KirstenLee Cinquetti Talks About Third Party Viewers, Meeting M Linden, Other Topics on Metaverse TV

MBC News: Kirstenlee Interview from Metaverse TV on Vimeo

This is Metaverse TV's interview with KirstenLee Cinquetti, the open source coder who created the widely loved and admired Kirsten's Viewer for Second Life. As smartly interviewed by Dousa Dragonash, Ms. Cinquetti comes across as a sweet, wise, and very thoughtful person on a range of topics, such as: Registering with the Lindens as a third party viewer developer (a process she describes as much less worrisome than some have suggested), meeting M Linden in real life (someone she describes as much smarter and connected to the SL community than some have asserted), and why KirstenLee, who's actually a British dude, has a female avatar (more by accident and tradition, than explicit choice.) One other important highlight that comes up: While KirsteenLee Cinquetti creates her viewer for free and for the love of it, she takes donations -- but few actually donate, and she may need to start charging for it, to keep herself financially afloat. So if you use Kirsten's viewer, why not send some L$ or US$ her way, dammit?

The video is about 30 minutes long, but the visuals don't add much to the interview, so you'll be fine just listening to the audio. Side question for Metaverse TV and all the other interview-type Second Life video shows out there: Why record your show in a staid TV talk show-type location, when you have a whole beautiful world to shoot in? (Especially if you shot it with Kirsten's Viewer.)

Hat tip: Tinas Universum.

Comments

[Paisley Beebe]

Hamelt, As per the question of in studio talk shows...depends on how you use the space Hamlet, we do both, a music show at a different location every week, and 2 shows in the same studio every week...I challenge you to listen to both our shows without watching them, more so Fabulous Fashion which features loads of clothes and accessories and hot well dressed Avis every week, and on Tonight Live we do our best to incorporate what I call "show and tell" in the studio every week some interviews are hard to bring pics into. The in-world studio has loads of stuff in it for times where the show is not filming...and you would be surprised how many people are impressed with the studios, they get past shows to watch, freebies and info about who is on every week. It gives us a base and our regular attendees know exactly where to go every week. We also have large audiences for most of our shows so its worth it.

Without facial expressions its always a challenge to make it watchable AND listenable and we try to do that every week...but even with outside tapings for our music show, I'm sure many people ashew watching the pretty landscapes and musicians and just listen to the great music...shrugs...
Paisley

[Adric Antfarm]

Readers of this blog are no doubt tired of hearing about those blessed with an M. Marky audidence. It's not a way to bond with us (quite the opposite).

Kristen is certainly free to start charging for something under GNU (you know, like Firefox does and oh...), but I suspect she will encounter what I lovingly call the Howard Stern effect. It's when you do something for free and then start charging. You go from the King of all Media to the Prince of the Thing that Comes with a New Car no one really activates.

As for saying how great the Kool Aid is, again - not really winning a big slice over here, but it's a great way to kick off expecting those people who would no doubt be the few people at Blue Mars if they had the rig to use your viewer to pass the can around.

I do not get the location thing. There has to be an easier why to confuse your studio audience so they show up at 10 different locations (none of which have amazingly comfy chairs people like Second Lie and myself have spent insane amounts of Lindens having our name added to). Not to mention your touching story on the 141 year old avatar from France talking about WWI which goes south fast when a noob comes up demanding 10L and she attacks him with a baguette. If you lack kick/ban, best not to film there.

Has Kristen considered ads? Like a NWN pop-up?

[Hamlet Au]

Paisely, real talk shows do "on location" episodes all the time, they just shoot their show on an open-air soundstage with Waikiki or whatever in the background. Seems like that'd be very easy to pull off with SL shows, and I bet sim owners would clamor for the exposure. ("Coming to you live from the cybercity Insilico...") Why not try that and leverage the medium more fully?

[Dousa Dragonash]

Thank you for watching/listening to the interview Hamlet. Actually this was originally going to be part of Metaverse TV's MBC News and therefore was filmed in the MBC Studio. Our original intention was to do 10 mins however we decided that would undervalue KirstenLee's contribution so we decided to release it in its entirety... Many of our other programmes are filmed out on location and indeed Lumiere's build of our sim, Metaverse Island, is aso very beautiful and we should include it more, point taken. Our series Out and About is specifically about the creators, developers, builders and other interesting souls on their sims in Second Life. Actually KirstenLee says in the interview that if she has to start charging she won't be doing it at all.I kind of got the same impression from Chalice Yao of Emerald in my interview with her for the Metaverse Tribune though I did not ask. The point being that most of the people I talk to in Second Life who create, develop etc do not consider the money but the act of creation to be the point of their contribution to the communities.

[archie lukas]

"Send donations of US$"

If she is a British male, then
raw Sterling ££££ would be more appropriate old chap, what!?

[Hamlet Au]

Hmm, good point... or maybe even Euros are better. Then again, L$ is the common currency here, innit?

[ColeMarie Soleil]

YAY kirsten....

My comment sucked but

It's true :D

[Delinda Dyrssen]

In response to Hamlet who said.. {Paisley, real talk shows do "on location" episodes all the time, they just shoot their show on an open-air soundstage with Waikiki or whatever in the background. Seems like that'd be very easy to pull off with SL shows, and I bet sim owners would clamor for the exposure. ("Coming to you live from the cybercity Insilico...") Why not try that and leverage the medium more fully?}

Here are 3 times that the show was filmed on location that I remember off hand.

http://treet.tv/shows/tonightlive/episodes/ep051 (Rustica)

http://treet.tv/shows/tonightlive/episodes/ep048
(BOSL BLVD)

http://treet.tv/shows/tonightlive/episodes/ep088
(SL6B)

And of Course Perfect World Productions "Live n Kickin" is filmed in a different sim EVERY week.
http://treet.tv/shows/livekick

The logistics involved in filming on location are not always easy. There are many things that can come up and they do all the time! Often at the last min too. Remember these shows air live on in world Tvs and the web at a certain time each week and then they are archived so people can watch anytime. Personally I think with a show like Tonight Live an on location shoot once in a while is great however, I think the host and the staff should and do focus on the interviews, in studio demonstrations etc. and not have to worry about the added logistics of shooting on location every week.

And now you have my 2 cents! Or would that be .00026 Lindens? :-)