Avatar Owners in CA, NY & DC Wanted: Major Media Brand Looking for Subjects of Photo Series on Virtual Identity

First Look Media, a new cross-medium brand that includes The Intercept news/opinion site and is funded by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar, is looking for people in California, New York, and D.C. who have a second life and are interested in being photographed in real life:

"To put it broadly," project coordinator and freelancer Maddy Crowell puts it to me, "the project will explore themes of identity and disguise, and the power of virtual identities. We'd like to make a photo-driven story about people who have virtual identities that are substantially different from those in their daily lives, and talk with them about their second lives - how they invented their second lives, what their second lives have brought their 'personal' lives; whatever they are comfortable with, really. Also, if anyone prefers not to use their names, pseudonyms are completely fine."

A bit reminiscent of Robbie Cooper's Alter Ego from a decade ago, but the concept could use (so to speak) a second life. Interestingly, one of the best people to be in this photography series would be... eBay founder Pierre Omidyar, who used to semi-anonymously explore Second Life.

Anyway, if you qualify geographically and you're interested in participating, here's how to get involved:

Send an e-mail to Maddy Crowell at [email protected], and perhaps share a bit of your background. I'm asking Maddy to participate in the Comment thread in case readers have any questions!

Comments

[Pulsar]

"identity and disguise", "story about people who have virtual identities that are substantially different from those in their daily lives"... Not everyone is alike, it would be interesting if, among those with a different real and second life, there is a story that turns out a bit different. Actually many people wear a mask... in their daily lives. Maybe everyone does, more or less, even if they aren't aware. But among SL users, there are people who have more freedom and less constrains in the virtual world than in real life, when they express their own personality. In that case, while someone assumes it's a disguise, in truth they are honestly themselves there. A common example is transgender people (I don't mean the SL "shemales", I mean true transgenders): in SL they are the women or men they are, because that's their gender identity, not a disguise. Someone had a real life surgery eventually, but meanwhile SL made them feel better, themselves. Besides them, there is any kind of people who wear a mask in real life and can behave or look more naturally and authentic elsewhere or in a virtual world. Their virtual and daily lives identities would still appear different, as it happens for other different cases, but in their case the disguise would be in real life.

[Rin]

Pulsars comment above is very much in line with my own observations. I usually refer to this with saying, that in some cases SL allows us to see directly into the mind of the other person.
Because through the avatar they are able to create a persona they are not only perfectly comfortable with, but that is also free of the constrains and limitations they face in RL. Their SL becomes different to RL, because with the assumed identity of the avatar they can trully let go and, for a little bit of time in the day, let their fantasy free and become the aspect of their personality they can not be in their daily life.

And often this has lead to people becoming more comfortable with themsleves in RL too. But for this a big amount of honesty towards ourselfs is needed and the ability to look at ourself and our actions and understand how they shape ourselves and others in all the many interactions while being this *free-direct-out-of-our-minds* avatar persona. Because on the other side there is always also the danger lurking that one get lost in the fantasy and looses track of reality. Addiction in a different disguise.

However, while I always love to meet people who are happy to delve into their own minds and create this sort of *true-self* personas, the majority of people seem to recreate RL. Complete with the same limits, masks and prejudices they face in their daily life.

[Isabelle cheren]

Would have loved to participate as I think dispelling some of the preconceived myths about SL would be great.
So many reasons people congregate in another world that far surpass the assumptions.
Sadly geographically I can't participate as I'm uk based.