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======notecard quote and response 1=====
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There has been a lot of discussion recently about the ABC sim.
. . . deleted text . . .
It came to light that ABC was also in the process of assessing it’s position with the online presence in SL – one way or another.
. . . deleted text . . .
suggestions as to what can be done on and with the island to more faithfully reflect 1) the ABC, 2) Australian culture in all it’s diversity 3) the associated needs of the Australian SL community in direct relation to points 1 & 2.
It is understood that the ABC has legislative and ethical constraints placed on it, and that working within those may sometimes be frustrating to everyone concerned – especially where the expanded possibilities and potential of the digital environment is concerned.
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There is to be no constraint on what projects are presented – but expansion of ideas will necessarily need to be viable within current ABC legal and ethical guidelines. In this way, all projects will be presented to ABC management for their assessment. This having been said, ideas which are clearly in contravention of the LL Terms and Conditions or other legal and ethical structures will not be part of discussion, although they may be included in a list of potential ideas where the concept may have merit, but the subject matter questionable.

= RESPONSE=
Firstly – there is no point in saying “legal paramters” unless you can present an authoritative list of those legal parameters. If ABC wishes to have a discussion invoking legalities then they need to have a representative present at the meeting who can provide authoritative advice as to what is considered legal. Otherwise, people will get bogged down in useless conjectures as to what constitutes “legal.”

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======notecard quote and response 2=====
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Should the ABC management/admin staff wish to participate, we would ask that they be available to answer the forum on operational, policy and legal issues. This includes where as part of a discussion, a policy formulation is required of ABC.
In this way, the discussion can concentrate on what CAN be done, and not just what people would like to SEE done. Final projects presented to ABC would therefore already have built in applicability.

= RESPONSE=
Secondly – there had better be some ABC management/admin staff with executive power present at that meeting. If there are not, there’s no point having the meeting at all, because it would show clearly how little the ABC management care about exporing a new medium, and how little they thinmk of their investment in Second Life. Either ABC is interested in pioneering or it is not. If they are – show it. If not – shut up shop, stop presenting a half-assed face to the world. I indirectly pay for this, and I don’t want to pay for being embarassed in front of my peers and colleagues in the rest of the world.

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Lastly – bring an open mind to the meeting. This *IS* a new frontier, a new way of dealing, and as such it will stretch everyone’s capacity for new concepts. That’s what it’s meant to do.

The Brand Owners Guide to Joining the Metaverse

Both talk about a key critical component being the iterative listen, respond, listen cycle that needs to happen for brands or any independent wanting to connect with the inhabitants. This is a very reactive, immersive synchronous medium which raises expectations and passions, not a pushed website/TVshow. I would recommend reading and listening to Lord Puttnam at Virtual Worlds 2007 a few months ago here, half way down page who talks about agency and how to engage in virtual worlds also.

To finish let me leave you with this simple analog – “what would be your approach to setting up a branded area to connect with and learn about the needs of the local tribes in the jungles of Borneo?” I am not being flippant or superficial, really think about the steps you would go through.

I would also point out that just as volunteer staff are nto renumerated in any way by ABC, the folks who *are* on the ABC payroll frequently help maintain ABC Island during off hours at no pay as well ! They may be paid by ABC, but the ABC Island is only a part time endevoure for them.

The second thing I would point out is that game shows, like Wolfies Rockit!, are not supported by any monies from ABC at all. None of them are, really. The ABC simply gives permission to host the game on the Island.

There are even night shift Admin who are not paid and help out because they like the folks at ABC Island and have many friends there.

Sorry to hear that the things that made ABC Island such a touchstone for me since my arrival in SL are considered to be “possessive in-world volunteers and vested interests.” Without the help I received on ABC Island I would not have remained in SL, and I now send every new person (not just Australians) I come across to the Island because it *IS* so well patrolled and managed.

In six months that I’ve been there, I’ve met paid ABC employees maybe twice. I’ve met the “in-world volunteers” each, every, and any time I’ve gone there. So let’s stop that right there. If the ABC is too cheap to employ those people who are their main presence in SL then at least stop slagging them off. They do a commendable job of making the island hospitable and a credit to Australia in general.

Then I’d like to make it clear that I’m a taxpayer in Australia, and the ABC operates because I and people like me want it to be so. To me, I’m sure there is much more that can be done with the island and any proposed new areas that ABC may be wanting to expand into, but they have to be relevant to many people, not just me.

For me (and the thousands of other people who’ve rezzed up for the first time in SL) it’s important to have a place with a sense of community. If I dont have that then I will find another space to meet and live. And the same, I hazard, will be true for other people who use SL. And that means that ABC will end up without an audience for this new medium, if they can’t keep fostering and engendering that sense of community.

To me, the very fact that Ms DeHare has *seen* that sense of community and chosen to see it as “possessiveness” (which I interpret as her little foot stamp at things like tinies soccer and other “things that don’t interest me”) shows that as it stands, ABC Island has that spirit and that kind of following right now.

Next – it’s important to stop thinking of Second Life as a kind of glorified TV channel or chat room. Sorry but you just won’t find a comfortable place for thinking like a programme director or journalist or pretty much anything you were used to, in here. That’s not what SL is about. It’s a collection of communities first – and communities that have definite tastes and demographics, at that.

There are things that ABC has done which are commendable – the competitions were such a case – and there are things ABC has done which are abysmal – the competitions were such a case. (There was apparently no direction from the ABC staff who are supposedly “managing” the island to change the competition materials. But the competitions themselves were a very Second Life idea and make sense in the new medium, the lack of follow-up and dedication unfortunately don’t…)

Sandboxes and building are big drawcards in SL. People like to make things, modify things, customise. Here are some things that ABC *could do* to make an impact: Find (and employ) in-world people who can teach various aspects of building. Make a few Australiana items and teach people how to make them. Make an in-world ABC Shop and sell Australian textures, avatars, and other items.

Old ABC Island has many many theatres for conferencing and teaching, but really needs only one. Absent has been any place to stage machinima films, which are another thing which SL is rapidly becoming a hotbed for. Some kind of “Studio ABC” area would be a good step. Provide tuition in using camera controls and controllers, direction, production, and editing. Give machinima acting classes.

Old ABC Island also had a Laneways area. While I don’t hold with commercial interests intruding into ABC property I suggest that since the precedent has been set, perhaps create an area where Australian companies can place a poster/landmark giver to their commercial premises in world, on the proviso that they place a reciprocal poster/link in their premises. Increase traffic to ABC’s holdings using SL’s own mechanisms.

So I suggest that instead of trying to make ABC in SL a pale and largely irrelevant reflection of radio and TV, that they ask those self same “possessive in-world volunteers and vested interests” what should be in ABC’s future – because lump it or like it they *are* your target audience in-world.

With that said, I believe that ABC. though a bit laggy at times, is a constantly evolving experiment. It’s just a matter of finding what works and what doesn’t. And while some stuff might not be well-received, the people who volunteer there and world there are what make ABC great for people outside Australia.

While some may debate the existance of the Laneways at ABC, I would like to point out that many people will probably never get to experience such a place first-hand. So I must admit, that for the atmosphere, I really do like the Laneways. It’s not something an American is likely to experience while in the middle of his (or her) own country.

But I hope that the rumors of expansion are true. It would be of great benefit for ABC to do that. However, I must wonder, what is in it for ABC in the real world? Without a real answer to that question, I don’t think I can buy into the rumors about an expansion.

Here’s to a great 1st year, and I hope that there are many more to come.