December 10

Having just completed my build-it project, I find now a perfect oppertunity to reflect on this new aspect of Second Life. While constructing our building, I noticed how similar Second Life is to The Sims. Building was a lot of fun and it was very interesting to experience a completely different aspect of virtual worlds...creation. It sure seems like for the past few months, my expereinces in Second Life have been limited to teleporting from place to place and interacting with a variety of avatars. Building in Second Life offers entirely new oppertunities in this strange land. Being able to construct somthing first hand made me realize how difficult the process is, and this, I have a far greater appreciation for some of the sites that I have seen during my travels in world. Construction in Second Life has opened many new doors for me, and it is somthing that I hope to continue persuing in the future.

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December 1

Medow's section of I, Avatar titled The Children of the Strange Migration was very fascinating and made me curious about the future of virtual worlds. While Second Life may seem small as compared to the real world, it continues to grow each day, and the number of residents and avatars are increasing dramatically. I wonder what would happen should the number of avatars continue at this rate. According to Meadows and Dr. Essid, within a matter of years, nearly everyone will have avatars, in some sort of virtual world. Avatars will be required for jobs, school, etc. Meadows presents some interesting points regarding this imminent influx of new avatars. Will the virtual world have enough space for the number of avatars? In my short 3 months as a resident in this virtual world, I have already experienced several instances where I entered areas of Second Life filled with residents. One such occurrence happened when Andrew and I attended the Spork Party in Burning Life. There were so many avatars at this location in Second Life that my computer constantly lagged, and I even crashed multiple times. With such a large number of avatars, it was nearly impossible to move around without bumping into people. Will all of Second Life be like this five years down the road? If so, I believe that this will negatively impact Linden Labs and the virtual world industry. While old residents will understand the true benefits of Second Life despite the traffic, new residents will quickly become flustered by the lagging and crashing. This could result in their disinterest and departure from Second Life. Linden Labs has a very daunting task ahead of them these next few years if the projected increase in residents holds true. They will have to find a better and more efficient way of housing a large number of avatars. 

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November  20

As I mentioned in my previous blog the concept of sociology fascinates me. This particular field of study helps me to better understand interactions between individuals and groups of people. Sociology plays a major role in our every day lives in the real world, and my interactions with other avatars in Second Life made me curious about the social aspects of virtual worlds. In my Sociology 101 class, we began the year by discussing the three different types of sociologists which consist of, the functionalist, the conflict theorist, and the symbolic interactionist. These three different types of sociology view the world around them in completely different ways. In my final project, I will focus on how the functionalist, the conflict theorist, and the symbolic interactionists would interpret Second Life and virtual worlds in general. They all relate with the theme of sociology, and each has a different and unique way of viewing the world around them. This project would allow me to use my knowledge and skills that I have gained throughout this past semester in sociology class and put them to practice on a much smaller scale. It would also allow me to explore Second Life in much greater depth. I would be able to analyze this virtual world from three completely different perspectives. To attain my information, I will use journal articles and books, some of which are listed below, and I also plan on interviewing my sociology teacher, Prof Mowery, to understand her professional point of view on Second Life.  

 

Bibliography:

Anderson, Ken. McClard, Anne. "Focus on Facebook: Who Are We Anyway?" Online Posting 9 April 2008. Anthropology News. 30 October 2008.

http://www.anthrosource.net/doi/abs/10.1525/an.2008.49.3.10?prevSearch=%22virtual+worlds%22

This web article describes social networking online. It will tell me about how individuals interact online both on the internet and in virtual worlds.

 

 Cho, Jenny. "National Association of Student Anthropology." Online Posting. 1 May 2008. Anthropology News. 30 October 2008.

http://www.anthrosource.net/doi/abs/10.1525/an.2008.49.4.54.2?prevSearch=%22virtual+worlds%22

 

 Henslin, James. Essentials of Sociology. Sydney: Pearson, 1998.

This book will help me with the general ideas of sociology. I will base my sociological observations around what I have learned in this book thus far.

 

 Winnick, Dinah. "On Coming of Age in Second Life: An Interview with Tom Boellstorff" Online Posting. 23 October 2008. Anthropology News. 30 October 2008. http://www.anthrosource.net/doi/abs/10.1111/an.2008.49.7.21?prevSearch=virtual+AND+worlds

This article will teach me about the development of Second Life through its 4 stages of technology. It will help me better understand the social aspects of Second Life.

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November 12

Wikipedia Smackdown Update (Endorphin)

 

Origional

The term endorphin rush has been adopted in popular speech to refer to feelings of exhilaration brought on by pain, danger, or other forms of stress, supposidly due to the influence of endorphins. However, this term does not occur in the medical literature.

 

Updated

The term endorphin rush has been adopted in popular speech to refer to feelings of exhilaration brought on by pain, danger, or other forms of stress,^[2] supposedly due to the influence of endorphins. When a nerve impulse reaches the spinal cord, endorphins are released which prevent nerve cells from releasing more pain signals. Endorphins allow the athlete to feel a sense of power and control over themselves which allows them to persist with a strenuous activity for a long period of time. These pain dulling drugs make the effort become effortless.

 

 

Current

The term endorphin rush has been adopted in popular speech to refer to feelings of exhilaration brought on by pain, danger, or other forms of stress,^[1] supposedly due to the influence of endorphins. When a nerve impulse reaches the spinal cord, endorphins are released which prevent nerve cells from releasing more pain signals. Endorphins allow someone to immediately after injury feel a sense of power and control over themselves which allows them to persist with activity for an extended time.

 

 

Personally, I like my version of this Wikipedia entry better than the current version. I think that the editor who decided to change my entry made it unnecessarily wordy. He also chose to take out some of the detail that I added which I believe helps the reader to better understand the impact that endorphins have on the exerciser. While I disagree with my fellow-editor, I respect his opinion and his decision to edit my changes in this Wikipedia article about endorphins.

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October 30

Wow I had a very unique and interesting experience last night in Second Life. While trying to gather information regarding other avatars' views of race and discrimination in virtual worlds, I returned to Orientation Island. I hoped that a visit to Orientation Island with an African American avatar would give me an idea as to what brand new residents felt about minorities in Second Life. I begin having my avatar, Deklin Windlow, interact with a few newcomers. This started with some small talk which would allow me to see these newcomers’ first impressions of an African American avatar. Contrary to my expectations, Deklin was not ridiculed or discriminated against. In fact, before I knew it, Deklin was being asked to assist these new avatars in the virtual world! This was a completely new situation for me. Throughout the past two months that I have been using Second Life, I have always been the one asking others for guidance and assistance. My role in the virtual world was suddenly reversed and I was the one being asked for help. This was a very new experience for me and it allowed me to use Second Life in an entirely new way. I now explored this world with a new perspective and a ‘new set of eyes.’

 

 

On another note: My roommate has just created a Second Life account. Uh oh. I have no idea where this is going! It could get interesting.

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October 29

While my ideas may evolve over time, I currently hope to focus my English 103 final project on the social aspects of Second Life. There are a number of directions in which I could go with this topic. I could possibly write about Second Life from the perspective of a sociologist. With this direction, I would begin by discussing Second Life from the point of view of the three major subcategories of sociology: the functionalist, the conflict theorist, and the symbolic interactionist. The functionalist looks at the world as a system in which all aspects of the system must work correctly in order for the system to operate effectively. Conflict theorists separate society into two parts, those who have power and strive to keep it, and those without power who long to obtain it. These two groups are in constant battle. Finally, symbolic interactionists view society as symbols. The symbols allow society to function properly. I would then talk about many other aspects of sociology and how they relate to Second Life and other virtual worlds. Ideas such as norms, sanctions, in-groups/out-groups, and deviance are just a few aspects of sociology which I have already witnessed during my interactions in world. This project would allow to take the knowledge that I have obtained in my Sociology 101 course and apply in to other aspects of my life, in this case, Second Life.        

 

Anderson, Ken. McClard, Anne. "Focus on Facebook: Who Are We Anyway?" Online Posting 9 April 2008. Anthropology News. 30 October 2008.

http://www.anthrosource.net/doi/abs/10.1525/an.2008.49.3.10?prevSearch=%22virtual+worlds%22

This web article describes social networking online. It will tell me about how individuals interact online both on the internet and in virtual worlds.

 

 Cho, Jenny. "National Association of Student Anthropology." Online Posting. 1 May 2008. Anthropology News. 30 October 2008.

http://www.anthrosource.net/doi/abs/10.1525/an.2008.49.4.54.2?prevSearch=%22virtual+worlds%22

 

 Henslin, James. Essentials of Sociology. Sydney: Pearson, 1998.

This book will help me with the general ideas of sociology. I will base my sociological observations around what I have learned in this book thus far.

 

 Winnick, Dinah. "On Coming of Age in Second Life: An Interview with Tom Boellstorff" Online Posting. 23 October 2008. Anthropology News. 30 October 2008. http://www.anthrosource.net/doi/abs/10.1111/an.2008.49.7.21?prevSearch=virtual+AND+worlds

This article will teach me about the development of Second Life through its 4 stages of technology. It will help me better understand the social aspects of Second Life.

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October 23

Baron's article cont.:

Baron strays from his major clam that techonology goes through four stages when he discusses humanists, and their distance from the technological loop. He also talks a lot about fraud towards the end of his article which seems to have little relevence with technology's four stages.

 

The Printing Press as an Agent of Change by Elizabeth Eisenstein

In her book, Eisenstein chooses to focus on the development of printing and the written word over time. She chooses to specify in the technology people used to write in the 15th century. Eisenstein discuss how writing was printed and reprinted at that point in history, and how we began to develop means of replicating the written launge more rapidly and efficently. She describes this evolution as a 'revolution.' Francis Bacon argues that the development of printing "changed the appearance and state of the whole world..." (3). Eisenstein chooses to focus her work on how printing has impacted society as a whole both positively and negatively. I think that Baron was very smart to use this as a source. It directly relates to his arguement that all communications technologies go through four stages of evolution. This source specifically allowed Baron to better understand writing and printing during its early stages of writing evolution.  

 

Eisenstein, Elizabeth L. 1979. The Printing Press as an Agent of Change. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press.

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October 16

Baron's article. Pencil's to Pixels: The Stages of Literacy Technology

Major Claim: "the computer is simply the latest step in a long line of writing technologies"

 

Paraphrased: In past, present, and future, our way of visually communicating with others adapts based on the technology available to us at the time. The computer is currently our most modern way by which we write, and in the years to come, it will become replaced by a newer more modern form of writing technology.

 

Digression: "The development of the pencil is also a paradigm of the development of literacy."

I feel like this topic sentense stray's from Baron's main arguement about the stages of technology.

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October 15

I chose to adjust a portion of the Wikipdeia article about endorphins. The beginning of the article discussed the 'endorphin rush,' a feeling commonly felt after endorphins are released. I felt that the exisiting article failed to go into much detail regarding this 'natural high,' so I decided to elaborate based on my knowledge and research on endorphins.

 

Origional Version:

The term endorphin rush has been adopted in popular speech to refer to feelings of exhilaration brought on by pain, danger, or other forms of stress, supposidly due to the influence of endorphins. However, this term does not occur in the medical literature.

 

Modified Version:

(bolded portion added by me)

The term endorphin rush has been adopted in popular speech to refer to feelings of exhilaration brought on by pain, danger, or other forms of stress,^[2] supposedly due to the influence of endorphins. When a nerve impulse reaches the spinal cord, endorphins are released which prevent nerve cells from releasing more pain signals. Endorphins allow the athlete to feel a sense of power and control over themselves which allows them to persist with a strenuous activity for a long period of time. These pain dulling drugs make the effort become effortless.

 

As a runner, I have always been curious about the endorphin release that occurs during exercise, commonly referred to as 'the runners high.' I've wanted to better understand why I enjoy exercise, and what aspect of it caused me to continue with the activity. This led me to research the topic and learn more about the causes and effects of this chemical release. The origional passage seemed very vague and not very persuasive. I decided to add my portion in order to help the reader to better understand endorphins and the runners high.

 

Citation:

Andes, Karen, and Editors of Fitness Magazine. The Complete Book of Fitness. New York, NY: Three Rivers, 1999.

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October 1

Avatar Photo Safari

 

I walked though this location minutes after hearing the instructions for our Avatar Photo Safari, and it immediately reminded me of Second Life. Many aspects of this multipurpose location just outside of Wood Hall made me think of Second Life. People use it for a wide variety of purposes at all hours of the day. In this area, I have seen students reading books on the benches, interacting with a group of friends, talking on the phone with one’s parents, sitting on the bench with one’s significant other, as well as a group of people sharing a pizza at 3 in the morning. I have even seen someone perched on the top of the red bulletin board. When an avatar teleports to a location in Second Life, they typically arrive at an area of the island where a great deal of resources and information are available to them. At this area avatars can view maps and learn information about their location. Such was the case when I visited IBM’s business island. At the welcome area of this location, avatars could click on a sign which would teleport them to a concierge who could assist them with any problems. Avatars were also able to view a map of IBM Island and observe signs which allowed learn about a few of the company’s products and services. Usually when one arrives at a welcome location, they find many people either interacting with each other or standing reading the signs. Avatars can chat and interact with these people as well and learn more about them or about the island. It is this aspect of second life that reminded me about the above picture the most. The above photograph depicts an area where individuals can meet and interact with each other. They can talk about their lives, talk about school, talk about their plans for break, etc. The red bulletin board reminded me of the signs in Second Life from which avatars can learn information about their location. This red bulletin board outside of Wood Hall is used to post information about events occurring on the University of Richmond campus. The student I saw sitting on top of the bulletin board even reminded me of Second Life. I saw him and immediately thought of an avatar flying high into the air and sitting on some object, as Deklin Windlow did at the Electric Sheep Company’s island. Many areas around the campus directly relate to locations in world.  

    

Deklin seated on a sheep high in the air at the Electric Sheep Company

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September 30

Wow what a night in Second Life. I was in the library at 1 in the morning working on my first major project, and I ran into fellow classmate and groupmate Andrew (Avatar: Donatello). We were both bored of working all night on homework, so we decided to conclude our night of work with some fun in Second Life. Andrew and I immediately decided to check out Burning Life, an event we had been told about earlier in the day. Neither of us had explored Burning Life before, so we were very intrigued as to what we might discover. We both entered world and teleported to the same location in Burning Life. This particular location was host to a crazy dance party. Andrew and I were unable to listen to the music playing because we couldn’t turn up our computer’s sound in the library. Since we couldn’t listen to the music, Andrew and I walked around the tent and observed avatars. Each avatar seemed to be having the time of their life and was dancing. What I found most unusual about this dance party was that each avatar was dancing with a life-size spork (spoon/fork)! As I glanced at the public chat at the bottom of my screen, messages such as “I love sporking,” “It’s my sporking birthday,” and “SPORK SPORK SPORK,” appeared and over and over again. The majority of these messages came from an avatar named Ima, which led me to believe that this woman knew what was going on. Andrew and I approached her and politely asked where we could acquire a spork. Within seconds, Ima gave us each a spork, which we put into our inventory, and instructed us how to attach them to our avatars. Items in one’s inventory can be placed on any part of the body in Second Life, hands, legs, face, and even on the pelvis! Andrew and I both placed our sporks in our avatar’s right hand. Although we had no idea how to use them or move them, Deklin and Donatello now had their sporks and felt less out of place in this dance tent. Female avatars began approaching us and dancing along side us which we found hilarious. Avatars in Second Life sure know how to dirty dance. I felt quite stupid and awkward just standing there having no idea how to make my avatar get his groove on. Maybe later on I will learn such moves. Andrew and I both had a great time at Burning Life and provided a few snapshots to document our experience…

Deklin and Donatello at Burning Life (note the 2 sporks at the bottom of the page)

 

Deklin dancing with his spork

 

Spork Party in Burning Life!

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September 24

My experiences and interactions on Second Life have improved tremendously as of late. Last night I explored IBMs area in Second Life and was having a little trouble finding information about the company and its marketing strateges. Desperate for assistance, I confronted a gorgeous looking avatar standing at the welcome area. My disturbing encounter with an avatar named Badger a week ago has made me reluctant to approach other avatars, so I was nervous as I began talking to Cynda because I was  unaware of her true intentions for using Second Life. It turned out that she too was doing research about companies in Second Life, in particular the way in which companies market their products. Cynda specialized in IBM and Coca Cola and was in world taking snapshots for a powerpoint presentation she had coming up. I chatted with Cynda for about 30 min and we discussed our findings. She provided a great deal of insight regarding companies in Second Life and how they market to their customers. Cynda believed that it was very difficult for companies like IBM to make a large profit in virtual worlds, rather these companies used Second Life primarly as a location to hold business metings and present projects. This interaction has helped me to gain some trust in the other residents with whom I interact in world.

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September 18

Deklin Windlow’s first two assignments in the Second Life Scavenger Hunt was to take a picture of himself at the International Space Flight Museum and seated on a sofa at the Calleta Hobo Railroad Infohub. My first snapshot was relatively easy. I managed to find the museum in my inventory and teleported to its location. This museum was quite incredible. Rockets and other spaceships were everywhere, and I spent a good amount of time flying around the vessels. The most difficult aspect for me was trying to find the coolest location to take a picture of Deklin. I ultimately chose to take a snapshot of him flying alongside a rocket. I then proceeded to the Calleta Hobo Railroad Infohub to take my second snapshot. This was a very interesting location in Second Life to say the least. I landed to find a large bonfire erupting from the ground. This fire was burning furniture and large arcade games! Surrounding the fire were old, abandoned couches, chairs, and televisions. I sat my avatar down on a couch, as instructed by the directions, and took my snapshot. As a bonus, I was supposed to take a picture of Deklin flying beside the Molotov Alva billboard. I searched tirelessly and asked a number of people but was unable to find this billboard. Task 2 has proved to be a bit more difficult for me. I have yet to decide how I will go about finding our class mentors. I will continue working on this task throughout the week. 

 

Deklin at the International Space and Flight Museum

 

Deklin seated on a couch wacthing arcade games erupt in flames at the Calleta Hobo Railroad Infohub

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September 10

Avatar: Deklin Windlow

I chose the characteristics of my avatar for a variety of reasons. First of all, I chose the name Deklin because of its Irish affiliation. I come from a family of Irish decent, so my first impulse was to make my avatar’s name reflect my heritage. Deklin was the name of a man I befriended in a pub during my trip to Ireland many years ago. Windlow seemed to flow well following my first name of Deklin, so I chose that as my last name. I sought to create an appearance for Deklin that was as unflashy as possible. From the examples that I had already seen, many people’s avatars were quite obnoxious looking, and it was my goal to avoid this. I am not satisfied with Deklin’s current appearance, and he is not as modified as I would like him to be. I hope to make him look a lot less feminine because I occasionally mistake him for a girl while playing Second Life. My goal is to altar his appearance, be it his facial features, body build, or clothes, such that he looks more like me. It will definitely take some time and practice to make Deklin look the way I want.

 

Nevermind. I might just make him look like an authentic irishman or a leprucaun or somthing 

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September 3, 2008

The week before I arrived in Richmond, I had the opportunity to travel to Northern Ireland on a golf trip with my dad, my friend Will, and his dad, Mr. Colvin. Will had also recently graduated from high school, and as a graduation present, our dads decided to take us golfing at some of the best courses in the world. A trip like this was very fitting for Will and I since the two of us learned how to play golf together when we were a log younger. The links courses we played were like nothing I have ever experienced before. While the scenery was unbelievable, each hole was extremely difficult and presented a unique challenge. Some were lined with tall mountains and plateaus, while others had tall grass and heather which was knee high. The most incredible aspect of golfing in Ireland was hitting out of sand traps that were as tall as I am! Not only was the golf incredible, but it was great getting to spend quality time with my good friend Will and my dad before I went off to college. 

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September 2, 2008

Tennis phenom Rafael Nadal continues his quest tomorrow in Flushing Medows, New York, to become the US Open Champion. The Spanyard, known for his prowess on grass and clay, attempts to silence his critics by winning a major on a hard court surface. Having decisively won the French Open, narrowly winning Wibledon, and taking home gold in the Olympics earlier this year, Nadal finds himself a man amongst boys. He hopes to finish his season on a high note, with a victory in the US Open, a tournament that has eluded him thoughout his incredible career. Mardy Fish, the fiery American, awaits in the quarter-finals.

Descriptive words in purple--imagine what happens without them! 

 

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