Coverage of news, issues and events occurring in virtual worlds or those who create those worlds
It’s hard to believe it’s been more than four years since the Australian Broadcasting Corporation launched its island in Second Life.
To coincide with that I interviewed the ABC’s Abigail Thomas (SL: Abi Goldflake) to get the ABC’s take on the last four years. The next step will be to catch up with the dynamos that are the ABC Admin team and community on ABC Island. In the meantime, have a read of the interview with Abi over at ABC Tech.
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1. The ABC’s Island in Second Life continues to have a bunch of activities going, with regular building tutorials back on the agenda and plans underway for Easter events.
2. The University of Western Australia has released a book: 100 Treasures of UWA and one of those treasures is the UWA’s Second Life presence.
3. Some great brain food on virtual goods and intellectual property rights can be eaten right here.
4. As of now, the number of registered virtual worlds accounts is just under 1.2 billion. Even when you factor in people like me with fifty accounts, there’s still a lot of people to meet in-world.
5. In case you didn’t realise, Linden Lab is like an ultra-fit blind-man positioned under a falling piano. Head piano-tuner and CEO Rod Humble has thanked everyone for their input on what they’d like to be doing in two years in Second Life.
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1. ABC Island‘s friends are seeking feedback on the new Pool Studio. It features a green screen area for Machinima production and a cinema section where we hope to stream video shortly.
2. Interested in helping entrepreneurs in developing countries? Our Metaverse Aid team is growing slowly and more than a dozen ventures have been funded to date. Why not join us?
3. There’s lots of buzz around the US Government’s Deputy CTO, Beth Noveck, who’s a long-tim Second Life resident who is still dropping in regularly.
4. Second Nights is a new website / social network for those who enjoy Second Life’s entertainment on offer. A ‘finder’ feature for artists, clubs, DJs and more is available.
5. The 2009 Relay for Life in Second Life has completed, with more than US 260 thousand dollars raised. Here’s one Australian blog devoted to raising awareness of the event.
6. Tateru Nino has Ten Great Tips for New Second Life Users that are well worth reading.
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1. The US-based Spina Bifida Association is holding a fundraiser in Second Life this coming weekend:
Spina Bifida Awareness is pleased to announce the 2009 Second Life Charity Auction on Sunday, April 12, 2009 at 6:00 p.m. Second Life Time at the Justice League Explorer’s Club in Port Harbor, Steelhead.
Bid on the creations of Second Life’s finest crafters and enjoy a night of entertainment. Proceeds go to the Spina Bifida Association’s research and support programs. Lives are changed by the programs and services SBA has created to respond to the needs of new parents of babies who are born with Spina Bifida, families who are dealing with the challenges of Spina Bifida, teens who are transitioning toward newfound independence, and adults who are leading productive and fulfilling lives.
For more information, please contact Xandera Voom or Samantha Lowell.
2. Back in May 2007, ABC Island hit a snag that received widespread (and inaccurate) media coverage, with claims it was a griefing attack. Recent podcast interviewee, Draxtor Depres, has pointed me to a piece he did back at the time, so for sentimentality’s sake:
3. CyberTech News have an interesting sum-up of the licensing issues around open source virtual worlds and business uses.
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A handful of pics from the successful event last evening. Some good trivia by Wolfie Rankin, goodmusic by Komuso Tokugawa and an overall great night thanks to the ABC Admin team.
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On Friday March 16th 2007, members of the ABC Friends group in Second Life got to see the completed ABC Island, with the public launch on the 19th March to coincide with the Four Corners episode ‘You Only Live Twice’.
Since that time there’s been a regular and dedicated community on ABC Island that have ensured its ongoing evolution, in conjunction with the ABC Staff responsible for its administration.
To celebrate the two-year anniversary, there’s an event on this evening, starting at 7.30pm AEDT. First up is Rockit, the music trivia event with a difference – anyone who turns up can potentially compete and it’s a lot of fun. After Rockit wraps up at 9.30pm, the plan is for a live music performance by Komuso.
We’ve mentioned it numerous times: the most successful virtual world locations are ones with a critical mass of people who consider it their community, and work to make it a fun place to be. ABC Island’s community has had its fair share of ups and downs, personality conflicts and technical challenges, but after two years it’s still standing strong. It’s fair to say that the ABC aren’t placing its Second Life presence that high up its priorities but credit due to the advocates at the ABC who have managed to keep this small community innovation a lively part of the Australian virtual worlds community.
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1. Intranet consultants Step Two designs have announced entries are open for the 2009 Intranet Innovation Awards, and they’re looking for entries that demonstrate the use of virtual worlds within the enterprise. Alex Manchester is a Senior Consultant at Step Two:
“We’ve yet to see virtual worlds really break into the internal corporate environment, but there’s undoubtedly a lot happening in this space. It would be great to see some entries this year from organisations leading the way with business uses of virtual worlds, be that for communication, training, collaboration or something entirely different.”
2. The Virtual Worlds – Best Practices in Education conference is held in Second Life and this year’s is coming up 27th-29th March. You can register here.
3. ABC Island in Second Life hits the two-year mark since it opened to the public. We’ll write more on the milestone later in the week and there’s likely to be some celebrations in-world over the weekend.
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