Another business concept: Goal-oriented: You have a long-term goal. You have a plan for getting there. Not limited to business. Applies to educators, performers, writers, actors -- to anybody working on a long-term goal. The reason I bring it up is that I have been writing a lot about things that relate to the concept. Now it is time to tie some of these things together.
"How do you play this game?"
That's what newcomers to Second Life often ask. My friends and I look at each other askance. Sure. We can't actually see each other. But we know what we are all thinking. I put the thinking into a notecard to give to people who ask that question:
Second Life is not a game in the usual sense. It is a virtual reality environment. Like the web, it is what people make it to be. There are games here. And you can make games yourself, if you develop enough skills in building, scripting, and writing. But let's treat getting started as a game: Exploring.
Every game has a quest. The quest of exploring here is to find things that interest you. If you find something that is really holds your interest, you have won this round. And, BTW, that something does not have to be a Golden Fleece, King Solomon’s Mines, or the Lost Ark. It can be friends you like to work with, skills you like to exercise, or activities you enjoy.
Your first challenge in the opening game is to master your powers as Explorer. Here are your most important powers:
- Clicking on things
- Communicating with other people
- Building a network of friends
- Searching for people, places, and things
- Looking closely at things
- Moving -- locally and by teleport
- Experimenting with things
- Asking the right questions
- Making sense of clues in things you see and notecards you get
When you have mastered the powers of Explorer, you will choose another set of powers to master – that is the next level. Some choices available to you:
Goal-oriented
Entertainer, Musician, Comic, Writer, Actor, Videographer,
Entrepreneur, Store manager, Realtor, Mall manager, Event manager
Organizer, Instructor, Builder, Scripter, Artist, Theatrical director
Role-oriented
Starfleet Officer, Vulcan, Klingon, Jedi Knight, Imperial Storm Trooper, Jawa
Stuntman, Superhero, Dancer, Fire Eater, Vampire
Elf, Witch, Mermaid, Ogre, Dragon, Wizard, Mad Scientist, Timelord.
Used Car Salesman, Mafia Don, Bum, Zombie, Shapeshifter
Goal-oriented and role-oriented
You may recognize this answer as a Second Life version of Existentialism 101: You are what you choose to do. And those two kinds of choices remind me of one of my slogans about goals:
Kids want to be something. Grown-ups want to do something.
And that talk about mastering the powers of Explorer – you will recognize that as a tongue-in-cheek way to treat Second Life -- or any kind of experiential learning -- as a game. That's for those who prefer a game to a goal. As for me, I work with goals. And with other people who have goals that go along with mine.
That’s how you get a goal-oriented network. People with similar goals, for example, are looking for similar tools and methods. So we share information about tools and methods. People with goals that fit together will often find it useful to collaborate on projects. This kind of network is valuable to the people in it because it helps them get to their goals.
Goal-oriented social networks
A while back I talked about how virtual worlds are evolving from electronic technology to social technology, with social networks being a key player in the development. Future of SL is beyond e-tech. Now on to s-tech.
Now let’s focus specifically on goal-oriented networks. Businesses, educators, students – well, that whole list I mentioned earlier, and many more. Don’t be misled by the fact that many of these activities can lead to making money. The critical characteristic is having a goal and a plan you are working on. In Second Life, that goal may be just to explore the possibilities. That counts as a goal if you are really exploring new possibilities and finding out what you can do with them. Later, you may develop a new goal – to exploit some of those possibilities, maybe even for money.
Goal-oriented networks have special needs. Some of these are not adequately met in Second Life (a left-over from the outdated game model). I described some needs in a recent article about business communication methods in second life. Actually, I was really talking about communication in goal-oriented networks. What we have and what we need. I’ll talk more about these in the future, and about what we can do while waiting for Linden Labs to fix things.
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Entertainment in Second Life – Goal-oriented networks at work
News about writing
Jilly Kidd told me about an article dealing with Meet and Author and The Written Word in Avenue Magazine. The article is on Page 202 (slider at bottom of page).
Tools: The version at the link above was done with Calameo. There was a earlier version done in some other system. It was so hard to read that I would not read it and probably would not have mentioned it here. The Calameo system gave a much better presentation. They offer a free version. (This networked information thanks to Jilly Kidd.)
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Hobbies
Model Railroads need goal-oriented networks
I recently visited the Great Second Life Railway station in Purple. This project (group) was started by Athos Murphy and has as its goal:
“To create, support, maintain and operate the GSLR, its right of way, structures, equipment, scripts, etc. The GSLR is based on railway practices circa 1890-1930. ”
The GSLR currently has track running from Purple to Mocha, a distance of 5 sims. They are now running a car made by Kitto Flora.
Kitto has been selling trains for several years and now,at his place he offers what he describes as "the best single- and multi-sim track following vehicle systems in SL. Steam and Diesel Engine Trains, Monorail, Railcar, Trolley, Swan Ride, Egyptian Boat Ride etc."
I'm willing to believe that. I have seen Kitto's 1-sim trains working flawlessly for several years. Crossing sim borders presents additional problems, but Kitto's car did it well when I rode it.
Kitto offers Single sim rail systems – 800L (about $3 USD).
Multi sim monorail systems 1500L (about $6 USD).
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