I've followed Neva Crystall for a couple years now. I love her couples photos. This one just makes me wanna head to the beach and find a guy like that to wrap around me.
Second Life’s tenth birthday (“SL10B”) opened on Sunday and I was there early on. I wandered around then wandered around with Leanna, then took yesterday off. Today I headed back in comfortable shoes (heh) and started in the Welcome area. I’d noticed something about a history walk and wanted to go check it out, starting at “Beguiled” sim.
Wow… it was amazing. I was reminded of how I felt during the 1984 Olympic Games.
Then I looked up and it was a double WOW! I had to play with my graphics settings, took the draw distance out to 1024. And whoa!
But I still had my eye on that history walk. I was in the mood. I’d read quite a bit about SL history in the book, “Second Life: The Official Guide” (2008). But a lot has changed since then.
The history starts before Second Life opened it’s doors in 2003. I stopped at each year. I was expecting a lot of rah-rah about SL and no critical commentary. But the creators of the history walk were pretty even handed. chYo!
Did you know, in 2008 Second Life reached its all time high concurrency. It reached 88,000 Residents (I remember the day well) and that’s about when M Linden took over as CEO. Nuff said.
I spent quite a bit of time reminiscing at the history exhibit. I made a note to do some more reading about the subject but by now I had my eye on a little building called Avatar Central.
Avatar Central has all kinds of freebies and plenty of nostalgic items. And there she was – “Casual Girl” — the girl I began my second life as in 2007! But I swear I was delighted at my little avatar in that ratty violet top!
Second Life’s 10th Birthday is the product of a year of planning and a lot of work by many dedicated people. If you have ever belonged to Second Life, it’s time to return and be part of this joyful event. I can’t claim to have attended all the SL b’days of the past but this year is a must see, a must attend.
I’m kinda laying low but if you see me, please say hello. Hugs
In the months I’ve been gone from Second Life, acknowledging that I have been slipping online quietly from time to time, I’ve been spending time modifying some POST Japanese style homes. I’ve been creating a new version of the virtual Harvest Moon Café, the winsome center of my virtual fantasy life in the past. I have a lot left to do. I’ve begun work on a small Zen garden too. I just wanted to share a photo of the work in progress.
Yordie’s new Harvest Moon Café, a Japanese themed tea house with a geisha stage.
And progress will be slow. I’m truly NOT back in Second Life, I’m just visiting. Still, somewhere in a corner of my mind I’m imagining a time when I might hold a small geisha show.
I have great expectations for Second Life’s 10th birthday (“SL10B”). I’m hoping to find some inspirations to reignite my virtual spirit and propel me into a new second life. I’ve been planning on coming out of my self-imposed exile just for this event. Second Life began ten years ago and that’s remarkable for many reasons.
Leanna joined me and we wandered around the vast fairgrounds. The map revealed that there was somewhere in the range of 500 peeps in attendance. That’s the biggest crowd I’ve ever seen at any event in Second Life — AMAZING!!
That’s LeLe and me hanging out at SL10B.
The map also revealed crowds gathered for several concerts. The concerts featured many of Second Life’s best performers and DJs, and each venue had back to back shows all day.
This is just one of the concert venues. Most stage areas are setup as multi-region, allowing two to four times the guests per region.
It’s good to be back in Second Life. I’m planning on attending SL10B throughout the week and coming weekend. It probably sounds absurd but I’ve been avoiding connecting with people. There are 500 people roaming the lands and I’m slinking around, trying to avoid engagement.
Here’s an exhibit that gave me a big smile; unmistakably Callie Cline!
Regardless of my many disappointments with SL and Linden Lab, this virtual world continues to evolve and improve. I can’t say it continues to grow because I don’t see any significant growth. Still with a couple fixes and a little publicity, I believe SL can grow.
I really wish I wasn’t this way but I’m having a hard time finding that special Second Life feeling that used to stir my spirit. And it’s so ironic. For the first time in over a year, the technical issues that have helped suck the life out of my Second Life have been resolved. I’ve tested and tested both the Firestorm and Linden viewers and they both work beautifully, but I’m stuck here on the ground. Then some links led me here and there.
Rodvik Speaks
Strawberry Singh had a cool pic of Rodvik Linden, Draxtor Depres and herself in her blog a few days ago. There was also a link to a Drax vid featuring Rodvik. I was surprised to see Rodvik because I had come to believe the Lindens had given up on SL and were waiting for the last customer to leave before turning off the lights, so to speak. I know that’s a sucky thing to say, but that’s how I felt.
Regardless of my pissy attitude, I watched Rodvik with interest. I hadn’t heard him speak in over two years but despite my skepticism, he wove a fascinating story. And somewhere in the telling of his tale he seduced me, again. I fell right into his vision of what Second Life is but more importantly, what it can be.
Maybe you are thinking, geez, Yordie is so easy to seduce? The point is, I was really happy to see Rodvik taking a leadership role and demonstrating commit to the virtual world I once marveled at.
Last Year’s SL9B
Last year, Second Life residents put together an amazing effort and made SL9B one of the highlights of the year. It seemed to many of us that Linden Lab had abandoned us completely, so the official theme of “Community” seemed very empty. Maybe that helped propel so many residents to join in. I know I was very happy to have participated and do what I could to help promote the event.
Please Join Me
Regardless, again, of the fact that I’ve left Second Life, I’ve been hoping to discover something would happen to reignite my interest. I’d been planning on attending this year’s SL birthday anyway, but Rod’s well timed interview has given me more encouragement. He may not be there at SL10B but I’ve got a feeling that “Rod [is] One of Us”.
If you need some new inspiration I hope you’ll join me at Second Life’s 10th Birthday starting on June 16th through June 29th. I’m not sure what times I’ll be there but I hope you’ll say hello if you see me.
