Second Life is amazing

Now that we all arrived in one new year I feel like it is nice time to reflect how amazing a thing Second Life is and what great job one little company called Linden Lab has been doing over the past year

I remember when last spring, not quite at beginning of 2004 but anyway 10 months ago, I saw Second Life for first time. It looked very basic to me, like one small world, very empty at least during my online hours. Stability was big problem, events at European hours were rare and it all felt like some little niche MUD with no big future.

But now you look what happened just within months! Second Life is buzzing with people, content, events and new features! One year ago could you ever have imagined one online world where the users upload their own animations for avatars? Or where people do live radio broadcast? Could you have imagined such amazing content as we see now in places like Le Cadre, the Darklife game or Neverland?

Yes, one little sex and house building MUD has evolved into one major content creation and content delivery platform like it exists nowhere else on the internet. We have huge teams like Bedazzle where we see normal residents who may once have been "players" evolved into very professional content developers. We have amazing spectrum of cultures and subcultures emerged in Second Life from vampires to jedis to groups that don't use Second Life for entertainment but as one platform for serious research or debate. We are at the treshhold of user created content in SL reach level of professional games and other applications.

Unlike any other online world we also enjoy one vivid and functioning economy full of real opportunity for residents. There are people now whose real life is paid with value created in Second Life. My parents in China, whom I support with my income are just one example. I know there are more and more business owners and content creators in SL for whom one game has become one major source of income. That this happens and at this scale is truly unique and makes Second Life more real and more meaningful than any other online world. It is also unique that one company gives its users this freedom and economic opportunity and resists the temptation of seeking one quick profit by e.g. selling currency or content themselves. This turns one game into one virtual reality.

At same time unique is that thousands of people are able to enjoy this service for free, that you don't have to pay to "live" in Second Life. How many projects attempted to create free 3D online worlds and failed? Linden Lab has achieved this with most ingenious business model you can imagine for one online world. Could you imagine residents in SIMs Online, There or Star Wars Galaxies discuss topics such as social welfare money? Could you imagine the CEO of Sony Online Entertainment sit down with users in world and patiently discuss policy and future of online service or "game" economy?

Even with 20000 active subscribers the Lindens are easily accessible when people have problem. Yes, they are completely overworked now and sometimes make mistake, but they try hard and still do much better than what you may be used from the Microsofts and Sonys and EAs. With little team of just 30 people including accountant people and such this is amazing. Which other company of that size manage develop new features so fast, expand and run big server farm so fast AND have employees be present in world and on forum as much as Linden Lab? I tell you: nobody. This is another thing that make Second Life amazing

So what will 2005 bring for Second Life? I don't know. But if this pace continue it will be amazing. Will we see first real FPS game in SL? Will we be able to order and wear real life version of famous SL designer's dress? Or have video stream? Nobody knows, except maybe people who are working on new features and content now.

It seem to me this journey will never end - until one day you can feel one faint breeze on your skin, smell the salty ocean and turn your head to admire the beautiful stars above your virtual home. Maybe this is still one dream. But what I feel most amazing about Second Life is that it seems bring us closer and closer to that dream

I never looked.
Wow you are newer than I would have thought!!!

Anshe, Thank you for putting into words what I have been feeling since I joined Second Life. As I have said once before, where else in this world can you go to live your life a second time the way you wanted to live it the first time?

The opportunities available are only limited by the individual willing to take them.

My real life birthday is next week, and when I reflect back on the years I see so many of those missed opportunities and regret (something I never really did before coming here) but here hindsight truly is 20/20.

It's so fresh, so amazing, so much more than a "game". I can't imagine not one of us sitting there watching that amazing sky at night as the moon crosses over and dips into the horizon, the stars twinkling and wishing, "How I wish I were here in the flesh".

Hold tight the 298, the 576, the 281 - big up yourselves the Walthamstow massive!

*Sees streams of water flowing through the beautiful mountains, the stars gleam in the night, as morning comes I come closer to thee, the family I love so dear waiting to embrace me; the fields of Flowers swaying in the wind with the morning dew trickling down, I get closer to home now; to embrace the ones I love; a place where I dwell with family is waiting to greet me with open arms and find my Damnsel, oh the beauty as I approach; I run in slow motion towards her dancing and waving at me, I get closer as I get ready to Kiss her passionately I wake up to reality to find myself in an empty room that once was and look around and the bell sounds. The Teacher comes in and announces.."School is in Session!!" and cracks his Whip.

I joined SL around the same time, and I agree it has been fascinating to watch it grow and evolve. As much as I miss the more tighter-knit community of the olden days, I enjoy the present and look forward to the future. I'm already wondering- how will it be different in '06?


~Olympia

Good post, Anshe. Thanks for sharing such an optimistic view about this amazing experience.

Beautifully said Anshe I'm as excited about SL now as I was when I first joined almost two years ago. It continues to exceed my expectations and I look forward to watching to evolve and grow of a long time to come.

Second Life culture - so rich and complexly diverse!

Such as the many 3rd party resources created by SL'ers - the Wiki's (Historical and Scripting), SLUniverse Complex of web sites, the Picture Web Sites, the many Blogs.

Also so many SL Groups devoted to service, charity, building, spiritual quests, education, arts, entertainment and business.

And the many charitable events that have been organized and the countless random and directed acts of giving of so many SL'ers spontaneously.

Some of the charitable organizations and events that come immediately to mind include -


BTAC
VERTU
The War Memorial
Disabled Vets & POW Fund
Cancer Fundraisers
wilde Cunnigham
Toys for Tots
Tsuanami Relief

and others I'm sure I forgot...


Yes, our world truly is amazing!

Bam! Nice post.

Thanks Anshe! Great capture of the year and the changes.

What will next year bring?


Civil War? Poverty? Wealth? Sim Factions at war? Forum Faction Wars? This will be a fun 2005... Lucky my 1yr membership isn't up for renewal until June.

That is a great post Anshe! Thank you.

Anshe should win the JP Morgan Award for 2004.

Thank you for an enlightening and heart warming optimist post Anshe.

Very nice post Anshe! Helped remind me of why I keep logging into Second Life. It is indeed amazing, with more wonderment to come in the future I'm sure.

Uh, Anshe, Darklife was born in october 2003 IIRC.
Let me check my PMs...
Ok, this is from 19-10-2003

Sometimes when people have been married for a really long time, they get to know their partner so well that all they can see about their partner is that they left the cap off the toothpaste or the lid up on the john or the empty milk carton in the fridge. Because their partner is present in their lives every single day they fail to really see the person or even, the changes in the person.

This may be true of Second Life too. Everything was magical the first time you logged in and saw all the cool things others created or when you figured out how to script or build something. After awhile, your expectations become set at a certain level and you sort of take that for granted. When things change (or are slow to improve) and your expectations don't change with them you become a little less appreciative and a lot more critical.

The only way regain perspective sometimes is to step back and look at the entire picture. Your post Anshe, is an outstanding overall perspective on what Second Life has become and what the Linden's and SLer's have accomplished in a relatively short time.

And yes - I think that 2005 will be an amazing year.

Very nice post Anshe!

I joined SL only few weeks ago. I realized I have finally found something remotely resembling the metaverse, a true virtual world. The future potential is limitless and Philip and his co-workers are visionaries. It's like the early days of Internet, I remember when there were only few hundred web sites you could visit, within years it was millions. Will this happen to SL? The massive growth the unimaginable changes? I think it is possible, although a more slower regulated growth would prevent a possibility of a crash.

Also watch out for other companies like Microsoft, lets just hope those guys don't yet notice the incredible potential of SL, else I would be worried Lindens could follow the fate of Netscape. However, my hunch is Linden labs is like Google, run by highly innovative people who look at the future and grow from grassroots by the people who believe in the technology.

In a very short time since I have been here, I have already invested substantial amount of time and money to establish my SL (probably helped Anshe along the way hehe . One can argue there is nothing tangible about the things we get in SL, but I felt I get more than that back, a beginning of fantastic journey into future with infinite possibilities and enjoyments of the amazing creativity of fellow SLians.

SnowCrash

Thanks for sharing your thoughts + feelings on this, Anshe. I too look forward to what is to come. I have no doubt that if we ever get more non-Euclidean geometry in the works including hyperspaces and unlinear land, you'll be ready for the future.

Like some others I thought you were much older than me Anshe. But I guess 4 months is quite a long time in SL!

Like many of the other posters it was nice to see someone that is a name we all know stand back and be so positive, and also so thoughtfully positive rather than gushing enthusiasm or bile.

I agree with your comments, SL is amazing, and although I gripe about the Linden's on occasion, (I am British, it is out national passtime, or one of them) I do appreciate the stupendous amount of work that they do, and in all fairness they have a much lower level of problems than many of the bigger organisations and the online games that I used to play.

It will be fascinating to see what happens over the year to come, and I can't imagine NOT being along for the ride.

I celebrated my six month anniversary a couple of weeks ago.

I could not have said it better myself

- T -

Great post, Anshe. Can't wait to see what 2005/06 has in store for us.