"When you are in Second Life, do you pretend to be someone you are not?" This is a question that a college teacher who holds classes in Second Life asks his students. This brings up a hugely important question in virtual worlds and depending on how he meant it, could indicate a fundamental misunderstanding…
Tag: second life
SLCC 2009 Day two
Day two of the Second Life Community Conference went smoothly. Attendees arrived, were issued their badges and SLCC teeshirts, and proceeded to Grand Ballroom for the morning’s keynote speaker, the legendary technology visionary Ray Kurzweil. However, Kurzweil wasn’t there. At least not in person. He was in Second Life, and delivering his talk via…
Friday Night at SL6B
If you harbor any doubts about the creative talent among Second Life members, be sure to visit SB6L, Second Life’s sixth birthday celebration, this weekend. Even if you harbor no doubts and just want a good time, stop in this weekend. The exhibits will remain in place through July 6, 2009, but the performances and…
Lounge on a virtual Puerto Vallarta beach
Rent an adobe bungalow on a Puerto Vallarta beach, pray in a Jalisco cathedral, buy Mexican arts and crafts, or ride on a donkey-drawn wagon – it’s all available in Second Life‘s Opera Joven sim, which reproduces some key parts of Jalisco, Mexico. Opera Joven is a Jalisco cultural non-government organization (NGO) that was founded…
Islamic holy site in Second Life
Recently I wrote about the Dubai Womens College‘s Second Life campus. Today I’m writing about another Islamic presence in Second Life, Al Haram Al Makki, a reproduction of Masjid al-Haram (the Grand Mosque), the desination of the legendary Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca. From all accounts Masjid al-Haram is a magnificent structure. You can…
The darkly post-cyberpunk city of Hangars Liquides
The Hangars Liquides sim, home of the French music label Hangars Liquides, also known as HL, isn’t yet complete, but it’s already amazing. Djehan Kidd, creator of the sim, describes it as "Post Cyberpunk deconstructions… a huge and tangled cyberpunk city, home of RL avant garde music label Hangars Liquides." When you first teleport…
A taste of old Africa – Nigeria in Second Life
I discovered Nigeria in Second Life‘s Saminaka sim when CNN‘s iReporter group in Second Life paid it a visit this week. It’s an interesting place that attempts to recreate the feel of parts of traditional Nigeria, the Nigeria that existed before oil, internet scams, and other modern day problems changed how so many view the…
Second Life’s Mighty Atomic Mine Buster roller coaster
An old fashioned, rickety wooden roller coaster in Second Life? Yes. It’s the "Mighty Atomic Mine Buster" in the Venusian sim. I’ll confess upfront that I’m not a roller coaster fan, either in my first or second lives, but I do appreciate the attention to detail that’s been taken in constructing this 800 meter,…
World War II hero Raoul Wallenberg saved thousands of Jews
Not all war heroes carry weapons and wear a uniform. A few work quietly, behind the scenes, in nondescript offices, where they work to save lives knowing that every day that today could be the day they pay for it with their own life. This is how it was for Swedish diploment Raoul Wallenberg. Stationed…
Second Life’s Great Wall of China
You can walk on the Great Wall of China, or at least your avatar can, in Second Life‘s Mao Island, "Home of the Great Wall of China". You can even buy the complete wall, or parts of it, to erect on your Second Life land! Mao Island, despite having a name that evokes ghosts of…