second life

Today in web design we had a speaker, Debbie Jeffers, talk about second life...crazy shit. It is known as web 2.0, which consists of facebook, myspace, and flickr. Second Life is not a game, it is a virtual landscape built by its residents meant for socialization. Everyone in Second Life is a real person, it is not a computer. I could not believe the extent of Second Life, it is all so hard to get your head around. If you wanted to check out Second Life, you create a virtual version of yourself which is called an "avatar." Once you have created your avatar you are taken to Orientation Island to learn how to walk, communicate, fly, etc. (this is all from the talk, I haven't actually done this myself, so I apologize if it's not entirely correct).
In Second Life there is currency called Linden dollars and the exchange rate is $1 USD = 266 Linden Dollars. You can put in your own money in USD or you can do work in Second Life to earn Lindens. Debbie said that she uses her Linden to take classes, where she learns how to make things in Second Life (for example, shoes or textures). Only a little weird so far...but it gets better.
There are dangers that come along with using Second Life, your avatar can get raped or killed or mugged. So, now the issues are coming up in our judicial system, whether rape of an avatar can do emotional damage to someone and could that person get in trouble with the law (don't they have better things to worry about?). Also, when you are creating your avatar you can pick either male or female or even an animal, which just makes things even more complicated and disgusting. People also get married, which is actually two real people with avatars chosing to do this. You can find a priest and have a ceremony. So, then does that mean a husband is having an affair if he gets married in Second Life to another woman?
The list just goes on... there are movies made in Second Life with sets created and avatars starring as actors and actresses with extras, there art galleries to visit with paintings from real museums, U2 has played a concert, your avatar can go to dances or clubs on friday nights... SO CRAZY!
I'm sure my opinion of Second Life is pretty clear so far. I just feel like if you wanna go to a dance, go to a dance in real life and interact with people and not on a computer screen. If you want to see paintings or artwork go to a gallery and see the real thing, because a digital picture is never going to be the same as experiencing it. Other than the fact that I think its weird and slightly creepy, it is very impressive/scary how far technology has come. There are two reasons I can see Second Life being practical. One, for employees to meet at a conference instead of teleconferencing. Two, a form of advertising for a company that wants to buy their own island and create a new type of marketing.