A Second Life Field Trip

My notes from the 4/17/07 brown bag "A Second Life Field Trip" by Ken Newquist

• The Virtual World
  • Introductory Quote
    • "Hiro is approaching the Street. It is the Broadway, the Champs Elysees of the Metaverse. It is the brilliantly lit boulevard that can be seen, miniaturized and backward, reflected in the lenses of his goggles. It does not really exist. But right now, millions of people are walking up and down it."
    • Source: Neal Stephenson, Snow Crash, p. 24.
  • About the World
    
    • Second Life is a 3D virtual world created by Linden Labs.
    • An online sandbox where residents can build almost anything they can imagine.
    • Divided into separate regions, each with its own businesses, homes, shops, and attractions.
      Visitors can login for free.
    • Paying residents can own virtual property.
  • The Economy
    • 5.6 million people have created accounts.
    • 975,000 people logged on in the last 30 days.
    • 300 square kilometers of land have been created.
    • A vibrant virtual economy worth $L1.9 billion.
    • 11.5 million transactions in March 2007.
• Avatars
  • Introductory Quote
    • "As Hiro approaches the Street, he sees two young couples, probably using their parents' computers for a double date in the Metaverse, climbing down out of Port Zero, which is the local port of entry and monorail stop.
    • He is not seeing real people, of course. This is all a part of the moving illustration drawn by his computer according to the specifications coming down the fiber-optic cable. The people are pieces of software called avatars."
    • Source: Neal Stephenson, Snow Crash, p. 24.
  • What is an Avatar?
    • An avatar is a graphical representation of you within Second Life.
    • You use your avatar to move from point A to point B with in the virtual world.
    • You can customize your avatar to look like almost anything, from humans to elves to something else entirely.
    • Role-playing is not required or needed.
• Destinations
  • Note: To visit these destinations, you will need to have Second Life installed on your computer.
  • Fun Destinations
    • Svarga Island
      • An island featuring ongoing experiments in artificial life. Like Jurrasic Park ... without the dinosaurs.
      • http://slurl.com/secondlife/Svarga/199/127/21
    • Lost Gardens of Apollo
      • A quiet, contemplative space filled with lush and vibrant flora as well as classical architecthure.
      • http://slurl.com/secondlife/Apollo/173/109/25
    • Star Trek Museum of Science
      • A Star Trek museum featuring displays about the real and imaginary science behind the franchise.
      • http://slurl.com/secondlife/Ocean Pines/37/215/25
  • Nexus Prime
    • A dystopian cyberpunk slice of Second Life.
    • http://slurl.com/secondlife/Bonifacio/191/3/105
  • Education Destinations
    
    • Second Life Library and Info Island
      • A massive multimedia library.
      • http://slurl.com/secondlife/Info Island/99/123/33/
    • New Media Consortium (NMC) Campus
      • A meeting and teaching place for educators and technologists. Note: You must join the group "NMC Guests" before you can visit this place.
    • http://slurl.com/secondlife/NMC Campus/128/225/42
    • NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory
      • http://slurl.com/secondlife/Meteroa/178/160/27/
    • Spaceport Alpha
      • According to New World Notes: "it's financed and developed by current and past alumni of the Johnson Space Center, Boeing's space station program, the European Space Agency and the UK's National Physics Lab, the aerospace museum at Cape Canaveral, and Northrop Grumman Space Technology."
    • http://slurl.com/secondlife/Spaceport Alpha/48/78/24/
    • Vassar College
    • An experimental space created by Vassar College's IT department.
    • http://slurl.com/secondlife/vassar/109/114/27/
  • Business Destinations
    • IBM Innovation Island
      • IBM's public island.
      • http://slurl.com/secondlife/Ibm 10/95/32/23
    • Reuters Island
      • The virtual headquarters for the wire service.
      • http://slurl.com/secondlife/Reuters/127/99/25/
    • Toyota Scion City
      • Take a ride in a virtual version of the Toyota Scion.
      • http://slurl.com/secondlife/Scion City/48/38/24
• Second Life Web Resources
  • News Web Sites
    • Second Life Herald
      • http://www.secondlifeherald.com
    • Second Life Insider
      • http://www.secondlifeinsider.com
    • Metaverse Messenger
      • http://www.metaversemessenger.com
  • Related Links
    • Absolute Beginners Guide to Second Life
      • http://www.combinedstory.com/tutorials.html
    • Social Signal: Second Life User Statistics
      • http://www.socialsignal.com/blog/catherine-winters/second-life-user-statistics
  • Top 20 Best Places to Visit in Second Life
    • http://www.second-life.finalmoneymaking.com/guides/top-20-best-places-to-visit-in-second-life/
  • Second Life Search Engine
    • http://search.sheeplabs.com
  • News Stories
  • CNN: Educators explore 'Second Life' online
    • http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/11/13/second.life.university/index.htm
  • CNET: 'Second Life' faces threat to its virtual economy
    • http://news.com.com/2100-1043_3-6135699.html