As the Second Life 7th Birthday is winding down, I wanted to share with you a few of my favorite exhibits from the week.  Even though the celebrations are ending tonight, the SIMs themselves will be open until July 3 (11:59 pm SLT), so if you haven’t had a chance to explore everything.. now is the time, before all these wonderful exhibits disappear forever!  While all the exhibits were special, here are some of the ones I most enjoyed.

1. LEA – Bryn Oh

   

   Well known Second Life artist Bryn Oh created a captivating installation on behalf of the Linden Endowment for the Arts (LEA).  The interactive exhibit takes you on a whimsical journey as you climb the enchanted staircase that appears before you.  The inspiring exhibit was also beautifully captured by well known machinimagrapher Chantal Harvey.

   http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/SL7B%20Contradiction/168/250/22

2. Timeline – Raven Haalan and GM Nikolaidis

   

   This amazing collaboration from two of SL’s best is sure to touch you.  At first glance, the installation appears to be an equatorial sundial, and 12-hour clock.  However, as you interact with the exhibit, you will find that each number (hour) corresponds with a compelling timeline of life events and stories.  Not to mention the free gift, is one you won’t want to miss.

   http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/SL7B%20Enigma/93/37/23

3. Bodied words – pallina60 Loon

   

   This passionate installation draws you in with its intense visual appeal, but captures you with its adorable letter animations that allow you the chance to pose as a letter or a number so you can spell anything you want.

   http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/SL7B%20Absurdity/51/137/22

4. Without You – Kerupa Flow

   

   One of the most underrated displays, this exhibit simply has to be explored. From beginning to end it places you in the middle of some the most visually stunning 3D illusions, that can be interpreted in different ways just by changing your viewpoint and exploring the installation further. As if that wasn’t enough, Kerupa aims right for your heart with her written note explaining how her work is nothing without you, because it’s how we all interact with it and what we get from it that “uncovers its soul.”

   http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/SL7B%20Absurdity/64/222/22

5. dream on! – caLLie cLine

   

   This touching display of caLLie’s dreams (not to mention some classic SL history) will have you examining your own SL dreams as you fly around and explore this oversized yet stylized ‘Alice in Wonderland’ feeling installation.

   http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/SL7B%20Enigma/39/103/22

6. Burning Life – Raven Haalan

   

   This exhibit will have you feeling nostalgic for last year’s Burning Life with its display of memorable photographs. It will also pump you up for this year’s theme “Metropolis – Civilization in the Desert” and provide you all the info you will need about the event and how to get involved!

   http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/SL7B%20Contrary/11/91/22/

7. Doodle Lace – Eshi Otawara

   

   Inspired by former Linden Lab CEO Mark Kingdon’s doodle art, Eshi Otawara created this gorgeous feminine floral sculpture that is also a dress.

   http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/SL7B%20Miraculous/39/219/22

8. BOSL & CO – Patch Thibaud

   

   This magnificent tower hovers over the entire celebration area and is worth taking a peek at with its glowing, moving pieces.  Update: Patch contacted me and let me know that he intended the tower to be viewed at night.  He also sent some photos of it at night and it was quite stunning.  Keep this in mind when visiting the tower!

   http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/SL7B%20Contradiction/247/153/22

I would also like to take the opportunity to invite you to visit our exhibit

The Second Life Whole is Greater Than the Sum of its Parts

Our interactive installation exhibits the theme of “Unexpected Collaborations” with a visual representation demonstrating how the different communities in SL are not just amazing on their own, but are improved and enhanced by existing within the Second Life metaverse.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/SL7B%20Enigma/95/232/22

What was your favorite exhibit?

The Second Life 7th Birthday celebration kicked off this morning with an address from Linden Lab founder, SL creator, and current Chairman of the Board – Philip Rosedale (aka Philip Linden).  In his opening speech, Philip made several key points (emphasis added):

1.  Philip Has No Regrets

I sat and thought about this 7th year of operation — you know, for me, it is, of course more than 10 years… I would say that those 10 years have been an incredibly hard. They’ve had incredible moments of frustration. But they’ve also been incredibly rewarding and inspiring and I wouldn’t take back any of it or even do anything differently… I think what we’ve achieved here is a magnificent accomplishment together — all of us, the Lindens, the Residents, the Lindens that aren’t with us anymore — we’ve all worked together to build something just incredible. And I wouldn’t even take any chance at anything that might mess it up, it’s unbelievable what we’ve achieved.

2.  Linden Lab Has Only Good Intentions

We have tried, as a company — because we’ve been so excited about virtual reality, about what we’ve already accomplished together, what we’ve seen everyone do, what we’ve seen you guys do — it’s been so exciting that we have tried to fix it all at once.. it’s all done out of enthusiasm, it’s done out of excitement, it’s done out of love for the world. And everything and everyone that’s in it. But I think the challenge we’ve had is that over and over again, we’ve been this small, smallish company trying to work on something that is just unbelievably complicated and figuring out how to restrict and serialize and sequence and prioritize all of these different pieces has been a huge problem.

3.  Keeping Second Life Safe is Top Priority

We sadly reduced the size of the company by about a third — by about 100 people a week ago, and that’s a big deal and a huge change… We’re never going to — as a company — risk the world and the businesses and the livelihoods of the thousands of people who make money working here by growing too quickly ahead of profits. By doing the difficult process of restructuring the company and making layoffs, we’ll return ourselves to solid, very solid levels of profitability.  We’re safe, the world is safe.

4.  Linden Lab is Getting Back To Basics (aka SL is a medieval city)

Second Life is this wonderful, beautiful city — once you’re in it and you’re having this amazing immersive experience, you’re just totally blown away by it. But the city itself is surrounded by huge walls and a moat. It’s like a medieval city. To actually get into it you have to invest an enormous amount of time and energy getting across that moat, and over the walls, and into this amazing new world of people inside that are waiting inside. And I think that in our excitement about the success of Second Life — in its amazing initial growth and the amazing things that you guys have done and that we’ve done together — we were getting ahead of ourselves a bit as a company and this is what we really talked about in this restructuring. We were building these sort of rickety — we were in many cases building these bridges and scaffoldings that sought to get different types of people across that moat and over those walls, whether we’re talking about international Residents, or the community welcome areas, or enterprise or education users — we’ve been sort of building these little, thin bridges that try and quickly get everybody kind of over that wall and into Second Life. And of course, you can understand why we’d do that, because it’s just so fantastic an experience once we can get people there.

But I think what we have to do — what I know is the kind of thinking that’s informing our planning process going forward — is ask whether instead we can stop doing those many, many peripheral, highly usage-specific things to get people in here — and instead just take a step back, look at the basic problems that we are all faced by, and by fixing them, fill the moat. Tear down the walls. Stop trying to build over them. We have a product here that can deliver an unbelievable experience to everyone if we simply make the basic pieces of that experience work. Whether we’re talking about how many people can stand together in a meeting like this, or how to put clothes on, or manage your inventory, or build basic objects in-world, or how voice works, how parcel media works, live music — all of these basic features are things that are amazing experiences when you can have them, but they’re not easy enough yet. They’re not — they just in many cases don’t completely work, and we — it’s so easy to get ahead of ourselves as a company and forget that. So going back to those basics and just trying to make this thing work for all of us is what you can expect to see from us next.

5. Second Life is Not For Sale

Dousa Dragonash: Is there any truth in the rumour that Second Life is preparing to be bought?

Philip Linden: Dousa…. nope.

I was relieved and delighted to hear Philip’s plan for Second Life.  His positions were very similar to what I speculated in the first episode of Metareality.  I think the Lab is focused in the right direction, and it is good to see Philip is still involved.  I look forward to seeing “the walls break down.”

You can download or read Philip’s speech in it’s entirety here.

*Special thanks to Torley Linden for this recording/transcript.*

This morning, tech enthusiast, blogger, and social media superstar, Robert Scoble (aka the Scobleizer) sent the Second Life community and Twitter world into a frenzy with his post, “Is Second Life about to enter its ‘second life?’” He begins by rehashing the usual “failings” of Second Life.   Yet, even after all his experiences with Second Life, he still got why the initial flow of corporations left SL completely wrong.  However, what followed was more interesting… He announced that tomorrow everything is going to change.

Anyway, one thing happened that I find very interesting: it continued to grow in users, time spent on the site, and dollars spent in it.

On Friday I sat down with Mark to find out why.

First, the users remained very evangelistic. Second, corporations like IBM found other uses for its islands and kept investing (they now use these islands for training and replacements of expensive conferences). Third, the technology has been steadily improving. Fourth, the company has found new ways to bring new users in and make the experience easier to get into.

But he admitted that they had been pretty quiet and avoided doing more PR work until just recently.

Why is that changing this week? You’ll see why tomorrow morning at about 11 a.m. on building43.

But to tease a bit, I find that their new direction, the first part of which you’ll see tomorrow in the video I did with Mark, is interesting and represents a new life for Second Life and its host Linden Labs.

Of course there was an immediate reaction from the Second Life community across Twitter.

Much of the talk centered around whether Linden Lab CEO Mark Kingdon would be discussing the new Second Life viewer affectionately called “Viewer 2.0” by the community.

Regardless.. this is an announcement that you will not want to miss!

So tune in Tomorrow Tuesday February 22, 2010 at 11 a.m. on building43.

Recently, the PBS program, “Frontline,” featured a 90-minute documentary entitled “Digital Nation: Life on the Virtual Frontier” which examined what it means to live, work, socialize, in a digital world.  I first heard about the documentary from media theorist, writer, and digital native Douglas Rushkoff during his recent appearance on the virtual talk show, Metanomics.  On the show, Rushkoff discussed his most recent book Life, Inc. and the Digital Nation documentary which he wrote with the film’s producer and director Rachel Dretzin.  I was excited as he described how segments of the film came together, stating ”It’s not us telling America, ‘This is who you are.  You are in a digital nation.’  It was more kind of our digital nation telling us who they are, feeding us the stories that they wanted to see covered.”  (watch the full Metanomics episode here)

Unfortunately, when I tuned in I was saddened, disappointed, and frustrated. It’s not that the piece wasn’t interesting or well done, it was just smothered with this overwhelming feeling of inevitable doom.  I wasn’t the only one who felt this way.  Professor Robert Bloomfield who optimistically hosted Rushkoff’s aforementioned appearance on Metanomics just a few days before the show aired, now wrote on the show’s blog, “The emotional thrust of the piece is clearly that life on the virtual frontier is frightening, dysfunctional, and spells the end of all that is good and wholesome.”

I could easily write pages on how I think this documentary asked the wrong questions, how I think a similar program probably aired decades ago with an identical warning about television, how many of us use computers all day long at work and no one calls us addicts, or how at one point I got up and yelled at a dazed mother to stop mourning over her “addicted” son and do some parenting… but I’ve seen many great blog posts discussing all these points and more.  The segment that I haven’t seen discussed enough is the segment on virtual worlds.

The virtual worlds section begins with an interview with Second Life creator Philip Rosedale.  While Rosedale does a great job sharing his visions and enthusiasm, Ruschkoff’s explanation of the fundamental question, what is Second Life, misses the mark.  Ruschkoff says,  “Second Life is an immersive 3D online universe.  You make a character called an avatar, and then you live in that worlds as that person.”   I can’t speak for all Second Life users, but for me, my avatar is not a character.  I also don’t “live” in Second Life, but when I am in-world, I don’t “live as that person.”  My avatar is simply an extension of myself, a 3D representation of me.

Almost as bad as the explanation, is the machinima footage of the virtual world.  There are multiple clips of Ruschkoff’s avatar hopping around in different poorly build locations as he tries to fly.   These are followed by numerous clips of avatars dancing in various locations, and then more dancing, and after that, still more dancing.  In another clip, you see several well known and high profile avatars, like Pooky Amsterdam,  standing around drinking.  Pooky is the avatar behind two of Second Life’s biggest live television shows as part of her award winning production company, PookyMedia.  Yet, despite this, there is no high quality machinima, no footage of these shows.. just dancing and drinking and more dancing.  It’s simply inexcusable to me, that they could “document” virtual worlds without showing ANY quality content or machinima.  I’ve heard several people argue that they might not have had the knowledge, nor the funding to hire professionals.  I’m currently working on a project for the University of Southern California in collaboration with PBS Frontline, and we would not even dream of producing anything but the highest quality content and machinima.  The paradoxical part about all of this is that the Frontline program is funded by the MacArthur Foundation, who also funds some of the most amazing projects and discussions in Second Life.

As if this wasn’t bad enough, Ruschkoff joins the list of uniformed reporters who covered the “failures” of Second Life stating, “For awhile, companies like Coke and Calvin Klein, thinking Second Life would be the next big thing, opened virtual outposts there.   It didn’t work.  Marketing real goods in virtual worlds never really took off.”  The BBC also published a similar uninformed and angled story (just about four months ago) employing the same premise and even using identical images of the closed virtual American Apparel store.  In a response to the BBC, Wagner James Au stated, “It’s astounding any credible media outlet would cite the experiences of American Apparel and Reuters’ ill-fated SL bureau of two-three years ago as if they were relevant to Second Life as it is now.”  While those failures are completely irrelevant, they are also not failures of Second Life, but of the delusive developers who relished in all the money companies were impetuously throwing into Second Life, while they created them big superfluous virtual ghost towns.  How Second Life can be used successfully by brands is a whole other blog post, but it is being done more and more all the time now when organizations take the time to understand the platform and the communities that exist there, instead of simply just building the virtual equivalent of a billboard.

Just when I thought the piece couldn’t be any more off base, Ruschoff dares to ask, “Do virtual worlds really bring us together with others, or do they just make being utterly alone a little more bearable?”  Again, I can’t speak for everyone, but I use Second Life often as my company works in-world almost as much as we do outside of Second Life.  It has nothing to do with feeling lonely.  I am surrounded by people in the real world and in the virtual world.  I don’t go in-world because I am lonely, I go there because I get to experience so many amazing things I would never have had the opportunity to do otherwise (like the time I met Yoko Ono in-world) and because I love helping organizations harness the power of these worlds so that together we can create those opportunities for others.

Despite the documentary’s tone of impending doom, Ruschoff closes the film by stating that you can still count him “among the believers.”  While I doubt that resonated with very many viewers after just being subjected to 90 minutes of fear mongering, I was glad to see that he hadn’t actually changed his mind about technology.  With that in mind, I extend to him an invitation to come back to Second Life, leave the sensationalism behind, and for lack of better words.. take a second look.

Though I disagreed with much of this documentary, it was still very though provoking.  It raises many questions which generate important conversations about technology and the future.  I encourage all of you to take the time to watch it in full and come back and share your thoughts.

Burning Life 2009 opened in the virtual world of Second Life this past weekend.  Burning Life is described as a festival of community, art, and fire.  It is it the virtual counterpart of Burning Man.  Though there have long been many unofficial overlaps between the two, this year SL’s Burning Life was officially added as a Burning Man Regional Group.

Burning Life 2009 stretches across 34 SIMs.  While each camp has it’s own special qualities, I found 20 that really stood out to me.

1. **TRANSCENDENCE** – SAND CASTLE STUDIOS

   

   OK, I *may* be a little biased on this one, but when Reed Steamroller and I came up with the concept for this, I never expected the masterpiece he would create.  The architecture is breathtaking when you examine the complexity of the interlocking sculpted prims.  As if that wasn’t inspiring enough, the brilliant colors on the baked textures are captivating.

   http://slurl.com/secondlife/Burning%20Life-Bluewing/216/224/24/

2. Among Other Things – AM Radio

   

   Definitely the most inherently fun and interactive exhibit for an outsider to experience as you help create the art for the installation by adding your own graffiti to the trains, which are gorgeously built and textured by this well known Second Life artist.   As an added incentive, when you enter the camp, you receive the wheat from AM’s famous Wheat Fields exhibit as a gift.

   http://slurl.com/secondlife/Burning%20Life%2DJungo/223/37/24

3. Cabaret of Flames – Poid Mahovlich

   

   Poid Mahovlich combines her deep artistic sense, and her personal experience of the real life Burning Man to bring us this tribal immersive exhibit of fire and art.  The powerful sound of drums will surrounded you upon entering the camp, setting the mood to transport you into the desert, and make you feel like you are actually part of the real Burning Man experience more than any other exhibit.  It digs deep to your core and entrances you.  In addition to the transformative experience, you will be offered a gift of fire fans so you too can participate and become part of the exhibit/experience as you dance on the playa.  Poid talks about her experience and what inspired her to build The Cabaret of Flames in a special mini blog and includes an incredible machinima which is as *must see* as the exhibit itself!

   http://slurl.com/secondlife/Burning%20Life%2DRabbithole/75/163/24

4. Vessel’s Dream – Bryn Oh

   

   This well known artist and machinimagrapher doesn’t just create art, she creates experiences.  Her camp this year is based off her poem Lilac.  Unlike other exhibits, to truly experience her immersive installation, you will have to follow the clues and explore the mythical and symbolic characters and rooms (hint: use your camera).  I highly recommend you take the time to enjoy the challenging and fascinating journey this exhibit will take you on.

   http://slurl.com/secondlife/Burning%20Life%2DBordello/21/147/24

5. America’s Homeless Problem – Viomax

   

   This thought provoking exhibit is beautifully constructed and makes a simple, but strong statement about the homeless problem in America.

   http://slurl.com/secondlife/Burning%20Life%2DPaiute/68/229/25

6. Untitled – Marcus Inkpen

   

   This dreamy installation is one of the most spellbinding exhibits I saw.  It is truly a work of art.  In addition to the in-world version, rockerfaerie has documented it in her ethereal machinima.

   http://slurl.com/secondlife/Burning%20Life%2DBluewing/47/94/24

7. A Mouse Trap Game – Nawlins Streeter

   

   I always thought that the best part about the game “Mouse Trap” was setting up the contraptions and setting them off.  This nostalgic game installation not only features all the working contraptions, but also allows you to set into the game and trigger them yourself.  Roll the dice and have some fun.

   http://slurl.com/secondlife/Burning%20Life-Tungsten/216/31/23

8. Museo del Metaverso  – uqbar. media art culture

   

   Though slightly more commercial then I like to see at Burning Life, this exhibit allows you to search for  anything, and then within seconds Flickr photos of whatever you searched for will surround you!

   http://slurl.com/secondlife/Burning%20Life%2DOpal/219/20/24

9. 42 – Raven Haalan and Isle Lunasea

   

   This intriguing and immersive exhibit is not for those afraid of heights!  Begin the maze of climbing, as the pieces light up beneath you.  As you make your travels to the top, the creators offer words of wisdom and gifts of fire.

   http://slurl.com/secondlife/Burning%20Life%2DDenio/129/175/24

10. Straight Outta Compton – Anonymous Sorbet

    

    This abstract installation reminds me of a whimsical fairytale.  Designed by an up and coming content creator it is beautifully sculpted.

    http://slurl.com/secondlife/Burning%20Life%2DSelenite/146/21/24

11. Light, Space & Aliens – Unknown

    

    Take a break and enjoy the beautiful night sky above the playa and be mesmerized by the glow of the “rare species of SkyWorm”  dancing through the air.  Visit a forgotten cave, and check out a solar system like enviroment, (among other things) at this captivating exhibit of lights.

    http://slurl.com/secondlife/Burning%20Life%2DLimbo/166/30/33

12. Rezzed.TV at Burning Life – Itazura Radio

    

    This exhibit is not just a great build, but also home to some of the best programing in Second Life.  With lots of events and tapings going on here through out the week, stay tuned to the Rezzed.TV Twitter feed to see your favorites live at Burning Life.

    http://slurl.com/secondlife/Burning%20Life%2DLeadville/118/195/24

13. The Cambrian Explosion – Sledge Roffo

    

    The creator describes the Cambrian Explosion as “the seemingly rapid appearance of most major groups of complex animals around 530 million years ago, as evidenced by the fossil record.”  This is one spectacular and colorful explosion you must see first hand.

    http://slurl.com/secondlife/Burning%20Life%Double%20Hot/74/86/26

14. Gulliver’s Travel Scene – Ub Yifu and Copan Falta

    

    This amazing recreation of a Gulliver’s Travel scene is extraordinary.  Not only can you walk into and explore the oversized installation, there are also multiple pose balls placed around for you to become part the the exhibit itself.

    http://slurl.com/secondlife/Burning%20Life%3%20mile/234/122/26

15. Burning Life Watchtower Camp – Cya, Lavia Dufaux, DeionPT Saunders

    

    This fun and comical exhibit features little scenes such as “BL-Evolution,” “Apple Accident,” and “Surfing Squirrel.”  As if those weren’t enough the installation also features a watchtower with a working (and fast!) lift to the top so you can enjoy the view over the Playa.  It also has swings for you to enjoy in the sky as well.

    http://slurl.com/secondlife/Burning%20Life%2DNightingale/137/148/24

16. Soul Evolution – Liz Gealach

    

    Creator Liz Gealach says, “Life is a journey of learning.  What we learn in this lifetime will help our soul evolve.  In the brief in between moments before we begin a new life journey what do we have a chance to reflect on and learn. “   With her celestial installation she calls you to come, learn, reflect,  and explore what your soul is here to learn in this life.  The exhibit also features some fantastic quotes from great thought leaders throughout history.

    http://slurl.com/secondlife/Burning%20Life%2DRabbithole/249/159/24

17. Eridu Society Airship Outpost – Unknown

    

    Described as a place for airship pilots to rest up, get refreshed, and re-supply on their adventures and expeditions.  With a quite little cafe and a looking tower, this installation brings a steampunk feel to the playa.  Don’t forget to check out the brand new Steampunk Pro’s on display there.

    http://slurl.com/secondlife/Burning%20Life%2DLeadville/183/155/24

18. Evolution of A Single Heart – Dagmar & TRMac Kohime

    

    This exhibit features several artistic representations of the stages of evolution of a single heart, beginning at birth.  Very creative and expressively articulate.

    http://slurl.com/secondlife/Burning%20Life%2DSulphur/21/84/24

19. Roswell Revisited – Unknown

    

    The creator sets the scene for this installation by saying, “A ship has crashed in the desert. As we look inside we find not aliens, but humans, growing in pods. A “man” stumbles from the wreckage, pleading for help. This is our future, the TRUTH of Roswell. And it will all be covered up… “  This curious installation offers an antithesis look to what you might have expected.    Well crafted and textured.

    http://slurl.com/secondlife/Burning%20Life%2DElko/14/16/24

20. ..Out of the Box Not Allowed? – Cienega Soon

    

    Creator Cienega Soon calls for Revolution with this exhibit which instructing visitors to get out of their boxes and create, change, and revolt.

    http://slurl.com/secondlife/Burning%20Life%2DZero%20Mile/149/110/24

More of my photos of these exhibits and more can be viewed here.

On Friday October 9th 2009, Yoko Ono was in Iceland for the annual lighting of the Imagine Peace Tower, a tribute to her late husband and former Beatle, John Lennon.

Although I am a longtime fan of John Lennon and the Imagine Peace Tower, like many, I have never been able to travel to Iceland to witness the lighting.   This year,  I was privileged to share in the collective experience of the lighting of the Tower and meet Yoko Ono all from the comfort of my home through the magic of Second Life.

Shortly after the annual lighting in Iceland, Yoko joined us in Second Life to unveil a new Imagine Peace Tower and begin a new tradition in the online virtual world.

Yoko began the event by thanking us all for witnessing the unveiling of the Tower.  She continued,

“They say, if all the people in China were to jump up and down at the same time,
the axis of the globe would shift.

Well, we are here together. Billions of us.
Standing at the dawn of a new age, determined to shift the axis of the world to health, peace, and joy by loving and caring for all lives on Earth.

Some of us are here physically, some are joining us in spirit.
Some of us are imprisoned, tortured, maimed, and silenced, but they are also here today with us.
Some of us have passed away before being able to enjoy a new age of love and peace.

But we are all here today standing together with hope.

The light is the light of wisdom, healing and empowerment.

Even in the moments of confusion, fear, and the darkness of your souls,
Hold the light in your hearts,
And you will know that you are not alone,
That we are all together in seeing the light of peace.”

She then thanked the residents of Second Life again and explained,

“IMAGINE PEACE TOWER was visualized with love, and realized by love.
It is a gift from John and Yoko and the people of Second Life to the world.
I know that John is with us, too, in this land of Nutopia,
happy that the light tower is finally a reality after 40 years.

Let’s make a wish as the light goes on.
Let’s send light to each other and say I love you!

i ii iii

John, we love you!”

After her speech Yoko stuck around to dance and converse with us until the virtual dawn came (about an hour after the lighting) in what was surely one of the most incredible events in SL history.  Despite of all us being so far apart, in different countries all around the globe, there was an undeniable feeling of connectedness.

I can’t imagine ever having the opportunity to (virtually) dance with Yoko Ono or hear about the origins of things like the “i ii iii” from her speech.  If you attended the event, you would have learned that one of Yoko’s artist creations (she was a famous artist long before she ever met Lennon) was the Onochord.  The Onochord is a magical little torch on a keychain that is used to send a message of love.  It is send by repeatly blinking the light, with the frequencies and durations spelling out the message I Love You.

I                 i            one flash
LOVE           ii           two flashes
YOU            iii          three flashes

You can see Yoko demonstrate the use of the Onochord here.

In addition to receiving your own virtual version of the Onochord,  if you visit Yoko’s Imagine Peace Tower island in Second Life you will also find:

• Visitors Center – where you can watch documentaries about the projects featured on the island, read books about Imagine Peace and the Imagine Peace Tower, get postcards, buttons, and T-shirts for your avatar (this is also where the Onochords are located).
• Wish Trees – outside the visitors center and all around the island you can find wish trees.  Yoko said that as a child in Japan she would go to a temple and write out a wish on a piece of thin paper and tie it around the branch of a tree there.  From afar all the wishes tied to the tree would look like white flowers blossoming.  Her wish trees started in 1981 after Lennon’s death and she says she has collected over 700,000 peace wishes from people all over the world since then.  At these special Second Life wish trees you can make your wish and it will also be sent to the real life Imagine Peace Tower in Iceland.
• Imagine Peace Tower Wishing Well – Like the original Imagine Peace Tower the virtual Peace Tower also features a virtual Wishing Well inscribed with “Imagine Peace” in 24 different languages.
• Hot Spring Spa – The real Imagine Peace Tower runs completely on Geothermal Energy (from naturally occurring hot water) in Iceland where volcanic springs are quite common.  Visit this virtual spring to relax, mediate, and enjoy the view.
• Hot Air Balloons, Clouds, and Boats – These items are found around the SIM for you to use to further explore the island.  The hot air balloons were inspired by John and Yoko’s film ‘Apotheosis” which was all filmed from a hot air balloon.  The clouds were inspired by the writings from Yoko’s Grapefruit and her album artwork for Imagine and Live Peace in Toronto.  The clouds are located at 125m, 225m, 300m, and 500m in the sky above the Wishing Well.  Take them all the way to the top platform, then parachute back down.

Bernard Herzog, the creator of the virtual Peace Tower expressed that he feels it is a great honor for Second Life to host the only other Imagine Peace Tower outside Iceland, but that it also seems appropriate considering the global reach of Second Life.  I couldn’t agree more.  Thank you Bernard and Yoko for the experience which was truly indescribable and something I will treasure for a long time to come as we all carry out our wishes for peace.

If you can imagine a world of peace
If you can imagine the possibility
Then it can be true.  – John Lennon

www.IMAGINEPEACE.com

You can visit the Virtual Imagine Peace Tower in Second Life – SLURL Teleport Link

More pictures from the event here.

The biggest news coming out of the Second Life Community Convention this year was delivered by Linden Lab Chief Product Officer Tom Hale, aka T. Linden, who announced a dramatic user experience roadmap and gave a tour of several of its features including a new SL viewer and website.

The new SL viewer, which will debut later this year, was designed with user experience in mind. The navigation is a updated so that you can easily go “back” and forth between previous locations and easily use SLURLs as locations. The most used features of the viewer are clustered into a single drawer that opens to a right hand panel and then can be shut when you are not using it, in order to unclutter the display. It promises “no more panel proliferation”.

Also coming by the end of this quarter is a vastly improved Second Life website with a machinima to entice visitors, an interactive keyword searchable map, and an improved XStreet SL shopping experience. They also updated the registration process and provided new users with a PDF quick start guide. The user dashboard is also updated as well and will eventually be your social networking homepage.

Another feature that was previewed was Mesh Support. Since this is a more complicated feature, we have had our Chief Creative Officer breakdown this feature, and you can read about it here.

Lastly, over the course of next year interactive web media files displayable in SL will be introduced. These will be in the form of collaboratively documents like being able to work on a Google Doc with other avatars, and in additional Flash-based media applications like YouTube. A “LL Media” API plug-in for media is also expected to allow for developers to create their own media plugins as well.

UPDATE - Tom has details on the “LL Media” API plug-in and how you can get the code up on the official blog.

Related Posts:

• Second Life Launches its New Website
• SLCC 2009 Wrap-Up
• Virtual Machinima for Social Good
• Everything You Need To Know About Second Life Viewer 2.0 (Beta)
• CNBC Segment on Business & Social Media Highlights LinkedIn, Second Life, and More
• Powered by Contextual Related Posts

]]> http://changingworldsbuildingdreams.com/second-life-2-0-tom-hale-presents-the-new-second-life-viewer-website-and-interactive-web-media-at-slcc/feed 10 http://changingworldsbuildingdreams.com/imperfect-angel-grand-opening-event http://changingworldsbuildingdreams.com/imperfect-angel-grand-opening-event#comments Thu, 13 Aug 2009 10:44:06 +0000 Gianna Borgnine http://changingworldsbuildingdreams.com/?p=268

PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Imperfect Angel Announces Grand Opening Celebration

Imperfect Angel, Second Life’s newest exclusive nightclub and entertainment venue, will celebrate its grand opening event this Thursday August 13, showcasing their venue, art, fashion, and a night packed with giveaways, contests, live music, and more.

Angelius, Second Life, Thursday August 13, 2009 – After many weeks of anticipation and planning, Sand Castle Studios is pleased to announce the Grand Opening event for Second Life’s newest exclusive nightclub and entertainment venue – Imperfect Angel. Join us this Thursday, August 13th, 2009 on the new Angelius SIM from 6:00pm-9:00pm PST/SLT for an evening of contests, giveaways, and some of the best live music Second Life has to offer.

Over three hours of live music is scheduled for the grand opening event. The night will kick off with the SL AMA winner for “Best Rock Musician” Allister Westland. Allister’s performance will be followed by his good friend, and fellow SL musician Edward Kyomoon. As a RL recording studio engineer Edward has worked on hundreds of indie and major label albums. He brings an amazing sound and is one of the rising stars of the SL music scene, with fantastic covers and original hits, his performance is a treat you won’t want to miss! The event won’t stop there though! Maximillion Kleene, one of Second Life’s most popular and beloved entertainers, will be headlining the event at 8:00 PM. Max has a vast repertoire of acoustic rock, alternative, classic and contemporary music. This talented performer from Niagra Falls, Canada puts on a magical show not to be missed. The Imperfect Angel dancers will also be there and looking heavenly in fabulously designed uniforms created by SL fashionista Solange Cerveau of Solange Designs.

The club’s attraction goes far beyond entertainment as well. “The thought process behind the Imperfect Angel was to create something unique, beautiful, and elegant amongst the stoic. We have really strived to provide the ultimate experience to all of your senses while promoting your need for fun and excitement,” says owner Mykael Sciavo

This beautifully designed new club features classic architecture and an elegantly sculpted angelic statue perfect for photography. It has a spacious dance floor where you can rock out to the best live music and DJ’s in Second Life. A gorgeous bar and seating area will allow you the perfect vantage point to sit, have a few drinks and chat while you overlook the dance floor. Or, if you feel like getting away from the crowds and nightlife, climb the spiral staircase to the roof. From there, you can enjoy a romantic and breathtaking view of the SIM while you relax by the pool or lounge in the hot tub.

Join us to experience it all!

This event will be held in the virtual world of Second Life at Angelius (106, 129, 22)
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Angelius/106/129/22/

For Further Information Contact:

Gianna Borgnine, Chief Executive Officer
Sand Castle Studios
www.changingworldsbuildingdreams.com
gianna@changingworldsbuildingdreams.com

or

Nika Dreamscape, Brand Strategist
Sand Castle Studios
www.changingworldsbuildingdreams.com
nika@changingworldsbuildingdreams.com

About Imperfect Angel :
Imperfect Angel owner, Mykael Sciavo, realized that something was missing. He had a specific vision in mind for a club that would stand apart from the rest. Together with Amore Ferina and Prynze Decosta, he began to develop the plans for that special club that would be classy and elegant, with the theme of Angels embracing their imperfections. And thus, the plans for Imperfect Angel began to form. For the latest news and a calendar of upcoming events visit – http://theimperfectangels.blogspot.com/

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Related Posts:

• Total Bliss Virtual Garden Party in Second Life
• The Top Five Points to Take Away from Philip Rosedale’s SL7B Address
• Linden Lab to Support Second Life Art (But First They Have to Define It)
• Gianna’s Second Life Event Picks 1/8-1/12
• Second Life and the Public Good Community Challenge
• Powered by Contextual Related Posts

]]> http://changingworldsbuildingdreams.com/imperfect-angel-grand-opening-event/feed 0 http://changingworldsbuildingdreams.com/virtual-relay-for-life-raises-over-270000usd http://changingworldsbuildingdreams.com/virtual-relay-for-life-raises-over-270000usd#comments Sat, 01 Aug 2009 15:24:29 +0000 Gianna Borgnine http://changingworldsbuildingdreams.com/?p=230

Relay for Life in Second Life, originally uploaded by grace mcdunnough.

Relay for Life, the signature fundraising event to benefit the American Cancer Society, recently ended its fifth and most successful campaign in the virtual world of Second Life after having raised over a quarter of a million US dollars in support of cancer research.

Fayandria & Morgan, originally uploaded by Ka Rasmuson.

It may seem odd to be involved in a walkathon event, without leaving your home or doing any actual walking, but Fayandria Foley, the Relay for Life of Second Life Event Chair who has participated in the virtual event for four very successful years (three as the Event Chair) says it is also very powerful. She describes it as a “very intense mind to mind connecting with people at a moment of raw.”  She says it is “more emotional and has a stronger impact” then doing the event at a real world location. “You are home in your comfort zone and you are Relaying; walking the track, seeing others there with you, hearing the songs, and reading the memories. There is nothing to pull you off of the experience.”

RFL 2009, originally uploaded by Daniel Voyager.

Foley joined the cause after receiving her own diagnosis of cancer. “I heard I had cancer, went to my car, and waited. I was going to kill myself; I couldn’t face cancer.” Foley says Relay saved her life. “I saw a Relay event at a High School across a street. At the time, I didn’t even know what it was. Those Relayers grabbed me up and gave me the desire to love my life and to live it; with cancer, but it live it without fear.”

RFL sculpture, originally uploaded by kumi kuhr.

Foley, along with the many virtual volunteers, did a fantastic job of making this year Relay nothing short of spectacular. The theme of the event was “One World, One Hope.” It was the largest Second Life Relay to date, with a track running 11,907 meters long, winding through 37 beautifully crafted SIMs. More than 1,900 avatars on over 120 teams completed a combined total of 2,155 laps, during the 24 hour virtual walkathon.

RFL Tranquility sim, originally uploaded by kumi kuhr.

Foley, who after this year is stepping down as SL RFL Event Chair said,

“This was our largest and most successful Relay ever. We have put Relay for Life of Second Life on the map not only in Second Life, but also in real life. Gwinnett County Relay For Life (one of the largest perennial events in the USA, with more than 6,000 participants raising more than one million dollars) may be the biggest Relay for Life and the largest money maker in real life, but they don’t have participants from over 26 different countries, a survivor camp on the moon, a roller coaster, or sailing activities, they don’t have tinies and furries, they don’t have the ability to fly and to teleport from one side of the track to the other, and above all they don’t have you! We are truly One World!”

Snapshot_1964, originally uploaded by Miss D Ember.

Second Life resident and Relay participant Kumi Kuhr said, “For me RFL is a truly public event in SL.. and is the most wonderful time of year to meet all types of people united for a common purpose.” One reason this occurs is because of the numerous public campaigns that are thrown by each Relay group. The campaigns feature a wide range of events for the Second Life community to participate from live musical performances, to specialized contests, to art and clothing auctions.

RFL Auction, originally uploaded by Juko Tempel.

Another reason this virtual community is strong is that Second Life offers a way for patients and caregivers to feel less isolated. Many times they cannot leave their homes or participate in a Relay event at their real location so this virtual event gives them to have the opportunity to do their part, fight, and have their voice be heard.

RFL Tranquility, originally uploaded by redesigns.

Many people call the virtual world of Second Life a game. Events like Relay for Life and the communities it unites prove not only that Second Life is not a game, but it also has the ability to positively impact, change, and make a difference in our real lives. I applaud everyone who participated in this virtual event whether it was by walking, donating, designing, contributing, etc.

RFL walk 2009 , originally uploaded by Kyla Radikal.

Next year’s Second Life campaign runs from March through July 2010, but you don’t have to wait until then to fight back against cancer. Visit www.cancer.org and get involved today!

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• Second Life and the Public Good Community Challenge
• Realistic Sculpted Valentine’s Day Gift Pack (for Second Life)
• How I Met Yoko Ono in Second Life
• Total Bliss Virtual Garden Party in Second Life
• Gianna’s Second Life Event Picks 1/8-1/12
• Powered by Contextual Related Posts

]]> http://changingworldsbuildingdreams.com/virtual-relay-for-life-raises-over-270000usd/feed 1 http://changingworldsbuildingdreams.com/obama-administrations-deputy-cto-beth-noveck-takes-questions-from-second-life http://changingworldsbuildingdreams.com/obama-administrations-deputy-cto-beth-noveck-takes-questions-from-second-life#comments Tue, 21 Jul 2009 15:38:39 +0000 Gianna Borgnine http://changingworldsbuildingdreams.com/?p=198

White House Deputy Chief Technology Officer, Beth Noveck, recently participated in a mixed reality event to promote her new book, Wiki Government: How Technology Can Make Government Better, Democracy Stronger, and Citizens More Powerful. The event began with Noveck presenting on how technology and citizen participation can help the government become more effective at solving the complex social and economic problems we face today as described in the book. Noveck then attempted to highlight this by taking questions, not only from those in the audience in New York, but also from avatars in the virtual world of Second Life.

Noveck herself is no stranger to Second Life. NWN’s Wagner James Au calls her, “one of the first academics to use SL as an educational platform.” Her virtual avatar, Lawlita Fassbinder, was created in the early years of SL in 2004. He also notes that she is the very first to count the White House as her office address. There she has been working hard on open government and using social media tools to try and get citizens talking about public policy. She discussed some of the work she has been doing with New York Times journalist, Saul Hansell last month.

During the event, while answering a question from Second Life avatar Tara Yates about synchronous vs. asynchronous, Noveck said this of Second Life,

“To the Second Life community, there is an opportunity for people to be talking about and looking at the role that virtual worlds can play in helping to create jobs, do simulations and job trainings.  It’s so desperately needed.  And we’d love to hear from (them).  It’s the kind of thing that.. can only take place if people work together in real time esstenially building job training facilites and simulations that can be used for job trainings and education and other social uses.  So, I think it’s not a matter of just what’s available at the desk of folks who are in the EPA or in the White House, it really is what we can do with these social tools to solve the challenges that we’re all facing that are not simply a government issue.”

Noveck also called for a movement towards a “culture of engagement” stating that,

“The most important things is when we can demonstrate that it’s possible to people who have not been accustomed to collerbrating and taking advice and looking outside their institutional boundaries for help.  When we start to do that, it creates a culture shift that I think all boats rise on.”

In closing, Noveck stated her believe is that technology is important for accountability and continued open policy by saying that,

“It’s one thing to have a stated policy like the Freedom of Information Act that says the default rule will be that all government information will be open and proactively made available.  It’s another thing to have a data.gov platform and to have that data up there, and to have a dashboard which shows you how much data is up there, and who’s releasing it, and who’s putting it out.  That picture is worth a powerful thousand plus words…..  If the number of data sets on data.gov stays fixed and doesn’t go up over the next year, people will begin to notice that…  The hope is once you create these things in practice, and make them visible and begin to create a culture that expects it…  it’s going to be very hard to put back in the bottle.  The technology is really the thing that’s helping us to do that, so it is hopefully the ability to do more of that and to change the way these institutions work towards being more colleraborative and more open will hopefully be, I’d like to think, the great technological challenge of the next ten years.”

As we noted in an earlier post, the Obama administration has been actively seeking out, researching, and testing virtual worlds for these types of opportunities.

The event received much positive feedback, with the audience feeling like the level of engagement was impressive. It will be interesting to see how the US government moves forward within virtual worlds.

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• The Obama Team Officially Gets a Second Life
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• Second Life and the Public Good Community Challenge
• What Everyone Needs To Know About (Second) Life “On The Cloud”
• Powered by Contextual Related Posts

]]> http://changingworldsbuildingdreams.com/obama-administrations-deputy-cto-beth-noveck-takes-questions-from-second-life/feed 0 http://changingworldsbuildingdreams.com/the-obama-team-officially-gets-a-second-life http://changingworldsbuildingdreams.com/the-obama-team-officially-gets-a-second-life#comments Fri, 17 Jul 2009 23:59:51 +0000 Gianna Borgnine http://changingworldsbuildingdreams.com/?p=154

Since even before entering the White House, the Obama administration has used a multitude of social networking and communications tools, such as Twitter, YouTube, and of course, blogs in order to better interact with the public.

The administration has been slowly starting to add virtual worlds to this list.

Last week, when President Obama spoke to a live audience in Ghana, his address was streamed to audiences in the virtual worlds of Second Life and Metaplace. After the speech there was a virtual discussion, led by a panel featuring Kenton Keith, the former ambassador to Qatar, and African historian Professor Tim Burke. Guests were also treated to the musical stylings of Derrick Ashong, also known as DNA, who rose to YouTube fame during the presidential campaign.

This event was announced by CBS News and organized as an official White House event by the U.S. State Department. It was documented by award winning journalist and machinimographer Bernhard Drax (aka Draxtor Despres in SL). We at Sand Castle Studios were privileged to be able to work on this project with Drax. You can see some of our photos from the event and behind the scenes, here.

The event was meant to facilitate discussion and offer an opportunity for everyone to take part, not only in the event itself, but also in the message. In the machinima, the avatar of William May, Director of Innovative Engagement Worldwide for the U.S. State Department explains further how they used these new technologies to establish reach. Underneath all of this, the event was also sort of a test run to see how this mix of virtual worlds and social media might be used and how effective they would be.

The mix obviously blended quite well, because it was one of the most tweeted, facebooked, and SMS discussed events since Obama took office and quickly became viral even topping the trending topic list on Twitter.

The impact of the event didn’t stop there though. Excerpts from Drax’s machinima were presented yesterday in Washington, D.C. by Scott Sechser (AKA Scott Linden in SL) in front of military and civil members of the administration. Present for the presentation, was White House deputy Chief Technology Officer, Beth Noveck.

Novek has since announced that she will be hosting her own virtual event in Second Life this coming Monday, July 20th. The event features a simulcast of Noveck presenting her new book, WIKI GOVERNMENT: How Technology Can Make Government Better, Democracy Stronger, and Citizens More Powerful. Following the presentation, Noveck will take these kinds of virtual events one step further, by allowing questions not only from participants there in person, but also from those viewing the presentation in Second Life!

No one knows yet what the future holds for the Obama adminstration and virtual worlds, but what we are sure of, is that they are actively seeking out, researching, and testing these opportunities.

It will be interesting to see the Second Life community’s response to these types of progressions from the US government. Already there has been some criticism from the “residents” of Second Life about these events. Avatar Crap Mariner voiced his disapproval in a blog post entitled, “Obama wasn’t in Second Life and Metaplace… just the manipulation machine that put him in office.” Writer Tateru Nino who has written for some of the most prestigious and well-read blog sites about virtual worlds including Second Life Insider, Massively, and New World Notes said, “Anyone can stream a video. We could have a famous political figure every week… Showing a video of a President in your house doesn’t mean that the President was there.”

What these residents seem to be missing is that we all should have an invested interest in the US government or any government for that matter using these types of platforms as a means to connect to the public.

Virtual worlds like Second Life offer a prime opportunity to engage using two-way channels of communication and by providing a collaborative environment in which people can come together on all levels, to form innovative solutions that can actually make a difference.

At this time, many organizations are not aware of the power of virtual worlds and like all new platforms it will take time for them to be completely adopted by the mainstream. During this time, organizations will begin to dabble in these platforms. You can not expect them to dive head first into something that is completely unfamiliar to them. In order to ensure continued growth, we must encourage, not criticize, their efforts in order foster these relationships which eventually will lead to the full on engagement that we are seeking.

These beginning steps by the Obama administration give us hope that soon we may all actually be able to take part and have our voices heard in an open government that is a true reflection of democracy.

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• Obama Administration’s Deputy CTO Beth Noveck Takes Questions from Second Life
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• Second Life 2.0: Tom Hale Presents the New Second Life Viewer, Website, and Interactive Web Media at SLCC
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]]> http://changingworldsbuildingdreams.com/the-obama-team-officially-gets-a-second-life/feed 5 http://changingworldsbuildingdreams.com/total-bliss-garden-party http://changingworldsbuildingdreams.com/total-bliss-garden-party#comments Sat, 09 May 2009 06:22:31 +0000 Gianna Borgnine http://changingworldsbuildingdreams.com/total-bliss-garden-party

Total Bliss Garden Party, originally uploaded by Gianna Borgnine.

PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TOTAL BLISS Relaunches with Summer’s first Garden Party

Total Bliss, one of Second Life’s oldest established landscaping companies, will relaunch this weekend, showcasing their furniture, gifts, textures, and landscaping branches.

Total Bliss, Second Life, Tuesday May 5,^, 2009 – Total Bliss will celebrate their relaunch on their new SIM this weekend with the season’s first Garden Party. The Party will be held in the gardens, commencing at 1:30pm PST/SLT on Saturday May 9th.

The Garden Party will kick off with live streamed entertainment by well known Second Life performer Maximillion Kleene. Max has a vast repertoire of acoustic rock, alternative, classic and contemporary music. This talented performer from Niagra Falls, Canada puts on a magical show not to be missed.

After Max, stick around for more music from our DJ and enjoy one of the most beautiful backdrops in Second Life, perfect for photography. Explore the SIM and browse the high quality, luxury, furniture, garden & landscaping. Also take this opportunity to make your Mothers’ Day purchases from the gift, floral, or other lines. Don’t forget to grab a gift bag!

“With a new navigation system, and beautiful atmospheric surroundings, we aim to make Total Bliss not just another store, but a beautiful romantic place to hang out at.” – Leah Salome, Owner of Total Bliss

This event will be held in the virtual world of Second Life at Total Bliss (81, 128, 24)
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Total%20Bliss/81/128/24

For Further Information Contact:

Gianna Borgnine, Chief Executive Officer, Sand Castle Studios
gianna@chaningworldsbuildingdreams.com

or

Arabella Steadham, Brand Strategist, Sand Castle Studios
arabella@changingworldsbuildingdreams.com

About Total Bliss:

Established since 2005, Total Bliss features high quality, luxury, furniture, gifts, landscaping and textures. They showcase thousands of stylish, unusual and contemporary designs for your dream home! As well as thousand of high quality full perm textures at the Texture Shop. http://leahsalome.wordpress.com/

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