The Click Heard Round the World

Real World Places in Second Life: The Seattle Sim

A couple of years ago, one of the first recreations of a real life building I encountered in Second Life was the Seattle Space Needle, created by Mattias Faulkner.  At the time, I remarked that while the tower itself was impressive, it lacked the context of place, amidst a vibrant Pacific coastal city. 

In March, Harry Woodhen informed me that there was a new sim called "Seattle" that does indeed attempt to capture some more of the flavor of the city.  Follow this link to teleport directly there.  Here are some of my notes from my visit today.

Virtual Cuba versus Real World Cuba

Earlier this month, the metaverse development company Metaversatility launched a new showcase sim "EmVee Cuba" in Second Life (click here to teleport.)  It's a lovely, picturesque island, pushing the envelope on what is possible in SL, with each prim, texture and light placement designed to create an immersive sense of walking through a historic Cuba that never was. The builders are to be congratulated for some fine work.

That said, I can not help but compare this more idealized vision of Cuba with the reality of life over here.  My then girlfriend and I spent a month there in the summer of 2005, and the imagery in virtual Cuba bears only passing resemblance to what we encountered during our travels.

Pics from virtual viewing of Congressional Hearing on virtual worlds today

Interesting hearing on virtual worlds this morning in the US Congress, chaired by internet defender Rep. Ed Markey. I got to watch the hearings from a virtual "Rayburn" conference room with a bunch of press folks and Lindens.

I was surprised that the hearing was mostly a bunch of softballs thrown to Second Life boosters from Linden Lab, TechSoup, IBM and New Media Consortium.  Okay, there were a couple of inevitable questions related to child protection and Jihadists, but overall it was a positive interchange. And I didn't hear any references to gambling or taxation!

A video and text archive is already up at this link, for those that missed it. Meanwhile, here are a few pics...

Tech Museum announces 4 virtual exhibits being rezzed into the real world Tech in San Jose!

A few months ago I blogged about how excited I was to learn that the Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose had launched an open competition for new exhibits for their Second Life counterpart "The Virtual Tech". Apparently the open call for exhibits has gone like gangbusters, with dozens of neat creations now visible at the virtual Tech (click here to teleport.) 

Even more exciting, four of those virtual exhibits are being re-created in the real world Tech Museum in San Jose this June!  The four exhibits are:

• Artist-in-Residence: The Painter – An interactive view of the evolution of a painting over time
• Musical Chairs – A musical carousel where each seat represents different instruments in an orchestra
• Wikisonic – A three dimensional music box where viewers set the “pins” corresponding to the placement of notes on a staff; and
• Connecting Point: Hole in (Virtual) Space – A real life/Second Life portal through which visitors on both sides can collaborate in a variety of games

This was a bold experiment the museum launched, opening up the exhibit creation process to outside amateurs from anywhere in the world.  I played around in the Virtual Tech this afternoon.  I'm really impressed with the level of innovation and creativity exhibited by the entrants. 

Shown here is iVizclone, an exhibit to teach about how the human eye works by capturing and re-creating the image of an avatar that comes in front of the digital lens. I like how they have the "clone" emprisoned hand-to-foot so that it doesn't run loose and wreak havoc as your doppelganger.  (Copybot, anyone?)

Hit the jump for the complete press release...

Virtual Harlem: a 3d immersive homage to the Harlem Renaissance

I got a chance to explore briefly the new Virtual Harlem sim last night (teleport link), the latest in a number of New York City recreations in Second Life.  The brainchild of Dr. Bryan Carter, an assistant literature professor at Central Missouri State University, Virtual Harlem is a "collaborative learning initiative whose purpose is to study the New York Harlem Renaissance through the construction of a collaborative virtual-reality scenario that represents Harlem as it existed in the 1920s and 30s."  Still in development, visitors to the sim can see a three-square-block slice of Harlem during its heyday, including the Savoy Ballroom, the Cotton Club, the Apollo Theater, and the Cotton Club. 

Certainly seems like a great application of virtual 3D technologies -- creating an immersive experience of a historic period complete with period imagery, photos, sounds, music, and architecture. I'd love to see Virtual Harlem incorporate a space to commemorate how lindy hop was invented and developed in Harlem, in parallel to the height of the swing era.  How awesome would it be to get Frankie Manning and other period dancers to talk about their experiences in Harlem at an event in the sim?

Virtual Harlem joins a number of other New York locales that have been recreated in SL.  Other New York-centric sims (some now gone):

• Gossip Girl's Upper East Side
• Virtual CSI:NY
• I Am Legend : Survival (post-apocalyptic New York)
• NYC Sim (teleport link)
• New New York (teleport link)
• Rockefeller Center
• Greenwich Village (teleport link)
• Another Greenwich Village (teleport link)
• And a third Greenwich Village (teleport link)
• Versu Richelieu's Midtown

For more information about Virtual Harlem, IM Bryan Carter's Second Life counterpart Bryan Mnemonic.

The San Jose Tech Museum creates... an empty space in Second Life

I just got the news that the Tech Museum of Innovation, aka "The Tech", a science and technology museum based in San Jose, California, has launched The Tech in Second Life. Big deal, you say, lots of real world institutions -- from Reuters to Rockefeller Center to the city of Dublin -- have created replicas of themselves in-world. But what's really astounding about the virtual museum is what's NOT there -- the whole place is intentionally empty.

Virtual Upper East Side? Someone PLEASE re-create a COOL part of New York

I'm just dying for an authentic, interesting part of New York City to get built in Second Life. Nearly a year ago Versu Richelieu created a simulation of one of the most boring blocks in Manhattan, 39th and Fifth Avenue.  Then for Christmas we had a virtual Rockefeller Center designed by Aimee Weber Studios for a virtual tree lighting ceremony.  Could anything be more touristy and tacky than Rockefeller Center?  Perhaps the Southstreet Seaport.

Now, Millions of Us has created ... a virtual Upper East Side.  Read on for more ranting...

Six suggestions for the virtual Philippines embassy

Ok, I was a bit negative yesterday when I dropped in on the planned Philippines virtual embassy in Second Life.  Here are some constructive suggestions for how the Philippine government should use their first virtual presence:

1. Expose people to the richness of Filipino culture:  How about creating a tinikling dance animation? Or selling/giving away Filipino traditional costumes like a barong tagalog ?
2. Tourism: Provide information on the main attractions in the Philippines, i.e. the thousands of islands to explore, world-class snorkeling and scuba, nightlife and the performing arts. 
3. Investment opportunities: show the principal industries and exports, using 3D visuals and images.  Describe the qualities of the workforce: high English literacy, lower cost labor, etc.
4. Staff your embassy: Have real-life people knowledgable about the Philippines staffing your embassy at all hours to answer questions and give advice.
5. Host events: Stream the video or audio of real life Filipino entertainers into SL.  Host discussions on important topics with Filipino scholars, government reps or TV actors.
6. Draw on the Diaspora: Invite expat Filipinos from around the world to participate in-world.  There are millions of Pinoy who already are versed in using social networking software to stay connected with their families spread around the world.  They are naturals for using SL.

You'll get out of SL what you put into it.  It isn't like a static web page but a constantly growing and engaged international community that hungers for fresh content, dialogue and entertainment.  There's no reason the Philippines couldn't use SL to promote investment, tourism, and positive connections with people who use virtual worlds.

"Baghdad Streets" virtual exhibit -- a maze of shell-shocked lives

I stopped in briefly to check out the powerful new interactive exhibit "Baghdad Streets" organized by PT Witte on Better World Island (teleport SLURL).  "Baghdad Streets" is an extension of the PT's real-life-work "bringing the truth of life in the killing zone of Baghdad" to the awareness of as many people as possible. Walking through the maze (I recommend using mouse-view) brings you face to face with the reality of the conflict and its effects on innocent lives.  You encounter real stories of people caught up in the conflagration, their daily frustrations, and steps you can take to encourage peace in the region.

PT has been connecting students and teachers in Baghdad and New York City for four years via email. Excerpts of these moving communications are at Better World Island as well as the project blog at 121Contact.typepad.com. (Also PT Witte is the real life father of Mark Wallace of the popular metaversal blog 3PointD! )

Virtual Aloft to be given away in June!

The refurbished Virtual Aloft hotel in Second Life re-opened today.  I stopped by and checked it out this afternoon.  It's really nicely done in pleasing greys and pastels, just like I remembered it a few months ago when I first did my quasi-illicit visit.  I frankly can't see much of a big change from the previous incarnation, even though it supposedly was modified to reflect feedback they received from residents who visited it.  I see a new pool table and some slightly different textures, but no major changes to the lobby or guest room setups. 

One cool thing announced today was that apparently now that Starwood has finished launching the virtual hotel, they are effectively done with it.  So no Starwood-sponsored concerts, book clubs or sleepovers are planned for the future.  Instead, they want to give it away to one lucky resident. According to their blog, "until Friday, June 1st, Second Life residents can submit ideas on the best use of the land once the virtual aloft closes." Submissions can be sent in via email to Cider Starbrook or dropped in a dropbox inside the virtual aloft hotel.

How about pastel-toned casino perhaps, or an upscale bordello or maybe a neko role-playing sim?  The possibilities are endless...