Second Life: My Horrible First Impression

Last summer I gave in to the hype of Second Life and created a profile in order to watch Suzanne Vega, sometimes referred to as the mother of the MP3, sing a live in-world a capella version of "Tom's Diner." I was extremely excited, I chose a very clever-looking Cyber Goth avatar and I even came up with the name, "Crashbang Onomatopoeia". Imagine my surprise when I get to the concert to find that I am the only one dressed as a Cyber Goth. In fact, Suzanne Vega's avatar isn't even wearing glitter. It's all so freaking pedestrian and lackluster.

After a few minutes I am relieved to find an orange demon and a Ganesha-like Hindu goddess poof into their seats but it is too late - I am overdressed and awkward. This is no game; this nightmare world has exposed me as a weirdo. I wax nostalgic on Vega's first two choruses and leave before the last "doot doot doot" is sung.

Poor hollow Crashbang Onomatopoeia. Maybe your in-world broker will help you sue me for neglect and trade my settlement cash for a nice little island.

THE BUZZ ON SECOND LIFE
I've been in Second Life and it's cool because of its potential. As an open-source product, the possibilities for expansion and development are endless; however, I don't see why nonprofit organizations, consultants and strategists are so quick to propose Second Life ad campaigns and launches. Just because the tools are free doesn't mean the staff time is.

According to an article in yesterday's Vancouver Sun, the Vancouver Police Department is set to launch an in-world recruitment campaign aimed at enticing the internet-savvy.

I just don't understand. It's true that Second Life is one of the only true avatar-driven spaces and that users are undoubtedly tech-savvy.Nevertheless Second Life is new. It certainly doesn't have the audience numbers that certain blogs, online encyclopedias and social networking sites have. There are a little under 7 million avatars registered; however, given my Cyber Goth debacle I suspect I myself will end up with at least 5 identities.

Linden Labs is going to build something cool out of this. The developer community is going to build something cool out of this. This just may be the next big thing. But for now, let's consider the demographics and numbers behind the technology before we start trying to recruit lawmakers in a boundless (and currently boring) frontier.

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Second Life: My Horrible First Impression

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