There is a there there

People often ask me what is actually there ‘there’. What is it that keeps people so fixated on their screens and, as a media and communications researcher I feel obliged to respond. I briefly wonder whether they are about to launch into a tirade about how pathetic it is to see someone locked into their favorite sitcom; or how come their kids seem to run straight to instant message their friends from home after spending the whole day in school with exactly those same friends. But these days it seems that that the puzzlement is not directed at why anyone would want to keep abreast of the real, online or onscreen lives of others, but quite often, it turns to why anyone should want to spend their time in an immersive world such as Second Life. Worlds like Second Life (SL) tend to offer both of the above; and a lot more. Not only can you track the lives of others at study, work and play as you do in Facebook, but you can also maintain an second life of your very own in the persistent world – a world that doesn’t go away when you log off, but continues exist, and even thrive in your absence.

After many years of augmenting my face to face conversations with friends, family and colleagues through email, instant messaging services, image and video-sharing platforms and social network interfaces (more about these in another blog) many of these contacts have now taken up residence in Second Life. And so the conversations continue to flow – mostly through badly spelt text chats, or on occasion though voice conversations in world. In addition to my Facebook page, the numerous websites I maintain, and the waves of emails I am indepted to answer, I am now finding new ways to augment my mediated presence; this time in the delightfully creative world of Second Life.

So what are museums doing there? Actually, plenty! Perhaps the most impressive museum experience I have come across recently in second Life must be the one developed by the US Holocaust Museum in Washington. This is not merely documentary in nature, but also highly experiential. May I suggest that if anyone is interested in walking through a Second Life simulation of Kristallnacht (Crystal Night) they contact me in the virtual world. I am very easy to find; just instant message Jennifer Freund in world and mention you read this blog post.

Susan/Jennifer