Comments on: Second Life in real life…

By: Adele Ward

Adele Ward — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 11:21:28 +0000

Oh and we will help out anyone who needs a bit of assistance getting used to Second Life, even if it’s just to move around and find places of interest (I’m Jilly Kidd on SL and can be contacted on adele@writtenword.org.uk. And I could help you with tips on the best ways to use SL, whether as an individual or as a business/organisation. At the moment the main problem for publishers going on to SL is that they might not take on the right person to manage their SL presence. It’s like the early days of the Internet – they hire someone with tech knowledge to ‘build’ their area then don’t realise they need to change over to a manager with community building and promotional skills to create a high level of awareness of their presence and to bring traffic to their venue, or promote it in notices, broadcasting and the many methods available on 3D Internet. In fact you need to watch out for some ‘managers’ and ‘agents’ who supposedly manage and promote your presence, if you’re a publisher or author, but really find it in their interest to isolate you on one sim in case you go to another venue and find a manager or agent offering a better service. They tend not to promote events in case other organisers come and offer you a better service too, so they don’t raise awareness of your company or book launch. Hiring the wrong managers and marketing agents has been one of the main causes of businesses and individuals mistakenly feeling SL doesn’t work.

By: Adele Ward

Adele Ward — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 15:52:19 +0000

I’m on SL and I’m Jilly Kidd on there and often bumping into Jon. I’m an author and work in publishing and I think of it as one of the websites and communications tools I use – and that all of these methods work together so it’s not separate but rather it’s a type of website that offers extras. I’ve found it incredibly useful to build up an area for writers and publishers because it’s so easy to use voice for open mics, workshops, book launches etc. I’ve also been able to use it to get into online broadcasting and people help you use the technology so quickly. I had been meaning to learn how to do that for years but on SL people can help in a day. To me it is just a website, a chatroom, a way of communicating around the world like Skype. The advantage is that 3D virtual reality makes it easier for this to feel as if we are in the same room, to be silent sometimes when chatting and not feel uncomfortable. The disadvantage is that people can be tricked into the psychological illusion that it’s another world, separate from the rest of the internet and the outside world. If you manage not to be sucked in, and use it as an addition to Skype, email, websites, real events etc, then it’s a fantastic communications tool.

By: Eamon

Eamon — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 15:20:54 +0000

Heard quite a bit about it too, but how long does it take to get familiar with etc ..

By: Martin

Martin — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 14:26:36 +0000

They’ve done a fantastic job with the video. Right down to the eyes.

By: Cat Bauer

Cat Bauer — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 13:41:47 +0000

Great video — very funny! I’m on Second LIfe, but I’m still feeling my way around, too. Mostly, I fly around naked. I do know other people who are experts, and all I can say is beware — no one is what they seem to be. For example, I know a heavy-set guy in real life who is a beautiful woman in Second Life. My readers (I write YA) don’t seem to be that much into it yet. They are big on Facebook and MySpace.

As a writer, I see all sorts of potential for the future, but that future still seems far away.

By: Krisan Matthews

Krisan Matthews — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 16:45:12 +0000

I’ve heard quite a bit about Second Life, but haven’t had much of a chance to look into it. Sounds like I should give it a go! See you there!