Jun 30, 2009

Life On Line 1st July

In this edition of Life On Line:

The world was shocked by the recent death of Michael Jackson. We remember him on the show and look back over a remarkable career.Fashion is a favorite obsession for millions of people the world over and in virtual worlds too!

Fashion expert Scarlett Niven explains why and previews a new virtual world dedicated to fashion, Frenzoo.com.

A company’s good name is worth its weight in gold but many companies promise the earth in advertising but don’t deliver. Corporate reputation expert Alex Harris explains what companies – larger and small – can do to improve their standing with the community.

Musically, Shakti Cianci introduces a reggae band from Tasmania, the protest group Bomba, who is campaigning against logging in the ancient Tasmanian forests.

Click on the screen to the left or go to Blip TV.

Jun 23, 2009

SLebrity Update: Spinning Out of Control

The Google hit count for SLebrity continues to amaze and astound! As of this moment (12:30 pm Eastern Standard Time) is stands at an underwhelming 1,660. Astute observers may notice that this is down from May's 1,940.

In January of this year (2009) the hits stood at 2,730, so that's 1,070 down over six months. Mmmh. This is something of a bummer as far as my campaign to promote the use of the word goes. Not exactly a stratospheric rise in provenance and if this were shares in a company, I think "sell" would be a more frequently used word.

I grasped a straw in the form of Microsoft's new Bing search engine, thinking that it may have a better ability to find occurrences of the word. Tragically it didn't even hit the Google mark, returning a paltry 1,120. That sucks.

I could thrash around looking for a scapegoat but that strikes me as being both pathetic and fruitless. I clearly over-estimated my ability to become a one-man promotion machine for a single word. Clearly. If I were a marketing company, I'd be having to give the money back!

Of course, there's is also the teensy weensy fact that I have not actually been doing any promotion, and my trips in-world have dropped off drastically over the past month. Medical issues with my wife have me focusing more on her than SL - which is a good thing ;)

Still, I refuse to give up hope that SLebrity will reach SLebrity status by the end of the year.

Jun 18, 2009

MBC News 6-17-09

This week's MBC News with Dousa Dragonash and Sigmund Leominster. Jenaia Morane is in the studio with virtual guide dog "Max" and Dousa and Siggy report on this week's news in the real and virtual worlds.

Jun 14, 2009

Life On Line: Episode 9

Life On Line is proud to support two very worthy causes. The Friends Fighting Cancer who have tirelessly worked to raise money for the Relay For Life, a global cancer research fundraiser staged in the virtual world Second Life.

And Amnesty International has recently appointed the extremely hard-working Amy Cross as their global Online Coordinator to campaign in support of Amnesty International through the internet.

We also take a closer look at remarkable new virtual technology – a digital artificial intelligence called Milo, created by Lionhead Studios.

Musically, Shakti Cianci of SpaceJunky introduces the winner of the recent Sony Remix contest. We showcase the winning music video by Metaphysics from Germany.

Click the video to the left to watch or link here to Life On Line. Note that my voice is different because Kayden O'Connell stepped up to the plate to pinch hit while I was on the road. At least the actual copy was mine!

Jun 6, 2009

Moribund Blogs and Work In Progress

Like most bloggers in Second Life, I have been guilty of creating more blog space that I can physically manage. Hence the slow-down with this blog and the sporadic postings elsewhere.

Over at SL Bloggers I managed to crank out two introspective (or possibly omphaloskeptic for the more pretentious among us) comments on blogging and the use of blogs.

The first, The Irony and Moribundity of the Second Life Blogger, bemoans the tendency to want to be all things to all people by setting up, and then neglecting, blogs - or as one writer labels them, "mogs" for "moribund blogs."

The second, Blog or Ad, simply observes that a fair number of blogs are simply advertising pieces for someone's latest SL venture; clothes, shoes, clubs, malls, in fact anything that people create. I'm not sure whether this is a criticism or just a legitimate form of blog.

Meanwhile, I am currently working on a profile piece on the SS Galaxy sim. This will appear in Prim Perfect magazine later this month. As I write, 2000 words are done and I'm slated to add another 1000 before submitted. So, I'm about to slip in world and track down some interviewees.

Jun 2, 2009

Latest Life On Line Now Transmitting

Click on the video window in the left-hand column to catch Episode 8 of Life On Line.

This edition of Life On Line gazes into Microsoft’s crystal ball as we talk with Microsoft evangelist Zain Naboulsi, who describes how we will experience the internet in the future.

Musically, we have the Aussie talent of Hughie performing ‘Slap That Ass’ from an album produced with Kirk Pengilly of INXS.

Newsman Sigmund Leominster reports on the news from and virtual worlds and the metaverse in general.