Today we figured out how to put our shirts into the boxes by dragging them from our inventory into the content box. I also learned how to wear the shirts after I buy them by dragging them from the object folder into SL and opening the box and selecting wear.
Today I created prims for Shea’s clothing so and placed them on the wall. Most of the clothing boxes on the wall are empty, so people are paying money for them and getting nothing in return so I need to figure out how to get the content in the prims.
In class we explored shopping and making money in Second Life. I searched for freebie stores and bought a lot of free clothing but didn’t find many other things that were free. At one of the stores there were a whole bunch of people there who I began talking to. My avatar was wearing a box for some reason, instead of wearing the clothes I bought he was wearing the box. The other people there quickly caught onto my unfamiliarity and newness to Second Life. They were very helpful and told me how to get the box off and offered me lots of other advice on what to do in Second Life.
In this chapter the author discusses the history of virtual worlds, going as far back to Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” to novels and early video games. The term “virtual” has recently been associated with emerging technology and the computer age. However, as the author states the term is used to describe something that maybe isn’t physically there but can still be experienced in a way that is ‘real’. With the example of books the author explains that the journey one’s mind may take in a book isn’t physically being felt but it is still being experienced in a ‘real way.’ Second Life is another virtual world that has built upon older one’s as technology advances. The interactivity of Second Life and the social aspect of it makes it easier for one to get more immersed in this particular virtual world. Not all virtual world’s have to include lifestyle simulation or the same level of interactivity though, a book or a game of Pong still offer a ‘real’ experience offered through a less physical medium.
The consensus of the class thought second life was “creepy” and for people with nothing better to do. I think the second life audience is probably more non-traditional, I never personally met anyone who is on second life. Radhika mentioned in class that a lot of people in second life are researchers and teenagers and I think that sounds accurate. I can’t imagine too many grown adults have time for this unless it is part of research they are conducting.
The use of real money in second life is what I’m most fascinated about. Everything in second life created and sold by its users, which makes second life unique to the world of “computer games”. While I don’t think second life is a game, it does seem like our class does and it certainly seems to appeal to the same audience as video gamers. The way real money is used gives power to the users to invest in second life in different business ventures and real estate.
http://blogs.bgsu.edu/tjgeorg/chapter-2-assignment/
I haven’t read Chapter yet but it seems to talk about the difference and overlap of virtual and real worlds. I thought Teddy’s remark on how books help create virtual worlds in a reader’s imagination was interesting.
Main points
Second Life groups can be studied anthropologically just like any other group in real life because new users learn from the natives around them in the virtual world.
The bleed through between ‘real life’ and ‘secpnd life’. People in ‘second life’ use real money and some have real jobs in the ‘virtual world’.
Without an ‘actual world’ a ‘virtual world’ can’t exist. A ‘virtual world’ is described as world that “approaches the actual without arriving there.”
Virtual interactions aren’t actual but they are real. Real people in the actual world are carrying out these actions in a virtual environment.
Second Life is not a game. There may be gaming components within the virtual world but no one wins and no score is kept.
My reaction
I think it is interesting how the author discusses the bleed through between real life and second life. This is something I really want to study when I’m in second life. After going through second life and seeing shops where people sell goods they created and going into the sandbox to see creations people were working on I wondered who else was with me in second life. I wondered if these clothing designers did the same in real life or if they had real life jobs anymore. The fact that people are drawn to carry out these actions and identities online must mean these are some extension of how this person sees them self in real life or how they would like to be seen in real life. So far I haven’t done too much in second life, like change my appearance or create anything. I did buy a tuxedo jacket, which I think could be my way of being a smooth James Bond type in second life but I am curious to see how Raleigh Khandr develops over the semester and what that says about me.
When I first entered Second Life I was not really sure what to do. At first, someone came up to me speaking Spanish and asking me questions and I quickly realized that this was a global world I was interacting with. I wonderedaround the first stage, trying out what all the different buttons do. I figured out how to interact with objects, like sitting down in a chair or purchasing a piece of art, but other than that I feel like a foreigner in a very strange place. I did go and explore BGSU’s Second Life campus and was surprised to see that it looked nothing like campus but I saw that there were classrooms so I guess you can take an online class in Second Life.
I’m a senior and journalism major from Twinsburg, Ohio. I’m very interested in technology, writing, making videos and sports. My second life name is Raleigh Khandr.
One artifact that can have barriers for elderly people are computers. Many elderly people with difficulty seeing like my grandparents can’t use a computer because looking at the monitor strains their eyes and they can’t read text. They can’t really take advantage of the new technology if they have vision problems and haven’t grown up with computers. There are aren’t many objects in society comparable to computers now, except cell phones, which most elderly people are not familiar with. This makes it very difficult to learn how to use one. In order to learn how to use one the elderly must go to a library or senior center where they may have classes on how to use it. Not having access to or knowing how to use a computer severely limits the amount of information they can receive. Certain specific information they may be looking for may not be available other than the Internet. It is hard to just rely on what TV, newspapers or community fliers might tell you. The Internet makes it much easier to find exactly what you need by searching for it. I think this inability to use computers by the elderly takes a lot of power away from them and gives it to younger people who know to use the technology. For example if have been a newspaper designer for years and can’t learn how to design a newspaper using computer programs like InDesign, you will probably lose your job to someone who can work the new and more efficient technology.
