Category Archives: SL News

blended reality, co-creation, collaboration, creativity, Data visualization, digital identity, geospatial web, lifetime learning, Media, mirror world, participation, presence, re-invention, SL News, virtual world

Media, Memes and Maps

Catching up on news over the last week three pieces caught my attention. The first was Draxtor Despres video report titled Media in SL : old vs new? An indigenous media sector was already well established prior to the arrival of Reuters, AvaStar, Sky News and iCNN over the last year. Draxtor speaks with representatives of each camp on how they view each other in this 5 minute clip.

The second piece was Sir Tim Berners-Lee commentary on the social graph meme doing the rounds. Paul Miller has an excellent post which follows the conversations which have taken place since and is recommended reading. Looking forward to seeing what semSL, a project to combine the virtual world of Second Life with semantic technologies, holds in store once it goes live.

The third was Anne Eisenberg’s NYT piece on EveryScape with details of its upcoming December launch. The mapping services provider will offer virtual street tours for ten urban areas including Aspen, Boston, Cambridge and New York. Unlike other providers within this space it will also offer interior views. Harvard Square was profiled with a preview of the browser based service here.

co-creation, collaboration, creativity, Data visualization, digital identity, lifetime learning, Media, participation, presence, re-invention, Second Life, SL News

SL Vodcast Review

One development I have followed with interest is the emerging number of vodcast (video on demand casts) covering SL. Four in particular have caught my attention.

The first which launched to much fanfare back in December was The Grid Review a co-production between Edelman and the Electric Sheep Company. Anchored by SL residents moo Money and Nylon Pinkney its goal is to deliver the best SL news machinima. While holding much early promise it has stuttered out of the gates and would appear to be low in terms of priorities for its principals.

The second is the Britney Mason Show which struggled to find its way after its late December launch but has since found its groove. Episode 9 with CC Chapman and episode 10 with Uncle Seth gave a flavor for where the show niche lies. Getting people to share their stories connecting their avatars, RL and SL is a rare talent and something Britney has in abundance.


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The third is GBC News produced by Osprey Therian which I discovered by way of the Second Life Art News. While only 2 episodes have aired the format is promising with the show being co-hosted by SL residents such as the talented Ida Amida whose SL tourist weblog Baedeker I’ve enjoyed reading since discovering it last year. Interestingly they chose to go with text to speech recognition software for audio in their first show. While understandable why they would given the ease of production here’s hoping down the line they get a sponsor or three and run with actual hosts voices as they have done in the second show.

Last but not least is SLO TV (SLObserver TV). While only one show has been posted to-date early signs are promising. It is good to see an ever increasing number of non-English feeds turning up in our feed reader and Google news alerts daily.