Becoming a Millennial

195. Second Life Workshop

Tomorrow I am going to present a workshop on Second Life to our faculty.  Along with a live demo I am going to use segments of the following YouTube videos to illustrate how SL is being used in education:

• Intro to Second Life
• Introduction to Second Life
• An Introduction to Second Life
• Educational Uses of Second Life
• Virtual Nursing Simulation in Second Life
• Science Learning Opportunities in Second Life
• Virtual Social Worlds and the Future of Learning

All of the above are helpful, but for you who are somewhat familiar with Second Life the last video might be the most thought-provoking as it discusses the dynamics that occur in online virtual environments.  It's approx. 9 minutes long.

174. Three Worlds -- Insights From an Older Brother

Loren was down from Chicago several weeks ago.  I showed him a couple of the Second Life videos (previous posting).  He was quiet as he watched them.

Then he shared some very insightful thoughts.  We live in the physical world that we can see and touch.  But there is also the spiritual world that is just as real, but is not seen.  The physical world has a strong pull, so much so that we often lose sight of the even-more-important spiritual world. 

What happens when we introduce a third world into the picture -- Second Life?  This provides yet another arena in which we can operate.  Some reportedly are spending the bulk of their waking hours in this artificial yet real environment.

Three worlds.  Ultimately the spiritual world is the only one that matters.  It is a daily struggle for us as Christians to maintain our spiritual focus. The allure of the physical world constantly pulls us away from the spiritual.  What will be the effect when (for some) an even more engaging world is thrown into the mix? 

173. Second Life

This week I attended the Blackboard BbWorld '07 conference in Boston.  Web 2.0 technology was a hot topic.  I've been following Second Life (more or less from a distance) over the past twelve months.  I'm amazed at what is happening in this online virtual world.

Eyes tend to roll when one begins describing Second Life ... and for good reasons -- there is a lot to be concerned about.  HOWEVER, Second Life also is exploding with a lot that is positive and has value.  Reportedly over 100 colleges and universities now have a presence in SL.  Businesses are setting up retail outlets and recruiting in SL.  Religious organizations and churches are establishing their presence. 

Want to get a sense for what it's all about?  I found these videos today on YouTube that will be a good introduction for you:

Intro to Second Life (2:34)

Introduction to Second Life (4:13)

A Brief Introduction to Second Life (4:27) by a Texas State Librarian

Introduction to Second Life (8:06)

An Introduction to Second Life (7:17) by a kid

Just for fun -- Once you've watched the above you'll get a kick out of this parody of Second Life (1:00)

158. College Creates Campus in Second Life

This will stretch your thinking.  Ohio University has created a campus in Second Life.  Take a look at their two minute video posted in YouTube.

You might want to look at my three earlier postings about Second Life: SecondLife.com, Is There a Place for Faith in SecondLife?, and  Church in SecondLife Taken Down.

126. Church in SecondLife Taken Down

"I think it is funny... people like having sex clubs and all that here, but you build a church and it is like you are the biggest jerk in the world."  So says Rafin Grimm, who constructed the Catholic Church that I featured a few days ago.  He has removed his church from SecondLife. Read the entire posting, The Sacred and Profane, which documents his experience.

Apparently having an effective Christian presence is as much of a challenge in the virtual world as it is in the real world. 

124. Is There Place for Faith in SecondLife?

One of my colleagues has been wondering about the possibility of a Christian presence in SecondLife.com. 

Could legitimate relationships be formed that would lead to discussions about deeper issues of life and personal faith?  Would it be appropriate to build a chapel or a church in SecondLife?

A posting was sent to me yesterday (by a gentleman who stumbled on my blog's SecondLife posting) describing that a Catholic church has been built in SecondLife and regular masses are being held.  Click here for the full story.

113. When Fantasy Supplants Reality

Yesterday my future son-in-law was distressed to learn that star receiver Reggie Wayne might not play this weekend for the Colts.  He wasn't concerned that the Colts would be disadvantaged (Mike is a huge Steelers fan)-- he was thinking about his fantasy football team.  Wayne is one of his receivers.

A thought struck me today -- Could it be possible that down the road professional players will perform more for their fantasy league ratings than to win games for the team they actually play for?

The fantasy world of internet pornography enslaves millions, substituting virtual experiences for the real.  Fantasy role-playing games such as SecondLife and Cyworld are captivating young and old by the millions.

What happens when one's fantasy world becomes more engaging than real life; when virtual relationships supplant traditional relationships; when one simply tolerates his day of work or school in order to get back to the computer to engage in the virtual?

My sense is that technology has created this iceberg, only the tip of which we are seeing.  And the size of what lies beneath the surface keeps growing at an exponential rate.

112. SecondLife.com

This will make you sit up.  My colleague just showed me an article out of Wired Magazine about a fantasy website, SecondLife.com, that has been in existence for a few years.

From the little I have learned in the past day, the engagement (addiction!) potential of this site far exceeds that of Facebook and MySpace.

Here is a virtual world that you can join for free.  You create your own avatar (character) and then shape your own existence.  You can purchase property, build a house, start a business.  Your credit card dollars are exchanged for "Linden" dollars at a current rate of L$309: US$1.  For your avatar you can purchase clothing, hairdos, toys, guns, cars, drugs, sex ... it's all available.  You can establish relationships with other avatars on any level that you please.  You get the idea.

According to the stats provided by the website they currently have 793,200 total residents (members), 6,758 are online as I write this posting.  $355,109 in U.S. dollars were spent in the past 24 hours! The average player spends 40 hours a month in the site.  The population is increasing at 36% per month.

A while back I wrote about CyWorld, a virtual website that was created in Korea.  Reportedly over 1/3 of the entire Korean population are registered players. CyWorld has recently been recast for the American audience.  How many other role-playing fantasy sites are out there I have no idea.  I do know that our challenges as parents and teachers continue to increase.

90. Korean Millennials

I just read in the August 2006 Business 2.0 magazine about Cyworld, the Korean version of Myspace.  90% of all Koreans in their 20's are registered users of Cyworld!  That's 18 million users, out of a South Korean population of 48 million.

Cyworld is a social network including 3-D rooms and avatars.  $300,000 a day is being made by the web site!  Guess how?  Users purchase virtual items to decorate their home-pages and mini-rooms.  They can choose from tens of thousands of digital items such as furniture, appliances, stereo sets, household plants, and even background music -- each purchased for less than $1 apiece. 

If you are feeling a bit left out, wondering why the Koreans get to have all the fun ... never fear, Cyworld has been recently marketed for a U.S. audience.