dollars ($150), for interviewing designers, arranging fashion shoots and writing about trends in Second Life, called SL by frequent users. “I usually spend what I earn,” Ms. Hawkins said. “It’s entertaining.”
Hmmmm....
uh-oh
Some other information about Second Life to ponder according to a Wall Street Journal story:
* A large percentage of online game players said their virtual friends are equal to or better than their real friends.
* More than a quarter of them said the emotional highlight of the past week happened in a computer world.
* A typical game player spends 20 to 40 hours a week in a virtual world.
* Studies suggest that, on a neurological level, players don't distinguish between real life and virtual relationships. If you get dumped by your virtual lover, it appears to hurt just as bad.
* Addiction to interactive fantasy role-playing games is under study by the American Medical Association.
* A large percentage of online game players said their virtual friends are equal to or better than their real friends.
* More than a quarter of them said the emotional highlight of the past week happened in a computer world.
* A typical game player spends 20 to 40 hours a week in a virtual world.
* Studies suggest that, on a neurological level, players don't distinguish between real life and virtual relationships. If you get dumped by your virtual lover, it appears to hurt just as bad.
* Addiction to interactive fantasy role-playing games is under study by the American Medical Association.
Sunday, September 2, 2007
"Real Estate In An Unreal World"
I came across this article online about real estate in Second Life. The article compared SL to Narnia, which made me giggle. But I kind-of liked the comparison. In so many ways, it does feel like a fantasy, made-up world. Oh wait. It is.
But here we go again... Confusing fantasy with real life. We talk about how people often try to recreate themselves... their lives... Maybe with an extra touch- 10 pounds less, better hair, better boobs, more money. But still, there's this inherit need to have reality represented. Sure, we can fly, but overall, this "Second" life has so many real world components. And real estate is another great example.
These houses aren't for sale on SL... They're for sale in real life. And people are actually going to SL to tour them!! Craziness....
Check it out for yourself:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/09/02/RE07RQEHN.DTL
But here we go again... Confusing fantasy with real life. We talk about how people often try to recreate themselves... their lives... Maybe with an extra touch- 10 pounds less, better hair, better boobs, more money. But still, there's this inherit need to have reality represented. Sure, we can fly, but overall, this "Second" life has so many real world components. And real estate is another great example.
These houses aren't for sale on SL... They're for sale in real life. And people are actually going to SL to tour them!! Craziness....
Check it out for yourself:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/09/02/RE07RQEHN.DTL
SL - An Addiction?
I have come to the conclusion that many people on Second Life are addicted... I think it's kind-of like an addiction to dating or going out... Except you're home on your computer, and you probably don' really date or go out. Hmmm. Creepy.
When I talk to people about my class, most people are confused. How and Why, they want to know. That's easy. Then they tell me it's something people get addicted to and can't get off of. They talk about people being holed up in their room for hours on end, pretending to socialize.
I still like the idea of Second Life, but every time I get on it, I feel like I'm wasting my time. I keep hearing my mom's voice in my head "get off the computer... and go outside and play!" Sure, that was 5 years ago, but still... I have plenty of friends. I don't want/need friends on Second Life.
This should motivate me to figure out how other people will see it and how to draw them in... hook line and sinker.
When I talk to people about my class, most people are confused. How and Why, they want to know. That's easy. Then they tell me it's something people get addicted to and can't get off of. They talk about people being holed up in their room for hours on end, pretending to socialize.
I still like the idea of Second Life, but every time I get on it, I feel like I'm wasting my time. I keep hearing my mom's voice in my head "get off the computer... and go outside and play!" Sure, that was 5 years ago, but still... I have plenty of friends. I don't want/need friends on Second Life.
This should motivate me to figure out how other people will see it and how to draw them in... hook line and sinker.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Linden Labs: Normal.
When Shamp went around assigning tasks to various people, Leslie decided I would write about Linden Labs. (Thanks.) No, but actually, I was pretty stoked. I was led to believe that Linden Lab was a company that was out of the ordinary. Not so normal. Different. Unique.
I don't know if maybe Shamp had some specific insight from a SL Conference... or insider trading. Hey, who knows. The fact is, I can't really find anything that leads me to believe that they're too different from any new media company.... I mean their Founder & CEO built a computer in 4th grade. That's pretty cool. But other than that, nothing really stands out.
When you look at LL's website, you notice they describe themselves as cool.
I worked at a company in NYC over the summer, and they were. Cool. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. The company was hip. In fact, the other intern even said at one point "I don't think I would be able to work for them after graduation. I mean... face it... I'm just not cool enough". But that's not in our company motto. That's not on our website. Maybe they were joking around (for the record, I don't think they were), but it rubbed me the wrong way. Plus... they wrote "cool" on the same page as "3,000 CPUs and growing!". No. Those do NOT go together. I promise.
On an external website I found that Linden Lab promotes inventing, collaborating, and "most importantly" having fun while doing the above. Yeah, I get it. But when we sign up for jobs, in the real world, that's usually the idea. Maybe it's "being productive" instead of inventing... Or fill in your company's niche instead of "inventing", but nothing new there.
The company overall seems pretty idealistic. Every interview with Philip Rosedale, the founder and CEO, seems like a call to recruitment. Every word planned, nothing could be said without somehow tying it back to Second Life. And then he used the word
Now, I'm not bashing Second Life. Or Linden Labs for that matter. I'm just saying that I was lead to believe I would find a very... surprising... environment that Linden Labs lead, and so far, I can't find anything that really stands out.
In addition, one blog notes that Linden Lab attracts people because it's a "cool company" but not because they pay well or actually treat their employees well.
One article, titled "Linden Lab's Metaverse Maths: 1 + 1 = 10" talks about how they have created a business model that barely allows them to survive as a profitable company. That makes me a little nervous... Because if they can't make money, then they can't put money back in Second Life. And if they can't figure out their own company, how are they supposed to figure out how it works in a virtual world?? Ya know? Have they set themselves on a
One quote that stood out to me from that article was
My props to them? One guy created a parody of second life... Get A First Life. Instead of asking him to "cease and desist" they basically told him to proceed as usual, saying
Ha! I love it. Very clever. My overall analysis: Normal.
As far as their history:
The website Second Life History is a great resource.
I don't know if maybe Shamp had some specific insight from a SL Conference... or insider trading. Hey, who knows. The fact is, I can't really find anything that leads me to believe that they're too different from any new media company.... I mean their Founder & CEO built a computer in 4th grade. That's pretty cool. But other than that, nothing really stands out.
When you look at LL's website, you notice they describe themselves as cool.
The people are cool:Hmmmm. Now see, this here... This rubs me the wrong way. You don't usually write about yourselves as cool. If you're cool, you know it, and other people will eventually know it.
Everyone is smart, everyone is very good at what they do, and everyone has a chance to contribute. The environment is intellectually rich, dynamic, and creative. Passion and SMARTS rule!
I worked at a company in NYC over the summer, and they were. Cool. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. The company was hip. In fact, the other intern even said at one point "I don't think I would be able to work for them after graduation. I mean... face it... I'm just not cool enough". But that's not in our company motto. That's not on our website. Maybe they were joking around (for the record, I don't think they were), but it rubbed me the wrong way. Plus... they wrote "cool" on the same page as "3,000 CPUs and growing!". No. Those do NOT go together. I promise.
On an external website I found that Linden Lab promotes inventing, collaborating, and "most importantly" having fun while doing the above. Yeah, I get it. But when we sign up for jobs, in the real world, that's usually the idea. Maybe it's "being productive" instead of inventing... Or fill in your company's niche instead of "inventing", but nothing new there.
The company overall seems pretty idealistic. Every interview with Philip Rosedale, the founder and CEO, seems like a call to recruitment. Every word planned, nothing could be said without somehow tying it back to Second Life. And then he used the word
organic... Organic. That's a natural integration. One that for the typical consumer passes by and they don't even realize there was planning behind it; They just have an inherit feeling. To me, nothing about Second Life seems "organic".
Now, I'm not bashing Second Life. Or Linden Labs for that matter. I'm just saying that I was lead to believe I would find a very... surprising... environment that Linden Labs lead, and so far, I can't find anything that really stands out.
In addition, one blog notes that Linden Lab attracts people because it's a "cool company" but not because they pay well or actually treat their employees well.
One article, titled "Linden Lab's Metaverse Maths: 1 + 1 = 10" talks about how they have created a business model that barely allows them to survive as a profitable company. That makes me a little nervous... Because if they can't make money, then they can't put money back in Second Life. And if they can't figure out their own company, how are they supposed to figure out how it works in a virtual world?? Ya know? Have they set themselves on a
grow or diecourse?
One quote that stood out to me from that article was
You can think of it as a very sophisticated model of a Ponzi scheme :) which only works as long as it constantly grows, exponentially, with more and more users buying more and more sims. Unlike, say, web hosting services — where the setup fees are mostly speculative, and can be forfeited as a discount to long-term users — LL cannot afford to do that, or else their business model crumbles to dust.
My props to them? One guy created a parody of second life... Get A First Life. Instead of asking him to "cease and desist" they basically told him to proceed as usual, saying
We do not believe that reasonable people would argue as to whether the website located at http://www.getafirstlife.com/ constitutes parody – it clearly is. Linden Lab is well known among its customers and in the general business community as a company with enlightened and well-informed views regarding intellectual property rights, including the fair use doctrine, open source licensing, and other principles that support creativity and self-expression. We know parody when we see it.
Ha! I love it. Very clever. My overall analysis: Normal.
As far as their history:
The name "Linden" comes from the street its first offices were located on: 333 Linden Street. They have since moved twice with the second location coincidently on Second Street, and the current offices on Sansome Street (contact information (http://lindenlab.com/contact_1.php)).
A linden is also a type of tilia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tilia) tree, but there are no "linden" trees in Second Life. The "lab" part of the name may be meant to invoke thoughts of expirementation as this is a large part of the development of Second Life, not just for Linden Lab but also for the residents--but there is no actual lab in the offices.
The logo for Linden Lab, a cube tree, was made by a contractor at the request of LL for something industrial yet also organic. The logo is sometimes mistaken to be an image of an avatar's "selection particles" selecting a cube.
The website Second Life History is a great resource.
Yeah... We had a "Virtual" Class
"I've always wanted to tell my students to stop flying during class. Guys. Stop flying around." - Shamp
Minus the chaos of people flying; teleporting; and me trying not to run into my classmates... class was, well, normal. Ok, that's a lie. Class in Second Life was far from normal. My boyfriend sat behind me playing guitar laughing at avatars, wondering aloud if that was actually how my classmates looked in real life. And after he wandered away, as I leaned in, talking to my laptop, my puppy was quite confused who I was talking to. I'm sure I looked pretty silly.
I'm not really a name person... So the people in my class that I didn't know yet, well, I really don't know their avatars. It's hard enough putting a name with a face, harder yet to put a Second Life name with an avatar face with an actual person from class's face with an actual real life name. You see where I'm going with this? We need to upload screen shots of our avatars with our avatar names below, our real names following, and maybe even a smaller headshot of who we actually are. Then if you change your avatar drastically, you can upload another screen shot.... On our class webpage maybe?
Alas, we will continue on the journey... and figure things out as we go. Right??
Minus the chaos of people flying; teleporting; and me trying not to run into my classmates... class was, well, normal. Ok, that's a lie. Class in Second Life was far from normal. My boyfriend sat behind me playing guitar laughing at avatars, wondering aloud if that was actually how my classmates looked in real life. And after he wandered away, as I leaned in, talking to my laptop, my puppy was quite confused who I was talking to. I'm sure I looked pretty silly.
I'm not really a name person... So the people in my class that I didn't know yet, well, I really don't know their avatars. It's hard enough putting a name with a face, harder yet to put a Second Life name with an avatar face with an actual person from class's face with an actual real life name. You see where I'm going with this? We need to upload screen shots of our avatars with our avatar names below, our real names following, and maybe even a smaller headshot of who we actually are. Then if you change your avatar drastically, you can upload another screen shot.... On our class webpage maybe?
Alas, we will continue on the journey... and figure things out as we go. Right??
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