August 25, 2008

  • Rezday

    I’ve been on Second Life for a year.

    Then:

    sl_primhairfascist

    Now:

    sl_cinco_at_one

    I still have the single strand of hair, but it’s thinner and doesn’t glow.

    I think the best part of a year in Second Life is how much I’ve learned about myself. It’s changed me for the better. And in a few weeks, I’ll be in Tampa at the Second Life Community Conference, trying not to be overwhelmed by the crowds, and connecting in The Real with some of the important people from SL.

    The thing about SL: It’s just a platform. Things that happen there happen almost exclusively because of the creativity of those around you. Flying around and looking at stuff always reminds me of that Peter Gabriel song that quotes Anne Sexton: All of the buildings/And all of the cars/Were once just a dream/In somebody’s head. Hang out with creative people and be surrounded not only by them, but by the trail of lovely detritus they leave behind. Hang out with boring people, and you’ll end up surrounded by boring stuff.

    Often times in The Real, people want to equate their big house or beautiful view or giant TV with their own competence in the world, or their value to it. In Second Life, everyone knows that’s not true. And this is an example of how places like Second Life will ultimately be of value to the human condition; it’s subversive in fun and interesting ways.

    Update:

    How could I forget?

    I have to tell the tale of something my friend Nostrum Forder did… A while back he bought some land in Papa sim. I went to visit, and remembered, out loud, that this was the first place I had ever attached anything, beyond what I had done on Orientation Island. (They make you ‘wear’ a torch in your hand.) It was the standard dunebuggy vehicle, which I couldn’t rez on the ground, so I tried to wear it. It’s a standard newbie mistake.

    But, in commemoration of this utterly important event, Nostrum made this plaque, and put it on the side of his building:

    sl_forder_historical_marker

    Perfect. Note that I’m wearing my Forder Foundation tag, so very proudly. Thanks, Nos.

    BTW, I rezzed the couch in order to sit on it and be in the picture. See how far I’ve come?

Comments (8)

  • happy rezday : )

    i am glad that i met you there!
    /me shouts a big smile
    anne

  • Happy Rezaversary!

    Is there some sort of little glowy spot, in that last screenie, just above your hat ?

  • congrats :)

  • @beautifulwolf - Yah, there’s a little glowy dot. It means I have voice chat. When you talk in voice chat, the dot starts emanating a green glow like a tiny VU meter above your head.

  • I spent years of my life in something similar to SL, in a ’90s kinda way. I learned a lot, I made many good friends, but I have mixed feelings in retrospect. That time spent, well, I could have written a novel, or could have done this or that…yet I am proud of what I did do, even though now time and tech have made it irrelevant. Now I say, “Did that, don’t want to again, but I understand.”

  • There are so many interesting ways to meet and interact with folks these days. I’m in awe of your Second Life. I just don’t have enough time to take care of THIS life. Wish I did!

  • Thanks for your friendship. It’s an honor to know you.

  • Thanks for sharing this.

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