Tateru Nino's weekly take on mixed reality...
A lot of efforts to bring people and businesses into Second Life don't really last past their first appearance, either because they were one-off stunts, or because the people behind it viewed Second Life's population as a bunch of tech-savvy hipster kids and just plain Myspaced us. (Is that a verb? Can it be?)
Harvard Law School, thankfully, is not a stunt, and doesn't seem to be missing the point. I got to sit in on part of one of their 2007 classes, thanks to their commitment to virtual worlds and the Harvard Extension Program. As a part of that, Harvard's Berkman Island became a virtual courtroom exploring an upcoming trial whose outcome will affect the future of Second Life, and perhaps all the virtual worlds of the future.
We also take a look at the impending return of the Gaming Open Market; the inaugural Virtual Worlds conference in New York City this March; a quick look at an amusing alternative to Second Life; Guntram Graef, the DMCA and anatomy; and AOL and the Australian ABC's respective forays into virtual worlds. More, after the fold.
CyberOne: Law in the Court of Public Opinion
Last year, we touched on Professor Charles Nesson's plans to develop an open Cyberlaw course for the Harvard Law School. That course truly reached fruition this week, under the guiding hands of Charles Nesson, Rebecca Nesson and Gene Koo, as they tackled a moot trial of Bragg vs Linden Lab/Philip Rosedale.
For Madison Kotobide, a new resident of Second Life and a Harvard Law School student, the experience has been an eye-opener, "It's been unlike any other course I've taken at the law school, both because of the novelty of the Second Life experience and Professor Nesson's general commitment to pushing the art of legal pedagogy forward."
The moot trial took place entirely in-world, as a part of the Evidence at Large subject on trial advocacy and evidence. Video presentations and discussions in Second Life on Harvard's Berkman Island occupied the first week, while the second was taken up with a mock enactment of the Bragg vs Linden Lab case, with students and interested resident volunteers playing the parts of jurors, counsel, and witnesses.
The mock trial was perhaps a trifle rushed, but from my seat in the public gallery there was no denying that it was an excellent training tool, strong in immediacy and relevance. Somehow just watching an avatar cross-examining a witness brought a curious sense of solidity, despite the fact that the counsel was a beskirted anthropomorphic ringtail possum. Living the proceedings really made the difference, and experiencing it in a virtual world made it possible for people to observe and participate in ways that would not have been possible in the real world.
Kotobide and other participants in the program are extending their use of Second Life as time passes, and as the material and its means of presentation continues to engage them, "The moot trial was a fun experience. I first logged on to Second Life for purposes of the class, but in the past few weeks I've spent a lot time exploring, meeting people and even learning to build."
Nesson's blend of entertainment, engagement, and education are backed by a committed philisophy, according to Kotobide, "Professor Nesson is interested in helping us develop not just as skilled attorneys, but also as reflective human beings."
Or reflective anthropomorphic possums.
Mixed Reality Currencies
GOM set to return to Second Life this April: The GOM (Gaming Open Market) which shut down in August 2005 is set to return. Or at least the name and the business is. Second Life resident Lee Dimsum has bought the name and the business, and since October 2006 has been laboring to bring the GOM back to Second Life. Plans have been somewhat delayed according to SLNN, and the new GOM is tentatively planned to reopen in April this year.
They say the absence of information breeds misinformation. The original GOM closed under circumstances that were not immediately clear, and within hours the residents of Second Life had manufactured myriad stories as to why, some of which lay the blame at the feet of Linden Lab, and others which place it with the GOM.
By the time definitive information began to appear, the stories had entrenched themselves in the mythology of Second Life. The name itself has become a verb in Second Life, to describe cases where a business model is undermined or swallowed up by a more accessible or more ubiquitous one.
Mixed Reality Meetups
Virtual World Conference 2007: The first annual Virtual Worlds Conference is set to take place in New York City on Wednesday March 28, and Thursday March 29, 2007. Robin Harper (aka Robin Linden) will be there, along with quite a number of other virtual worlders and Second Life personalities.
I was invited to speak at it at the opening session on statistics and growth, but it's the other side of the planet, and I don't travel very well. So, no sassy Tateru mixing up the numbers for you. The conference is run by Virtual Worlds Management - a part of Show Initiative, LLC who formed the Austin Games Conference.
The conference is still firming up it's schedule. Contact details are available on their website for those people interested in speaking or presenting.
Mixed Reality Humor
First look at First Life: Darren Barefoot amuses with his promotional website for First Life over at www.getafirstlife.com. It's almost enough for me to want to go out and get a small child and dress them up as a pirate. Almost. I'm not sure where I would keep a diminutive pirate. Child and Family Services frowns on cardboard boxes.
While Barefoot points out all the manifold advantages of First Life, I'm not too sure about the lag-free part of it. In addition, the interface for First Life can be pretty complicated, and the opportunities for instant gratification are not all that they could be.
Aimee Weber at Second Life Insider does an in-depth review and analysis of First Life, going into detail about the pros and cons of it, and the technology that makes it all function.
Ginsu Yoon, Linden Lab's legal counsel, thought it was a hoot, and gave Barefoot the blessing of parody:
We do not believe that reasonable people would argue as to whether the website located at http://www.getafirstlife.com/ constitutes parody – it clearly is... Linden Lab is well-known for having strict hiring standards, including a requirement for having a sense of humor, from which our lawyers receive no exception. In conclusion, your invitation to submit a cease-and-desist letter is hereby rejected.
Being able to laugh at yourself is a healthy thing. I do it every time I pass by a mirror.
Mixed Reality Rights (and Wrongs)
Guntram Graef withdraws DMCA complaint: Guntram Graef was understandably a bit upset at the viral spread of the incident where a CNET interview with his wife's avatar, Anshe Chung, was interrupted by a horde of floppy virtual phalluses. Quite a few folks think Guntram overreacted and created yet more of a buzz and scrutiny of his wife's virtual past than might have otherwise been the case.
I think everyone's learned a lesson from this one. I learned that I don't like writing stories about penises nearly as much as the mainstream media seems to.
Mixed Reality Marketing
AOL Pointe comes to Second Life: AOL (America Online) is bringing a new ... something to Second Life. Let's call it a 'space' for want of more information at this stage. AOL's space is pitched to contain an extreme sports park (everything sounds better when it's extreme, right?) and theater.
The goal of this space seems to be to promote AOL content and services, and to perform market research. Some of the services listed by the AOL spokesperson include AOL Music, Moviefone, TMZ, and Lat34.com - not a single one of which I've heard of personally - so maybe the marketing effort won't be entirely to waste.
You'd think I'd have more information about this, given that AOL ultimately pays me to write for Second Life Insider, but we're a division of a division (of, presumably, yet another division of still another division). I wonder if AOL even know that Second Life Insider exists - it seems quite unlikely that they do.
ABC in Second Life: The Australian Broadcasting Corporation is also coming to town. The ABC is a progressive, non-profit, government-owned broadcaster with a strong track record for successful involvement in new media and new technologies, for the public interest.
The ABC has a bit of a dual image. On one hand it can be pretty edgy and progressive with a tradition of laughing at itself, yet when us vegemite-munching weirdos think of it, we tend to think of Aunty ABC as rather staid and conservative. When Aunty jumps to embrace a new medium, we're generally surprised despite corporation's record of success with innovative new media in the past.
We antipodeans generally love the ABC. Soon, you will have the chance to as well. Despite the very recent request for ideas and participation on the SL Oz forums, construction of ABC Island is already under way.
ABC's Island was open to the public, briefly during construction, but appears to be closed to visitors at the current time.
Got a mixed reality tip for Tateru? E-mail her at [email protected].
GASP! An article whose title is not all in caps! Great read, Tateru, a read that actually made me interested in NWN again.
Posted by: Talon Lardner | Monday, January 22, 2007 at 06:32 PM
Wow, that was packed with multiverse gooey goodness. Good stuff, Tat!
Posted by: rikomatic | Monday, January 22, 2007 at 08:33 PM
Once 'extreme' is used to describe the current iteration of Tickle Me Elmo its truly over.
Thanks for the post Tateru, you are an SL uber-blogger :)
Posted by: Chip Poutine | Wednesday, January 24, 2007 at 11:27 AM