So my first experience with Second Life was an almost fail. However, it was a true testament to the unreliability of technology some days (or even just some hours), so I didn't hold it against Second Life. I had a hard time figuring out how to get where I needed to go, so I'll likely have to have people teleport me around until I figure out how to search for places I want to go. And then things when all screwy and we couldn't hear each other and then my images weren't coming through the way they were supposed to... and so we called it a night. So goes technology, especially at a time of day when I'm sure there are lots of users on at a given time...
Second time around was MUCH smoother... and I actually felt like I knew something-- I was able to teleport people, share notecards, get to CPCC campus (even when I accidentally teleported myself to some other SIM)! I think this gave me a little bit of confidence that I lacked the first time around.. which makes me think that, while the learning curve is obviously a little steeper than I'm used to when it comes to computer programs, I WILL get the hang of it.
My thoughts on Second Life in general: It's a bit weird to me, I must admit. While I definitely see how using this program as a tool could be EXTREMELY useful (I was thinking about the training I've had to travel to other states for and how that practice would be obsolete if everyone had Second Life), people that use it just for leisure baffle me a bit. I can understand the appeal of being able to live as your alter ego in a virtual world... I just know that there's a lot of people who "live" more in Second Life than they do in their real lives. I can just see it taking over someone's life if they let it. But that's the same as any hobby or game, etc. I have many friends that spend hours and hours playing video games, particularly WOW. That seems just as addictive as I know Second Life is for some.
I guess this comes back to a conversation we had with JJ, a Second Life regular. She talked about coming to Second Life and "playing" whereas D.I. talked about how we would be "doing." This is the big difference-- I would use it as a tool, not a game... Or, at least, I would imagine I would use it as a tool more so than a game. I am definitely going to experiment more with Second Life, so maybe I'll change my tune and end up becoming a Life-r ;-)
I think this is DEFINITELY a web 2.0 application. It very well may be the epitome of a Web 2.0 application-- what other programs/websites/tools/applications are you able to communicate and collaborate on this level? As I mentioned, I can already see how Second Life could be used to hold conferences and training sessions where people all around the world to attend. And especially being able to move money around via Second Life-- there's so much that Second Life could be used for that is far from the static web of old. This is literally another WORLD in which people can interact, work, and, ultimately, LIVE if they want (as I alluded to previously).
This is the future of the Internet, of communication, of collaboration. How could it not be? Second Life (or similar programs) afford us the ability to do so much more than we can in our real world, and/or afford us the ability to do what we already do in the real world but for cheaper (ie, previously mentioned meetings, etc, without the necessity of flying half way across the world). And it adds a completely different element than a video conference does. As D.I. mentioned in our meeting in Second Life, the user takes on the avatar-- that image, whether or not it looks like me (or always moves the way I want it to), it IS ME. You develop this connection with this image on the screen. It is a representation of you and BECOMES you versus just simply being your avatar. So I can completely see this being how we move to interact with people. What if, instead of calling someone, we just connect with them in Second Life? So I could be sitting at a coffee shop and meet my friend who lives in Boston in Second Life via my laptop (or, eventually I'm sure, a fully functioning handheld computer). Even more so if they work to continue developing this software where our avatars are more exact representations of us and move with our movements, etc. I could literally have lunch with my friend in Boston, all in a virtual world.
This does allude to a scenario like that of the movie Surrogates. But Surrogates comes back to what I was talking about-- people letting their virtual lives take over their real lives. While it would be interesting to be able to do whatever you wanted with no worry of true repercussions, it still isn't YOU living. As according to the advertisement, you would still feel everything your surrogate "feels"... but I don't know. It's just not the same. I think some things are pleasing because of the experience. And while you may "feel" something through a surrogate, YOU aren't the one actually experiencing it. It would take a trick on your mind to overcome such an issue.
To piggyback on that, I also feel as though our society would become completely pleasure seeking if there were no possible negative effects of any decision we made. If you could try every elicit drug or participate in dangerous activities to get that "natural high" and still feel all the effects without the danger... there are too many people that would abuse that and never do anything they SHOULD be doing. And why would they? I don't know-- the advertisement makes me want to see the movie to see how they answer such issues (or if they try to answer such issues).
I think I could go on and on about all that I'm thinking when it comes to Second Life, virtual worlds, and so forth...
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