Can Second Life Be More Like Real Life?

 

If good things lasted forever, would we appreciate how precious they are?

Bill Watterson

 

 

          Recently, a lot’s been happening in and around Second Life (SL) which has got me thinking.  (Significant Other always claims to begin worrying about now.) 

          In no particular order, there has been SL Go, the new mobile app for SL.  Oculus Rift has been offered up as a 3-D immersive SL experience.  Philip Rosedale is doing something over at High Fidelity and Ebbe Altberg is promising a brave, new world with SL 2.0 (or whatever it’s going to be called!)  I even stumbled across a device that gives the experience of holding hands with a loved one over the Internet! 

          This is where I began to think.

          What’s the end result of all of this development?

          Could SL become more like Real Life (RL)? 

          Yes, I know.  Some of you are going to begin moving towards the exits right about now.  But, for the rest of you, humor me please.  (Significant Other says it’s the best way to handle me.)

          Just think about this for a moment.

          With all these potential new products and what will come after them, and there always is something to come after, where do we end up?  There’ll probably be better graphics with less lag.  Improved interfaces with more tactile abilities.  Open standards with social media applications like Twitter, Facebook, and Google+.  (The latter which has by the way now permits avatar names to be used.) 

          Alright, you may say, so what?

          Well, we may have a highly realistic virtual world that might be difficult to distinguish from RL under certain circumstances. (I’m not talking about being under the influence either!)  We might be crossing the point where reality is indistinguishable from virtuality.  (Yes, I know, I just made up a new word.  You heard it here first folks!) 

          Think about this for a moment.  We will have arrived at the The Matrix before we even got to Mars!  When people first started predicting space travel to Mars, no one even had imagined virtual reality yet! 

          But, (There’s a “but” isn’t there?) would this be a good thing?  (Significant Other feels I play devil’s advocate so much that I’ve forgotten whose side I’m on.)

          We would have a virtual world separate from RL which would offer us pretty much everything our cerebral cortex may require.  (I’m staying away from nourishment for now.)  Though would this be more a game than a community?  Would it even be real?  What would this mean for RL people?  Would they spend more time inworld?

          Or, instead of being a standalone environment, could this new virtuality (Sorry, I really like this word!) become an extension of RL?  (Significant Other mumbles something about cutting me off.)

          Just a couple of examples.  Relay for Life (RFL) raises money inworld for cancer research in RL.  The Mieville sim recently had a yard sale to help raise money for a member suffering from leukemia in RL and who didn’t have health insurance.  Finally, First UCC maintains a ministry inworld helping congregants, and anyone else who needs it, with their spiritual and other needs. 

          Some may dismiss this out of hand as simple charity.  (Which I might argue is the best kind but I’ll save that argument for another time.)  However, I see a blending of SL and RL activities.  Virtual faces are given to RL activities.  There are RL consequences to SL actions.  Monies are raised, people are counseled and helped, and communities start and begin to flourish. 

          How do we do this?

          We do it anonymously in most cases, on a global basis, and much of it is experimental.  We make the rules up as we go. 

          As I’ve blogged about before, I do believe a scalable virtual economy which permits transactions, has free exchange of currency (Bitcoin perhaps?), and protection of intellectual property rights is necessary for this to happen. 

          Things are still in the early innings.  Who knows how any of the initiatives I started this piece with will turn out.  A lot is going on.  Most of which many of us have no clue about.  Social media is still a wild card in my mind.  Will Mark Zuckerberg really launch into virtual worlds with Facebook?  Events presently unknown will probably have the biggest impact in all likelihood. 

          I opened with a question and I’m not sure of the answer.  All I know is that things won’t be the same! 

I’ve included a few pictures of some SL events that approximate RL ones.  Just some food for thought! 

As always, I’m grateful to all inworld for their kindness and time in stopping to talk with a stranger who was passing through their lives.   

My Twitter handle is @webspelunker.  Please feel free to follow me and I’d be happy to follow you.

I welcome feedback from readers, please either comment on my blog or e-mail me at webspelunker@gmail.com . 

          If you would like to read about my other adventures in Second Life please click here.

 

 

Photo No. 1 First UCC Church Interior

Photo No. 2 Tribute City Relay for Life Clubhouse

Photo No. 3 Mieville Yard Sale

Photo No. 4 Talking with a Friend at a Sidewalk Café