Virtual Environments: Is one life enough?

Participants in the module this semester are engaging very well with Second Life and were able to make their way to the Media Centre without difficulty. We started the class with a quick review to ensure that everyone is comfortable in the environment. John got links to all your blogs which will be posted to the module blog this week. Well done on getting the blogs set up and making the first post. Don’t forget to complete the ‘About’ section by giving a little bit of information about yourself (if you prefer to keep personal details private and don’t want to reveal anything about yourself invent a life for your avatar!)

John paired up the participants who were in class and spoke a little about the group project. Normally the class is made up of students from different programmes but because you are all Interior and Furniture Design students this semester we decided to base the project on your discipline. You will explore SL to find an interesting building and make a presentation describing it, discuss how successful it is at fulfilling its purpose, introduce the designer, builder or owner if you can find them, and explain why you find the building interesting. A more detailed brief will be posted shortly.

We also began to explore some of the options for getting around SL by having our avatars fly around the Media Centre. It takes a little bit of time and practice to control your avatar so John advised spending some time in SL before the next class, practising. The activities to be completed for next week will encourage you in this regard. Each of you was given L$300 (roughly about US$1) to explore the consumer economy in SL.

Everyone joined the DIT Module group which allows you to set the Media Centre as your ‘Home’. That means you can set SL to login directly to the Media Centre. It also allows us to participate in private Instant Messaging (IM) among the group. John reminded everyone that SL is a ‘real’ place in the sense that anybody can join. Therefore – just as In Real Life (IRL) it is important to be careful about where you travel and to whom you speak – give some consideration to your online exploration, whether in SL or anywhere else. If you find your self in an uncomfortable situation in SL do not hesitate to QUIT immediately.

ACTIVITIES FOR NEXT CLASS:

1. Explore: Get to know your class partner and explore SL together. You are to visit at least 3 new locations. Find them in search, or by flying or walking around, ask other residents for recommendations or select them at random.
2. Write the second post : on your blog reviewing the locations you visited. Explain how and why you chose them and what was particularly interesting about them.
3. Read: The Lazy Person’s Guide to Personal Branding by Yohana Desta at Mashable or Personal Branding Basics by Chris Brogan, expert in online community, social media, and related technologies or The first Step to Building Your Personal Brand from Forbes to prepare for the discussion in next week’s class.
4. Other interesting reading about SL and virtual worlds:
   in Virtual Worlds Magazine, Virtual Anthropology and the Prometheus myth
   An article about Rod Humble, former CEO of Linden Labs, owner of Second Life Shared created spaces
   Your Second Life is Ready – Popular Science’s take on SL in 2006.