New World Notes

Yes, New World Notes Is Open To Virtual Business

I'm very much interested in covering business applications of Second Life and OpenSim, for both in-world and real world uses. Generally speaking I prefer stories on broader business implications and economic trends, but if a particular company is uniquely innovative or successful with their SL operation, then I'm particularly interested in writing about them. With coverage of real world companies using Second Life, I'm even more interested when they're using SL to benefit the existing community -- as was the case with Amazon's recent in-world job fair. NWN editorial coverage of business was definitely different during SL's first hype period phase of 2006-2007, when I got buried in press releases with variations of "X big company is the first Y type business in Second Life!", few of which amounted to much. Since then, however, it's generally safe to say the companies that have stayed after the hype waned are serious about the platform, and the community.

All that said, what uniquely innovative business applications should I be keeping an eye on, nowadays?

Open Forum: What's Your Favorite SL Fashion Item This Summer?

I'm pining for Iris Ophelia's Gaze, New World Notes' erstwhile style column, but alas, Iris is currently occupied by offline demands. Hopefully she'll be back soon, but until then, here's an experiment in crowd-sourced fashion blogging:

In Comments, tell me about your favorite SL fashion item this summer (and be sure to name the creator.)

If I detect a clear preference in the discussion thread, I'll devote some blog coverage to the most popular item(s), certainly not as stylishly as Ms. Ophelia, but at least a pleasant switch of pace for me. (Image from Iris' 2007 Summer in Second Life Fashion Spread.)

Betterverse Blogs Non-Profit Uses of Virtual Worlds

Good new blog name for a great idea (that's long overdue): Betterverse, devoted to covering non-profit and social applications of virtual worlds, not just Second Life, but Habbo, WhyVille, and others. It's the brainchild of Rik Riel (as he's known in SL), a veteran of the subject he's blogging about, and just as important, an alum of NWN. Read more here and maybe RSS Rik like me.

Other World Notes: Thursday at 4pm, Meet Me In Metaplace

This Thursday at 4pm SLT (Pacific), I'll be appearing in Metaplace to talk games and virtual worlds with friend and fellow ex-Linden Robin Harper. My name there, as in SL, is Hamlet_Au, though I still need someone to help make me a white suit for my Metaplace avatar. If you haven't checked Raph Koster's world yet, you should, it's a compelling new vision of a user-created MMO with some interesting innovations. For example, to attend my in-world appearance on Thursday, you don't need to download a client program, because Metaplace runs on the web -- and individual areas can be embedded on third party websites. Like this one. So you just need to create a free account an hour or two before the event, and then come to New World Notes, to join in the fun.

Catch an In-World Demo of Wikitecture Today at 5pm SLT

Speaking of last-minute event announcements, there's a live demo of Wikitecture, the revolutionary, award-winning Wiki-meets-SL building tool for architects, today at 5pm SLT. More details at Ziff-Davis' Smarter Technology, which is hosting the event. Wikitecture founders Keystone Bouchard and Theory Shaw will be there in person, of course. Direct SLurl to the site at this link.

Ryker Beck's Tutorial For Photoshopping Avatar Skin Imperfections

This is metaverse artist Ms. Ryker Beck's detailed and very enlightening video tutorial on removing surface imperfections on an avatar with Photoshop, to fix avatar skin which, as she puts it, appears "blemished and splotchy, the way Second Life skin tends to look." In recent years, Photoshop has become a notorious tool for removing "imperfections" on photos of actual people, in a quest to depict an ideal beauty which doesn't exist; but somewhat ironically, it's also become a tool to perfect digital humans who don't exist, either.

Open Forum: What SL Events Should Chestnut Choose?

After a couple weeks vacation, Ms. Chestnut Rau is thankfully back writing "Chestnut's Choices", her weekly calendar of upcoming SL events. (A guide that one SL blogger calls "worth [NWN]'s cover price on its own", a sentiment I strongly share.) Here's the latest, with a few listings for today and tomorrow.

So, know of fun happenings hitting in the next couple weeks? Please post day, time, description, and SLurl here. As I never tire of saying, to best insure inclusion, we generally need event announcements a week in advance. However, we're always interested in last-minute events if they beguile us enough.

Drowsy Selected Favorite Second Life Sim of Spring/Summer By Koinup, NWN Readers!

Koinup: Your Virtual Life

By a significant margin, New World Notes readers chose the new Second Life island of Drowsy as their favorite from the most recently popular sims listed on Koinup (a partner to this blog.) A whimsically beautiful storybook town with hints of foreboding, it's the creation of Japanese Residents sato Yifu, BettiePage Voyager, Mai Runo, and Nico Rotaru; on my visits, it's attracted a steady stream of international visitors. (I explored and wrote about Drowsy here.) More screenshots and a SLurl for making your own trip at Koinup's Drowsy page.

Other World Notes: Booyah, the "World of Lifecraft" MMO

Booyah MMORPG App Aims to be “World of Lifecraft” for iPhone Owners

NWN blogging was light today, as I finished up an Apple Blog review of Booyah, a new social MMO from a team of World of Warcraft/Blizzard vets, who apply the MMORPG leveling mechanism to your offline life (another kind of mixed reality): Get regular exercise and attain Booyah’s “God of the Gym” status, for example; jetset around the world enough, and Booyah dubs you a “Wondrous Wanderer.” These achievements are registered as badges in the Booyah virtual “room” on your iPhone, where your comically bulbous-headed avatar resides. Booyah even has accomplishment ladders for cultural activities and social activism, so if players make a genuine effort to earn the game’s wide range of awards, they may also find themselves becoming more enriched, better-rounded human beings. Hence, I dub it World of Lifecraft. Download it here; read more about it here.

Open Forum: Who Are Your Favorite Second Life Tweeters?

As my new Tweet of the Day series suggests, Twitter has become one of my favorite mixed reality interfaces, a fluid, light way of keeping in touch with Second Life happenings via the web and mobile phone. (I'm especially addicted to checking Tweet My Gaming's Second Life channel via my iPhone.) I'm always looking for new Residents in the Tweetosphere. Which Second Life Residents' Tweets do you follow most avidly?