Tech -- Culture -- Humour
This week there’s been a flurry of activity by a number of Australian Second Life residents on ABC Island this week. That activity has led to the establishment of a blog and forum, both called ‘Auntie’s Avatars’.
It’s early days with not a lot of content but hopefully it’ll enhance the already active in-world community that already exists on ABC Island.
Apollo Case is an Australian Second Life Resident who owns Armory Island, one of the more popular haunts for avatars who like their weapons. He recently sent me some information on the 3rd Annual Combat Expo coming up in May this year.
Apollo is touting the expo as focusing on anything to do with virtual combat – “We want to help in-world creators raise their corporate profile within Second Life, and assist real life companies in building their presence within the virtual world.â€
There’s also a schedule of presentations up for grabs – “presentations from real life organizations that are friendly towards Australia and its allies will also be welcome.” So any enemies of Australia obviously aren’t welcome (who are Australia’s enemies anyway?)
There’s a website for further information at www.slcombatexpo.com, or check it out in-world.
VastPark is continuing its steady journey to open beta, with the company claiming a successful stress test of its servers. Additionally, they’ve also announced VastServer: “Similar to a web server, VastServer serves up IMML, an XML based Virtual Web equivalent to HTML. It acts as the message rely between all the users on the site so they can interact with each other and see what others are doing online in real time.”
It requires a Windows machine with .NET Framework 3.0 to run with no mention of future Mac or Linux compatibility. VastServer is being touted as non-demanding in terms of computer specs, allowing end users to create virtual worlds “much like Skype conversations”. The real test of those claims will coomence with VastPark’s April 10th open beta launch. The usability of the client application will give a taste of how VastServer may perform as well.
We have an interview pending with VastPark CEO, expect to see the results of that in the coming week or so.
ABC Island has a range of events slated to celebrate its first anniversary, which are being held Wednesday evening Australian time:
I also received the following notice from ABC admin Juko Tempel:
“Following the Anniversary Party events on Wednesday night, interested ABC Friends, Admin group members and ABC Staff are invited to a discussion forum at 8:30pm AEDT Thursday 20 March, at the Amphitheatre on ABC Island.
The agenda for the meeting has one point: To raise and explore ideas for the future of ABC Island and collate those ideas to be presented to the ABC management. ”
If the comments to date on our original anniversary story are anything to go by, there seems to be some motivation to debate the future evolution of the ABC presence. So if you want some entertainment, the opportunity to have your say, or both, then check it out in-world
We provided a blow-by-blow account of the Four Corners episode on Second Life and the in-world Q&A with Four Corners reporter Ticky Fullerton.
It’s actually just past a year since Telstra launched its Second Life presence. The reason we haven’t covered the anniversary until now is due to having a request for a comment in to Telstra on the first anniversary. There’s been no response, so I’ll reply on my observations and hopefully your comments on Telstra in Second Life.
The first theme that comes to mind is expansion – the initial eleven sims was significant but there are now sixteen in total plus the two Telstra Experience sims. Aside from geographical expansion, evolution in what’s offered on those sims has also changed, with the opening of rentals for individuals one landmark event. The SydSim virtual Sydney CBD expansion was also launched with some fanfare but is yet to be completed.
The second theme is learning – mostly on the part of Telstra. In the initial couple of weeks after its launch, The Pond sims were inundated with new and excited Australian Second Life users – the trouble was they weren’t getting any guidance. Not long after that, volunteer and paid staff started giving support in-world and that support is still pretty much in place. Another key learning was around what an effective social space was. The Pond sims have numerous activities and spaces – clubs, pubs, sport activities and sandboxes. And what’s the most popular? A bunch of wooden boxes out the front of the Billabong Bar. There’s nothing fancy – just the boxes to sit on and a campfire. And no matter what time of day or night it is, you’ll usually find a handful of people there chatting whilst the nearby club is deserted.
There’s no doubt Telstra have succeeded in Second Life – their traffic is considered one of the best for a corporate presence. They’ve been responsive to feedback and have had the resources to implement changes where needed. Whether they’ve succeeded in engaging the wider Second Life community is something to be judged by you. If you’re a regular Pond frequenter, what is it that keeps you coming back?
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