Journalist seeking interviews with people who have spent a lot of US$ on SL

Dear all:

I'm a journalist at the East Bay Express newspaper (www.eastbayexpress.com) in California. I'm writing about Second Life as a pioneering virtual economy. I would like to talk to any SL residents who have sunk a lot of RL money into buying L$, whether to buy land, build up their businesses or simply to have more money to do things in SL. If you fit the bill and are willing to be interviewed, you can email me to [email]laila.weir@eastbayexpress.com[/email] or IM me.

thanks for reading and have fun!

Laila

Laila Weir
East Bay Express
Tel. 510/879-3737
Fax 510/879-3794
1335 Stanford Ave. Emeryville, CA 94608
www.eastbayexpress.com
[email]laila.weir@eastbayexpress.com[/email]

I am not 100% sure, but I think this requires prior permission from LL. Privacy issues.

I noticed the name chosen by this journalist is snakeankle...the last journalist I spoke to in SL was a real snake who used off the record comments in his article after promising he would not. He also misrepresented the reason for the interview...very unprofessional and unethical. So beware of journalists makinf representations, some are lying SNAKES.

Hoo doo I mean?

I will bite!

SimCast is the name of the game within the game

No it does not. The privacy issue is if a LL employee gave the journalist a list of names to call. If they simply solicit for respondents on a message board we may volunteer or not. LL isn't Big Brother -- yet.

How much are you paying? No sense in providing information for your story which sells more papers and makes East Bay Express $$$ without me seeing any of that cash.
When did somebody get the idea that somebody's story should be free? Compensation is in order. Whats my Salary?

Ohhh better not step on professional typing toes or you get a nasty IM in world.....

Ha! That's classic. How very PROFESSIONAL of them!

The relevant policy is Research Ethics in Second Life.

I know nothing about the person who started the thread, so this is a general comment. Anytime I read an article where I happen to know something about what is being reported on, the writer invariably gets something wrong; sometimes facts, sometimes interpretation. I'm not saying this is malicious or even necessarily lazy - just that it seems very hard to do accurately. Or, put another way, ask two people to decribe the same event and you will almost certainly wind up with differing views. That should surprise no one.

It's a thought for an article I guess, but there are much more interesting things about SL.

Someone should write an article about dumb furries on SL, because I could be the star <3

The marketing department will be contacting Laila to discuss possible stories in Second Life.

Any press is good press for SL. I agree that the economic side of things isn't the most interesting aspect, but that's what's piquing the interest of the general public. Previous bad experiences with reporters is no reason to jump all over her for just asking to speak with people. Sheesh.

A "be careful" warning is never out of line. Journalists betray off the record confidences and they misprepresent intentions. Who can forget Connie Chung's unethical deception during her interview with Kathleen Gingrich...Chung's professional reputation never recovered.

When LL gives the ok to journalists to come observe our community and interview us it's perfectly fair to warn the community when a journalist betrays a confidence and misrepresents how he intends to use information.

The last journalist approved by LL unethically published personal information stated in a private off the record chat in the article he wrote. Had he published that same information in the forums or inworld, it would be a violation of the TOS/CS.

Because LL sent the last journalist to our community to observe and write about us, I believe that a public comment on my experience is justified. This was not a mere member to member interaction. This was a newspaper journalist, approved by LL to come inworld to use us for his article, and this is how I was used:

Recently another journalist was approved by LL to write an article on SL. That journalist asked to interview me stating his interest related to what drew RL professionals to SL. I state in my profile that I am an attorney in Washington, DC. I don't hide this information, and as a matter of fact, I have assisted some members with matters in their personal lives.

The journalist and I had a long chat relating to Gypsy Moon and my plans for the build. He took pictures of the sim and made representations that the sim would get attention after his "block buster" article was published. He stated repeatedly it "will be big."

At every point he represented that he would be writing about my sim and SL....not me personally. He asked my real name claiming his editor would want verification that I am an attorney before publishing that I am one, and he assured me that he would not publish my name. However. when the article was published he wrote that I had refused to give my name and made a snide comment suggesting my refusal put into question whether I was lying about being an attorney. He made this up. Total fabrication. Never happened.

Before the article was published he sought my friendship. We chatted occasionally about our personal lives as friends do. I asked that all personal chat be strictly off the record and he agreed. He reassured me several times... off the record, telling me he was a nice guy, not out to harm anyone etc..

Then he began hitting on me, asking me highly personal questions about my cyber sex life and tried to convince me about the merits of cyber sex. I declined.

Before the article was published I asked again for reassurance that no personal information about me would be included in the article. Again he reassured me and specifically stated no personal information would be used, no mention made of my husband and my marital crcumstances. These were matters we had discussed when he learned that I am a divorce attorney and he shared some information about his own circumstances. This was a totally off the record and stated specifically to be confidential chat.

When the article was published there was no mention of the original stated purpose of the interview. Instead he published snide remarks and revealed personal information about me that he had promised was off the record and would not be used. He made mention of my age, my marriage and made up the story that I refused to provide my name for verification. He lied to me. It was unethical and unprofessional.

He may have started out with good intentions, but something happened in the middle of his "research" and instead of writing the article with his intellect, he wrote it with his penis. He ended up turning on the woman who turned him down, me, and instead focused in postive terms on the woman who said yes to him.

So am I justified in warning the SL community to watch out for journalists bearing stories? Hell yes. Don't say one word shared in "off the record chat" unless you are prepared to see that personal information in print.

And please madame journalist, dont send me any more nasty IMs in world about how lawyers are snakes. I never betrayed a client confidence. Never.

I'm not sure what schools of journalism/law you people went to...but snakes can't become journalists OR lawyers. Those professions are reserved for humans only. I mean I guess MAYBE a snake in a big ol' human suit could sneak its way in, but I think the truth would become apparent the moment it stated its name as "ssssssssss"

I think you would have better results if you had asked for people that have MADE alot of US$ from SL

Having been a journalist for six years with a major Denver newspaper, I would never, ever agree to be interviewed by a journalist I did not know well. There are professional journalists who are sharp, penetrating, ethical, and responsible. But the majority I have met are low-paid, poorly-educated hacks scrambling for a score, without much experience. Nor do they have the ability, time, or motivation to figure out the nuances and contexts of what they write about. The system by its nature encourages distortions and inaccuracies.

Sorry. That's how it is.

That's a good rule of thumb to use when speaking with any journalist about anything, ever There's not really such a thing as "off the record chat." Still though, this is a different journalist writing a different article and deserves to be treated with courtesy... in my humble opinion anyway. Sorry you had such a bad experience Katy.

What is the LL position on revelation of SL resident private information in other venues?

Thanks for all your comments and I'm sorry some of you have had negative press experiences. Unfortunately, we can't stop the press from writing about Second Life. Nor can we control the type of stories they choose to write about SL (much as I'd like that!).

Regarding press interviews with users, we've always asked that reporters go through us first. Not only can we hook them with the most appropriate people, but we speak with Residents first to make sure they are comfortable with the focus of the interview, etc.

I've since exchanged emails with Laila Snakeankle and made it clear what our process is.

If anyone has an experience with a reporter that was not pre-arranged, please let me know immediately and I'll deal with it. You can email me at [email]catherine@lindenlab.com[/email].

Finally, here's another link to the Ethics page - the 5th paragraph deals with our stance towards the press and interviews: https://secondlife.com/tiki/tiki-index.php?page=Research+Ethics+in+Second+Life

Thanks,
Catherine

Katy, I think it's really disgusting what happened to you regarding the way the "journalist" you mentioned used your details in his story. If I were you, I'd send a letter to his editor letting him/her know how shoddily you were treated in this case. I'd also abuse-report him to the Lindens; I don't know if this would do any good, but it's worth a shot. Lindens do keep records of in-world chat and IMs and could potentially go back and check what was said.

If I recall correctly, said journalist wasn't technically a writer, I think he mentioned he was in the art department for the newspaper. Perhaps this is why he ignored the time-honored tradition of not revealing information that is given off the record. Also, journalists try to cultivate sources which will be useful on a recurring basis; perhaps since he didn't feel he would need to use you again as a source that it was okay to betray your confidence. Outright lying, however, has no excuse.

Another thing to consider is that most journalists have a basic idea or theory in mind that they want to reinforce in their article. If it's what they want to say, you probably won't be able to dissuade them, no matter what you say. Repeated leading questions from them are a good clue that this is what they are up to. For instance, the person writing this article is asking for a specific type of player to respond, one who has spent a lot of money in SL. She could theoretically be intending to write an article entitled something like "Online Gaming Means Spending Big Bucks!" and produce some sensational piece which proves the point she pre-determined to be true (and which will sell copies to the public because of its sensational angle). I have a minor in journalism and have worked for several newspapers, I know whereof I speak.

As for the person who started this thread sending you less than friendly IMs, Katy, I'd abuse report her, as well. I know that's what I would do if I happened to receive a similar IM in-world for posting what I have in this thread.

Yeah...you're right Chip, I know. You have a way of helping me put things into perspective when I get upset, thanks. Must be the effect of your cute dimples

Awwww thanks Katy *blush*