Like I told ya before

Inworld-outworld party at my retirement community

When: Sunday, Oct. 25.  12:30 to 3 pm California time. 
Open to the public. 

Where In Second Life inworld:    Brigadoon theater,  hovering above the line between Cookie and ThInkerer Quests, providing a 2-sim venue.  Like Brigadoon, this theater only emerges from the mists in response to theatrical need.  At other times it remains in two holodecks. 

Theater Credits:

• Jubjub  Forder, designer and builder
• Cheshyr Pontchartrain, Horizons Holodeck

Where in the outworld:   Franklin Park at Cityview,  Fort Worth, Texas
In the Activity Room.   Refreshments served by Cholly Gordon, Activity Director here.

All it takes is a big TV screen to bring your Second Life party into your living room.  At least that is what I claimed a while back: Real Entertainment from the Virtual Village. 

And Eva Moon Ember did something like that with the release of her new CD:  Eva Moon Goes Blended World

And here are some more of my outrageous claims: Scenarios for a Killer Ap

Now I am going to try out this idea in the retirement community where I live. 

When: Sunday, Oct. 25.  12:30 to 3 pm California time.

The University of Texas project Transforming Undergraduate Education Program is building a statewide virtual learning community of students, faculty, researchers and administrators.  The project has 50 sims in Second Life to support that effort.  (These may still be in construction and not yet open to the public.)  

A friend of mine is involved in that project, so I asked him to write a summary as Guest Bogger.

I have been testing various outworld networking tools to see how adequately they can replace SL groups for various purposes.  For one purpose, I think I have found a replacement: 

Blog/reader can supplant  group notices for motivated users. 

Vio has a website where it regularly posts (blog fashion) notices of upcoming events.  I have subscribed to it with my Google Reader.  As result, I get all Vio notices in a place where I routinely look.  Since I subscribe to several other blogs, I check my Google reader contents several times a day. That is quick and convenient because I can immediately see any content that has been updated.     

The blog notice is better for me than a group notice in SL because:

• I get the information when I want it. 
• I can access again whenever I want.
• I can easily pass it on to my friends.

The blog notice works better for Vio because

Famous female comic Lauren Weyland is starting her third season next week.  Our local news man, Ben Bother (Formerly Famous Television News Anchor) ambushed her in the ladies room and got this interview with her before the police came. 

Mr. Bother: Lauren Weyland  is the world famous female comic in Second Life. 

She is now getting her own television show on Treet.tv.  Tell us, Ms. Weyland, what is it like to be a world famous female comic in a world that is notorious for sex and debauchery? 

Lauren;  Well Mr. Bother without Sex neither of us would be here. Is 'de bauchery' a new hair salon in SecondLife?

Mr. Bother: Will you tell us about you got started in stage comedy.  You can leave out the part about the part about the casting couch.

Now that I am in Second Life, where should I go?  Rockcliffe Library is developing an answer.   A wall of places.   Each place represented by a graphic panel that gives you a notecard when you click on it.  The notecard will carry a description of the place and  a landmark.  This library of places will fit well with the Rockcliffe Welcome Center, which is set up to help newcomers begin to use Second Life effectively for what they want out of it.  

The request from Rockcliffe Library says:  "We are looking for places that provide educational or creative opportunities for people to expand their understanding of Second Life, Virtual Worlds, and their impacts.  That may include science exhibits, art galleries, libraries, sandboxes, museums, social gatherings."

The network effect in Second Life is not as durable as that famous effect that so nurtured AT&T.   Second Life is made up of many networks. It is lumpy.  Communities form strong networks.  But the communities are not all strongly connected.  Some pieces could break off and run their own world. 

This article continues previous articles about the implications of OnLive for the future of Second LIfe.
Future of SL is beyond e-tech. Now on to s-tech
Future of SL Beyond e-tech (continued)
VR in the Cloud

Eva Moon has already gone for blended reality.  She has been performing in Second Life for over a year.  And she has been performing frequently for Thinkerer Studios projects ever since she arrived.  One of her earliest gigs was on Saturdays Wild, at the Forum.  At right is a picture of her performance at the Archon Theater on Cookie.  

Eva has earned enough (according to her press release) to finance a new CD, “Moon Falling Down."  So she and her real life band, the Lunatics, will blend worlds in a simultaneous physical and virtual world release concert for their new CD.  Eva Moon (EvaMoon Ember in SL) is known for her hot music and hilariously sexy, no-holds barred lyrics.  In this release concert, her band will be in both worlds.

M Linden called live music in Second Life a "killer ap."   I was on that theme in an article a while back:
Music is real business in virtual reality

That article included a prospective scenario about Joe the Geek and his biworld beer party.  He invited a bunch of his friends to sit around his 96 inch TV screen and sing along with EvaMoon Ember. I even suggested an inworld monetizing scenario: 

"…an entrepreneur might decide that there is a potential demand for a new service, Party Special, set up specifically for entertaining guests at a party.  With specific guests getting recognition and comment.   Chatting with performers on break.  Requesting specific songs.  All the things that add value to a performance at a night club.   And things that might make the host want to pay extra for a private party."

That entrepreneur, Party Marty, would be offering (and charging for) an inworld catering service.  Turn-key operation.  You tell Marty what you need:

Fan groups, venue groups, notice lists, and so forth.  In two previous articles:

• How can we promote events in Second Life?
• What is the meaning of Second Life?

 I gave information about how people use these resources to promote performances and venues.   The rest of that story is how to build membership.  Here are some methods currently used for that goal:

Inviting people at venues

Both venues and performers routinely invite people to join groups at live performances.  Common methods are:  inviter, join panels/posters, and name harvesting. 

Inviter:

Inviter is a member of the group.  Inviter right clicks on one person at a time and issues an invitation.