New World Notes

The Top 20 Most Popular Sims of Second Life For 2009

Here are the top 20 regions of Second Life most visited in 2009 by users of Koinup, the virtual world social network (occasionally a sponsoring partner to this blog.) In other words, these are the places with SLurls which garnered the most clicks from the Koinup site. Among them is Drowsy, featured above, a wonderful storybook sim which I profiled in June. Curiously, if there's a recurring theme to these most visited places, it's an emphasis on the rustic, rural, and decaying -- not the cyberpunk/beach club/steampunk sites you might expect. Anyway, to see more images and visit these places yourself, click each link below:

20. Chuckles Isle

19. Isla Mallorca

18. Klaw (Pictured above)

17. RMB City 1(A mixed reality art project by my friend China Tracy)

16. Wretched Hollow

15. AeroBreeze

14. Aught

13. WETLands

12. Innsmouth

11. Japan Kansai

Read on for the top ten sites of 2009!

Chestnut's Choices: 12/31 - 1/6 Party Away the End of 2009, Experience LunaCast's Live Techno and Video Show, Autism Awarness Week in Second Life and Much More

 

 Chestnut Rau’s weekly round-up of upcoming SL events…

Since Second Life is so international ringing in the New Year can turn into a full day party.  The good folks at Sunshine Daydream start the celebration beginning at 6:50pm Thursday 12/31 carry on counting down to 2010.  For those of you spending New Year's Eve in Second Life will also enjoy a performance by special guest Light Dancer Cellandra Zon,

Each musician will take the stage 10 minutes before the hour to ring in the New Year across the time zones.  The musical lineup and the countries they will help welcome 2010 includes:

6:50 -  Paul Nowles - Buenos Aires,Santiago,
7:50 -  Keeba Tammas-San Juan, Halifax, St John
8:50  - Grateful Stryker-Eastern Time,Ottawa, Nassau
9:50 - Silas Scarborough-Central Time,Winnipeg, Mexico
10:50 - Johnny99 Gumshoe-Mountain Time, Edmonton
11:50 - Pmann Sands- SLT, Pacific Time

Join the New Year's celebration in Haight Ashbury.  [SLurl teleport at this link]

Also after the break: Keiko Takamura Live at The Greenies, Learn to Make Seamless Textures, month long machinima festival and much more

Willow's Playlist: Icing for your Christmas Cake with Casper Paperdoll - Think Scott Walker meets Rufus Wainright

Exclusive to NWN, Willow Caldera covers SL's burgeoning live music scene

It only takes moments to warm to Casper Paperdoll; wistful and a little plaintive, expressive and accessible, his voice has a heartfelt quality that adds an extra edge to the music he plays. Both his original songs and the covers he chooses are a gentle melodic journey through almost every genre going, with his mellow, emotional voice perfectly in sync with the notes of his piano.

Video shot by Toxic Menges featuring the original song "Don't Cry Now".

"My shows seem to work best when I seem to know where the mood is going and the song choices seem to present themselves to me without hesitation even though I rarely plan a setlist," says Casper. "When people are requesting them it's even better. I'm really still trying to figure out what a "Casper Show" is. I like to keep it honest, that's for sure, and I wear my heart on my sleeve, which sometimes means I bring foul moods to the proceedings - but I'm getting better at controlling that!"

Casper began learning to play the piano at the age of eight, but it wasn't until recently that he thought of making music for himself.

"I heard two albums in a row by Janis Ian and Cat Stevens respectively and decided that that's how I'd like to waste my time," he says. "I was thinking recently how I watched the movie 'Almost Famous' for the first time around the same time as discovering them (~2002-3) and that most definitely played a part in making me want to make music too. Since then I have made two CDs which are available on iTunes and other digital outlets (my RL artist name is Casper Myers) and am currently working on the 3rd."

Open Forum: What'll Be the Top Second Life News Stories of 2010?

We're days away from 2010, so as I have in years past, I want to gather readers' predictions for the coming year. I phrase the question like this:

In 2010, what will the top Second Life-related news headlines in the New York Times' Technology section be? (Suggest up to three.)

Next week, I'll put up my ten favorite headline predictions for a vote. Aim for predictions heavy on specifics, and news that's relevant to people even outside the SL community; bonus if they're written in the Times' wry-but-fact rich style!

Which of These Male Avatars Should Iris Pick For Her Top Ten Hot List? (Semifinals, Round 2)

Here's ten more semifinalists in Iris Ophelia's search for Hottest Second Life Male Avatar of 2009 -- help her select the final ten by choosing three below. When making her list, Iris will strongly consider the Voice of the People, so vote well, and lobby your friends to vote too. CLICK HERE TO VOTE.

2009, Second Life's Year of Transition (Talking the Metaverse and Other Topics on "Tonight Live")

As I mentioned last week, I was a guest on the latest episode of Treet TV's Second Life machinima show "Tonight Live" hosted by the lovely Paisley Beebe, sharing the couch with SL rockstar Dexter Ihnen and irrepressible creator Redd Columbia. (I appear roughly in the final third of the show.) I talk about the state of Second Life in 2009 (which I call a "transitional" or "fallow" period), what Philip Linden's doing with LoveMachine Inc., why SL's concurrency numbers seem to be slipping (I think iPhone apps and social games share some culpability), the way to experience Second Life like a dolphin, and more. (Warning: Occasional audio sputtering caused by a Skype connection running between San Francisco and Australia.) Anyway, what's your take on my take?

My Five Favorite Profiles of Second Life Users from 2009

"Second Life is for people without a first life," is an immensely silly assertion you often hear. And while it might have some truth in particular cases, I frequently find something very different. About as often, it seems, this is more accurate:

Second Life is for people who have too many interests for just one reality.

And consequently, I consistently encounter Residents from various real world backgrounds and identities, who are very much unlike the stereotypes of Second Life users many would have you believe -- unique individuals who came into SL to express the fullness of themselves in the digital realm, in many forms:

Such as Fanny Starr, an 87 year old Polish-American who regularly shares her experiences surviving the Holocaust through her daughters' avatar, Explorer Dastardly, to all in Second Life who will listen, for the good of all who must remember.

Such as Charles Bristol, another octogenarian, in his case a grandson of slaves, who shares a lifetime of blues guitar music to several generations who experience his live performances through his avatar, CharlesEBristol Xi. (And though he's 88, does not qualify as Second Life's oldest active resident: that title probably belongs to LS Back, who is now 97.)

Such as Beth Noveck, who joined Second Life as a New York Law School professor, via her avatar Lawlita Fassbinder, founding one of the first SL-based education initiatives back in 2004. And when Barack Obama was elected President, became the new Administration's Deputy Chief Technology Officer. (And made personally sure that government broadcasts would be streamed into SL.)

Other World Notes: Why Did Metaplace Fail To Gain Traction?

Last week there was some sad news amid the holiday bustle: Citing a failure to gain traction, Raph Koster announced that Metaplace, his ambitious web-based virtual world with user-generated content, is closing soon (at least in its current form.) As a long-time admirer of Raph and Metaplace, I'm especially disappointed. However, I also doubt this suggests user-generated virtual world/game content on the web isn't feasible (as some have interpreted this news.) Kongregate.com, for example, has millions of active users who regularly enjoy thousands of Flash games made by developers in its community; the Mochi ad network for Flash games has 91 million unique monthly users and thousands of developers. (In a survey Mochi sent me recently, 50% of Flash game developers reported making $1000 or more in monthly ad revenue.) This was likely a major challenge for Metaplace: by the time it launched, there was already a number of large, web-based systems supporting and monetizing user-generated game content.

Beyond that, what else caused traction to slip?

2009's Top Four Real World Applications of Second Life/OpenSim

While there were quite a few attempts to use Second Life and OpenSimulator in real world applications this year, here are four that in my opinion show some of the most promise. To qualify as such, I think the application must meet at least two of the following criteria:

• Easy enough so that non-SL users can benefit from it with a minimal learning curve/barrier to entry.
• Unique enough to Second Life or OpenSim that the application isn't as feasible/cost-effective on an alternative platform.

This narrow criterion might not necessarily apply to various "enterprise" uses of Second Life, such as virtual world teleconferencing -- other virtual world platforms are available for that as well, many with a lower learning curve and barrier to entry. Looking through my 2009 posts, here are four which do meet those criterion:

Weekly Recap: Seven of My Favorite Things About Second Life From Last Week

• Beloved SL musician Cylindrian Rutabaga hits hard times -- but here's how you can help.
• I review the new iPhone app for accessing SL (from your bath and points beyond!)
• We wonder what Avatar will do for general awareness of avatars.
• He performed on the Marley & Me soundtrack, and now Winston Ackland only performs in SL.
• Iris Ophelia has a great gift guide to fantastic SL treasures.
• My University of Hawaii alma mater teaches for-credit classes in Second Life.
• The search for Second Life's hottest male avatar continues!