John Dandurand's Second Life Blog

2008-09-30T01:25:00.082-06:00

September 29

It all started out smoothly enough... or so I thought. I signed up for Second Life (SL), chose my SL name and avatar, downloaded the SL software, installed it on my computer and went to log in. So far, so good. My first big surprise was that, although I was able to log in OK, all I could see on my screen after login were two-dimensional grey objects--no details, no colors--except for a blue sky. Someone opened a conversation with me but they were just another grey blob. I signed out, disappointed.

The problem was my graphics card. Not surprisingly, SL is highly graphics intensive, like all of the online games. Not being a gamer it hadn't occurred to me when I joined SL. So I installed a (slightly) more capable card (ATI Radeon 9600) which provided me with the missing shapes, colors and textures. Even so, with my older card--I had to turn off all of the advanced graphics features of SL because with them turned on, program response slowed to a crawl. I would command my avatar to move, and then be forced to wait for a long time before anything happened--sometimes as much as several minutes. If I grew impatient and kept clicking on the direction button, when the moves finally happened I would overshoot my desired target. Frustrating, to say the least. So I turned all of the graphics and media options down to the minimum and then (when the SL site was low on traffic) I could move around reasonably swiftly. Nonetheless, I kept crashing so--since I had not had to purchase a textbook for the Web 2.0 course, I invested in a new card, the Nvidia Geforce 7600, which handles SL just fine.

I didn't play with my appearance until later on in my SL experience, but since it's the first task assigned to us, I'm placing those snapshots here at the beginning. All of these are of my avatar--including the small blue dragon:

October 1

The first place I visited was Orientation Island, Orientation Island Public (97, 178, 34). This is the default starting location for newbies, as the system takes you there when you first sign-on. I poked around the island for my first two visits and accumulated a lot of tips about SL and how to function in this complex, online environment. Flying was the most enjoyable of all those learning experiences. I guess I've always wanted to fly and in SL, I can. Once you get the hang of it you can fly around smoothly and swiftly, though much of the detail of the land below is lost. Even so, the mouse makes a lousy navigation instrument. If I stay with SL, I'll want to acquire joystick and--most likely--a new, state-of-the-art computer.

One rather humorous incident occurred when I found the 'Happy Missile' launch pad on Orientation Island, and attempted to operate the large lever next to it. I thought it might launch the missile. At one point, while trying to figure it out, I right-clicked on my avatar and found listed the command for 'Take Off'. Well, I reasoned, that might mean the missile will take off, so I clicked on it and voila!--instantly, all of my clothes disappeared, much to my chagrin! I spent the next twenty minutes searching through the menus, trying to find my missing apparel. Since the island is by definition a 'PG' location, felt rather embarrassed when other newbies ambled by and observed my predicament. Interestingly the term 'embarrassed' comes from 'to have one's ass bared', which was exactly my situation. Nonetheless, SL avatars start out as neuter--no genitals--so it wasn't too tough on those accidental observers. While I was getting my clothes back on, I found that I could adjust my elf-ears to make them less prominent--a definite improvement, in my opinion.

October 2

Dance Event On my third foray into SL, I teleported to Newbie Heaven, Samodiva (230, 28, 88)--a location specifically designed for newbies like myself. I was warmly welcomed by the owner of the complex and befriended by a woman named Jazzy, who offered me some tips about SL and invited me to a dance at Velvet Manor, Fumb (71, 34, 88). So I went looking for different clothing before the dance (my avatar at the time was a wood elf, and dressed as such--kind of Robin Hood style). Dancing was a blast! So easy... in SL, once you join the dance and click on the dance floor or other object that will give you the dance script, and your body just moves to the beat, with no need for fancy mouse movements. Wish it were that easy for me in real life! I entered a dance contest while I was there but lost to someone else. The music was kind of retro-disco--not my taste, but the dancing was a lot of fun and it was interesting to watch the others dancing.

October 3

While in Newbie Heaven I earned a few Lindens (SL money) by 'camping' while visiting the complex. Camping simply means that you stick around a certain place and help to populate it, which attracts other visitors. You camp by clicking on a sign or other object to indicate that you intend to do so. SL then keeps track of the time you spend and pays you according to what the owner of the site is offering to campers. I also found a 'money tree' at Newbie Heaven, Samodiva (240, 14, 88), which has Lindens floating around in its branches, sometimes it holds other, more valuable objects, like the golden apple, which is worth 500 Lindens. I didn't find one of those, but I did manage to secure a couple of floating Lindens--all good fun.

October 4

On my fourth visit I teleported to Help Island Public (148, 159, 40), which is all about helping newbies to become oriented to SL. However I already knew most of the stuff from experimenting and exploring, so I ended up in the free shop which is part of the site. There I acquired some new cloths, textures, vehicles (including a bi-plane and a futuristic motorcycle) and furniture (in case I want to furnish a house in SL someday). Most of the items in the store were free. I passed up the wings for the time being. While on the island I attended another dance event but left after awhile as I was the only one there who had a dance script in my inventory and it felt pretty lame. I did have a chance to connect with my SL Web 2.0 partner, Kale Lemon and we chatted for awhile about SL. During this visit I also visited with Tessa Horten (another Web 2.0 classmate) who teleported me to the International Spaceflight Museum, Spaceport Alpha (128, 128, 22). Very cool, flying amidst all of those tall rockets! Tessa was dancing the whole time we were there. I guess she hadn't deactivated her dance script from a prior site. Fun to watch!

After Tessa left the Museum I stayed for awhile and wandered around the complex. There were only a few other avatars there the whole time. Sometimes it seems that SL is largely deserted and you are wandering around in this mysterious place full of unoccupied buildings and landscapes. This must be because the world is so large, as well as the timing of my visits (often late at night when others were presumably in bed). Still, it was great to see all of the space exhibits at the museum. The National Physical Laboratory and the Seven Truths exhibit was particularly interesting , as was the SL Planetarium. NASA's Mars exploration presentation was exciting to hear about--we're moving outward again! I've always been interested in the exploration of space, and truly believe that mankind's future lies out there among the stars.

October 5

Another lifelong interest of mine is oceanography, so the next visit was dedicated to finding SL sites related to the ocean... and there are a boatload of them. It seems that a lot of SL landowners like living by the sea and exploring her treasures. My first stop was the Abyss Museum of Ocean Science, Gun (82, 53, 76)The Museum takes you on a fascinating underwater tour. Yes, you can breath underwater in SL, and just like flying, I found this to be a very freeing experience. I'm a scuba diver and I know what it's like to visit the undersea world, but to be able to move around the aqueous landscape with no encumbrances... priceless! The tour shows you the four Zones of the Abyss, Twilight, Midnight, Abyssal and finally, the Hadal--the level of crushing pressure and absolute darkness that exists at the bottom of the deepest trenches. The exhibits demonstrate various undersea creatures, including a fascinating video about the denizens of the Hydrothermal Vents in the Abyssal Zone, which have a sulphur-based metabolism! The Museum also boasts an award-winning underwater art and sculpture garden (pictured above).

I visited another undersea site called Chiasmia (170, 112, 16), which is in shallow water and full of beautiful corals, anemones and undersea plant-life. Interestingly, I was unable to create a landmark because the owner, while allowing visitors to travel to the site, doesn't permit bookmarking. However the link here will get you to the site if you're interested. Many landowners in SL don't permit uninvited visitors. These areas are surrounded by red warning lines and, try as you might, you cannot cross them.

The islands of SL are popular places for avatars to visit and dwell. I teleported to several of them on this visit, including Mauritius Island (177, 97, 68), and Parrot Island (176, 26, 24), both pictured below. These islands feature a tropical setting with lagoons, beaches, tropical plants, romantic natives, open-air night spots--pretty much what you might expect from a Caribbean vacation. Marutius sports Dodo rides around the island! Extinct animals are no problem in SL!

October 6

For my Educational Event I chose one sponsored by the Metanomics Social Research Foundation. The event took place at Colonia Nova (195, 240, 49), a simulation of ancient Rome. We gathered in the Coliseum to watch the presentation, conducted by Andrew Mallon of Social Research Foundation, with commentary by Erica Driver of ThinkBalm. Some interesting statistic from the survey are: people who are using Second Life primarily for professional reasons predict that they will be using Second Life more in 2009 than they are in 2008. Those who use Second Life for personal reason also see increases in Second Life use, but not as strongly. Among professionals, those seeing increased use outnumber those seeing decreased use by 4.4 to 1, compared to 2.6 to 1 for personal users. The vast majority of those surveyed are in Second Life for fun and creativity (1,052), and to socialize (774). Smaller, but significant numbers are inworld for more professional reasons: to network (184), conduct business and scientific research (179), to bring a real life business into Second Life (121), or to run a Second Life business (282). If you're interested, the full survey is posted on the Metanomics website, http://www.metanomics.net/http%3A//metanomics.net/archive100608.

I stayed for the entire presentation and enjoyed listening to the local chat almost as much as the presentation itself. Among the audience members were Prospero Linden and Bjorlyn Loon. Audience comments showed a fascinating perpective on SL. At one point, commenting on SL, Prospero stated: "What is special about immersive 3D? I think it's really the sense of **presence** that sets it apart from 2d, videoconverencing, phone conferencing, etc. Obviously, that's just part of it... but an important part IMHO." And from Riven Homewood: "it's the difference between watching a debate alone on yur iphone and watching it with a group of intelligent friends -- only here the friends are from many different places and have many different viewpoints."

October 7

I also needed to attend a Cultural Event for our class, so I traveled to an art gallery opening--but no one else was there! I hope this qualifies as an event. It certainly was an event for me. I teleported to the Chilbo Museum Complex to attend the (unpopulated) Chilbo Museum opening of Selected Works From The Metropolitan Collection. Carl Metropolitan is the Executive Director of New Citizens Incorporated, a private Group organized to assist new Second Life residents become oriented and acquire some basic skills. The exhibit featured works from a number of SL artists (and not images from the Metropolitan Musuem of Art, which was what I had somehow expected). While at the Complex, I visited an adjacent museum, Scalars Museum of Curious Builds and fell in love with the work of Doug Rooney. I wish the blog would let me label the images so I could point out his stuff, but just know that the Chilbo is at the beginning and Doug's work at the end of this bunch of snapshots. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

October 8

The Treasure Hunt that had been assigned to our Web 2.0 class was an exercise in my newfound SL skills. I found Mystical Mastery (52, 117, 109) easily enough and wandered around completing the various tasks. Snapshots of these are below:

ElvenGlen (140, 48, 31) was the most enjoyable of all the places I visited on the treasure hunt, mostly because I learned how to sync dance! Sync dancing means that you and your partner do the dance moves in synchronization. The other dancers showed me what I needed to do (touch the floating purple ball next to the glowing one) and voila! I was sync dancing. Snapshot on right:

The Star Trek Museum of Science, TovaDok II (33, 207, 29), and the Star Trek Cultural Center, TovaDok II (92, 215, 24) were next. Finding the free uniform was a bit of a challenge but the rest was easy. I kept a note from the Klingon Buffet called "Klingon Food and Beverages," which was too verbose to include in this blog, but here's an excerpt for your enjoyment, "Bloodwine is a popular alcoholic beverage among the Klingons, best served warm. As with many Klingon foods and beverages, it is not for the faint of heart. Bloodwine is known to be highly intoxicating, to the point that most non-Klingons are scarcely capable of handling it; it is twice as potent as whiskey. (VOY: "The Killing Game, Part II") Klingon captains and generals are fond of carrying several barrels of their favorite vintages to celebrate victories. The vintage of 2309 is considered to be the finest. Worf likes his bloodwine very young and very sweet. Whether there is actual blood in the ingredients has never been revealed, however, the Star Trek Cookbook suggests that bloodwine is made of fermented blood and sugar. During an interview with Michael Dorn, he explained that blood wine used during filming is actually fruit punch with added red dye to darken it. " See my Star Trek Museum snapshots below:

For my final treasure hunt task, I teleported to The Pharm (134, 52, 31) and ordered a Mojito and a Manzana Rita--weird combo, but then I wasn't going to be able to get drunk here anyway. I also got myself a shrimp cocktail, complete with cocktail fork. I tried to take a picture of myself with the Mojito glass in hand but my arm stubbornly stayed at my side. I still have the drinks and cocktail in my inventory (hope the shrimp don't go bad). Here's a couple of snapshots:

October 9

Earning Money--There are a lot of ways to obtain money in SL

Camping and Money Trees
My first experiences with earning/finding money in SL were camping at Newbie Heaven and finding money in the Wolfhaven Money Trees. I discussed them and posted snapshots early in this blog.

Visiting Sites in SL
Earn2Life, Vargas (27, 223, 25) is similar to camping except that you visit places in SL that are assigned to you by the Earn2Life system and when you do Earn2Life credits your account with a certain amount. In researching this I discovered some posts indicating that the Earn2Life the HUD (Heads-Up Display) attachment (which you must use to work for them) contains a virus. I can't verify this since I chose not to try Earn2Life, but it's worth noting. Be careful if you try this method of earning Lindens!

Taking Surveys
Reperes (236, 27, 28) provides qualitative and quantitative studies in marketing and advertising research. You can sign up with them to take surveys of various sorts and in return they will pay you for taking the survey. Probably a bit tedious and underpaid, but more profitable than camping. There are also a number of other research organizations that will pay you Lindens to take surveys. One of them is HippiePay, which pays 60 to 170 Lindens for doing surveys.

Free Trial Offers
Nuttin Butt Money, Thyris (16, 73, 23) allows you to sign up for free trial offers and get Linden cash. Supposedly each offer takes five minutes or less. Click the white RP rebate terminals by the dance floor to try it. I actually hate free trial offers because I always forget to cancel them at the end of the trial period, still it IS one way to earn Lindens. You can find other survey opportunities in Search.

Free Money
While visiting Nuttin Butt Money, you can also find coins lying around. Check the treasure chest on the bridge to see how much is hidden on the property. Also, when Nuttin Butt Money’s free slots are in play look for the machines titled "my computer" & "maintenance money".

Employment Agencies
What could be more traditional than looking for a 'real' SL job? Virtual Horizons Employment Agency, Crystal Springs 1 (25, 227, 25) touts itself as SL's Premier Employment Agency. Lots of job offers hang on the walls of the agency but most are for 'hostess' (which could mean, adult entertainer, escort or hostess). I did see some ads for 'land manager' and one for 'Photoshop User'.

Classifieds
There are all sorts of jobs under the Classifieds tab in Search. I've posted a screenshot of a small sample below. Some common jobs here are 'DJ', 'Builder' (meaning SL SIM developer), 'executive assistant', and more 'hostess' and 'host' postings. It seems to me that is probably the easiest way to find a decent job in Second Life.

October 10

Conclusion:

Well, I have to wrap this blog up for now.The only subject I feel as though I haven't thoroughly addressed is the use of Second Life for education and research. The Metanomics Social Research Foundation Event showed me that the SL experience can be a lot more than just a 3D 'slide show'. The interaction among the audience members--some of whom are obviously very experience SLers--was tremendously educational, and gave me the sense that this world could be a real boon for educators and researchers. The concept of a worldwide classroom is very appealing and I saw a glimmer of it in my short time visiting SL. Researchers and educators have been able to collaborate electronically since the early days of computers. Second Life brings a whole new toolset to that collaboration with huge potential benefits for the educational community.

Second Life does have it's drawbacks:

The reliance on participants to build the world leads to an inconsistent interface. There are rules but they don't really apply to crappy builds.
There's an awful lot of trashy porn--although I realize that this is what a lot of SLers are looking for, so it's simply supply and demand; nonetheless it's a turn-off for a serious academic or researcher.
The economy is odd--lots of free stuff available and also lot's of so-so items for sale--so what's the incentive for the buyer?
Second Life doesn't scale well--for instance, I had to buy a new graphics card just to be able to join in normal activities. How does that play for those who have low-end computers? It simply doesn't. For the most part, this world is for the reasonably well-heeled geek.

All-in-all I greatly enjoyed the experience and I'll probably keep coming back to see what's new and to take advantage of some of the educational opportunities afforded here. I hope some of the shortcomings will be addressed over time. I believe this would result in an increased interest in SL, which is what it needs to stay fresh and to survive in today's online economy.