Second Life Shopping -- Again, and again, and...

I have been so busy with this and that -- working, dipping in and out of various social media platforms, enjoying the fine weather now that summer is finally showing its warm face -- that I have had no time to post in my blog.

I have, however, found time to shop in Second Life.

I have no rational explanation for this.




Smashing dress, though, eh? ;)

Backdrop and pose are courtesy of Katicus Sparrow!

More shoes, more clothes, more shoes...

It's a sickness, I tell you.



But don't I look adorable with my new cherry platform pumps, 40s-style suit, and new hair? ;)

Second Life Shopping Addiction

My name is Chloe -- sorry, no, Jen -- and I'm a Second Life shopaholic.

My first few times in Second Life I played it cool, stuck to the freebies and dollarbies and demos that are abundantly available.

Then my friend Katicus took me to a shoe store. The Shiny Things Boutique. It was amazing... feats of impossible engineering, shoes of magnitude and variety all but impossible in the real world, all for the low low price of a few hundred Lindens... I couldn't help myself -- I bought three pairs of gorgeous shoes, and I figured that was it.

But no, then I had to have outfits to go with the shoes...

First it was the search for the perfect black dress to go with my black stilettos:


Then I snatched up a cute schoolgirl outfit to go with my sapphire retro wedges:


Now I can't stop!! More clothes, more more more!!

Tonight is another After A Fashion shopping trip. This time the whole focus is on shoes!! Which no doubt will lead to the purchase of MORE outfits... OMG, I can't wait!!

By the power of... Me.

This article neatly describes the implications of what happened to Digg this week. In the world of social media, the balance of power is squarely in the hands of the users. Social media business models are dependent upon users, well, using -- and everyone knows it, from the users to the smart execs like those at Digg, who clearly recognize that to kowtow to legal precedent in this matter means death to their business.

Maybe it's my commune upbringing, but I can't help but see parallels with political theory, specifically the rise of Communism in 1917 and the peace movement of the 70s. One famous slogan of that movement is "what if they gave a war and nobody came?" (I think my hippie parents may have had a bumper sticker to that effect.) My anarchist husband would no doubt explain more eloquently than I can that governments need citizens just as social media platforms need users. The significant difference being, of course, that most governments (excluding those that are new and therefore highly susceptible to coups d'etat) have elaborate systems in place to force citizens to put the interests of the government ahead of their own.

Will this ever happen to Web 2.0? Will access to these platforms become so ingrained and essential that the idea of effecting radical change upon them becomes anathema to the users? Or will the reverse happen, with users calling the shots and businesses changing their models to keep the masses loyal?

In political theory, there's usually one catalystic event that triggers mass uprising and revolt, one "we're mad as hell, and we're not going to take it anymore" moment that forces change. There's already an undercurrent of resentment against DRM and the ongoing Google/YouTube copyright debacle. Maybe that issue will be the focus of the next tipping point for change. Gosh, I hope so.