Two Years of Lost in Bananaverse

Tomorrow begins year 3 of Lost in Bananaverse.  Oh my…..

As I reflected on this passage of time, I went back and reviewed my first entry which was called “The End” and found this:

The reason the start of Lost in Bananaverse is called The End is very simple.

For the last two years, I have left behind reality to spend time in the metaverse. If you don’t know what the metaverse is, well… that will take some time to explain. And that is one of the reasons for this blog.

Another reason for this space is to document my reality – both in Santa Cruz and in the Metaverse.

I also went back and read last year blog entry reviewing my first years effort.

Yet this effort to date has not satisfied me.  I find that time is so precious and limited, that Lost in Bananaverse does not get enough attention. I have great intentions to write more, especially on virtual worlds, but it seems that every time I sit down to put in the effort, something happens to break my attention and effort.  Just attempting to write this entry has been interrupted three times.

Time has become more important to me lately. Maybe that happens with age. Maybe it is normal.

So where do I stand after Two Years?

I am still not satisfied with my effort.   I realized that my problem is that I am to wrapped up about the message and formatting and not letting me be me.  So I decided today and going forward that I should just hang it all out there.

So as I began to write today, I told myself the following:

• just to let it spew…..
  
• don’t worry about the message…
  
• don’t worry about how it is organized…
• spell check it once…
  
• just let it rip….
  
• so here it be……

I began this blog on February 26, 2008 mainly to record my thoughts on the metaverse and the physical world.  Now I just break them into virtual versus physical states of being and communications.  There is an amazing amount of overlap with the virtual and physical.

Why is this important?

It is all about how we as humans communicate, how we learn, how we express, how we grow, how we connect.

The way we as humans are communicating is rapidly changing.  Facebook?  Heck, less than two years ago everyone had to be on My Space and very few were on Facebook.  Four years ago My Space is what?

What’s next?  Look at Yelp, Four Square and Loopt to start.

The devices we use to communicate also are changing.  How many iPhones were there two years ago?  Now look at all of the “smart phones” and other communications offerings including the Kindle and upcoming iPad.

So when I advise clients about communication strategies, I tell them to first find how your customers want to communicate and then select the platform.

But today is not about that, today is about me and my observations (ahhhh the self centered world of Bananaverse……  me pretty….)

In these past two years I have seen and written about many things.  Here are some random thoughts, opinions and spewage.

• State of Banana
  • Two years ago I was a busy man.  At the time I was moving SL Brand into Meta Magic Studio (SL trademark issue) and I was trying to build the company beyond Second Life.
  • Currently Meta Magic Studio only work is web related, mostly setting up websites, blogs and helping company’s with their communications strategy.  Unfortunately work has bee real slow lately.
  • Anyone looking to hire a metaverse / social network junkie?
  • I really need to start working out.
  • Mr. Muggins is nearing his 15th birthday.  It is with heavy heart that I do not think he will make another year.
• Santa Cruz
  • I have been living in my house sixteen years next month.
  • I will have been married sixteen years on May 14th (we have been together since April 23, 1990).
  • Keeping it weird is easy here because nothing is normal.
  • The gang issue is getting nasty.
• Social Networks
  • Humans are not just biological creatures. We are also social creatures, the most social on earth. The ways we deal with each other, from personal, professional to international relationships, can have as much an influence on our behavior as our instinctive reactions.
  • When I started two years ago, my social networks were out of control.
    • I was active on too many social networks.  But they were not “helping” me communicate effectively.
    • I was swamped with emails.  I needed to get control.
    • I was doing double, triple entries on the same subject.
    • I could not find people quickly
  • In those two years I have tried to automate my worlds almost successfully.
    • My contact lists now are all synced as well as my calendar.
    • I have dumped My Space and spend little time on many sites.  I have forced myself to only use Social Networks that improve my personal and or professional life.
  • My main personal communication network is currently Facebook, where I can keep family and friends updated.
    • The upside is that my email volume from them has been reduced and there is a sense that we all know what is going on with each other.
    • I do not accept everyone’s offer for friendship.
    • I still use email for personal communication, but the volume has been reduced by at least 80%.
  • My main professional communications is still via email, but I use my iPhone for about 50% of that effort.  The result has been an improved turn around time for emails has improved from over a day to less than two hours.  Of course not being as busy has really help that stat.
    • Twitter is a great way to keep tabs on industry types.
    • I like Linked IN for keeping up with professional connections.
• Second Life
  • Watched Second Life fail in its hype but have seen it actually grow in usage patterns.  Its beta release of SL Viewer 2, along with its behind the firewall Enterprise offerings should help it full fill some of its promise for business and education but the question remains if it is the correct virtual platform.  Unfortunately for me, the business opportunities have dried up to nothing.
  • While I keep a small parcel of land in Second Life, my time there averages less than three hours a week.  This is way down from the 60 plus hours a week I averaged two years ago.
• Gaming Worlds
  • I have long maintained that interactive games will replace passive viewing.  I now realize that passive viewing will remain but it will turn to on demand.
  • Working as a game developer means long hours and SHITTY pay.
  • I have documented my time with World of Warcraft.  Currently I am a little frustrated with the game due to the “raid requirements” for top notch gear.  I can not wait until the game release in November of this year.
  • Currently my new “IT” game is Star Trek Online.  Since this is a very new game, the back end content has still not been developed so I realize that I will get to a point where there is “nothing to do” which is sad.  What is real sad is that it will happen within the next month.  (This is why WoW is such a power house.  Remember, it is all about that monthly subscriber base!)
  • Biggest disappointment in games the last two years was Spore.  It was going to be the GREATEST GAME EVER!  The game was way over hyped and over promised and not that good.
• Podcast
  • Dive Bar Radio is still alive.  But damn it, I have no time to do it correctly.
• House Remodel
  • I have survived the first phase of the house remodel.  The advice I give people is the following:
    • The wife makes the final decision.
    • The time and cost will be double what you want.
    • It is worth paying for quality.
    • Side note:  My new kitchen rocks!
  • I really want to get the Dude Shack remodeled but it is hard to ask the wife to spend around $80K for a man cave when I am not bringing in any cash.
• Random thoughts
  • Popularity of Pabst Blue Ribbon
    • PBR was never hip for me but it sure is the “IN” beer here in Santa Cruz
    • Bill “Possum” Bercik is smiling about how it has become popular
  • iPhone
    • I resisted getting one but since I got it last August, I am totally happy I did.
  • iTunes
    • Lots of tunes has been purchased by me.
  • Blogs I Read
    • My Google Reader currently has 122 subscriptions to various blogs.
    • Over the last two years, my average number of read entries averages around 11K a month.
  • My Truck
    • The new truck has about 12.8K miles on it.  Not bad for 19 months of ownership
    • I do miss my old truck though.
  • 49ers
    • All I am saying is that playoffs is the only way any of these guys keep their jobs after 2010.
  • Hash House Harriers
    • Tonight’s hash will be Surf City H3′s 510th Hash
    • Tonight’s hash will be my 500th hash with Surf City H3

Well that is all the time I have for now.  Thank you for putting up with my bad grammar and ramblings.  Please comment any time.  All the best.

Remember – Up with Us, Down with Them!