Ladies and gentlemen, and wonderful people of all genders on the internet, I am having a great time. very Bad few weeks. I was in a car accident two weeks ago, and the pain in my neck and shoulders has gotten worse due to the deterioration of several joints in my spine and cervical spine. In addition to the stress of dealing with increasing pain, and the added stress of dealing with insurance agents and arranging for car repairs, this week I accidentally deleted several directories in my Microsoft OneDrive cloud storage while transferring files from my old Windows laptop to my new laptop. While I was on the phone with my university’s technical support team on Friday, I felt distraught. I was suffering from neck and shoulder pain, which got worse due to stress. Frustrated, overwhelmed, embarrassed, and in pain, I finally threw in the towel and took the rest of the day off as sick leave, then went home and went to bed. I’m embarrassed at how poorly I’m coping with everything that’s happened in my life over the past two weeks.
All of this is a very roundabout way for me to express my gratitude for Second Life. Second Life is, to this day, one of my preferred escapes when reality becomes too much. Some of my readers may be wondering why I spend so much of my free time in a 22-year-old fictional world that mainstream media likes to portray as bizarre, old-fashioned, and inhabited by strange people. (Hey, it’s just as I said. hug Your strangeness. number professional weirdo. This world is not served by billions of people who think the same, act the same, and love the same.) But I think differently.
Second Life is watertight It is a fully mature and ever-evolving model of the metaverse that many new entrants would be wise to study, learn from, and emulate. One thing the mainstream media misunderstands is why Second Life is so appealing. The charm that keeps users coming back is ~ no The weirdness of it all (although that’s part of it). The greatest appeal of Second Life is that it is an incomparable blank canvas where people can be whatever they want and create whatever they want. And nowhere is that more evident than in SL’s vibrant music scene.
For example, first thing this morning, my main avatar, Vanity Fair, climbed a ladder to reach The Rooftop, one of several locations located in an area called NO DUMPIRE created and managed by a dinky raccoon avatar named Zed. This morning I enjoyed an hour-long set of live music by classical guitarist Joaquin Gustav, and chatted with friends in SL over morning coffee.
Second Life is full of music venues where you can park Vanity (or a small army of other avatars) at a club and listen to a DJ, live musical performer, or singer/songwriter. There’s everything from fancy ballrooms like LOVE to the decidedly anti-consumerist dumpsters at many of NO DUMPIRE’s locations.
As I write this, Joaquin has packed his guitar and DJ Zed is now playing a variety of chill out music. His usual avatar is Dinky (i.e. small avatar) Raccoon.
that hell Other than just turning on the radio and listening to the limited set of music provided by the radio station. Why do that when you can support a live DJ or musician in Second Life? and Does it make you look great? Next up is Vanity Fair dancing to the end of the song during Zed’s DJ set.
Second Life and its many clubs, venues, festivals, and other events have exposed me to musicians and DJs from all over the world. For example, Joaquin Gustav is from Buenos Aires, Argentina, which is a far cry from my wintery Winnipeg, Canada. I can join SL groups for my favorite artists (like Joaquin’s group) so I get notified when and where they’re next performing. And I can use Linden dollars, which artists like Joaquin can cash out for local currency, to tip performers whose music sparks joy and brings joy. And there are no ads.
And you don’t just have to log in from your Windows, MacOS, or Linux desktop to listen to music streams from a virtual world venue. Second Life’s new mobile client (available for both Android and iOS phones and tablets) lets you take your music with you wherever you go! The sound quality is great even on mobile.
That’s why Second Life is my radio station. Ladies and gentlemen (and wonderful people of all genders), this puts me to rest. 😉 Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.
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