She's somewhat slow, kind of chuggy, and weighs an amazing 23 megabytes.
Hello, my dearest Second Life.
Yes, I've been dabbling around with Second Life on and off for nearly a year now, but it was not until tonight that I've finally figured out that all the pieces are coming together. It was supposed to be another aimless night on SL. After logging on around 8:00pm, I set about stumbling around a few regions as usual, simply marveling at the sights. By 8:40 I was quite bored, so I did a search for something to do in the area. I stumbled upon events that were under the category "Live Music." I choose one entitled "Kevin Burdick" and teleported immediately, since the show was to start within 10 minutes.
After watching a fairly sizable crowd of two dozen or so people fill the area, an avatar took the stage, sat in front of his piano, and the next thing I knew, a live musical performance was being streamed to me, entirely through Second Life.
I'm amazed. The event was designed as a real concert - the venue was properly set up, complete with a photograph of the real Kevin Burdick, event sponsers had ads on display, and the event staff kept everything flowing smoothly. Kevin played an hour-long set, and it was beautiful. Afterwards I ventured to his website, here, and downloaded some of his music. I highly recommend it.
So what does this say? After my interest in music in a virtual world brought me to a live performance by a real person, I am now a fan. Does Second Life have the potential to be a real venue for independent and young artists? I believe so, and this weekend will be devoted to me tweaking my avatar (I'm designing clothes finally, via PhotoShop), aquiring Linden Dollars (Second Life currency, currently with an exchange rate of about L$1000 to US$3.92), and finally getting around to meeting new people in-world.
It's not a game, afterall... it's a way of life, and I look forward to growing in it. My name is Gannonite Poutine in the metaverse. Kevin's playing again this Sunday, so if you wish to go to the show wtih me, IM me in-world and... Let's go!
(PS - I created my first piece of original clothing below: check it out. Yes, it's an Alternate Control Computing t-shirt... and it only cost me US$0.38 to make... hurray!)
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