Antoinette Delmage, David Librot, Ellie McIntyre, Chris Vaccaro, Kate Weber

Orientation Island: Welcome to Second Life

•Linden Lab’s way of showing the basics–It’s a nice way of welcoming new-comers

•Assists with getting your started

–Mentors are very helpful!–Introduces you to basic skills

•It’s still limited: doesn’t explain how to navigate or what’s available

Life as a “Newbie”

• Forming an Avatar– Can create one in your own

image or someone completely different

– Able to completely change your appearance

• Allows for freedom of expression• None of the constraints of real life

Conquering Second Life: The Learning Curve

• Need to devote a lot of time and energy into getting accustomed

• SL has a safety-net built in– Can locate mentors– Orientation Island– Extensive online tutorials

• Other users are very helpful– Easily spot newbies and offer help– I never felt uncomfortable, but rather grateful for

the technical tips

Second Life as a Platform:Community, Culture, and Commerce

Community-Building

• Definition: Community– “A feeling of fellowship with others as a result of

sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals”

• Second Life– Provides the opportunity to meet others like you in a

different situation– Because there are so many locations in SL, no matter

where one’s interests may lie, they can find a community

– However, you must put forth effort to locate a community

• Once you find one, they are seemingly accepting of others

Culture

• Definition: Culture– “The attitudes and behavior characteristics of a

particular social group”

• SL facilitates exploration– Different businesses, groups, clubs, and events

have a presence on Second Life– Experience different cultures in a realistic manner

• Because each location is unique, users can gain new perspectives

Commerce

• There is certainly an economy in SL– American dollars convert into Linden dollars– Purchase and sell goods like in a regular market

• Not a perfect representation of real life– “Freebie Island” doesn’t exist in RL

• Need to pay actual dollars to reap all of the benefits of this economy

– Through computers, marginal cost to produce any good is, essentially, 0

Cyber Teams

• Communication difficulties– Subtleties are missing through email or chatting

through Second Life– Large time lag between responses

• Makes it hard to compromise

• Scheduling conflicts• Email is not always the most efficient

– People devote different amounts of time to email and other technologies

• It is clear, however, that this is the way a lot of work will get done in the near future

What Did We Learn?

• Our world is constantly becoming more virtually connected– Some companies already have meetings in

Second Life• IBM holds group meetings and does projects online and

requires employees to create an avatar immediately

• A more effective technology– Clearly, groups cannot always meet in person – Video conferencing solves this problem

• Able to sense body language and other expressions that cannot be sensed through Second Life

Working Through Second Life: Realistic?

• It is very possible that Second Life will become increasingly important – Cyber-teams are becoming ubiquitous– Good experience for us to get ahead on the

learning curve

• Some obstacles slowed progress– Communication difficulties and differing schedules

became clear hindrances– Would exist in real life as well

Blue Fusion Jazz Club• Live music scheduled

– Different DJs, party events like best dressed

• Romantic atmosphere to dance, meet new people, relax

• This is an effective location for social networking– The casual environment facilitates easy conversation

Book Island

•Purpose–Location to help authors and publishers connect with a new community–Hold book fairs, information sessions, and discussions for users

•Impression–Though the idea is great, there weren’t many people on the island –Difficult to navigate the island

Growing Network Society• Another medium to assist networking

– With so many users, it’s easy to meet people from all over the world

– The casual atmosphere makes networking feel more relaxed

• Different type of networking– Users aren’t necessarily their real world “selves”

• Might lead to a more honest expression of ideas

What Makes Second Life Unique

Lack of Incentive

• Second Life is not a “game”– People don’t win or lose– Simply roam around exploring different

locations and events

• Choose your own adventure– Second Life can have as much or as little

meaning based on what each user puts into it

Avatar: Alter-ego?

• Be who you want to be– Cultural norms don’t exist– Can express yourself in a way that’s not

possible in real life

• Ability to change– Today you can choose to look and act one

way, and tomorrow it can be completely different

– No physical limitations in SL

When SL Becomes Your RL

• “Power Users”– Spend every free moment logged on to SL– Identify their true identity as their avatar

• The lines between the two worlds blur– Typically fleeing something in their RL – SL gives people the opportunity to start

fresh

Fantasy Element

• Though Second Life attempts to mimic real life in many aspects, there is fantasy element involved– Teleporting, flying, ability to purchase

tigers, for example

• Doesn’t interfere with the purpose of SL– Still functions as a network society

• Second Life is not perfect, but it has wonderful potential

• It’s an interesting concept– Business networking with a social aspect

• SL is constantly making improvements and will only become more and more useful and ubiquitous

Conclusion