Training 2008 Show Daily: Second Life Story
February 19, 2008
With its immersive environment, and action-oriented avatars, it's hard to believe Second Life originated in "real life." Founder Philip Rosedale reflects on its inner workings, and how it continues to thrive.
By Stephen Dubner
Money, security, and government—topics in hot debate this election year in your home and office—and in Second Life, the immersive virtual reality in which real-world individuals assume avatar-projected identities sometimes more interesting and exciting than their so-called "first life." So, what's the secret to creating a virtual world so complex real-world worries sometimes seem less pressing than those online? "Freakonomics" co-author Stephen J. Dubner passed along questions from his readers to Second Life creator Philip Rosedale to get the inside scoop. Here, an excerpt from Dubner's December 13, 2007, blog: "Philip Rosedale Answers Your Second Life Questions" (freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com):
Q: How do you feel about accusations that by providing a literal "second life," you're contributing to a trend of physical isolation that's damaging the social abilities of an increasing number of teens and adults?
PR: Whether sitting in front of a computer is bad for you is a function of whether what you are doing there is more or less challenging than real life. If you are mindlessly shooting monsters, the environment has the risk of making you oversimplify the real world. If, on the other hand, you are confronted with a complex human environment with people from all over the world who are demanding of you in your interactions with them, you actually could be better off in front of the computer. Second Life can teach people new skills and connect them with new cultures in a way the real-world environments of many places cannot.
Q: What plans does Linden Lab have for educators who want to use Second Life as a virtual classroom?
PR: There's actually a vibrant community of educators already in Second Life, and we're happy to see it continuing to grow. We've seen a range of academic and educational uses of the platform, from research to modeling to distance learning to real-time collaboration, and we offer a program called Campus: Second Life, which provides semester-long virtual land grants to educators who want to try teaching in the virtual world. Additionally, we have an active e-mail list dedicated to education, on which residents discuss best practices for in-world educators.
Q: How do people find the time for a Second Life? It seems like most people are too busy working multiple jobs, and trying to keep up the payments on their credit cards and upwardly adjusting mortgage payments.
PR: Quit your real job and get one in Second Life! It isn't possible for everyone, but there are more than 40,000 people who make money in Second Life every month.
Q: What has your experience led you to believe about the value, or lack thereof, of having a game-like goal orientation? Would you agree that most activity in Second Life involves games that people have created out of the materials available (i.e., running a business, speculating on real estate, trading custom content)?
PR: People in Second Life have created more than 1 billion in-world "objects" occupying total storage space of about 100 terabytes. I wouldn't agree that these are mostly game-like; most derive their value from their intellectual, utility, or artistic appeal. If anything, Second Life is more diverse than the real world in terms of types of activities, not less.
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