Second Life

I know everyone has written about Second Life and all of its many implications, but in an effort to do some actual media research, I've actually created an account. I spent most of the afternoon in an attempt to make myself some money from nothing. I made $20 by signing up to participate in the occasional market research group.

The weird thing about Second Life is that there are actual jobs, with actual time requirements. There's a huge market for designers and coders, both in and outside of the SL environment. There's also a huge market for pornography, stripping, and other "illicit" activities. That's right. Have your created avatar strip for video game money. In fact, because of the online nature of second life, I'd venture to say that activities that are illicit in our "First Lives" are less so in Second Life.

I spent my afternoon pulling together $20 (thanks to a survey) in Second Life and turning it into $50 in a casino. I was hit on twice ("good looking avatar"...I wish I was kidding), I danced by the money trees, and I flew around. The world is on overload, so the graphics are slooooow. I doubt I'll stick around long, but it was an interesting experiment.

This was the article that spawned my interest--suburbanalia invading virtual space. When I think of the idea of a "second life," to me it's about doing something with your life that you don't have the freedom to in your "first life." But Second Life is turning into a replica of real life, exaggeratedly normal. There are fewer inhibitions and more designers, but my experience so far is that little else is different.

EDIT: Just as I was wondering how the hell people actually created ENTIRE second lives, somebody decide it was satire time. Check it out here, and get your First Life NOW! ;)