In a way, Catherine Omega made New World Notes. It was the story she first told me which shaped what it was from the beginning, and what it aspired to be. I profiled the master scripter in May of '03, near her mansion on Shipley's shore-- much of it made (she mentioned almost casually) while she was temporarily homeless in real life, squatting in an abandoned apartment with a laptop of salvaged parts. [Update: actually, it was more like this.] As it happens, she was one of the very first Residents I wrote about, and so her narrative, with all its fantastic William Gibson overtones, made me wonder where reality ended and roleplaying began. (Something I tried to capture in the ultimate story.)
A lot has happened to Catherine since then, and to be sure, that story is just a small part of who she is now. Then again, it's still a large part of what New World Notes is, so "Home for the Homeless" has always been at my periphery, as a story whose arc I wanted to complete. Last year she visited Linden Lab only weeks after I had ended my contract with the company, and so it seemed like I'd missed my best chance to finally connect Catherine the avatar with who she was in the material world.
And then something wonderful happened: someone I knew in real life went and hired her.
Through mutual relations, I met Alexandra Samuel at the last South by Southwest in Austin, and as is usually the case, ended up talking to her about Second Life. At the time, I don't remember if she looking to establish an SL presence for Social Signal, the Vancouver-based online community developer for which she's the CEO. But a few months ago, she told me she was, and asked if I'd introduce her to a fellow Vancouverite who could help create their place in-world.
And so I told Alexandra about Ms. Omega, and they met in real life, and now the two identities are merged together.
And so at long last, meet Catherine in both her incarnations:
Catherine Winters and Catherine Omega, circa 2007
And from here on out, I should let Alexandra finish her introduction, and explain what both Catherines will be doing in Second Life with Social Signal. Go here for the rest.
Okay, honestly now, I've explained this part before. :)
Nobody can MAKE a laptop out of bits. It was a salvaged PC desktop, with the crappiest monitor known to mankind ("Cat, why is there a silhouette of you burned into the wall behind you?") which I ran SL on --slowly-- and my not-salvaged, duh-sure-we-will-grant-you-a-really-high-credit-limit-Catherine iBook that I had purchased prior to my financial crisis, which served as wifi gateway.
Posted by: Catherine Omega | Monday, January 08, 2007 at 05:54 AM
Catherine = C.U.T.E.!!
Posted by: Alastair Chamerberlin | Monday, January 08, 2007 at 07:51 AM
Mah Girl! <3
Posted by: Aimee Weber | Monday, January 08, 2007 at 10:26 AM
Congrats Cat! =^_^=
I like how historical this story is: I first met Cat in the Welcome Area, back when it was the Ahern-Morris "classic model". Much has happened since then, but I'll never forget Cat's kindness, nor her insights into what makes us who we are. And oh yeah, watching Royksopp's "Remind Me" about the interconnectiveness of the world was kewl too.
Nice to know we have our own apocryphal tales of legendosity, too. ;)
Posted by: Torley | Monday, January 08, 2007 at 12:17 PM
Ack, Cat, I can't believe I got so sloppy there; will update.
Posted by: Hamlet Au | Monday, January 08, 2007 at 01:22 PM
Aww, thanks guys.
You know, that was a pretty significant event in the Catherineverse too, Torley. It's nice to find something so significantly in common with a near-stranger, because they quickly become so much more when you do. ;)
Posted by: Catherine Omega | Monday, January 08, 2007 at 03:06 PM
First off I want to say it's ABOUT TIME someone hired this woman for her amazing talents.
Catherine I wish you all the best in your new position and I have no doubt you'll blow everyone away :).
Posted by: Torrid | Monday, January 08, 2007 at 03:36 PM
Hamlet, we can't thank you enough for introducing us to Catherine. Over and above her just being really wicked smart, working with her has been a delight. And I think we're going to do some great things together.
Posted by: Rob Cottingham | Friday, January 12, 2007 at 12:22 AM