No More Gambling

Second Life has decided to ban all gambling activities from its world. So now all casino's, sploders, etc. are no longer part of SL.

I went back for a minute to the Amsterdam Poker Palace where I used to host for a while, as you can see nothing is left there except some exchange machines, a board and the notice "land for rent".

It's totally silly, all those RL issues in SL, but I can understand their reasoning. On the other hand it's a big cut out of SL visitors, numbers have dropped and it can't be a good thing for the internal economy.

The Thin Line

OK SL is fun, very much fun and i must plea guilty to being an addict by now. Do I mind? Nope hehe! For me as long as I can keep a healthy balance between FL and SL, it's cool in my opinion.

Now how important is it to keep RL & SL separated? I really don't know, it all depends with who I guess. But you never know who's really on the other side of the avatar so I wouldn't start handing out any RL address cards hahaha. Anyways, some people seem to be very cautious about anything that might come near RL info. I like to keep it balanced, a name won't hurt anyone, but a life story and RL emotions (especially when it comes to romantic illusions) can be tricky. The tease is nothing without pretending it's real, but it's pretend real and the line between real real and pretend real can be confusing to many, so they start freaking out, running away, coming back and running away again.

To be honest, I've had some of that confusion too. I guess cause I couldn't make the difference between RL values and the permitted lack of them in SL. It's bizarre how most morals/values/principles/etc. fade the second you log in to The Grid. But then again that also depends on who you meet and what you're looking for.

In the end what intrigues me most is the effect this possibility of having a SL has on human interaction and the way we treat our fellow virtual beings, whom in the end (again) remain human. I will get back on that later, but even though I love SL, the nice diversion it can be and perfect business opportunity.

But lately I've come to appreciate my RL more and more every time I log off, what a relief to see the blue bubblegum sky for realz :)

Marketing Project - CareerBuilder.com

We've added Careerbuilder.com to our tour and the change is nice.

In some aspects it is easier, because more people are looking for a job SL & RL... so many don't mind and also the free builders hat to give away is widely liked. However many people appreciate the fun side of the IMAX project, so it's give or take a bit and we try to combine both.

The hours are long, but it is a valuable experience to see how all of this is possible within a virtual world.

A representative of Careerbuilder.com will be logging in on SL to see how we're doing.

On the Move

When I started out with SL my main goal was to find some kind of business opportunity. It's been nearly two months now, and after messing around a bit I'm starting to put things together.

I've made enough money in SL to set things up, it was a challenge I made for myself not to spend a RL dime into 'The Game'. So far I've succeeded in doing that and things are going great.

Qua business I have:

• set up a virtual enterprise
• opened a shop
• working on two RL in SL marketing projects
• today i actually had my first photo shoot as a model quite unexpectedly
• buying land
• building a couple of houses and stores to rent out

Qua the human experience:

Being in SL is psychedelic, as if you're running through a thousand dreams. Some unexplainable, most based on a sexual desire and Freud would be in virtual heaven if he could've logged in.
SL is a playground for grownups, a world on it's own where human communication is brought to a parallel dimension. Often limited by the use of keyboards instead of voices (which is a new option however), but on the other hand it is exactly that loss of directness that makes people open up.

Anyways, without exaggeration SL is fun. Maybe in the beginning it's a bit boring but after a while when you start meeting fun people (you'll meet some rude individuals too) just like in RL things get better as you settle in. Finding your way around, and although it is a virtual world the human side is never completely virtual. The heart thumps, the body reacts, the cheeks blush, you get angry, you laugh, you share and even in SL when a door closes another one opens.

Is being continued...

Marketing Project - IMAX

Today was the start of my first real job in SL... kick off was fun, nice team and enthusiastic spirit.

We're doing a promotion tour through SL promoting the new IMAX Harry Potter, with a team of approximately 25 avatars we were send out to 'meet the people' and tell them all about the new HP and IMAX.

A specially designed folder is to be handed out with promotional goodies and specific gestures should help us spread the word more easily.

It's funny to see my avi in working gear... laptop in hand.

Most avatars don't mind being addressed about the campaign and find it intriguing to receive RL offers in SL... especially the free movie ticket.

It isn't always easy talking to people, since everything has to be typed but most of the time it's fun. One of the guys in the team contacted the HP sim and got us a free stage to advertise during their event... lots of people showed up and many packages were handed out and accepted which is the most important part.

When the shift is over, numbers are to be handed in.

Pause

So since RL called me abroad quite unexpectedly it's been over a week since I've been on SL, it is scary how I keep thinking about it though :D

Anyways to keep me in virtual mood I ordered the official SL manual + CD and in all the buzzyness haven’t been able to make up my mind yet whether or not it's worth it, but I'll let you know.

Next week is project-time for me on SL so I'm curious if this is going to be worth it too, if not SL has become a nice place to meet and keep in touch with really nice people. So receiving all these offline messages is really sweet!

Love ya guys ;)