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virtual worlds
If Second Life throws a fifth anniversary party and no avatars are there to hear it, does it make that annoying typing sound?
Second Life, the 3D virtual world favored by furries and the digital departments of ad agencies desperate to convince clients how cutting-edge they are, is celebrating its fifth anniversary this year. In that time, little has changed — the same poorly-rendered polygons and textures move through the same largely empty world, where quite honestly the most innovative users have been the griefers who turn up at any of the arranged publicity events featuring corporate shills and politicians desperate to convince anyone how cutting-edge they are. Linden Lab may shuffle on like a zombie, but that doesn't change the fact that it's time for a post-mortem. More »
5:00 PM on Tue Jun 24 2008
By Jackson West
2,528 views,
9 comments
Latest by n/a: Played SL for over 3 years now. Met an absolute wonderful person in the game, and will soon marry him in real life (yes a story for the grandchildren for sure)...so as you can imagine SL holds quite a sentimental more »
sex trade
Israel to jail online brothel owners in actual prisons
Good news for Second Life! Israeli legislator Zahava Gal-On has been so taken in by the illusion of sex offered in fake online worlds that she's proposing mandatory five-year jail terms for the operators of "virtual brothels" — websites "offering women for sale," she says. If only! Sites like Craigslist, The Eros Guide, MyRedBook, and The Erotic Review advertise real sex for hire, but law enforcers prefer to log on to track down working girls, rather than take the sites offline for pimping. If Gal-On took a moment to understand the economics of virtual vajayjay, she'd see her concerns were misplaced. More »
virtual worlds
The flying penis menace moves offline in Russia
In a stunt reminiscent of something from Second Life, an unknown perpetrator let loose a remote-controlled flying dildo at a speech yesterday by Garry Kasparov, the famed chess champion defeated by IBM's Deep Blue who now heads up Other Russia, an opposition party that seeks to wrest power from the Kremlin government dominated by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. As Andy Baio at Waxy points out, it's unclear if the pranksters knew about the infamous interview between Second Life baron Anshe Chung and CNET reporter Daniel Terdiman, video from which is embedded after the jump. More »
virtual worlds
Congressman Mark Kirk, a Second Life critic, employed Julia Allison
Mark Kirk, the Illinois Congressman who wants Second Life banned from schools and libraries, has more than a passing familiarity with virtual reality, illusion, and the construction of self. In 2000, Star magazine editor-at-large Julia Allison, then known as Julia Baugher, worked for Kirk, a family friend, as a legislative aide, and was maid of honor at his wedding.
mark kirk
Congressman gets in on Second Life's "rape rooms"
Taking a page from Nebraska's Internet cops, U.S. Representative Mark Kirk (R.-Ill.) has created a fake teen of his own in order to protect real ones. While promoting a bill to restrict access to social networking sites in public schools and libraries, Kirk and Illinois law enforcement detailed the solicitations received by the imaginary 15-year-old female they played in Second Life — to enter "rape rooms," among others. Acknowledging that there were no known cases of sexual assault on underage users at Second Life, Rep. Kirk still called the site an "emerging danger." Now with the addition of his fictional sex-seeking teenage avatar, of course. (Photo by Daily Herald)
hires
Second Life maker finds second CEO in adland
Linden Lab, which operates the Second Life virtual world, has found a new CEO: Mark Kingdon, the longtime chief of Organic, an online ad agency. A bizarre move for Linden, and seemingly for Kingdon. Sophisticated marketers, having toyed with Second Life, agree that it's a nonstarter as an advertising medium. Linden Lab makes its money from serving as a virtual central bank and a taxing authority. IBM is interested in it largely as a substitute for teleconferencing. Philip Rosedale, the founder and outgoing CEO, is a dreamy technologist, but replacing him with an adman makes no sense. An enterprise-software salesman would have made more sense. More »
politics
Jon Stewart mocks Congress for discussing Second Life
Pictured is a screen capture of the avatars assembled in Second Life forMore »
caption contest
One more reason not to wear your avatar outfit in First Life
At right, Everett Harper, Stanford MBA and director of community initiatives for Second Life operator Linden Lab, models his Carnaval-winning dance outfit. Harper was crowned King Everett this weekend. Suggest a caption in the comments. (Photo by CM C.)
virtual worlds
Are Second Life users on drugs?
As a business, Second Life is a bust. As a technology, the virtual world is a joke. Using snake-oil metaphors to describe it would seem an injustice against toxic cure-alls — were that not Second Life's new marketing peg. The autistic and near-autistic with Asperger's syndrome are flocking to Second Life to learn how to interact with other human beings, CNN reports. This follows Newsweek's discovery last July of Second Life as therapy for the housebound. A suggestion for Benchmark Capital and the other VCs who sank money into this boondoggle: Why not market it as the next Prozac, and sell it to Eli Lilly? That seem easier.
second life
The 5 real blunders of Philip Rosedale's virtual career
Despite a silver-tongued PR team capable of spinning any irrelevant Second Life happening into a New York Times story, former Linden Lab CEO Philip Rosedale couldn't save himself from the downside of the virtual hype cycle. His "life's work" has become a punchline. Here are the five mistakes that added up to cost Rosedale his job.More »
second life
Linden Lab CEO stepping down
Linden Lab CEO Philip Rosedale is stepping down as CEO. The Benchmark Capital-backed company is looking for a new chief with more operational and management experience. "This is my life's work. I'm not going anywhere, and I'm still full-time on this, probably for the rest of my life," says Rosedale, shown here as his Second Life alter ego. The story was broken by the Reuters Second Life news center within Second Life. This is likely the only news ever broken by the bureau that you'll care about.
"Second Life is slowing down and taking investors with it." — Blogger Adrian Crook during his "Free to Play" panel at the Game Developer's Conference. He says businesses in the virtual world are being forced to shut down because there isn't the population to support them.
virtual worlds
"Second Skin" sheds light on virtual-worlds addiction
A new documentary, Second Skin, promises to reveal why people are so obsessed with massively multiplayer titles like World of Warcraft and Everquest, as well as even more pointless environments like Second Life. By capturing the online lives of seven devoted gamers, the film captures love, greed, addiction, and depression — all spurred by something that's not even real. Second Skin premieres at the South By Southwest film festival in Austin, Texas this March.
second life
A new IBM TV ad mocks the make-a-wish economics of virtual-world purveyors like Linden Lab. Perhaps Big Blue's ad agency didn't get the memo: In India, IBM is expanding its ranks of Second Life salespeople.
IBM ad mocks IBM strategy
A new IBM TV ad mocks the make-a-wish economics of virtual-world purveyors like Linden Lab. Perhaps Big Blue's ad agency didn't get the memo: In India, IBM is expanding its ranks of Second Life salespeople.
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Polish your resume
Tonight's events are great for networkers and job-seeking developers: The San Francisco Business Times is hosting a reception for their 2008 Book of Lists, while Linden Lab (of Second Life fame) is holding a recruiting event at their new Mountain View digs. The Lists party at the Four Seasons in San Francisco is sold out (crash it!), but RSVPs are still available for the Linden Lab event.Got something to add to the calendar? Send it to calendar@valleywag.com.
virtual economy
