Intriguing isn't it. So you want to know more?

Before I begin, let's start with a some important terms. SL = Second Life & RL = Real Life

Now that you understand the bare bone basics may I present you with the Second Life Wikipedia.  Full of information that is a great place to bookmark and revisit.

My personal experiences with SL have ranged dramatically.  As logical as I am, I was amazed at how it sucked me in so quickly after even being forewarned.  I do not tell my rl friends about it.  For one, the place is even hard to explain to another gamer much less someone with little to no experience in an online gaming community.  Secondly, I would not want them to become addicted. (yes addicted.)

People in Second Life discuss this phenomenon amongst themselves frequently.  I've not met one that did not admit to losing sleep or dedicating long hours to the world. 

World?  Did I say a world?  Why yes, I did didn't I?  SL is more than a game, it is a virtual world.  Time is condensed it is a week in your rl is a month in SL.  You speak (chat) in real time to people from all over the world.  The visual stimuli is realistic.  There is a real commerce, a real community and those are real people you are talking to about Freud.

So let us start from the beginning, with my experiences...

On November 22nd of 2006, I created an account and downloaded the software to my pc, loaded up the game and have not looked back.  Upon the loading of the virtual world I was dumped on an island/welcome center.  As I stood there dumbfounded, my avatar (virtual self) kept getting "bumped".  Looking around I realized that others were coming in game as well and landing on my plain bald head.  Ack! I was bald!

I ran to a corner away from the entering others and saw a sign.  Edit Appearance.  What a lucky find!  So without further ado I went at it.  Tweaking the sliders to get a decent nose, mouth, body shape, head size, hair and so on.  Thinking I looked somewhat presentable I promptly left the island via a teleport (most common form of transportation) and never went back.

The first place I ended up was on a "newbie" orientation island.  There I was able to get freebie items.  Not knowing what they did, I avoided them like the plaque.  One of the first things I learned though is flying is hard and you need money to make it in this world.

Money in SL is called lindens.  It is virtual money, but it is real money as well.  The lindens you earn in game can be traded on the LindeX Currency Exchange.  That actual link is to the economy information site.  You have to have an account to view the commerce sections.  One thing that would peek anyone's interest would be the monetary amount of transactions in a month.  That is money spent in game.  That money goes to the gamers there, not necessarily to the Lindens (game developers).  In SL, creators own the intellectual copyrights to their creations.  Therefore, they literally can sell what they make.  Also, if you have a paid account you can own your own land.  If you can own your own land, you can sell your own land.  In the game, the two fastest ways to success are being a land baron (buying and selling virtual land) and being a clothing designer.  Now, that leaves out a lot of people, those are just the two fastest ways, not the only ways.

Back to my experience...

After wandering aimlessly for a few days, I happened upon what was to be my first friend in SL.  I was snooping in an unlocked house.  *GASP!*  (Actually, in SL many of your rl common courtesies are expected of you, one of them is you do not wander into someone's home.)  I was truly embarrassed to get caught.  I didn't really know the rules, but I was raised better than that.  :P

To be continued...

In the meantime, please utilize the links on the right of this page to find out more about me and my second life.

Last Update by MythDibou January 6th, 2007