Introducing real life friends / coworkers

I try to keep my SL as far away as possible from my RL. It would cramp my style too much, and take a way all of it's charm, to have people who know me in RL around me in SL.

I do have a couple of close friends who I've shared my SL, they've checked it out but it really never caught on with them.

I had never done any MMOG'ing before SL and would never of seen myself so engrossed in this other world. To commit yourself to this experience you need to have an open mind and a good sense of imagination and appreciation, I guess most fall short in one or more of these areas. If I knew RL friends that shared the same out look as me then maybe I'd invite them to this world, but unfortunately they don't. As for my RL partner, she wouldn't understand my life in world.

my second life has a restraining order against my first. the two shall not come within 500 feet of each other.

Explaining SL to my mother....

Errmm, I don't think even try. I am 42 and my mother is over the 70....

She was already very annoyed when visiting our home and saw one of pictures I made in SL, which I printed on photo-paper and put on the wall of the room with the computer as decoration....

Morwen.

SL is my private fantasy world. I prefer to keep it tht way. One person I work with saw me at the homepage one day and said, "Oh I heard about that. Isn't that some kind of cult?"

i do. sure.

but, i also don't want them following me around, so i give them all an alt name i've never used.

I have introduced a few friends to SL, who promptly lost interest and never logged in again. lol However, I would never introduce a coworker into SL--not with my main avatar at least. I don't need a boss or coworker flying into my SL home asking me a RL work question. Nope, no way.

If my coworkers/bosses became really interested, I would just create a separate avatar to interact with them while showing them around. Then I would logoff and grief the Hell out of them with another avatar. lol. Just kidding, I wouldn't do that.

My Second and First lives are not all that different, for the most part. I have been trying to figure out a strategy to evangelize SL to my friends and co-workers, and I think one important aspect of it is to be aware of how it is being portrayed in the media and perceived by media consumers, and try and bring people to a more balanced understanding of the realities of SL.

For those friends who are already immersed in some form of MMORPG, I tell them that Second Life is more like a MMO*.. a Massively Multiplayer Online <whatever you want>. Once they get the idea that it's simply an open-ended 3D platform, I tell them about my own experiences in SL, what I do here, and also what other more seasoned Residents whom I admire are doing, and have done.

The reactions vary - some are simply not interested in it, others say they might try it some day when they have time. It's such a difficult thing to describe with words alone, so I think the best approach is to get them interested enough to commit to signing up and meeting in-world. It's just a whole lot easier to show it than to describe it.

What do I like to do in SL?

Shoot big guns, blow stuff up, drive fast cars, build stuff, terraform, write some scripts, talk to interesting people, write a bit, explore.

What do I like to do in RL?

Shoot big guns, blow stuff up, drive fast cars....

I'm sure you can see where I'm going with this.

A few of my close friends know my SL addiction, few are even in world with their own addictions. Most of my co-workers are also in-world. And although we are on eachothers friend's list, we don't communicate much.

Seriously, I've talked in depth about SL to about 50 friends and coworkers. Several expressed no desire to try it at all, others did not "get it." Eight I know of have created accounts and tried SL; four bailed; two are infrequent users, due to time considerations, although they enjoy SL; two have stayed and are regular residents.

So, amongst a population of college-educated, mostly tech-oriented (all of them own current computers and have broadband access) people ranging from 18 to ~55 years of age, 16 percent tried SL, 8 percent appreciated it, and 4 percent became regular users?

Not a scientific survey, but interesting.

Time to start selling virtual flowers at Abbots I think.

That's why I always decline when I get messages that says, "Avatar X has offered you an object: Jug of Kool Aid."

You have to be cautious about these things....!

I don't know that it matters much that even technology savvy people aren't receptive to Second Life. Bill Gates wasn't all that crazy about the Internet at first, and he did a complete about-face when he realized it was more than just a technology gimmick.

It's too early to know if Second Life will be the Microsoft of virtual worlds, but it's fairly certain that the idea of a metaverse will solidify into something as pervasive as the web is today. Those who have no interest in it today will be living in it tomorrow. That's why I don't really push too hard right now. I had lots of tech friends in the late 80s/early 90s who had no interest in participating in BBSs. Today, many of them are social networking addicts.

I'm not shaving my head.

You've just given me a brillaint idea! Thanks

Before I found SL I belonged to other forums where I have forged strong bonds with people. Folks I have never met in RL and proly never will. RL peeps never understand and I gave up trying to explain - my husband thinks I am playing techie Barbie dolls. And that is just fine with me *wink*

too late the prims wont rez today anyhow.

Let me see now...

Introduced somewhere between four and six people to SL. Not family (they barely understand any technology stuff at all, even allowing for the "nerd is family black sheep" effect which shines through lots of other people's stories in this thread), but talked through with a few clients on the "strategic platform full of perverts" basis.

One or two have turned up and identified themselves; others have said they've gone online but rapidly gone over the the dark side of the force, or whatever-the-hell it is people do when they don't check in with you after they sign up.

Two of my six were put right off after being set up in the first place, by the software update process enforced by SL's rolling update approach; they weren't skilled enough users to tell the difference between a legitimate update, and a trojan, so they were pretty rapidly locked out again. Haven't managed to get back to them to fix this...

*grins*

I introduced a friend I work with to SL and he was in awe as I introduced him to all the dancers I worked with in SL at various clubs. (Yah.. I'm a resident of the Mature regions)

He was hooked immediately and had a great time exploring his fantasies...

Until his wife caught him hanging out in a strip club.. you see they're strict Mormons.. Ruh roh! XD

Most of my friends would not be interested in Sl anyway. Most are not tech people, like me(beforeSL anyway) treat their computers as another appliance, use it when needed and go on with life. None are gamers that I know of, although I do have recurring nightmares of running into some of my students here, which of course can't happen in an Adults only World....

Dan L is gonna fix that.

yay \0/

What happens in Second Life, stays in Second Life.

I've introduced many friends to SL over time. It can be an interesting meeting, with me having to spend a few explaining why I'm playing a kid in the process. and walking them around a few of my favorite scenic places to get a better view of the world than just the usual new member traps.

Mari