Comments on: The Obama Team Officially Gets a Second Life

By: Gianna Borgnine

Gianna Borgnine — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 04:41:12 +0000

Hi Maggie! Thanks for commenting. My point wasn’t so much that the critics don’t seem to have a vested interest in their government, but more that instead of criticizing these types of events, you should use them as a platform to say exactly what you just said above and be heard not only by the people, but also by that government. No matter if you approve of the government or not, when *both* sides gather at these types of events the results are transparency. I think that is what we (the people) all want.

By: Joel Whitaker

Joel Whitaker — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 19:54:23 +0000

For more on the event Gianna mentioned, where both Beth Noveck and Scott Sechser/Linden discussed the potential of virtual worlds and serious games, visit http://www.usip.org/events/next-generation-simulations-and-serious-games-peacebuilding. It was an on- and off-line event at the US Insitute of Peace in Washington DC, called “Smart Tools for Smart Power: Simulations and Serious Games for Peacebuilding.”

By: Maggie Darwin

Maggie Darwin — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 12:17:12 +0000

What this writer seems to be missing is the critics *do* have a vested interest in their government, but have already seen that the intention of the current administration’s use of new media is not to “connect to the public” but to try to manipulate that public and pump more air into an already rapidly deflating hero cult. The cult worked fine as long as it was only a political campaign, but now the promise-making department must run in parallel with a promise-keeping department, and both the ends and the means involved with that are not looking so rosy as the picture on the box.

By: The Obama Team Officially Gets a Second Life « iheartsl.com Second Life’s largest community blog

Sat, 18 Jul 2009 03:41:35 +0000

[...] (Click here to read more and see the machinima) [...]

By: Draxtor

Draxtor — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 01:22:34 +0000

Gianna, I thank you for writing this thoughtful post! It is indeed a mystery to me why many SL residents dismiss an important event like this so quickly. Only continuous recognition from the outside world and serious engagement by serious folks, be it the public or private sector, connecting the physical and the virtual realm, showing proof of added value, can lift our beloved platform above a mere playground for letting off creative steam after a hard day at the office. SL residents need to decide what they are trying to achieve with their tendency towards protectionism – why are they sooo afraid that evil corporations or slow bureaucrats are ruining and attempting to control their world if they only think about signing up for an SL account. It does remind me of a 5-year old, who struggles to be independent but ultimately wishes to be rescued by Mommy Nothing wrong with that for a kid, he/she has plenty of opportunity to develop but I am not sure if SL and/or its residents have the TIME