My initial interest in second life (SL) was sparked by the discussion of Reuters presence, I guess I was interested in forming my own opinion of the relevance of this environment to an organization such as Thomson, and specifically if we should consider a presence for our vertical-web-search platform Webplus which we have now launched in Westlaw and Web of Knowledge, two flagship subscription products from two of our industry verticals.
If you are looking for the abridged version then my answer is” currently no”, there is no need for us to have a presence and I doubt the value created by the current information providers in SL warrants the initial and ongoing investment.
I landed in SL in the midst of a winter scene near a smart skiing chalet. Landed may not be the correct way of describing ones arrival, which is treated as your birthday from then on. The screen setup was a third person view on my avatar (AV) with a small map showing dots representing other AVs locations and a chat dialog scrolling up the left of the screen. After enabling audio I was able to hear an ambient background noise, the clicking of keyboards, and the occasional unexplainable sounds. I initially tried using the mouse to attempt to move my character, but quickly learnt that the keyboard was the preferred mechanism, both for moving the AV but also moving the camera position relative to the AV.
I wandered around the chalet for a few minutes, got nowhere and then decided to exit the building and walked up what look like a road, things were moving slowly and I dug through he menus until I found a running mode which sped the aV along the road at a brisk pace. Eventually I came upon a group of building which were filled with boxes which I later learned is the traditional way of displaying wares for sale. The walls were lined with pictures requesting you right click on them to learn more, most were consumer oriented clothes, shoes, and several were pornographic and messages for escort services.
Finding nothing to hold my interest I noticed the search button at the bottom of the screen and proceed to try an number of alternatives, I first tried the phrase “kid safe” as I was interested to see if SL was a possible play ground for kids, whilst I was able to find some locations which were unadulterated by the porn or escort industry which is rampant in SL I have come to the conclusion that SL is no place for any child or young teenager, there are too many freaks walking the streets of SL with no restriction on their ability to accost a minor. One could create an environment or island dedicated to children but there is a lack of rigor around identity checks that would make it just a haven for deviants.
My next port of call was to look for Reuters, their location was immediately available via the search mechanism and I teleported directly there. Teleporting (TP in SL) is the preferred way of travelling long distances. When I arrived I was “given” a greeting card which explained some of the capabilities of the Reuters building. As well as a landmark which I could keep to make finding them again easier. This is common practice for many places to provide landmarks which you then store in folders for your future teleporting needs.
The Reuters building was beautifully designed with three floors and many multimedia screens providing news on many subjects from technology to sports. It was very empty with only one other AV around, and they did not stay long. Having exhausted my interest in what is basically a multiplex theatre for news casts, I tried searching to see which Thomson businesses had a presence e in SL, the only one I located was Thomson Scientific, teleporting there revealed a wonderfully complex set of intricately designed buildings which behaved much like a science museum with virtual guided tours and a virtual curator. Whilst on this island I learned to fly, which was just like walking except you had the third dimension at your control also, this proved invaluable when you get stuck and need to cross a chasm.
The most exciting thing I discovered on the Thomson Scientific site was the Jet Ski which I was able to jump on and navigate around the island via the “ocean” at high speed weaving like a drunk until I got to grips with the controls.
That would have been the end of my Thomson Scientific learning’s if it had not been for the very weird character I met on the beach…. So I was standing there minding my own business when an AV dropped from the sky (having been flying) right in front of me and promptly asked me “do you love me?” This was the start of a bizarre conversation during which I tried to explain that that was probably an inappropriate question to be the first thing from their mouths, my logic did not work, clearly whomever was in control of this AV had only one thing on their minds and it was not aligned with my interests!I didn’t know how to get rid of the intrusion so I simply hit search and transported to the first place I could find that appeared (from its description) to be normal! That was the first of many encounters with the weird extreme behavior that one encounters in SL.
If you are looking for the abridged version then my answer is” currently no”, there is no need for us to have a presence and I doubt the value created by the current information providers in SL warrants the initial and ongoing investment.
I landed in SL in the midst of a winter scene near a smart skiing chalet. Landed may not be the correct way of describing ones arrival, which is treated as your birthday from then on. The screen setup was a third person view on my avatar (AV) with a small map showing dots representing other AVs locations and a chat dialog scrolling up the left of the screen. After enabling audio I was able to hear an ambient background noise, the clicking of keyboards, and the occasional unexplainable sounds. I initially tried using the mouse to attempt to move my character, but quickly learnt that the keyboard was the preferred mechanism, both for moving the AV but also moving the camera position relative to the AV.
I wandered around the chalet for a few minutes, got nowhere and then decided to exit the building and walked up what look like a road, things were moving slowly and I dug through he menus until I found a running mode which sped the aV along the road at a brisk pace. Eventually I came upon a group of building which were filled with boxes which I later learned is the traditional way of displaying wares for sale. The walls were lined with pictures requesting you right click on them to learn more, most were consumer oriented clothes, shoes, and several were pornographic and messages for escort services.
Finding nothing to hold my interest I noticed the search button at the bottom of the screen and proceed to try an number of alternatives, I first tried the phrase “kid safe” as I was interested to see if SL was a possible play ground for kids, whilst I was able to find some locations which were unadulterated by the porn or escort industry which is rampant in SL I have come to the conclusion that SL is no place for any child or young teenager, there are too many freaks walking the streets of SL with no restriction on their ability to accost a minor. One could create an environment or island dedicated to children but there is a lack of rigor around identity checks that would make it just a haven for deviants.
My next port of call was to look for Reuters, their location was immediately available via the search mechanism and I teleported directly there. Teleporting (TP in SL) is the preferred way of travelling long distances. When I arrived I was “given” a greeting card which explained some of the capabilities of the Reuters building. As well as a landmark which I could keep to make finding them again easier. This is common practice for many places to provide landmarks which you then store in folders for your future teleporting needs.
The Reuters building was beautifully designed with three floors and many multimedia screens providing news on many subjects from technology to sports. It was very empty with only one other AV around, and they did not stay long. Having exhausted my interest in what is basically a multiplex theatre for news casts, I tried searching to see which Thomson businesses had a presence e in SL, the only one I located was Thomson Scientific, teleporting there revealed a wonderfully complex set of intricately designed buildings which behaved much like a science museum with virtual guided tours and a virtual curator. Whilst on this island I learned to fly, which was just like walking except you had the third dimension at your control also, this proved invaluable when you get stuck and need to cross a chasm.The most exciting thing I discovered on the Thomson Scientific site was the Jet Ski which I was able to jump on and navigate around the island via the “ocean” at high speed weaving like a drunk until I got to grips with the controls.
That would have been the end of my Thomson Scientific learning’s if it had not been for the very weird character I met on the beach…. So I was standing there minding my own business when an AV dropped from the sky (having been flying) right in front of me and promptly asked me “do you love me?” This was the start of a bizarre conversation during which I tried to explain that that was probably an inappropriate question to be the first thing from their mouths, my logic did not work, clearly whomever was in control of this AV had only one thing on their minds and it was not aligned with my interests!I didn’t know how to get rid of the intrusion so I simply hit search and transported to the first place I could find that appeared (from its description) to be normal! That was the first of many encounters with the weird extreme behavior that one encounters in SL.
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