Does Second Life Exist Outside of Second Life Anymore?

Community is a sign that love is possible in a materialistic world where people so often either ignore or fight each other. It is a sign that we don't need a lot of money to be happy--in fact, the opposite. 

Jean Vanier

Recently, I’ve stopped for a moment to catch my breath.  (Significant Other says it’s about time.)

Real Life’s (RL) been busy.  (Don’t ask!)

I haven’t been in Second Life (SL) as much as I usually am and when I am, I’m

running around like the proverbial chicken with its head cut off.  (I’ll ignore Significant Other’s observation about what else is new.)

Not being able to get inworld and wander about as is my usual wont, I looked around in RL for signs of SL. 

I have to say that I was a little disappointed by what I found or more aptly didn’t find.

Let me tell you about it!

I used my usual tools for doing searches on the Internet, Twitter and Google.

On Twitter there wasn’t as much as I expected.

Yes, there were tweets.  Mostly sporadic one offs with no underlying themes were want I came across.  I didn’t see the epic tweet storms that seem to accompany other activities in the Twitterverse.  (Finally got to use that word in a sentence!)

Google was even more disappointing.

Once, I got past the Linden Lab and other official results, and then places like Wikipedia, the  search engine results tended to go back in time pretty quickly.  Again, no big themes or issues.

Overall, there wasn’t as much original work about SL on the Internet as I’d expected

or remembered from years past.  There seems to be a dropping off underway.

Maybe the search algorithms are to blame but something else seems to be afoot.

I know there’s good content out there still from others not to mention myself. But, you have to know where to look for it. 

Could the SL community be circling the wagons and retreating inworld?

I’ve noted before that big builds seem to be going away inworld maybe the same is true of original content on the Web. 

Or, could people just be getting tired?

Could Sansar be distracting people?

I don’t know but the content is missing!

Not to be all doom and gloom, Wagner James Au’s New World Notes, Inara Pey’s Living in a Modem World, and Caroline’s Second Life Advenures (The latter is NSFW so be careful where you access it form!) still post quality stories regularly and are well worth following. 

Please like, reshare, and comment on their work!  (Mine too please should you have a mind to do so!)

Or, how about being a guest blogger yourself?  If the others won’t have you then I will!

If you know of good SL bloggers and I haven’t listed them here then please send their links to me and I’ll help give them a shout out!

Many thanks!

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 can be found on Google+ as webspelunker Ghostraven.

My flickr Photostream is located here.

On Skype I’m webspelunker Ghostraven.

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.

            Open roads and kind fires!

Calm Before the Storm in Second Life?

I like these calm little moments before the storm, it reminds me of Beethoven.

Gary Oldman

  

We’ll well into the New Year! 

The Holidays have passed and, hopefully, the hangovers as well!

The first page has already been torn off the calendar.  (Yes, Significant Other warned me that I may be ridiculed for admitting to still using one of those but I do love Snoopy’s and Woodstock’s pictures every month.)

Now, we get back to the ordinary pace of life, whether it be in Second Life (SL) or

Real Life (RL). 

Which brings us up against the 800 pound gorilla in SL this year.

Sansar (Or, SL 2.0 as some of us used to call it.) may soon be upon us. 

Of course, we still don’t have an official launch date and according to Daniel Voyager’s recent poll, most respondents don’t expect Sansar to be released to the public until sometime in 2018.  (Hey, Linden Lab has never been too forthcoming about SL why should things change with Sansar?) 

A recent article from Wagner James Au on his exceptional blog about all things virtual, especially SL, New World Notes, got me thinking about one of my old concerns about Sansar. 

Au started by quoting longtime SL resident and Metaverse aficionado, Gwyneth Llewelyn, who believes that ultimately Linden Lab will have no choice but to push people into Sansar.  Yes, she says Linden Lab has promised not to close down SL but how realistic will that be and for how long?

Ever the optimist, Au outlines a scenario whereby increasing Premium SL subscriptions could offset falling private sim revenues to keep SL going indefinitely. 

As much as I respect and admire Au, and plug his blog whenever I can (If you don’t read it you really should.) I’m going to disagree with him here. 

Here’s why.

Sansar represents a fundamental shift in how we interact in virtual worlds.  And, yes, I understand that means we may have a lot less than what we enjoy today inworld. 

From a strictly business perspective (I freely admit I’m probably one of the least creative residents in SL but I do know something about debits and credits!)  Linden Lab will be facing a difficult choice.

Sansar will probably cannibalize the SL user base. 

SL is an aging infrastructure which will require a significant overhaul eventually.  (I

have to believe that given all the recent hacking scares that Linden Lab is pulling some long nights just to keep up currently.)  This isn't a put down, every platform faces this moment sooner or later. 

As Au points point, private sim revenues are falling and, while increasing Premium subscriptions is a good idea, I don’t see Linden Lab running the promotions necessary to draw in new Premium subscribers.  Furthermore, would more Premium subscribers create more demand on a system that may be already struggling under its existing load?

So, does Linden Lab split its bets and double down or just play one hand?  (Significant Other always laughs when I try to use gambling analogies which is a big reason why I don’t gamble in RL.)

I suspect that Linden Lab will have to make some difficult choices sooner or later. 

And, all this assumes that Sansar is successful.  What if it isn’t?

All bets are off then in my opinion.

My overriding fear is that Sansar will lead to the elimination of SL. 

And, before everyone sends me comments about change is good, inevitable, and necessary, I get it!  (To the guy who sent me a link to Darwin’s On the Origin of Species, many thanks!  Please don’t resend because I already had a hard copy edition which I’ve read.)

Let’s talk about what we lose. 

Unless Linden Lab does something very creative, the investment of time and money people spent creating wondrous builds and everyday objects could be lost. 

If this were to happen, how willing would these folks be to sign on somewhere else and do it all over again?  Would this precedent hang over Sansar like a dark cloud and hinder its own vibrant growth?

What of the communities that have grown up in SL and may come to a sudden and

final end?  Will they become a diaspora like the folks from there.com ? 

Not to end on a low note, I do have hopes for the future.

I want to see Sansar succeed and I want to see SL continue to grow and thrive.

These goals are not mutually exclusive, they can both coexist.

All they require is planning and effort.

Also, more transparency from Linden Lab wouldn’t hurt!

Speaking of whom, if anyone from Linden Lab would ever like to meet me inworld for an interview to tell their side of the story, I’d be happy to do so! 

Also, James Wagner Au is running a poll to see when respondents expect Linden Lab to push people over to Sansar.  Check it out here!   

Let’s see what happens with SL and Sansar, I have a feeling that this year will

answer a lot of our questions! 

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 can be found on Google+ as webspelunker Ghostraven.

My flickr Photostream is located here.

On Skype I’m webspelunker Ghostraven.

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.

            Open roads and kind fires!

Bitcoin in Second Life

When it’s a question of money, everybody is of the same religion.

Voltaire

 

          I’m blogging about a topic in Second Life (SL) that I haven’t written about in a while and it’s money.  (Yep, figured that would get everyone’s attention.  After sex that’s always a good one!)  In particular, I’m writing about bitcoin.  The virtual currency that’s been in the press a lot lately. 

          Bitcoin is a recent Internet phenomena.  (Alright, maybe 2008 ain’t “recent” in Internet terms but you get the idea.)  Supposedly, it was engineered by a developer, Satoshi Nakamoto, which is supposedly a fictitious name.  The idea being to create a virtual currency independent of any governmental or regulatory authority.  Comes in handy if you’re a drug dealer, terrorist, or American Libertarian.  OK, that may be judgmental, there’re probably good reasons for this like you live in a dictatorship and need discrete funds for your revolution or afraid a government might confiscate your monies. 

          The recent financial crisis in Cyprus  seems to have revived interest in bitcoin as a hedge against confiscation of monies by governments or devaluation.  This is turn seems to generated a flurry of media articles about bitcoin.

          Naturally, when something happens in Real Life (RL), there’s a follow on effect in SL.  Wagner Au recently posted an interesting story on his blog in which he talked about the implications arising for virtual currencies like Linden Dollars because of increasing government scrutiny of currencies like bitcoin. 

          All this got me thinking about if I could find bitcoin in SL.  Seemed reasonable to me.  After all, SL is a virtual world.  Stands to reason that other virtual currencies could be found inworld.  Why another currency is needed in SL is another question but who knows?  (Would Linden Lab ever confiscate Linden Dollar balances?)  Seems the FBI has long considered SL to be a hotbed of money laundering. They also think it’s a great place for RL gangs to hang out.  Don’t believe me?  Check out their website. 

          So, using SL’s handy dandy search function, I go looking for bitcoin inworld.  Turns out there’s a fair bit (no pun intended) of bitcoin activity going on.  There’s a user group dedicated to the currency as well as a couple of currency exchanges.  There are a few references to bitcoin mining whatever that is.  (Don’t worry, I’ll try and find out.)  I find a link to a website where it’s possible to trade in Linden Dollars, bitcoin, Euro’s, and US Dollars in addition to a variety of other SL financial transactions.  (I need to spend more time looking over the financial services industry inworld.) 

          I drop in to visit The Rock Trading Currency Exchange.  It reminds me of any one of a number of faceless bank branches scattered across America’s suburbs.  All polished metal and marble with lots of glass.  Currency transactions are available.  A bank guard, a bot, stands stiffly in a corner.  (Must be something valuable around whenever there’s a guard.)

          Data boards flash prices for the different currencies.  I’m not sure what folks would do with bitcoin inworld.  I’ve only ever seen prices denominated in Linden Dollars.  Linden balances can be held with Linden Lab in SL.  I’m assuming that people keep their balances with the exchange.  An interesting concept.  Something else for me to check out in the future. 

          So, I find bitcoin in SL.  I’m not sure what people do with it or even what its future is.  Given the inferences on Wagner Au’s blog and those on Alex Kadochnikov‘s blog there may be some changes afoot for Linden Dollars and bitcoin.  Maybe depending on how the global financial crisis is resolved will determine their fates. 

          I’ve included a few pictures from my visits to the inworld financial institutions, The Rock Trading Company and GMG Financial Center, should anyone be curious about these locations. 

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

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  The Rock Trading Currency Exchange

Photo No. 2  The Rock Trading Security Guard

Photo No. 3  The Rock Trading – Bitcoin Trading Board

Photo No. 4  The Rock Trading – ATM

Photo No. 5  The Rock Trading Lobby

Photo No. 6  The Rock Trading Bitcoin Exchange

Photo No. 7  The Rock Trading Bitcoin Exchange II

Photo No. 8  GMG Financial Center – Bitcoin Trading Board

Photo No. 9  GMG Financial Center – Payment Options

Photo No. 10  GMG Financial Center Bank Floor

Ruminations on Second Life

Never regret. If it’s good, it’s wonderful. If it’s bad, it’s experience.

Victoria Holt

          

          As is my wont (Hey, it’s my blog after all!) every once in a while I stop in between projects and ruminate about what I’ve seen and learnt in Second Life (SL) as I’ve wandered about.  And, at the risk of becoming overly self-centered, there’s a lot to think about.  Especially around the question of whether or not the promise of SL has been fulfilled. 

          I always come back to the diversity of SL.  The many different types of residents inworld, what they do, and how they do it never ceases to amaze me. I freely admit to first coming onto the grid expecting it be populated by an overly technical group of geeks building whatever they took a fancy to.  Yes, there is certainly that group inworld but there are many others too. 

          The social aspects of SL took me by surprise.  People had come inworld, overcome the hurdles (more about these later), and staked out communities on this virtual frontier.  Many of these were drawn by the social aspects of SL.  Others by the creative opportunities. 

          People come together to socialize but also for other personal reasons such helping one another.  People go to concerts, create new art forms which can only exist inworld, and are reinventing the literary salon.  Don’t let me forget that old cultural standard, the magazine. 

          With communities and socialization comes bad behavior and, unfortunately, SL has it.  Glorf Bulmer and Lindal Kidd have recently blogged about some of the behaviors they have encountered recently. I regret this type of conduct inworld as much as I do in RL but I do find this a reassurance of the vibrancy of life inworld.  (Glorf will kill me for writing this.) 

          Another interesting observation I’ve made is how these communities can either parallel Real Life (RL) interests and communities or be completely stand alone in SL.  The BDSM communities come to mind for the former and vampires for the latter.  (If there are any RL vampire communities co-locating in and I’ve missed you, I apologize and want to meet you.) And, these are only a couple of examples. 

          Other things I’ve noticed in SL are that there is a lot to see and I haven’t even begun to scratch the surface of it all.  (Although with sims shutting down I do worry this may not be as much of a problem longer term. Sorry, bad joke.)

          I have noticed that things change fast inworld.  Some of the groups whom I first met when I began blogging I’m now told are no longer as cohesive as they once were.  Good friends have quietly winked out never to be heard from again.  Some of the more poignant blogs I’ve read have been about friends lamenting the disappearance of those whom they’ve been close to and have never come back.  A real sense of loss can be felt by the survivors and I may run the risk of sounding trite here but the not knowing what happened really bothers them. 

          Of course, there’s the more traditional break up of a relationship where both parties are inworld and don’t want to know where the other is.  The anonymity of SL relationships plays an important role here.  Myself, I always take at face value how a resident presents herself or himself.  One could drive oneself nuts trying to figure out who is really behind an avatar really is.  I’ve always been suspicious that many avatars whom I meet inworld are fronts for nineteen year old unemployed community college drop-outs who live in their parents’ basements in suburbs of Detroit.  Yet, I’m always told by my inworld friends to remember that there is a real person with real feelings behind that avatar. 

          Finally, while I find a lot of repetitive “me too-ism” inworld in some creators’ work there is still much original work.  The recent addition of mesh technology in SL has fueled a creative revolution in my humble opinion. 

          All of this has got me thinking about the promise of SL versus the reality especially when measured against Facebook (FB). In RL, when I mention SL these days, many are surprised that I’m still here.  Most had avatars or still do, they just haven’t returned in years. 

          When I inquire as to why they haven’t returned, the infamous hurdles are raised.  They say that getting set up was a hassle and when they finally got an avatar going they couldn’t find a lot to do.  I remember one RL colleague at work, whom I convinced to join me in an effort to explore SL’s potential for RL meetings, was just sitting at a bus stop somewhere inworld when I found him. He didn’t know what to do and couldn’t find anything to do.  Those who hung around a little longer complain of poor system performance and frequent crashes. 

          FB, on the other hand, seems to have fewer barriers to entry and I’ve met too many people in RL who have told me that they’re grandparents even use it.  FB permits a few tasks to be done but does them well.  Their simple games and the ease with which developers can create applications only helps.  FB’s business friendly approach seems to have helped people make some serious RL money.  (Unlike their recent IPO!)

          Are there alternatives to SL?  There are other virtual worlds but I’m not sure how successful they’ve been.  Based on a recent post in Wagner James Au’s blog, New World Notes, until the recent technologies, smart phone and tablet mobility being the most notable, are absorbed, not a lot may be happening in virtual worlds for a while.  (Although an even more recent post on his blog gives hope for the future.)

          So where do we go from here?  I’m not sure.  SL has a niche, although admittedly, it’s getting smaller.  Social media like FB and Twitter have large followings but will they last?  Everyone remember the AOL and Yahoo portals?  Anyone still really using them?  I don’t expect any new virtual world competitors to arise until the technology shakes out. 

          SL can continue to hold on for a while. Although, if paying customers continue to decline and the platform’s performance issues get worse then things could spiral out of control.  Remember the SL architecture is almost ten years old and most, if not all, of its creators are long gone. 

          I’ll continue my travels across the grid and bring my stories back to my readers for as long as there is a grid. One thing I’m certain of is that as long as the grid is still there, I won’t be lacking for things to write about! 

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

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 Nowaki, My Inworld Neighborhood

Photo No. 2 Flashman’s, A Good Place to Hang Out Inworld 

Photo No. 3 Manchu Picchu, A Good Place to Visit Inworld

Photo No. 4 Inworld Waterfront Scene at Night 

Photo No. 5 Phaze Demesnes – Flying Crane Tour – an Incredible Way to See Inworld

Photo No. 6 Ankh-Morpork Suburbs in Winter – RL Literary Fantasy Meets SL