Not Dead Yet But Not in Second Life Much

It's cold and snowy here in Real Life and I've just made myself a pot of tea. My wife is out so I have some "quiet time" to surf the web and catch up with anything I fancy. And that includes stopping by the Alphaville Herald.

Sex & God in the Metaverse

It seems I missed adding a link from here to an article I penned for the Tribune back in March. Sex & God in the Metaverse takes a peek at two events from opposite ends of the moral spectrum; and online sex conference and a new virtual world based on the Bible.

Sex & God in the Metaverse

Take a look if you haven't already seen this one. There are, as always, links to other related articles.

Metaverse Live: 3-27-12

Metaverse TV Live is back and broadcasting from the WW2 Memorial Park in Second Life. Guests include Jessii2009 Warrhol and Vickster Kuhn talking about the sim and flying planes in the virtual world.



There's also chat about the Second Life Marketplace, 3D immersion, HTML5, Open Sim, and more.

3D Immersion in SL

How close is 3D immersion in Second Life? Check out my latest article in the Metaverse Tribune for more details.

http://metaversetribune.com/2012/03/21/how-close-is-3d-immersion-in-sl/

Linden Lab Acquires LittleTextPeople

Read about Linden Lab's latest acquisition over at the Metaverse Tribune.

Linden Lab Acquires LittleTextPeople

The first episode of Wetaverse in now in the final editing stages and planning for the Ides of March has begun. As the say in the TV world, stay tuned!

Wetaverse Episode 1 Up and Running

The first edition of Wetaverse is now available to watch. Sex and Gor feature in this show, along with poetry, machinema, and all with a darker, sexier edge.

The next edition should be available in a month's time. Let us know if you have ideas for topics.

So what's going on, Siggy?

You'd think that live broadcasting would be easier that recording. With the latter, you have to do lots of cutting, pasting, cropping, fiddling with sounds, and so on. But it turns out that "live" has challenges of its own. So, MBC went for switching to a fortnightly format and then to a hiatus. By "hiatus" I mean "not happening unless folks decide to do otherwise.

Yours truly has been very busy in real life so it's not necessarily a bad thing personally to get some extra time. But it's good to keep a presence in Second Life so I've committed to doing some regular writing for the Metaverse Tribune. Recka Wuyts and Bethany Slade have been wonderful in allowing me carte blanche on topics, so I can pick and choose what I want to write about. In truth, that's the point of being a "freelance writer" - the freedom to shift from topic to topic depending on the level of interest.

So on Christmas Eve, 2011, I made a case against Net Neutrality in my Op-Ed piece Net Neutrality: Just Say No. This was in response to an earlier article by Skylar Smythe, who argued that the private sector was "censoring" content by seeking to make some people pay more for access than others.

In one of my sober moments over the Christmas period, I wrote an article that appeared on New Year's Day, 2012, entitled 2011: (Hardly) in Second Life. This was a discussion about why my presence in SL has dwindled over time, although not as a result of joining the "Second Life is dying" brigade.

Not long after that, I penned Hacktivists: Freedom Fighters or Self-Centered Script Kiddies, with the latter interpretation being my favorite. I rather hoped to have some self-centered script kiddies take me task on this one but alas, I'm nowhere near as fun a target as the FBI or Google.

I spent a couple of weeks at the end of January on the road in real life, so it wasn't until February 6th, that I was able to write about the IPO for Facebook in Of Privacy and Profits: The Facebook Frenzy.

Meanwhile, the Wetaverse show isn't yet posted at the MBC TV site, so stay tuned to see what happens! I have an article submitted to the Trib and will alert folks when it appears.

The Wetaverse: A New MBC TV Show on Sexuality

It's in the can, as they say, but not yet posted. The first ever Wetaverse show was recorded last week in a mammoth session that ate into my drinking time. Well, maybe not that much, but a splendid time was had by all as the inaugeral show took place.

Frolic Mills talked about virtual penises, as did I and Foxxe Wilder, my bar-propping companion to the show. We also had veteran SLer Steve Cropper with a film about the Gorean sims, and talked with two Gorean role-players, Johana Haystack and Elysa Swansong.

Love and Life in Gor from Reputation Australia on Vimeo.

There was some erotic poetry from Morgue McMillan and a film called "Love Everlasting" from director Nino Heartsdale and camera by Emanuelle Courtois.

The aim was to have this out on Valentine's Day - sentimental souls as we are at MBC - but the hearts and cupids came and went while the show stayed in the editing phase.

The nest show is scheduled for the Ides of March, conspirators willing.

Metaverse Live: 12-5-11

Looks like we made it to out fourth broadcast without too much trauma. Our special guest this week is the inimitable Frolic Mills who promotes the Miss Virtual World 2012 event and much more! Among the bevy of Supermodels, the non-model team talk about Linden Lab's new Realms game, the Red Cross's call to introduce the Geneva Convention to virtual worlds, and virtual reputation management.

Metaverse Live #4 From The Patch Thibaud Auditorium from Metaverse TV on Vimeo.

Metaverse Live: 11-21-11

It's Round 3 for Metaverse Live and the team are beginning to get settled in with their new roles. I say "new" only in so far as we're adapting to the "one-take" feature of production. With the old MBC News show, we had the luxury of "do it again" whereas now you simply have to live with your mistakes.

This week, we have JayJay Zifanwe from the University of Western Australia who talks about his project, the UWA Machinema Challenge; and arts event that has garnered hundreds of entries of both pictures and movies. The Grand Final judging panel reads more like a list of a few football teams but includes our very own Malburns Writer!

Also under discussion were Facebook (always popular), virtual life, and holodecks.

Metaverse Live #3 from Metaverse TV on Vimeo.

Metaverse Live: 11-14-11

It's the second edition of the new Metaverse Live show and this week we're taking a trip through the Looking Glass with our guests, Kayden O'Connell and Corwyn Allen of the Avatar Repertory Theater. I've worked with Kayden before when he was the voice of Life On Line, created by another MBC alumni, Angelico Babii - real life Steve Cropper.

This week we talk about art and performance, with the Looking Glass project highlighted, and also take a look at Second Life's Viewer 3, and Zynga.

Metaverse Live #2 from Metaverse TV on Vimeo.

Take a look at the offerings from the Avatar Repertory Theater.

Metaverse Live: 11-7-11

After a few weeks hiatus, the news team are resurrected as... well, the news team but in a different format! The script is looser, the discussions are deeper, and the broadcast is liver. Yes, the whole thing goes out live, warts and all, with all the crashes, mistakes, bloopers, griefers, and anything else that can happen in a 60-minute slot. Kind of exciting, eh?

In this, the first ever Metaverse Live broadcast, Dousa Dragonash brings together News regulars Sigmund Leominster and Malburns Writer with guests, Toxxic Rhiannyr of AlterEgo and Jinnywitha Cleanslate of BBW, talking about marketing and diversity in virtual worlds.

Metaverse Live #1 from Metaverse TV on Vimeo.

MBC News: 9-22-11

I wasn't there for the first MBC News so it's probably no great tragedy that I missed the last one. Which is this one. On the upside, y'all got to see the lovely Lisa Hermano instead of me, so that can't be a bad thing! Although there was the option to replace me - again - by a bear.

Mustn't complain though because I was out in Austria playing with brain control interfaces, and although I didn't get to think my way around Second Life, I did learn an awful lot about the current state of BCI research.

MBC News September 22nd, 2011 from Metaverse TV on Vimeo.

So that's it for the News as it was. I wonder if we'll get a "That Was The News That Was" special at Christmas? You listening Dousa and Robustus???

MBC News: 9-13-11

My last appearance on MBC News in this format, and, as you see, due to "technical difficulties" I have a box on my head. In fact, it could be another avatar pretending to me! But let's not go there with some long philosophical discussion about reality and truth, just trust me - it IS me and there IS a box.

MBC News September 13th, 2011 from Metaverse TV on Vimeo.

Hopefully I can get my head back as soon as possible. Hopefully.

MBC News: 8-25-11

With me back in full color, but Dousa now in gray, and Edi missing in action, Libya's Ghadafi is also missing. Harry Potter may be virtually real sooner than we think, with speculation that "Pottermore" may become more than just books and sales of Potterabilia. Google dips into its cash back pocket and stumps up $12.5 million to buy Motorola's Mobility division. Hewlett Packard step out of the tablet market while making huge sales of their now defunct device!

MBC News August 25th, 2011 from Metaverse TV on Vimeo.

The Concise Oxford add words like "w00t" and "cyberbully" to the latest edition of the dictionary. Mal talks about TV that watches YOU, and Blue Mars introduces a "Blue Mars" lite that uses Google street view.

MBC News: 8-18-11

Apologies for looking so gray but the interweb was playing up and I after several attempts to rez, this was the best we could get to in the time we had. So, the wonderful gray look is NOT a fashion statement but a wonderful example of how Second Life can be less than perfect. And be sure to watch PAST the end of the news for Rob's little "easter egg!"



Syria is still in turmoil whereas Morocco is about to go to the polls. Launch magazine suggests Linden Lab makes $100 million per year. eMarketer suggests virtual goods sales could reach $653 million this year. Rovio, the makers of Angry Birds, may increase its value to $1.2 billion following talks with an unnamed investor.

Mal and the team talk about the SLCC 2011 conference and Edi dishes out the details on what's happening in Second Life.

MBC News: 8-9-11

As Mal and Dousa lock the doors to keep out the London rioters, Siggy reports on LinkedIn's quarterly figures, Mal picks up on Limewire's multi-million settlement for copyright infringement, and Dousa reveals that women spend more money on virtual goods than men do.

MBC News August 9th, 2011 from Metaverse TV on Vimeo.

It's been such a busy week that I didn't even have time to change my sweater!

MBC News: 8-2-11

US default crisis nears the end, Samsung stops sales of its Galaxy Tab in Europe, "all-you-can-eat" data use on mobile phones is on the way out, India clamps down on internet shops, and much more.

MBC News August 2nd, 2011 from Metaverse TV on Vimeo.

It's summer so I'm back in blond.

MBC News: 7-29-11

Siggy is on the road but has been replaced by a Linden bear! Some say that this is, in fact, a step up for journalism.

Tragedy in Norway is followed by news about RIM's staff-cutting exercise; Google close labs to focus on Google Plus and other new ventures; Mal talks about 3D web, SL mesh testing, and computer language learning.

MBC News July 29th, 2011 from Metaverse TV on Vimeo.

Edi provides updates on "What's On" in SL and what's coming up on MBC TV.

Siggy on the road...

It's that time of year, when the weather is good and the lure of the real life motorcycle outweighs the lure of Second Life. Add to this that I'm doing some traveling in both the US and UK so unable to spend time in world.

Nevertheless, I will be back with more MBC News reports in August.