| Come to our party! |
[May. 6th, 2007|12:15 am] |
Hi everybody!
For the past 4 months, me and my classmates have been working with [URL=http://www.secondlife.com]Second Life[/URL] . If you haven't tried Second Life, it really is a fantastic view of how the internet will probably evolve into the near future. Users can create content on the fly, meet others and buy and sell items. Real world businesses like IBM, AMD, Scion and Nike have set up shop inside Second Life to take advantage of the emerging 3D internet.
If you explore Second Life, you'll notice some things are kind of hard to get used to. The interface is clunky, and it's hard to search for people, like if you want to search interests for interests or mentors who can help you. So my class[URL=http://www.trinity.edu/adelwich/metaverse/]class[/URL] has been working on a social networking site called "SLeuth" based on matching avatars in Second Life for friendships, dating, mentoring, or anything! It's kind of like facebook and myspace. So I encourage everybody to check out Second Life, check out [URL=http://www.sleuth3d.com]SLeuth[/URL]'s website, and maybe even come out to our party on Sunday, 10pm central (U.S.). We will have a live band streaming in from a local concert venue that you can hear if you want to listen! Come to Meyohnok 49, 98, 53 on Sunday May 6, 10pm and join me in the party!
I really think this service an help Second Life and show what students can do in virtual world marketing. Thanks, and I hope to see you all there! |
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| Last minute posting for a last minute assignment |
[Apr. 22nd, 2007|04:57 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  anxious | ] |
Working on this project has been interesting. As I have said before, I have not been really excited about the project, but I have swallowed my pride and intentions and deferred to others for the good of the team. It has been weird in terms of my responsibilities. Because there were so few people interested in the building aspect, I volunteered to join the team, along with the PM team. It's been hard to know where to spend my efforts, trying to manage both the macro and micro aspects of the project at once.
The building experience has had its ups and downs. Trying to find a good building was easy enough. I am pleased with the steal of a building that we found, 750 Lindens for a large space that fits on a plot of land that we would want to pay for. I was frustrated with finding land, that it wasn't clear how to find pieces of land and how to purchase them. And it was frustrating to deal with prim limits. I really wish that we could put more prims on our land, but we are always hovering close to our limit. And, I also had to pay for much of the project personally. I started with 10k Linden, and after everybody gave me the money it was put at around 50k. After all of our purchases I am down to 5k. I haven't done the math, but I'm pretty sure that I put in a lot more money than everybody else. Not only that, but I also paid for 3 months of a premium membership by myself.
For progress of the building, I am pleased with where we are. I like having themed rooms for the dating lounges, especially the tiki room. I am glad that the picture frames work, and that Valeah made a great magnifying glass. I just don't know what we are going to do with the empty room on the classroom floor, especially dealing with the prim limit we have. Also I HATE hate HaTe
h
a
t
e
having the holes in the floor to move between levels of the building. We already have a teleporter. The holes look butt ugly and tacky. And also if you look at any other "professional" building within SL, they don't have holes. The holes make us look amateurish. Excuse me, now I need to watch the Spurs beat the Nuggets. |
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| Bringin da noise, readin da Funk |
[Mar. 21st, 2007|10:55 am] |
Overall, Marcus did a great job summarizing the articles. It's nice to read from a professional writer, as it flows very nice (I feel sorry for whoever has to read my entries... sorry Kat!).
From the article "The world is flat", we should keep in mind that Second Life residents are also residents of another country, and they might not be American (or even Western for that matter). We should do our best to diversify the experiences that we offer, like having different country-themed locations available, and make sure that we have mentors who speak other languages.
The Darfur articles pointed out that not everybody will take services and experiences in the metaverse seriously. I think it would serve our project best to offer more than just sex. Rather, we should try to create "real" experiences within the virtual world that people can take with them. I'm glad we are restricting sex in our service, and are trying to create a "deep" experience for all users to to enjoy.
I remember reading the homeless articles, and they were very interesting. Connecting to our project might be a stretch, but Marcus did a good job pointing out that user's physical locations and experiences plays a part in virtual interactions. This includes a culture that they bring with them to the virtual world, and we should do our best to make people feel comfortable.
Marcus did a great job in his articles, and they were structured very well. As I understood the project, we were to create a live journal cut, and have separate sections for the summary and how it applies to the class. Other than these points, Marcus made a very good contribution to the class. |
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| Working with google |
[Mar. 11th, 2007|08:42 pm] |
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I found using google’s tools to be a lot easier than I expected. Except for the class reading list, I was able to fit all of the necessary links and pages onto my google homepage. I fit my gmail on there, as well as the class blog. Of course, the google groups fit easily on there, as well as my calendar. I also chose four relevant news feeds. The obvious choices were the official linden blog to see if there were any pressing issues to the world itself out there. I also found that Reuters and Second Life Insider has good information. I included a site called duct tape marketing, which specializes in small business marketing, and seems to include lots of digital promotional tips. I will be working in two places: in the lab on the fourth floor, or on my laptop in my room. Since all of the links are saved on my google homepage, it can be accessed from anywhere with my links arranged to my liking. On my laptop, I chose to have the trinity email site, the google homepage, and the class reading list all start up as tabs when I first click on firefox. |
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| living structures |
[Mar. 11th, 2007|08:41 pm] |
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Title: Living Structures in Second Life Virtual Worlds Projects Article Author: Sitearm Madonna Full Citation: Sitearm Madonna (2006). "Living structures in Second Life virtual worlds projects." Summary by: Manny Alvarez Key Concepts, terms, and buzzwords: -Virtual Space - Events -Living structures Summary: Sitearm Madonna is an independent consultant operating within Second Life. She talks about how places in Second Life can become “living structures”, instead of “ghost sims”. She defines living structures as active locations, with people frequenting it and events taking place, and ghost sims as having structures and objects but don’t have people going to the location.
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| Consumer habits |
[Mar. 11th, 2007|08:40 pm] |
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Title: Shoppers move like people Article Author: Paco Underhill Full Citation: Underhill, P. (1989) Shoppers move like people. Why we buy: The science of shopping. Simon & Schuster. Summary by: Manny Alvarez Key Concepts, terms, and buzzwords: -Building layout -Consumer habits -Consumer psychology Summary: American shoppers, upon entering a store, will always go to their right, while Europeans will go to the left (following the rules of the road from their respective countries). They will also pay attention to things that are at eye level, down to approximately the knee. The angles at which things are displayed is important, too. People walk facing forward, so things need to be at an angle in order for them to see it comfortably. Similarly, sight lines are important for viewing displays from a distance, drawing the consumer in instead of having them find it by accident.
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| Online dating statistics |
[Mar. 11th, 2007|08:38 pm] |
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Title: Online Dating Article Author: Mary Madden and Amanda Lenhart Full Citation: Mary Madden and Amanda Lenhart (2006). “Online dating: Americans who are seeking romance use the Internet to help them in their search.” Provided by The Pew Internet & American Life Project. Summary by: Manny Alvarez Key Concepts, terms, and buzzwords: - Online Dating - Personal information protection - Online safety - Online culture Summary: This article reports that many Americans (53 million, or 26%) know somebody who has gone on a date where they met their partner online. Yet, 66% of Americans also consider online dating to be dangerous, especially to women, the elderly, and lower income users. But the majority of those who actually use the dating services say that it is not dangerous.
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| the name |
[Mar. 5th, 2007|02:45 am] |
Ok, after re-reading Book's article about branding and names, I have come to a few conclusions:
-I like SLAM(M) or slambook as suggested by another. It is original, unique, and won't suffer with the popularity of another brand. If we attach ourselves too heavily to another brand, our popularity could phase with the other.
-Even though some say slam is negative or slum is not a good image, remember that Book pointed out that oy! was not a positive word, but still succeeded.
-All of the names featured came from the users themselves, not building off of other brands.
More points as they come... |
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| Web 3D |
[Feb. 26th, 2007|03:27 pm] |
Web3D is an interesting idea being discussed. Many consider it to be the natural evolution of the internet, while some are saying "what's the point?" As I see it, the pros and cons are as follows:
PROS:
-People can interact with a medium in an arguably more organic way. If you were looking at a shoe from nike, instead of seeing 3 different views of a shoe that you are considering buying, why not be able to turn it over, and see it from views that you want? Web3D will help eliminate the screen to person barrier that exists when trying to access information or images. People are already used to the natural "rules" that exist in interaction with books and media and objects in the real world, why can't these rules be incorporated into the internet?
-The internet will not just be a list of books, but a library where people can see other people accessing information. While this might not have practical applications, the views that internet savvy people are loners on their internet island still persists. This could have lots of marketing possibilities, as brands can be viewed in a 3D space, and you can see other people who are looking at the same thing. Repetition and visibility is key.
CONS:
-Some things don't need to be in three dimensions. Not every novel or textbook is made into a television show, or come with pictures. Some information is meant to be interpreted visually by the reader, and sometimes it's just not practical to have a 3D space for text.
-Anonymity might be compromised. If you are looking at something, you don't want other people necessarily to know that you are (for example, if you are a closet Sixpence None the Richer fan). In this aspect, people who use the internet to role play or for escape might lose this aspect.
- Not all computers would be able to run a 3D web. The ease of text both from the user and creator's aspect is key to independent and start-up websites. |
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| Online Dating Liability |
[Feb. 12th, 2007|04:19 pm] |
I found a website that has a checklist for legal concerns for online dating.
Two major things that I found:
-Make sure to have agreements made that the users would have to sign. This includes assumption of risk, dispute resolution, and other legal liabilities that come with online dating.
-"Under current federal law, all images depicting sexual activity posted on a commercial website need to be accompanied by a disclosure identifying the custodian of age records pertaining to the model depicted in the image." We have to make sure if there is a portion like a website that we run, we have to watch for obscene material.
Dating is a tricky area in RL and online, and if we plan on doing this project we should take all the necessary precautions.
I should have voiced my dislike for this project sooner... however when Dr.D asked if anybody just really didn't want to do this project I didn't want to be the lone dissenter. A few objections:
1. Dating service is boring. Sure we came up with some cute ideas "Haha Second Date! Get it?!" but is it that exciting of a project?
2. There is no shortage of people hooking up and having virtual sex (or not) on Second Life.
3. I'm afraid if this is one large class project, it will run into a "too many cooks" dilemma. Only these cooks are mediocre at best (I don't mean to insult anybody, it's just that I don't think anybody has much experience in Second life to be good at any one thing. So we will have a lot of people who know how to do a little bit in Second Life but not much).
4. This doesn't sound like it will really take advantage of Second Life itself. What kind of building, scripting, avatar making, animating, etc. will this take advantage of?
5. A dating service? It seems a little shallow in terms of things we CAN do (see number 2).
Sorry if this comes across as ranting, I just am not feeling like this is a project I'm excited about doing.
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| Project Ideas (or lack thereof) |
[Feb. 7th, 2007|10:49 am] |
I spent a good amount of time(probably more than an hour) just going through the different Second Life publications on the links page. I read many unique things like hosting a party in world and in real life simultaneously. I didn't see many articles about things that I would be interested in though, since I'm not an activist of anything politically, nor do I have any marketing skills. I would have liked to do a campaign for KRTU, but somebody already beat me to it (look at the smug expression on his face as he basks in his superior ideas).
However I came across an interesting article in slnn.com about an online language learning service languagelab.com that is beta testing an in-world language school. The users liked being able to learn about language and use it in areas where the vocabulary would be used (like at a cafe for ordering food). Languagelabs also like the avatar interaction, and the VOIP appears to be promising for speaking.
I think it would be great to do an in-world education lab. Maybe we can promote education about a certain area, like media studies or science. It would be interesting for people to dress up in Shakespearean costume and recite Hamlet in a castle setting, or maybe even in a replica of the Globe Theater. Maybe even do a campaign for Trinity University as a whole, with a replica of the tower and the fountain, in the trademark Trinity brick. |
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| Journal Post 2 |
[Jan. 31st, 2007|01:17 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | dorky | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Aruarian Dance, Samurai Champloo OST | ] |
#2. Spend a few minutes skimming news articles about Second Life. You
can check the links from the web site
(http://www.trinity.edu/adelwich/metaverse/links.html) or simply go to
Google and search for articles about Second Life in the news section
(http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&q=%22second%20life%22&btnG=Google+Search&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wn).
Track down an interesting real-world venture (commercial or nonprofit)
that is experimenting with the world of Second Life. Return to Google's
news section, and try to find as many articles as possible about this
project. Then, hit the main Google search area, and look for other
links or discussions. After skimming many different stories and web
pages, enter into Second Life and visit the specific area where this
experiment is taking place. Wander around and investigate the different
options. As you wander, take notes on your reactions and analyze the
effectiveness of this project.
In at least three paragraphs, explain the project and analyze its
content. Would you characterize this project as a success? Why or why
not? As someone who will soon be launching a campaign in Second Life,
what lessons can you take away from this project?
I was excited to find out that Scion was going to have a presence in Second Life. I love my xB and I think that Second Life-ers are the type of people who would buy Scions.
According to Consumer Reports, Scion was one of the first automakers to set up shop in Second Life. They claim that 500 cars have been sold in game (virtual cars, not real ones) for the price of 300 Lindens. Scion is also about to launch a new model of the xB and the new xD at an auto show in Chicago on February 7th.. Second Life residents will have the chance to see these new models simultaneously in Scion City in Second Life. The first 500 residents to sign up will have the chance to participate in a Virtual Press Conference.
When I visited the Second Life Island a week ago, I wasn't really impressed. The show room didn't have any other residents in it, so it seemed like it wasn't popular with Second Life residents. And to sell only 500 cars in game also didn't seem that impressive.
Their in game set up was fine, though. They had the different models in the center of the room that would change color after a certain amount of time. They also had cars that you could purchase and customize for a mere 300L. There just didn't seem to be anything that would get people excited about Scions, like things accessible outside of SL or a way to bring people to the island. This showroom instead seemed to be aimed at people who were already Scion enthusiasts.
This might change with the virtual auto show. This is a great way to bring people to the island, and also to get exclusive content that you could only see if you went to the auto show in Chicago. Since the show in Second Life was announced in many news sources, word got out to many residents along with non-residents and could be the push Scion City needs to get the visibility it wants. This shows that I need a good presence not only in my Second Life "shop", but also a way to bring people to the shop (since the virtual world is a huge place, and just passing by is unlikely).
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| Journal Post 2 |
[Jan. 31st, 2007|01:17 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | dorky | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Aruarian Dance, Samurai Champloo OST | ] |
#2. Spend a few minutes skimming news articles about Second Life. You
can check the links from the web site
(http://www.trinity.edu/adelwich/metaverse/links.html) or simply go to
Google and search for articles about Second Life in the news section
(http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&q=%22second%20life%22&btnG=Google+Search&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wn).
Track down an interesting real-world venture (commercial or nonprofit)
that is experimenting with the world of Second Life. Return to Google's
news section, and try to find as many articles as possible about this
project. Then, hit the main Google search area, and look for other
links or discussions. After skimming many different stories and web
pages, enter into Second Life and visit the specific area where this
experiment is taking place. Wander around and investigate the different
options. As you wander, take notes on your reactions and analyze the
effectiveness of this project.
In at least three paragraphs, explain the project and analyze its
content. Would you characterize this project as a success? Why or why
not? As someone who will soon be launching a campaign in Second Life,
what lessons can you take away from this project?
I was excited to find out that Scion was going to have a presence in Second Life. I love my xB and I think that Second Life-ers are the type of people who would buy Scions.
According to Consumer Reports, Scion was one of the first automakers to set up shop in Second Life. They claim that 500 cars have been sold in game (virtual cars, not real ones) for the price of 300 Lindens. Scion is also about to launch a new model of the xB and the new xD at an auto show in Chicago on February 7th.. Second Life residents will have the chance to see these new models simultaneously in Scion City in Second Life. The first 500 residents to sign up will have the chance to participate in a Virtual Press Conference.
When I visited the Second Life Island a week ago, I wasn't really impressed. The show room didn't have any other residents in it, so it seemed like it wasn't popular with Second Life residents. And to sell only 500 cars in game also didn't seem that impressive.
Their in game set up was fine, though. They had the different models in the center of the room that would change color after a certain amount of time. They also had cars that you could purchase and customize for a mere 300L. There just didn't seem to be anything that would get people excited about Scions, like things accessible outside of SL or a way to bring people to the island. This showroom instead seemed to be aimed at people who were already Scion enthusiasts.
This might change with the virtual auto show. This is a great way to bring people to the island, and also to get exclusive content that you could only see if you went to the auto show in Chicago. Since the show in Second Life was announced in many news sources, word got out to many residents along with non-residents and could be the push Scion City needs to get the visibility it wants. This shows that I need a good presence not only in my Second Life "shop", but also a way to bring people to the shop (since the virtual world is a huge place, and just passing by is unlikely).
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| What can Second Life do for YOU? |
[Jan. 29th, 2007|11:16 am] |
#1. Think about your own interests and consider ways that these might
connect with the world of Second Life. For example, if you're
interested in film-making, what aspects of Second Life might be useful
to potential filmmakers? Or, if you're interested in education at the
K-12 level, is there any way that Second Life (or other virtual worlds)
might offer valuable tools for teachers? In at least three paragraphs,
write about your interests and explain how they might intersect with
virtual worlds such as Second Life.
I am interested in High School education, in particular media education and physics (as two different subjects, not physics in media!). Second Life offers a great wealth of potential for education in these areas.
Second Life offers a portion of their website dedicated specifically to education and a forum for educators using SL. There is also a mailing list for educators in Second Life that anybody can join (I am already a part of this list). Second Life also offers land grants for educators trying out SL for the first time. There is also a Second Life Education Wiki for information collaboration, and tips for educating in second life.
Media education could be interesting in Second Life. The New Media Consortium has a large campus in Second Life already and is a great place to meet new media educators and others familiar with second life as well. There are objects in Second Life that act as movie projectors and slide show screens, and is a good place to have meetings and discussions. It is also interesting to teach media in a mediated form, fully immersing students in media.
Second Life would be a great tool to use for physics. With the scripting language, it would be great to perform physics labs in second life using objects that could be used to calculate projectile distances and trajectories. It could be a great model for physics that can't necessarily be shown in a classroom, like gravitation and planetary movement. |
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| Draft of forum postings |
[Apr. 6th, 2006|11:49 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  relieved | ] |
Hi,
My name is Manny, and I am an undergraduate student enrolled at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. I am a communications major and am currently enrolled in a class about virtual worlds and the people who play them. Our class has been playing Everquest 2 for the past three months, and we are all part of the guild The Vindicators on the Antonia Bayle server.
As part of our class, we are required to research a topic that interests us pertaining to virtual worlds. I am interested in the potential applications for virtual worlds to be used in high school subjects, such as physics, sociology, literature, and so on. I would appreciate it if any current educators would agree to discuss with me their thoughts and experiences with this subject.
Interviews can take place through the game, e-mail, or through an instant messaging program, whichever is most convenient. Of course, anonymity and confidentiality is guaranteed for all participants.
If you are interested in helping out, please email me at super_manu22@hotmail.com
Our whole class will share their topics and results at the end of the semester, and will be made available online to anyone interested.
If you have any questions or concerned, feel free to visit http://www.trinity.edu/adelwich/worlds/faq.html
Thank you in advance,
Manny |
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| Kind of a parlor game? |
[Apr. 4th, 2006|11:51 am] |
I know this isn't really a parlor game per se, but it's a game my friends and I would play when we were bored.
We would take a movie, the cheesier the better. We would turn off the sound and make up dialogue to go with it. Hilarity ensues.
In terms of how to do this online, we could take screenshots from EQ2 or SL of something interesting or funny and have other people come up with captions for it. The funniest screenshot/caption combination wins!
OK maybe not the best idea, but it's better than charades. |
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| Recruting |
[Mar. 28th, 2006|12:39 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  contemplative | ] |
Here’s my plan for recruiting participants:
First I plan on posting in the official EQ2 forums looking for players of the game who also happen to be educators. I will specifically look for high school educators, and then even more specifically for those who use virtual worlds in the classroom. Even if the educators can’t meet all of those, their insight on the possibility of using virtual worlds in the classroom would be good enough. I would also post in forums and online communities geared towards high school teachers looking for teachers who play virtual worlds. I might even ask the people of the Vindicators if they happen to know anybody who plays in the game who happens to be a teacher.
Next, I think I will ask one of my education professors if she knows anybody who uses games in the classroom, or even if he knows of using alternative means of teaching (such as through a webcam). I figured she would know the current trends in education as well as anybody, so any resources or participants I could find from her would be great.
I think that the easiest way for people to access the description of my research would be to post it on my blog and include the link to the posting for easy reference. In the description, I would say that I am a college student at Trinity University as a Communications major, and that one of my classes is focused on studying various aspects of games and virtual worlds online. I would say that our final project is to research and write about an aspect of virtual worlds that are of interest to us, and that I was interested in the potential educational benefits of using virtual worlds in the classroom. |
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| eXistenZ suX |
[Mar. 9th, 2006|02:28 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  exhausted | ] |
Cronenburg’s film eXistenZ brought up many issues relevant to online gaming and virtual worlds. One of the recurring themes brought up in the movie was “what is happening to my real life body when I am in the virtual world?” This relates closely to the levels of immersion within games. As games and virtual worlds become more realistic, levels of immersion increase, especially with newer and more innovative interfaces, the lines between virtual and real become blurred. There was an instance within the movie where Jude Law’s character comes out of the game, and isn’t sure if he is still in the game or if he is back in his real life. I think that Cronenburg is trying to argue that there needs to be clearly defined realms of reality and virtual reality.
Cronenburg also had an interesting way of representing the human- virtual world interface. He is showing that machines are becoming more organic, and humans are becoming more like machines. I think he is criticizing the way humans are becoming “artificial”, as if through these games (or more recently implanting chips inside human flesh) are making us less human.
It is also interesting that all of this action takes place within a church. Whether he is predicting that games and gamers will become cult like, or whether he is referencing how game creators are gods in the fashion of creating environments, and one could argue life, it is unclear. Throughout the film, they refer to Alegra as a game goddess, and people are threatened by her, and consequently try to assassinate her.
Oh, and eXistenZ had bad screen direction, bad framing, and would pull out unnecessarily to a wide angle without anything motivating it. |
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| Research question/ question for lecture |
[Feb. 22nd, 2006|09:14 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | hopeful | ] |
Ok after much pondering and discussing with Dr. Delwiche, I have decided to have my research question be: How can online worlds be used for education through various stages of school life? I am imagining using parties and trade functions in kindergarten to learn how to share and socialize, all the way up to simulating projectiles for a high school physics class by manipulating the physics in game. It's cool, right?
Ok my question for thursday is:
What careers (if any) are available with a communications degree within the game industry or game studies?
Casting my AoE on my homework. |
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