In Subtle but Powerful Shift, New Second Life 2.0 Viewer Merges Real Life & Avatar Identity Onto Single Profile Panel

In the new, greatly revamped version of the Second Life viewer out in Beta today, the redesigned user profile window is one of the most striking features, powerful in its shift of visual metaphor:

As you can see above with ColeMarie Soleil's profile, Second Life avatar identity and real world information has now been merged into a single panel. Up until now, the 1st Life information panel has been relegated to a bottom level tab in users' profiles, seeming almost like an afterthought. (Unsurprisingly, many Residents don't even bother adding any details to it.) Now that the new viewer literally merges Second Life and Real World identity together on the same window, and makes them part of the same first impression of an avatar's profile, many more Residents are likely to feel obliged to say something about their real lives, if only some variation of No Comment.

If you're a regular reader to New World Notes, you'll know there's been a fair amount of controversy over the topic of merging real and virtual identities. I personally advocate it as an option architected into the system, and rejoiced when the Lindens announced they'd integrate Facebook Connect as a SL log-ins choice soon. But as the conversation over a post last Friday showed, some Residents believe (and often fear) Linden Lab wants Residents to link their real and Second Life identities together. This single design choice does seem to make a subtle nudge in that direction. It will be interesting to see how it changes identity formation in Second Life in future years.

Comments

[Wizard Gynoid]

This certainly makes it appear that LL wants users to reveal their RL (which is against their own T.O.S.)

[Samantha Poindexter]

This is about as "subtle" as a sledgehammer, if you ask me.

[sigh]

[Arcadia Codesmith]

Let's turn it into the world's biggest rickroll, just for fun. Imagine everybody's "RL" section with the exact same picture and text, sending a very clear message to the Lab about what we think of their very clear message to us.

[Lukemary Slade aka Luca Spoldi]

Personally i always wrote who I am and what i do in my everyday life (not talking about my site...). But this just with my "official" avi, never with my alts and definetly thinks no one really like to be "obliged" to say a single word about him/herself if wanna just use virtual worlds to relax, have fun or trying catch his/her own dream.

[Vax Sirnah]

Wizard, I was under the impression that it was agains T.O.S. for others to reveal things about a person's First Life, not for people to reveal things about their own.

But yeah, not very subtle. ;)

[Lum Lumley]

/me thinks Hamlet needs to upgrade to Windows 7 :)

A cigar may just be a cigar here. A lot of what we're seeing with the new viewer UI is in streamlining. Combining the 1st and 2nd Life profile tabs seems a no-brainer from that aspect. Given how it's laid out in the viewer, people who don't want to disclose their RL can just ignore the "Real World" label simply just add another SL-related pic and comment, similar to how many residents repurpose the Picks tab as their own personal commentary area.

It *does* destroy a lot of carefully-mapped out profile formatting, though :)

[Paola Tauber]

What's this obsession with merging SL and RL, Hamlet? The new beta viewer has some interesting features (alpha and tattoo layers) that will affect many content creators and a completely revised interface many residents will have to adapt to... and the news headline is about placing 2 pics next to each other? Duh. Do you own shares in Facebook by any chance?

[Ann Otoole]

woo hoo we can see all the "F You My RL is PRIVATE" message on the garbage pane now.

[Simon Newstead]

I agree with Hamlet, it is a subtle but important shift, and encouraging more real life to virtual life cross over. Seems to be a trend, IMVU just launching the real life dating crossover, also implementing Facebook Connect in our case.

[Pyewacket Bellman]

What the obsession with merging RL and SL? Simple.
Investors won't pay for avatar info.

Have a look at who's been shoveling money into Facebook recently.

[Scylla Rhiadra]

Whether intentional or not (and I have a feeling that it may be), this certainly has the *effect* that Hamlet describes. What it means is that residents can now see who is being "upfront and honest" about their identity (please note the scare quotes), and who is not.

M. Linden has said that there are no plans to force RL disclosure in SL. I am entirely willing to believe that. But this unquestionably exerts pressure to do so. It will also render much more graphically and obviously the growing cultural rift between those who disclose, and those who don't. For that reason alone, this is an unfortunate development.

[Nexus Burbclave]

Coercion through peer pressure is still coercion.
I put up a "No trespassing" sign for my first life pic. I'd encourage others that wan't LL to respect their privacy to do the same.

[Turnips]

I agree with Mr Lum Lumley, it's probably just streamlining. If anything the whole profile thing has been streamlined into insignificance.

[Extropia DaSilva]

Is it fair to say Hamlet is obsessed about revealing RL identities, just because he reports on developments in Augmented Reality (overlapping computer graphics onto your RL visual field) and Augmented Virtuality (incorporating RL elements into virtual spaces)? I did the same for a couple of my essays, like 'Metaverse: Reloaded' and 'Shades Of Gray'. And yet I am firmly in the immersionist camp.

Just noting the way things are going and commenting on it does not mean you have an obsessive or belief that things AUGHT to be this way.

Maybe folks would prefer it if people like Hamlet stuck their heads in the sand and pretended like AR/AV developments are not really happening?

[Turnips]

Extropia, I think it's fair to say that Hamlet prefers talking to real people rather than some shady guy hiding behind his monitor pretending to be a hamster.

[Extropia DaSilva]

Hamlet did interview a hamster once. As I recall, that hamster gave Hamlet a package and when he opened it, it transformed him into a hamster too. Maybe the experience scarred him for life and now he will not go near immersionists, unless they are super-cool like Grace Mcdunnough? ;)

Extie- known for transforming English words into sentences and paragraphs of Singularitarian gibberish.

[Doreen Garrigus]

Hey...watch what you're saying about hamsters! ;)

[LittleLostLinden]

Groovy groovy groovy!!!!

Like I been a sayin all this time:

Giving away your private info on social networking sites is a bad idea!

And now......just to prove it.....Is the link of all links:

http://www.tomsguide.com/us/Facial-Recognition-App-Stalker-Android,news-5972.html

What pray tell is the proof of pudding? Well, since you have asked, I will tell you.

There now exists an iPhone application that is linking your face to all of your online social networking info.

It works a little like this. You see someone in a crowded bar, you point your iPhone at them and instantly, up pops their name, and any info they have posted on their social networking sites.

A Stalkers dream come true baby!!!!!

http://www.tomsguide.com/us/Facial-Recognition-App-Stalker-Android,news-5972.html

Like I have been saying. You should not give away all your info on your social networking sites. It will bite you in the ba-hoody!!!

Hee Hee, Ho ho.