A few weeks ago, I got an email from my ex-bf Matt, who moved to Japan to teach english 6 years ago. I had shown him some drawings I'd finished and he told me I should try to sell some art in Second Life. I had not heard of Second Life. Was it a gallery? Some hep Tokyo Pop Art store? I Googled it, went to the website, and discovered what thousands of curious World Citizens are discovering.
I downloaded the software, opened it up, clicked "connect" and I was born. Again. But with a lot more control this time.
It looks like a game. I'm sort of a cartoony looking character, called an avatar, that represents me in the world. I have a name: Ko Kalok. I can walk around with the arrow keys on my keyboard. I can see other people's avatars, whose names float over their heads. I can chat with them by typing and reading messages. When I type on my computer, my avatar types in the air, signaling that I am about to say something to anyone watching.
I was led through a series of sign-led tutorials on how to edit my avatar's appearance, my profile, how to move around, interact with objects in world, and how to fly. I can fly! As I explore, using a search window, a map, and the power to teleport, I discover that everything in Second Life is built by users. Premium members have the ability to own land and can build on it, using Second Life's own tools and scripting language, conduct business, create spectacles. It is presently about the size of the city of Boston, with over 250,000 active profiles, and 10-15,000 users online at any given time.
Since those first tentative hours, I have climbed a pyramid, on whose summit I met a man with a '69 Mustang. He offered me a ride and when I climbed in, he flew that car into the virtual sky and I was strangely exhilerated. It lasted but a few minutes, but it was my most romantic date in years. And I'm pretty sure the guy was straight. I have visited a secret underwater labratory, being constructed by some guy who seems to enjoy inviting me to see his latest creation any time he sees me online. I have attended classes on Hero Mythology and Wicca 101.
I have found an art gallery (3rd floor, Kiva Island Art Gallery and Library, y'all) whose curator liked my work and gave me wall space to hang as much as I care to for free! He even took the time to show me how to create a canvas on a wall, import my art as a texture, and set a price and limit what a buyer can do with it. I sold a drawing for $150! (er, that's Linden dollars, the currency in Second Life. The present exchange rate is around $257 Linden dollars/per $1 US.)
I'm not recommending Second Life to people with a full and gratifying first life. I realize every minute I'm in there, I'm not here, feeding or clothing destitute humanity, re-planting rainforests, or spaying a pet. But somehow, I find myself in the privileged position of living in a relatively safe sector of the planet with a computer, a cable internet connection, and occassional free time. I'm having a wonderful time watching what we do when we are offered the opportunity to build a new world.
