Above: Runitai Linden's workstation for helping develop Second Life
Here's the official anniversary magazine for Second Life's 20th anniversary, full of photos (both SL and IRL) and articles to celebrate the virtual world's continued longevity. My unofficial version comes out next week, but meantime, I'm excited that New World Notes' longtime columnist Cajsa Lilliehook writes about Second Life's history and evolution -- starting at page 8 -- as told to her by Linden staff and Second Life's many grassroots creators. Sample:
User-generated content is, according to a variety of 2022 and 2023 headlines, the wave of the future. They haven’t been paying attention. UGC was heretical twenty years ago when Rosedale and his colleagues at Linden Lab made the extraordinary bet that they could make money on what users made and sold. Their decision to allow users to retain their intellectual property rights was revolutionary and preceded this “wave of the future” by decades.
But it wasn't only about UGC:
It is not just that Linden Lab allowed people to create content and sell it and cash it out for real money. It is that nearly all content in Second Life is user-created. Yes, the Linden moles build regions and Bellisseria is Linden-made, but nearly everything you see in Second Life was made by a Resident. Can you imagine opening the door to your world and telling the people to go make it real? Most of the business and tech world was aghast and unbelieving.
If people in the world of gaming were gobsmacked, think of the poor bank officers. Mami Jewell of AZUL recalls how no one understood how she could get an income from creating for Second Life. “I'm in Japan, so I needed to receive US$ of income through Paypal and had to give a big presentation to the Bank about SL, since the Bank officer didn't believe that I get money from the virtual world...it's a funny and old story for me, it makes me smile. As people around me had no idea how my 'job’ is, how to get income, I always needed to explain or hesitate speaking about my job.”
Helena Stringer of The Stringer Mausoleum recalls a similar difficulty explaining her work. “In the beginning, one of the biggest differences I found was just trying to get people to understand what exactly I did. Trying to explain micro transactions before the phase was even common, or that game money turns into real money. With the change of the internet, the gaming industry and internet celebrities who specialize in games, it is now more acceptable. Even if people don't always understand the explanation.”
Zaara Kohime, the clothing creator, noticed that COVID seemed to legitimize working in Second Life. “People from very different job profiles started to work from home and continue to do so. Unintentionally, the concept of a Metaverse gathered mainstream public interest and awareness which also gave more legitimacy to my job as a creator. It became easier to explain to friends, accountants, banks and other authorities, and I'm very proud to be able to say I’m a creator for Second Life!”
Truth Hawks, of Truth Hair, recognizes what makes SL a success for its creators. “Being an SL creator is such a unique job because you have total creative freedom. There are not many platforms, if any, where you can create whatever you like and sell it without going through a moderation system. You are your own boss, you can set your own hours and work as much or as little as you want. Like any real job success comes down to how dedicated and interested you are in your field. SL creators probably spend more hours working for profit but for me personally, the trade off is worth it for ultimate freedom.”
Most people who have never opened an SL browser think of SL as a game and games are where users’ money goes to die. The idea that users could make money, real money, more than pocket change amounts of money, was inconceivable when SL began. It took an extraordinary leap of faith on the part of Linden Lab to free its users to create things that belonged to them and not to the Lab. But this was not the only decision to cause folks to wonder what was happening on Linden Street...
People in Second Life do not leave the real world behind. In fact, sometimes they tackle real world problems in Second Life. There is probably no greater example than Relay for Life which has raised over $5 million for the American Cancer Society in the past nineteen years. There is also the annual Hair Fair that raises thousands of dollars for Wigs for Kids, a charity helping children with alopecia or who are going through chemotherapy. Natural disasters such as the typhoon in Southeast Asia and the earthquake in Japan also have prompted fundraising events.
People have come together for more personal reasons, from dental implants to down payments. When beloved creator Squinternet Larnia was dying of cancer, people raised over $10,000 for alternative treatments and home health care so she could stay at home as long as possible. People recently raised money to allow a woman to move out of Missouri after they passed oppressive anti-trans legislation that would make her life untenable there. For reasons large and small, people have helped each other and not just financially. People have helped SL friends find jobs, pick outfits for real life events, and just been there to uplift their friends through their joys and their sorrows.
Runitai Linden thinks referring to the “Second Life community” obscures a more important reality. “I don’t think there is a singular Second Life community, but many communities within SL. Some communities thrive for a time then dwindle and eventually die out or relocate. Some become these continuous institutions that seem like immutable pillars built against the bedrock of our world. But many, many more are the kind of genuine community that happens when no one is trying to make it happen. It’s difficult to put your finger on it, but I think we all experience those moments in SL where we turn around and realize that certain people on our friends list are among the most important people in our lives, and we’re not exactly sure when that happened, but there it is.”
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