Someone just asked me how much time I spend in Second Life on a weekly basis. My immediate answer: not much, hardly any time at all. My thoughtful answer: about 1 hour minimum, maybe 6-8 hours max when I'm attending author events. That doesn't seem like a lot until you type it out like that, but it also doesn't *feel* like a lot. Maybe because when I'm in-world I'm so engaged with other people I don't notice the time passing.
For example, I spent a delightful 2 hours in-world last week with Kate, Connie, and Eden via their avatars, shopping (of course) and just generally gabbing via Skype.
I have to say, the Skype experience absolutely made the outing twice as fun. There was a little bit of overtalk, but once we found our rhythm it was so much easier and faster to share thoughts, ideas, reactions, etc. via voice instead of stopping to type it out in local chat.
We'd tried the in-world voice option before, but gave it up due to insurmountable static and volume issues. Skype worked smoothly and the four of us chatted freely and easily as never before. As Kate put it:
Once you go Skype, you'll never go type!
Showing posts with label second life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label second life. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Newbie witnesses first Second Life "griefing"
Yes, it's true; my SL cherry has finally been popped. I've been griefed!
Well, not me personally, but an event that I set up. While co-hosting an author book launch for Gena Showalter's The Darkest Night (first in her Lords of the Underworld series) in Second Life last Friday night, the event was unfortunately marred by a couple of unwelcome visitors. I hasten to note that the agency we're working with to create and run these events had many staff on hand, who quickly and smoothly defused the situation and banned the offending avatars from the parcel. But I can't help but feel a little more grown-up, a little more... experienced in Second Life now.
Anyway, Chloe had a great time and so did the author! Here's a snapshot of our avatars dancing with the demons:
Chloe is the one on the left with red hair and big black wings; Gena's avatar is the pale-skinned beauty in the denim skirt on the right. (Clearly she's already found out that the shopping is the funnest part of Second Life!)
Well, not me personally, but an event that I set up. While co-hosting an author book launch for Gena Showalter's The Darkest Night (first in her Lords of the Underworld series) in Second Life last Friday night, the event was unfortunately marred by a couple of unwelcome visitors. I hasten to note that the agency we're working with to create and run these events had many staff on hand, who quickly and smoothly defused the situation and banned the offending avatars from the parcel. But I can't help but feel a little more grown-up, a little more... experienced in Second Life now.
Anyway, Chloe had a great time and so did the author! Here's a snapshot of our avatars dancing with the demons:
Chloe is the one on the left with red hair and big black wings; Gena's avatar is the pale-skinned beauty in the denim skirt on the right. (Clearly she's already found out that the shopping is the funnest part of Second Life!)
Monday, April 21, 2008
What Linden Labs Isn't Telling You... Or Anyone
For various personal reasons I won't bore you with here, I've been spending a LOT of time in Second Life lately, mainly as an easy means to escape reality. (Don't worry, I'm feeling much better now.) I've been registered in Second Life for over a year now, but only recently have I indulged in binge behavior -- and by binge I mean logging into SL at 11pm on a Saturday and not coming up for air until 5am on a Sunday.
In the course of this binge period I noticed quite a few things about SL. Now, you've probably already reached these conclusions yourself, but bear with me, I am the newbie after all.
1. It's about the people
Every time you log in to Second Life there are chipper little updates from Linden Labs announcing this or that upgrade or improvement to the grid. Some are noticable (a recent forced update did result in smoother avatar movement, a better chat function, and a more easily-accessed search function, for me at least), some are not. These improvements are all very nice, however, the true value in Second Life is with the people. What good is a better chat function if there are no people logged on with which I can chat? I'm not just talking about my contacts list either -- I wasn't surprised to find that everyone I know has better things to do than hang about in SL for six hours early Sunday morning -- but just folks in general, to meet, chat with, interact with.
2. Where are all the people?
Which leads me to my second observation: where the heck is everybody?? Linden Labs touts SL membership as being in the millions, but I've only ever seen about 40-50K logged on at any given time. During my binge period, I met someone new almost every time I logged into SL, which is great -- that's partly why I was there -- but in subsequent visits, they were nowhere to be found. I met probably half a dozen brand-new SL members and happily showed them around, helped them out -- and never saw them come online again. So where are these millions? Is it as I suspect -- people are joining, checking it out once or twice, and never coming back?
Is that why Linden Labs won't say how many registered users are actually using SL? What is the login ratio to registered users anyway? I'm just curious. Because I do still think that Second Life has great potential as a social network; it's just not quite there yet, and all the minor upgrades and improvements Linden Labs is committed to making won't help it to tip into the mainstream -- people will.
In the course of this binge period I noticed quite a few things about SL. Now, you've probably already reached these conclusions yourself, but bear with me, I am the newbie after all.
1. It's about the people
Every time you log in to Second Life there are chipper little updates from Linden Labs announcing this or that upgrade or improvement to the grid. Some are noticable (a recent forced update did result in smoother avatar movement, a better chat function, and a more easily-accessed search function, for me at least), some are not. These improvements are all very nice, however, the true value in Second Life is with the people. What good is a better chat function if there are no people logged on with which I can chat? I'm not just talking about my contacts list either -- I wasn't surprised to find that everyone I know has better things to do than hang about in SL for six hours early Sunday morning -- but just folks in general, to meet, chat with, interact with.
2. Where are all the people?
Which leads me to my second observation: where the heck is everybody?? Linden Labs touts SL membership as being in the millions, but I've only ever seen about 40-50K logged on at any given time. During my binge period, I met someone new almost every time I logged into SL, which is great -- that's partly why I was there -- but in subsequent visits, they were nowhere to be found. I met probably half a dozen brand-new SL members and happily showed them around, helped them out -- and never saw them come online again. So where are these millions? Is it as I suspect -- people are joining, checking it out once or twice, and never coming back?
Is that why Linden Labs won't say how many registered users are actually using SL? What is the login ratio to registered users anyway? I'm just curious. Because I do still think that Second Life has great potential as a social network; it's just not quite there yet, and all the minor upgrades and improvements Linden Labs is committed to making won't help it to tip into the mainstream -- people will.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Become a Second Life expert in just one year!
About a year ago I attended PodCamp Toronto. I was just getting started on the web 2.0 path and wanted to learn as much as I could about all things new and digital. I was a blank slate, ignorant but keen to meet folks who knew more than I did and absorb information.
Trust me, I am not overstating things when I say that my attendance at that first PodCamp Toronto would turn out to be a pivotal event in my life.
At that PodCamp I attended a session led by Jay Moonah on Second Life. I'd read about Second Life in various old-school print media, and I was curious. Jay's informal talk made Second Life sound so fun, so cool, and most of all, so easy, that I immediately signed up.
And the rest, as they say, is history. I've been in Second Life almost every week since then and I still find it a fascinating social and promotional tool. I came to work on the Monday after PodCamp yammering on and on about Second Life, to the point where my boss gave me the budget to hold some author events in Second Life in 07 and 08, possibly just to keep me quiet.
And now things have come full circle: I'm co-presenting a session on Second Life at this year's PodCamp Toronto! Amazing, from ignorant know-nothing to PodCamp presenter in just a year. Hopefully I can inspire one or two people to try out SL, just as I was inspired a year ago.
But that's not the only profound change in my life thanks to PodCamp -- in fact it's not even the most significant. At that SL session in 07, I introduced myself to the woman sitting next to me (as I am inclined to do at conferences; it's a bit out of character for an introvert like me but it's the best way to meet new people). We chatted a bit, and I learned that she was the brilliant Kathryn Lagden, then of AIMS Canada. I managed to sufficiently disguise my starstruckness so that through her I later had the privilege of meeting the awesome Kate Trgovac, and the equally awesome Eden Spodek -- who by the way will be my co-presenter this year! -- and I'm happy and proud to say that I now call all three of these wonderful, brilliant ladies my friends.
So... yay for PodCamp!!
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Newbie forced to make time to update blog
Once again I find myself apologizing for a long absence from this blog. I haven't posted in so long because I've been so very very busy. My job has finally caught up with my hobbies, so instead of blogging for fun and killing time in Second Life, I've been blogging for work and spending loads of time in Second Life organizing and attending a series of author events.
Ok, so I did make some time for an After A Fashion outing in Second Life just before the holidays. We bought Xmas-y outfits from Total Betty and went skating:
Who would have thought that skating in Second Life was just as much fun as in real?
But after that I was all business, in Second Life every week in January with Deanna Raybourn, the charming author of Silent in the Sanctuary, doing a live-audio reading and Q&A, hosting a fabulous (and very well-attended) Victorian ball, and hosting a more intimate group of aspiring writers for a writing workshop. All of which required a collection of new, fancy, Victorian gowns for my avatar, but of course! A lady must never be underdressed.
All of which was way fun, but whew! Glad to get back to RL for a while!!
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Plugging back in, ready to... party with the pervs?
While we were, as my darling husband put it, "vacationing in the 19th century" during our bathroom reno (ie living without internet or TV -- if you call that living!), I missed the episode of CSI:NY that featured Second Life. Luckily, our home is equipped with a PVR, so upon our return to a 21st century lifestyle I fired it up and watched the episode.
Wow. Did anyone else see that piece of dreck? My first impressions are that Gary Sinise is way slumming on this show. Leaving aside Second Life for a moment, the plot relies heavily upon technological contrivances that beg disbelief, and the dialogue ranges from wooden to cliched. But whatever. At first I was mildly excited that Second Life would play such a big role in the plot of such a popular show. "Finally," I thought, "I won't have to explain to people what Second Life is, and how it's not a game, and it's not populated exclusively by weirdos, freaks, and pervs!"
Well, no such luck. Anyone watching CSI:NY that night would be left with the strong impression that Second Life is all about gameplaying (eg fighting monsters, air surfing) or meeting up with weird, freakish, pervy avatars controlled by friendless, loveless losers. What a disappointment.
Disappointing for me especially, not only because the portrayal was wildly inaccurate according to my own experiences within Second Life, but also because the negative impression engendered by the show is going to make it that much more challenging for me to convince various holders of purse strings that Second Life is a worthy markting venture.
I can't help wondering how Linden Labs feels about this!
Wow. Did anyone else see that piece of dreck? My first impressions are that Gary Sinise is way slumming on this show. Leaving aside Second Life for a moment, the plot relies heavily upon technological contrivances that beg disbelief, and the dialogue ranges from wooden to cliched. But whatever. At first I was mildly excited that Second Life would play such a big role in the plot of such a popular show. "Finally," I thought, "I won't have to explain to people what Second Life is, and how it's not a game, and it's not populated exclusively by weirdos, freaks, and pervs!"
Well, no such luck. Anyone watching CSI:NY that night would be left with the strong impression that Second Life is all about gameplaying (eg fighting monsters, air surfing) or meeting up with weird, freakish, pervy avatars controlled by friendless, loveless losers. What a disappointment.
Disappointing for me especially, not only because the portrayal was wildly inaccurate according to my own experiences within Second Life, but also because the negative impression engendered by the show is going to make it that much more challenging for me to convince various holders of purse strings that Second Life is a worthy markting venture.
I can't help wondering how Linden Labs feels about this!
Friday, October 12, 2007
Reconnecting with friends... Well, their avatars
Monday October 1st saw another After A Fashion social-shopping get-together in Second Life. Check out the the AAF blog for details of the amazing outfits and free hair fat packs I picked up!
Every time I get together with the AAF girls in Second Life I'm amazed at how the virtual world enables me to reconnect with people that I seldom see in RL (real life). Even though it was ages since the last AAF excursion, we quickly fell into an easy conversation. Of course it helps that the social shopping aspect gives us an activity to share in, so there are few awkward pauses in the conversation; but even when I encounter utter strangers in SL, the chat seems to flow, and folks are just generally more friendly and approachable than anyone I've encountered in RL.
I find myself musing about this more and more, and wishing that I could put my finger on the element of Second Life that makes for such easy interaction. What do you think? Any ideas as to why this is so?
Every time I get together with the AAF girls in Second Life I'm amazed at how the virtual world enables me to reconnect with people that I seldom see in RL (real life). Even though it was ages since the last AAF excursion, we quickly fell into an easy conversation. Of course it helps that the social shopping aspect gives us an activity to share in, so there are few awkward pauses in the conversation; but even when I encounter utter strangers in SL, the chat seems to flow, and folks are just generally more friendly and approachable than anyone I've encountered in RL.
I find myself musing about this more and more, and wishing that I could put my finger on the element of Second Life that makes for such easy interaction. What do you think? Any ideas as to why this is so?
Friday, October 5, 2007
Newbie is now "Second Life expert"
Ironic, isn't it? But true: to a big group of former skeptics, I'm now their go-to person for info on virtual worlds.
On September 25th an event that I've been planning for months finally happened: a live-audio reading and author Q&A in Second Life, organized by me, in a gorgeous sim designed and built by the good folks at purplestripe. By all measures it was a successful event -- attendance was good, and we got some decent blog buzz before and after; but to me, the real measure of success was that the folks I work with are now, finally, starting to get it. A large part of the planning process involved selling the concept of an in-world author event to TPTB where I work -- no small feat considering the deep-seated skepticism around all things digital and SL in particular.
On the day of the event I arranged for my office PC to be moved into a boardroom and hooked up to a projector, so that anyone who wanted to could view the event as it happened, live. I wish you could have been a fly on the wall when people saw SL for the first time and realized its implications. "You mean to tell me that each avatar represents a real person?" "So these people could be anywhere in the world right now? And they're all hearing the same audio we can hear?" "You mean I can chat with more than one person at a time, in real time?"
One small event for an avatar, one giant leap for the Great Unplugged. :)
A few snapshots from the event:
The build:
Chloe looking studious:
On September 25th an event that I've been planning for months finally happened: a live-audio reading and author Q&A in Second Life, organized by me, in a gorgeous sim designed and built by the good folks at purplestripe. By all measures it was a successful event -- attendance was good, and we got some decent blog buzz before and after; but to me, the real measure of success was that the folks I work with are now, finally, starting to get it. A large part of the planning process involved selling the concept of an in-world author event to TPTB where I work -- no small feat considering the deep-seated skepticism around all things digital and SL in particular.
On the day of the event I arranged for my office PC to be moved into a boardroom and hooked up to a projector, so that anyone who wanted to could view the event as it happened, live. I wish you could have been a fly on the wall when people saw SL for the first time and realized its implications. "You mean to tell me that each avatar represents a real person?" "So these people could be anywhere in the world right now? And they're all hearing the same audio we can hear?" "You mean I can chat with more than one person at a time, in real time?"
One small event for an avatar, one giant leap for the Great Unplugged. :)
A few snapshots from the event:
The build:
Chloe looking studious:
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
New Second Life Skin and Swimsuit!
If only shopping IRL (in real life) were as easy...
Not happy with your skin tone? Buy a new skin! (Or, if you're an impulsive shopper like me, buy a 4-pack for a volume discount!)
Swimsuit shopping is a breeze when you don't have to use a fitting room, and you can change the size and shape of your *ahem* assets to suit the suit. ;)
Here's a pic of Chloe in her new swimsuit, with platform straw wedges and platinum hair to match:
And here's a pic of Chloe chillin' on the beach at Playboy Island:
As always, thanks to the After a Fashion gang for a fabulously fun shopping excursion!
Friday, July 6, 2007
Redefining Friendship
Last post for today. I promise! I haven't had much time to post lately, so I guess I'm making up for it today.
I'm stoked to be going shopping in Second Life twice in the next few days -- tonight for skins, and Monday with the After a Fashion gang for bikinis. Not just because I've been hankering for a new skin, and a bikini to properly show it off, but because it gives me a chance to socialize with my dear friends Eden and Kate.
This got me thinking some more about how social media and web 2.0 are redefining friendship for a large proportion of the online world. To me, shopping in SL with my After a Fashion friends is the same as shopping in real life (except that I'm much less likely to do it in real life because I hate trying on clothes). To me, the fact that Mitch Joel posted a link to an article in his del.icio.us is the same thing as if he'd emailed me the link or the article directly. To me, my sister posting on her MySpace blog about her house purchase is the same as if she'd IM'd or emailed or phoned me personally to share the news.
My offline friends don't feel the same way, however, and much as I try to explain it to them, they don't get it. To them, my telling them that I have plans tonight to shop online is akin to my telling them that I'm going to move to a small cabin in the woods like Ted Koszinski.
Is it just me? Has anyone else had trouble trying to define, or redefine, the new boundaries of friendship for their loved ones who aren't as plugged in?
I'm stoked to be going shopping in Second Life twice in the next few days -- tonight for skins, and Monday with the After a Fashion gang for bikinis. Not just because I've been hankering for a new skin, and a bikini to properly show it off, but because it gives me a chance to socialize with my dear friends Eden and Kate.
This got me thinking some more about how social media and web 2.0 are redefining friendship for a large proportion of the online world. To me, shopping in SL with my After a Fashion friends is the same as shopping in real life (except that I'm much less likely to do it in real life because I hate trying on clothes). To me, the fact that Mitch Joel posted a link to an article in his del.icio.us is the same thing as if he'd emailed me the link or the article directly. To me, my sister posting on her MySpace blog about her house purchase is the same as if she'd IM'd or emailed or phoned me personally to share the news.
My offline friends don't feel the same way, however, and much as I try to explain it to them, they don't get it. To them, my telling them that I have plans tonight to shop online is akin to my telling them that I'm going to move to a small cabin in the woods like Ted Koszinski.
Is it just me? Has anyone else had trouble trying to define, or redefine, the new boundaries of friendship for their loved ones who aren't as plugged in?
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Second Life Encounter at BEA
So I'm at Book Expo America, strolling around the show floor and picking up galleys of this and that. I'm wandering aimlessly through the Wiley booth when a Wiley catalogue on display catches my eye. The cover of the catalogue shows two Second Life avatars and I swear that I know one of them. I check inside the front cover for a photo credit and sure enough, the avatar image is from the cover of this book and the avatar I recognize is fellow After a Fashion-ista Catherine Omega!
So I grab the catalogue and go racing off to tell someone, just as any excitable person would when they find out that an acquaintance's photo is on display. "Hey!" I say when I spy a friend. "Check this out, I know this girl!"
My friend levels her gaze at me. "Jen," she says as if talking to a crazy person, "this is a cartoon."
Is it odd that this didn't occur to me? I only know Catherine from SL and recognizing her avatar, whom I have "met" and interacted with was, to me, the same as recognizing a flesh-and-blood person. Does this make me weird or just hopeless?
So I grab the catalogue and go racing off to tell someone, just as any excitable person would when they find out that an acquaintance's photo is on display. "Hey!" I say when I spy a friend. "Check this out, I know this girl!"
My friend levels her gaze at me. "Jen," she says as if talking to a crazy person, "this is a cartoon."
Is it odd that this didn't occur to me? I only know Catherine from SL and recognizing her avatar, whom I have "met" and interacted with was, to me, the same as recognizing a flesh-and-blood person. Does this make me weird or just hopeless?
Thursday, April 26, 2007
...Oh, and a cute belt, too!
The lovely Kate's comment on my last post reminded me that I'd forgotten to even mention the cute multi-colored snakeskin belt pack that I'd bought at Shiny Things, one of which Chloe is modelling in the photo below. A pack of 6 or 8 (I forget) thin wrapped belts for (I think) L$250 -- bargain!!
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Cruel Shoes vs Cool Shoes
I'm so loving my shoes right now! I'm wearing my newest acquisition, an adorable pair of bubblegum-pink canvas stacked platform stilettos. They make my already-small feet look even smaller and super-cute!
Unfortunately, while I am busy spending long minutes gazing lovingly at these shoes and turning my feet this way and that to further admire them when I should be working, my feet themselves are not similarly enamoured. No, my feet are not happy with being squeezed into new shoes that pinch and are really too high; and they are rebelling by going numb, and slowly taking my calves with them.
You see, I have high-maintenance feet. Sure, they are small and cute; but they are also a bit too small at size 6 for my 5-foot-8 height. Compounding the body-mass-to-foot-area ratio problem is the fact that I am not a thin girl. No, my body type is the kind usually generously described as "curvy" or "voluptuous" -- and I don't mean that in the Maxim magazine sense of "having big boobs"; I mean actually curvy, as in big boobs, lovely round belly that I could use to fake pregnancy in order to get preferential transit seating (not that I would ever do that!), and bubble butt worthy of J.Lo. Also I have abnormally high arches.
That's why I love shoe shopping in Second Life. Not only are the shoes on offer super-cute, boasting creative designs rivalling anything I've coveted and/or bought in RL (and happily unhindered by the laws of physics as in RL), but they always fit because you can change the size of your feet, and no matter how far or how long your avatar walks, your tiny SL feet will never get tired!
Thus far I've only gone SL shoe shopping once, to the Shiny Things store in SL with the always-awesome Katicus Sparrow and a couple of new friends, Catherine and Melanie, but I already feel the addiction growing. Must...have...cute...shoes...
Here's a pic of Chloe sporting her new look, plus cute shoes!
Unfortunately, while I am busy spending long minutes gazing lovingly at these shoes and turning my feet this way and that to further admire them when I should be working, my feet themselves are not similarly enamoured. No, my feet are not happy with being squeezed into new shoes that pinch and are really too high; and they are rebelling by going numb, and slowly taking my calves with them.
You see, I have high-maintenance feet. Sure, they are small and cute; but they are also a bit too small at size 6 for my 5-foot-8 height. Compounding the body-mass-to-foot-area ratio problem is the fact that I am not a thin girl. No, my body type is the kind usually generously described as "curvy" or "voluptuous" -- and I don't mean that in the Maxim magazine sense of "having big boobs"; I mean actually curvy, as in big boobs, lovely round belly that I could use to fake pregnancy in order to get preferential transit seating (not that I would ever do that!), and bubble butt worthy of J.Lo. Also I have abnormally high arches.
That's why I love shoe shopping in Second Life. Not only are the shoes on offer super-cute, boasting creative designs rivalling anything I've coveted and/or bought in RL (and happily unhindered by the laws of physics as in RL), but they always fit because you can change the size of your feet, and no matter how far or how long your avatar walks, your tiny SL feet will never get tired!
Thus far I've only gone SL shoe shopping once, to the Shiny Things store in SL with the always-awesome Katicus Sparrow and a couple of new friends, Catherine and Melanie, but I already feel the addiction growing. Must...have...cute...shoes...
Here's a pic of Chloe sporting her new look, plus cute shoes!
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Double the Thrill
As anyone who's been reading this blog can tell, I love me some TV, and last night provided a treat: an all-new eppy of Gilmore Girls, a show that I continue to love despite its shortcomings and flawed sense of continuity. It was a good episode too, well worth the wait over spring hiatus.
The absolute highlight for me, though, was the moment when Logan -- played by Matt Czuchry, whom I've always thought is terribly cute -- began proselytizing about Web 2.0 and mentioned Second Life. Swoon! I love it when my favorite things combine. So what if the character of Logan is, as Lorelai put it, overcoiffed and overprivileged; he's tall, cute, buff, smart, and rich, and if he's into Web 2.0 on top of all that? Well, let's just say I wouldn't kick him out of bed for eating crackers. (And don't mock -- Matt Czuchry is nearly 30 and therefore entirely demographically appropriate for me to crush on. So there.)
The absolute highlight for me, though, was the moment when Logan -- played by Matt Czuchry, whom I've always thought is terribly cute -- began proselytizing about Web 2.0 and mentioned Second Life. Swoon! I love it when my favorite things combine. So what if the character of Logan is, as Lorelai put it, overcoiffed and overprivileged; he's tall, cute, buff, smart, and rich, and if he's into Web 2.0 on top of all that? Well, let's just say I wouldn't kick him out of bed for eating crackers. (And don't mock -- Matt Czuchry is nearly 30 and therefore entirely demographically appropriate for me to crush on. So there.)
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