Saturday, April 26 was my second rez day in Second Life®. Two years in living, working and playing in the metaverse. Wow, two years!

Contemplating this milestone in my life, I realize that there are so many memories, lessons and affirmations. But how to write about them?

I have no clue where to start.

I sadly realize that any attempt at documenting and making sense of them at this time would take up to much time and effort. I also realize that any attempt would never do justice to all of those who I have interacted with the past two years and would at best cheapen the experience. And finally, I would never be happy with the finished product.

But, I also know that this moment does require some thoughts in order to commerate this milestone. And despite my misgivings, I should attempt some writing. Hell that is what this why this blog exists.

So if you would permit me, I would like to share some of my memories from the first two years of my Second Life Journey and I beg my friends to pardon my lack of memory or inclusion at this time. These memories are my personal ones and will not be my professional thoughts and observations. I will save the professional ones for another time - and to a paying client.

Initial Impression

Being a fan of movies like Tron and Lawnmower Man, I have been intrigued with the cyber space concept. Having read Snow Crash sometime in the late 1990’s and as active fan of cyber punk books, I wondered if there would be a day that such a world exsisted. Now I had seen a few on line worlds, but they never captured my imagination.

So when I had heard about Second Life back in 2004, I did some investigation but stayed away after looking at a few articles on it mostly due to a lack of time and not believing the hype.

During 2005, I was tracking Second Life from a distance since I do live near Silicon Valley. Friends and colleagues started mentioning it here and there. I was intrigued when Linden Lab® granted Second Life Residents the copyright over their content, and legal trading of the in-world currency “Linden Dollars” (L$) was encouraging the creation of solely in-world businesses and the in-world participation of previously unrelated companies and organizations. This element intrigued me.

Was it possible to make a living in Second Life?

From a professional point of view, I was intrigued by the concept of social networks colliding with gaming technology and the potential for interactive global entertainment. Then I heard that there had been a Tech Talk at Google on Second Life (March 2006) given by the the top two guys from Linden Lab®. A friend who attended it claimed it was something right up my alley, the exact quote being “this cyber place is weird. I think you would fit in.”

So late one night after reading the Wiki entry on Second Life for the sixth time that month, I decided I NEEDED to discover this world.

I came into Second Life® with the podcaster wave, when the likes of Adam Curry and Drew Domkus were talking about this world and right before the infamous Anshe Chung Business Week (May 1, 2006) edition.

I can remember exactly the first five hours of Second Life, from there, time and dates begin to blur. When my avatar first rezzed at 9:05 pm on April 26, 2006, I did what I usually do in any game, I bypassed all orientation and went directly in world. Hell, I am an experienced gamer and this should be easy. Who needs orientation?!?

I arrived in world at Waterhead Welcome Area, in the Waterhead sim, looking and acting like a noob without realizing what all that implied. I immediately struck out into the world, full of confidence that I would understand it all quickly. lol What a noob.

Waterhead Today (April 2008) - looks the same

I walked straight out of the Welcome Area, passed by a dozen loitering avatars, turn left at the street and started walking. Then I learned to fly. Now that is cool. I spent the next five hours learning to navigate by wandering about and invading people property and builds. Later I would realize that just walking in was not always acceptable behavior, nor was it a great way to meet people.

That night I wandered about a seeming endless land which I later learned was called a mainland sim. I saw lots of different type of buildings and trees and shrubs. I came across a camping chair. I saw chickens. I saw gambling machines. I avoided other avatars due to a lack of social understanding on what I was supposed to be doing. I experienced lag, found out about the runner band effect inherent in sim crossings and wished that the graphics would load faster. Every area I went started to look the same - and endless shopping mall - and I HATE shopping malls. Yet when I looked up at my clock, I was stunned to see that over five hours had flown by and I was hooked.

Yet, I still had no clue what to do.

I slept less than three hours that night and was back in world early. I even canceled a meeting that day citing an unexpected conflict.

Over the next few days, I spent on average of twenty hours per day in world. I experienced many firsts such as:

• talking to another avatar,
• learning to dress
• purchasing my first Lindens,
• getting my first toy,
• realizing that camping chairs were a complete waste of time,
• learning the search tool (it use to be real bad - the current is much better sadly to say),
• made my first clown,
• broke my first toy,
• checked out a dance club,
• causally sauntered into a XXX club then quickly scampered out when I was “approached” with a private Instant Message
• and the best of all was when I discovered the wonderful place called a sandbox.

And within a week I was a premium resident. Many things since that first week have happened. Here are just some of them.

Dublin - Saw “U2″ There

Banana in The Blarney Stone Irish Bar, Dublin - April 2006

My first weekend (April 29, 2006) was the official opening of the Dublin sim and the big party featured a full day of music with the headliners being U2! I love U2. This was to good to be true!

It soon dawned on me that it really was the NOT the lads but others. But hell, the show was great and I learned that only 80 avatars could be together. And heard for the first of many times, take off those prims!

I still have “Dublin Rocks” promotional poster and still enjoy strolling the streets of Dublin in search of great music and a pint of Guinness. It is one of the sims I always show when I am showing off Second Life.

Hawaii, Big Island

My first rented home or to be more accurate, my first no-pay place. What a concept this place was; no cost to live and it had a great view. Plus it looked like there were people here. The two weeks I lived there was great. I once saw a mermaid swimming below my home.

I’m not naughty, I just rez that way.

There are so much wonderful memories and great stories to tell about Yxes Delacroix. In many ways, much of my thinking and perceptions of Second Life, notably the significance of social networks and their importance and value is a directly attributed to this lady. Her sense of humor and inspiring ways are a blessing. I wish you all could have the pleasure of spending some time with her.

The Avatar and all things that I did not know….

Banana - Two Years

• Avatars appearance is an indicator of many things but being perceived as a noob can be changed just with getting primed hair.
• Emotional ties to an avatar are real
• Avatars currently have no rights - A person chooses, a tool obeys
• Being “Ruthed” was not a griefer act

Banana - May 19, 2006 - New Hair, Skin and Suit

The economy of SL - or how I was going to get RICH!

When I first started SL, the economy was still based upon the Lindens giving out payments to landowners for the amount of time that avatars spent there. I realized that one could make money just by making a place cool enough for people to hang out.

Than I looked at the actual numbers and realized that there was less than three thousand people on at anytime during this period, I also realized that the chance of making lots of U.S. dollars were at the time remote. But I could see growth happening and I wanted to be at the front door when it took off.

Then in June 2006, the Land Dwell bonus ended. So my original plan to make money had to be thrown out and I started looking at more of Development Company concept. So by mid-June, I was hitting the phones trying to get someone to let me “show” them Second Life. I even made a presentation to a rather large company and looking back on it, my god what arrogance I had; two month into Second Life and I was already an expert.

Money Trees vs. Camping

As a subset of the economy is the Money Tree (money appears, new residents pick) versus the evil resource sucking Camping Chairs. Obviously I support the Money Tree as I currently have my third one on Los Arboles and I have personally dispersed over $71,500 Lindens (aprox $275.00 US) on my three trees.

Camping chairs are an evil byproduct of Land Dwell where people received Lindens for sitting their avatars for a period of time, which neither adds to the community and places a burden on sims’ performances.

Hobak - My “First” Land

Ah the joy of owning land in Second Life, 512 m² of prime real estate and it was close to a road. Then prim count enters my vocabulary.

From this small piece of land, I learned the important concept that every prim is sacred. And to this day, when people ask me why the sims that SL Brand develops preform better than many of those so-called larger house developers, I tell people it is simple. Every prim has to have a purpose other than looking good. Every texture needs to have a purpose other than looking good. And the purpose of the build is more important to how freakin cool I can make that tower look with 1000 extra pims.

If you want to do your own test, check out the prim count on sims - if the developer has used up more than 80% and are trying to have an event, the sim will not perform as well as a one with less prims.

The Goddess and Banana Podcast

A Second Life podcast with Yxes Delacroix and myself about our adventures in Second Life which started in June 2006. Each show was a twenty to thirty minute audio journey with an always unscripted Yxes. Her off the cuff comments and observations were real and never rehearsed. We did over 100 plus shows and it lasted almost a whole year. I was happy when we started getting some advertisement dollars and a few of the clients were happy with the results. But in the end, it was lots of work and our audience was not growing despite the huge growth in Second Life.

Kula Sandbox, Kula

Sandboxes in Second Life is where one goes to build if you do not own land, or land that is not large enough to handle the number of prims in your build or if you need to have lots of space just in case that little atomic bomb goes off.

Before I got any substantial amount of land, I would spend hours after hours in the various sandboxes but my favorite one was Kula.

Banana at Kula Sandbox - June 2006

One of memory of being Kula is the day a newbie showed up and inquired if it was ok to set-off an atomic bomb - this was before there were “No Push” restrictions for sims. I laughed and said no, that this was a builder sim. Thirty seconds later BOOM! A huge mushroom cloud and a huge push wave knocked me across the sim. I never saw that avatar again.

FING!

Ah Fing! Oh Fing! Fing Off!

Such a great word FING and it is useful in many situations. For a few months in Second Life, “Fing” was the word! I first heard it from Piers Warf while sitting in a pool on Podcast Island. chugabug Goodnight was there.

The Goddess and Banana Cabaña - #1, #2, #3 and #4

Cabaña #2 - Podcast Island

The Cabana was our meeting place for our listeners of the GB Affair and had four lives; two locations on Podcast Island, one in Bbang and our final location on Los Arboles. We had some great informal meet ups there and later started throwing our monthly party staring in Bbang and at Los Arboles. And who could forget our end of the world parties right before the weekly shut-downs.

My two favorites were the sim busting Pirate Town Party (Sept 2006) and Mad Tea Cup (Mar 2007).

Mad Tea Cup Party - March 1, 2007

Give ME the Cookie

For a few months, I never wanted to hear “Give ME the Cookie” audible gesture again. It was high pitched and always being used. But now I just laugh when I hear it.

Drum Circle - Trying to Develop a Community

Minion Land was the first community I watch trying to establish itself. I always enjoyed going over there and had a great time in Talia’s drum circle. The lesson I took from here was simple. Just because you build it, they will not come. You need to work it, live it, be it. — And don’t let Dawn fuck with other avatars.

Real Emotions from Real People

People are strange when you’re a stranger
Faces look ugly when you’re alone
Women seem wicked when you’re unwanted
Streets are uneven when you’re down

The Doors - People Are Strange

For some, they come to Second Life for an escape from their First Life. For some, they come to Second Life as an extension of their First Life. Some come for fantasy, romance or to play the person they could never be. For some, this world becomes more important than their First Life. The reasons that people come to Second Life are as varied as there are stars.

I learned early on not to judge people here. Everyone comes for their own reasons. Maybe it is easier not to judge in this world or maybe I realize that since my First Life and Second Life are so intertwined, I just try to live the same way in both.

I have seen people get into HUGE fights. I have seen people not communicate. I have seen broken hearts. I have seen acts of terrible selfishness. I have seen people being absolute shits.

I have seen relationships run their course. I have witnessed cyber stalkers - male and female. I have had a real good friend get divorced in Real Life because of Second Life.

Yet I have seen some great things from Second Life.

I have heard a person state that their Second Life is much more accomplished than their Real Life. I know a lady who knows makes her own Real Life fashions because of her experience in SL.

I have “met” a woman who is deaf and she feared that voice implementation would shut her out of another world. And I had nothing to say to make it better.

I have also seen so many more acts of kindness that the Knights of old would be happy. And I have seen wonderful expressions of art and heard powerful independent music. And I have been privileged to experience some wonderful wisdom freely given.

Last Thoughts — for now……

I realize this entry is way to long and I still know there is so much more to say. But for now I will close with the following.

Over the past two years, I have seen many wonderful and not so wonderful things in Second Life:

• I have seen SL grow from 200K residents to over 13 million and what is most important, seen the on-line number grow from less than 2K up to now over 65K. I do believe that this growth will continue.
• I have met some incredibly talented and brilliant people do some incredible work. I have seen some absolutely wonderful works disappear.
• I have seen the mighty struggle of bleeding edge technology yet have seen it work brilliantly.
• I have been Ruthed and griefed and blown up.
• I have been amused by irrational emotions of residents and have had some of them myself.
• I have been delighted with Windlight and cursed it at the same time.
• I have gone 76 hours with no sleep.
• I have had the pleasure of sitting in a small room with Philip Rosedale and other developers and faced the sad reality that I was the dumbest person in the room.
• I can attest to the fervor that the employees of Linden Lab have for this project.
• I have been called a greedy corporate stooge and told I am a shitty builder.
• I have been give way more compliments than I deserve.
• I have made a living in Second Life.

Since I am not all knowing and can not predict the future, the next is just my best guess.

I will be in Second Life for my third rez day and most likely my fourth. The Open Sim project intrigues me greatly and if there is a portal established between that platform grid and the Second Life grid, it will be great. I am very intrigued about IBM and Linden Lab working together, giving the corporations more tools and security only benefits us all. Shite, some one needs to pay, might as well be them!

I believe in the power of the metaverse community. I believe that the more we “see” each other, the globe will be a better place. I believe in collaboration.

I believe I make a cool metaverse ninja and my pizza delivery skills are top notch.