http://npirl.blogspot.com/

It’s a collaborative blog, mostly about SecondLife, and contains a lot of images and discussions about the things in SL that I find most intriguing…

Here’s a big blurt to start with:

I joined in October 2006. I think I’d heard it being discussed amongst some colleagues at Melbourne University as they were preparing to do the ‘23 Things’ program.

Let’s be honest here – mine was not a professional interest – I approached it from the perspective of someone who, in the 90s, developed possibly an unhealthy obsession with those so-called ‘immersive’ PC games such as Ubisoft’s Myst series. Gaming developed into a real hobby interest in digital art, animation and related areas.

I’m also a fan of speculative fiction; sci-fi and sub-genres such as cyberpunk etc, where decades of lively imaginative writing produced the very first ideas of a virtual reality.

So looking into SL was a natural progression of my interests and experiences, and from the outset I knew it would only EVER be an ‘outside work hours’ activity.

I’d had very little experience with web 2.0 social networking, nor had I ever done any internet gaming. So those aspects of Second Life were entirely new to me.

I loved it – love it – as a networking space, a way of meeting and interacting with people from all parts of the globe. And other things:

Because the tools, and skills, required for building and scripting digital objects in Second Life are available to all, for free, when you install the software, it was an easy step for me to go from having a ‘hobby interest’ in other people’s digital creations and start making my own.
This particular learning curve is admittedly taking a little longer to develop as all the rest of SL – such attending live concerts given by DJs, solo artists and other musicians; going to poetry readings and gallery openings, and simply PLAYING and EXPLORING is so damned distracting…

I’ll see if I can upload some images of my time in SL onto my blog soon, if you’re interested in seeing some of these things?

Em

Hmmm.. the above is a prime example not only of my writing style but also the way my brain works…. painful, huh… NOW to business:

I’m a regular user of SecondLife; for recreation, networking and entertainment purposes (it’s my “turn off brain and relax” weekends-only activity of choice right now, in the cold nasty depths of a Melbourne winter). I’m enjoying the live music performances one can catch in there right now. [can you hear the 'madly scrambling for credibility' tone in my voice...]

I agree with your observations and comments, particularly regarding the CURRENT functionality of SecondLife as an educative/research environment. It’s almost … too distractingly visual, and leaves little head-space for actually gathering and imparting information.

It is however a FABULOUS place to “learn through play” – to use a K-12 educational term – as an adult.
from my experience SL is developing into a great environment to display one’s talents in digital design, scripting, animation, multimedia production etc… and for someone who started in SL with absolutely NO knowledge or understanding of these things simply the fact that I can talk about them in an informed way indicates that my learning curve here has been pretty good.

And by GOD it’s a web sociologist/anthropologist’s dream, in terms of research material.

I think SL needs to run for a good few years more, allowing it to develop and mature as any “real life” community does, before it’s true potential as an alternative educational/professional interactive environment can be exploited.

Just my 2c worth – and (as you might have guessed), my way of knocking over Task #4 of the 23 Things program…

Thank you

Em