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Introducing: The Metaverse Journal

December 5, 2007 by 10 Comments

As we mentioned last week, we’ve had some plans in development to further develop what we do. The first part of that is a rebranding of SLOz to The Metaverse Journal. Why? Essentially because we want to broaden our coverage to virtual world developments from an Australian perspective, not just Second Life news.

That said, Second Life remains the focus of the site – it remains in our opinion the premiere virtual world in relation to the education. health and business opportunities it presents. It’s also one of the best online social interaction and creation options around.

To coincide with the new title, we’ve upgraded the site. Any comments on the new site are more than welcome – the upgrade is meant to make your reading experience better, so if that’s not happening for you, let us know. On a technical note, www.creativeshed.com will redirect to www.metaversejournal.com. Our RSS feed subscribers will also not be impacted.

Here’s to continued growth and improved service for our readers. Enjoy!

Filed Under: Australian News, TMJ Site News, Virtual Worlds

Second Life property gets mainstream attention

December 4, 2007 by Leave a Comment

Last Saturday, The Age ran a story on real estate in Second Life. I received a call from the journalist who wrote the article, Adam Turner, a few weeks back and it’s obvious he did some research. Aussie residents Juko Tempel and Earnest Candour are interviewed to name but two.

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The striking thing for me is the fact that a mainstream newspaper’s real estate section is running stories on property in virtual worlds. It’s also a story that isn’t looking at the issue from just a novelty viewpoint. In small steps, virtual worlds are gaining mainstream credibility.

Filed Under: Australian News, Virtual Worlds Tagged With: ,

SydSim – is that progress?

December 3, 2007 by 10 Comments

We covered Telstra’s new islands a month ago, but I thought it was worth paying another visit to see what progress had been made on what had been touted as a Sydney CBD replica. Here’s what I saw:

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I think the pictures pretty much speak for themselves. Telstra deserve plaudits for their work to date in Second Life, but SydSim is looking increasingly like an exception to that rule. There’s a real risk of failing in any sort of engagement with the Second Life community when you have a maze of virtual roadways and tall skyscrapers to navigate. Telstra’s own building on SydSim is the pick of the small bunch but even it is nothing more than a promotional shopfront. Obviously, the whole build is far from complete – I’m unsure why the two islands are even open to the public given the state they’re in.

Have you had a look and what do you think? My impression so far is that SydSim is an extremely poor competitor to its Melbourne counterpart.

Filed Under: Australian News, Virtual Worlds Tagged With: , ,

SLOz 1st Birthday Party

December 2, 2007 by 2 Comments

We had a little shindig on Saturday night to celebrate a year of news reporting for Australian Second Life residents. More than forty individuals popped in over the couple of hours and much dancing was had by all.

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A big thank-you to all those who have given their good wishes in recent days. As we’ve already mentioned, there’s some changes on the way that you should enjoy. Stay tuned 😉

Filed Under: Australian News, TMJ Site News, Virtual Worlds Tagged With: ,

Australian Federal Police to establish Second Life presence?

December 1, 2007 by Leave a Comment

The Australian ran a story last weekend alluding to the Australian Federal Police setting up shop in Second Life. AFP Assistant Commissioner Andrew Colvin is quoted as saying the organisation is “considering” Second Life as a base of operations for its High Tech Crime Centre.

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I’m taking the whole story with a large grain of salt as it’s written by Natalie O’Brien, who has some serious bad form in reporting on Second Life. If the AFP do establish a presence, it’ll be interesting to see what they offer as a public face in-world.

We’ve contacted the AFP for confirmation of the claims made.

Filed Under: Australian News, Virtual Worlds Tagged With: ,

Melbourne 2051

November 29, 2007 by Leave a Comment

Victoria University have a burgeoning presence in Second Life and one of their projects is Melbourne 2051. It’s a small but fascinating build revolving around a segment of Melbourne in, you guessed it, 2051. It’s been created by the 2007 Interactive Storytelling Class (Advanced Diploma of Multimedia – Games) at the University.

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The associated website gives the full storyline behind the project and it’s an impressive example of the learning opportunities virtual worlds like Second Life provide. Spend some time flying around the areas surrounding Melbourne 2051 – there’s some fascinating works in progress.

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Check it out in-world

Filed Under: Australian News, Education, Virtual Worlds Tagged With: ,

World Stock Exchange facing legal problems?

November 26, 2007 by 8 Comments

The Second Life Herald are running a story on the Midas Bank saga, alleging that Midas have done some legal investigations around their issues with the World Stock Exchange, run by Australian Luke Connell (LukeConnell Vandeverre).

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If the issues aren’t resolved and things do go legal, it’ll provide a fascinating test-case for the status of finance in virtual worlds and associated governance policies. We’ve stated numerous times that the state of financial regulation in Second Life is farcical and there doesn’t appear to be an end in sight at this stage.

I attempted to catch up with Vandeverre in-world this afternoon for comment but his status was set to Away for the 30 minutes or so that I waited around.

Filed Under: Australian News, Business, Virtual Worlds Tagged With: , ,

Pearse’d & Cut – Victorian Menswear

November 25, 2007 by 1 Comment

Pearse’d & Cut is an Australian-owned Second Life business that focuses on 19th Century menswear. Owner Edward Pearse offers waistcoats, trousers, hats and shoes and an array of military uniforms.

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The whole get-up is authentic as you’d expect from a business on the Caledon sim. I even picked up a kilt for the hell of it.

Check it out in-world

Filed Under: Australian News, Business, Profile, Virtual Worlds Tagged With: ,

A new government’s genesis viewed from Second Life

November 24, 2007 by 1 Comment

ABC Island played host to an election night party, with lots of chat about unfolding events in the real world. The ‘Australians’ group in SL was also buzzing with a running commentary.

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It’d be an understatement to say those gathered on ABC island and the group chat were pro-Kevin Rudd:

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Numerous comments were expressed in regard to the ALP’s broadband policy and its impacts on the SL experience. There was plain old partying.

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As one party-goer said, “I just wanted to be with some Aussies at this historical moment”. There’s been no involvement by Australian political parties in Second Life to date – my prediction is that by next election there’ll be a marked presence by at least one party in the virtual world sphere.

Filed Under: Australian News, Politics, Virtual Worlds Tagged With: ,

‘edna’ arrives in Second Life

November 21, 2007 by 2 Comments

Terra Incognita is a veteran education presence in Second Life that we’ve covered previously. It’s an area that next week will be hosting the launch of a new service by edna (Education Network Australia).

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The full announcement:

“Education Network Australia – better known as edna – is celebrating ten years of service to the Australian education and training sector on Tuesday, 27 November and is inviting educators from across the country to jump online and in-world to join the celebration.

From 3pm Adelaide time education.au, the company that manages the edna web site and related services, will be doing a live broadcast of presentations and the unveiling of the new myedna service on the island of Terra Icognita.

Pick up a free t-shirt, indulge in some virtual cake and champagne and, following the formalities, your avatar can rock out to popular Second Life band Space Junky.

For educators that don’t have the broadband or hardware to participate in Second Life, there is a parallel being held in edna’s Sandpit Groups using Live Classroom web conferencing software.

For more information, visit the 10th birthday page on the edna web site.”

Check it out in-world

Filed Under: Australian News, Education, Virtual Worlds Tagged With: ,

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