CCT300 – Critical Analysis of MediaOctober 8, 2009

CCT300 – Labs

Mainstreaming of Second Life

Week 5

Karl Marx (1973) predicted that the dynamics of capitalism would eventually lead to a point at which the importance of direct expenditure of labor power in value creation would be subordinated to other forces. At that point, wealth creation would depend on the effective mobilization of knowledge—social knowledge.

(Arvidsson 2006; Boellstorff 2008; Dyer-Witheford 2003; Humphreys and Grayson 2008)

MMOGS

Massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs)—games that are played in virtual worlds by several people simultaneously without the corporeal co presence of the players—demonstrate this effective mobilization of consumer labor into new and collectively organized forms of knowledge work.

(Dyer-Witheford 2003; Terranova 2004)

Second Life

Second Life is a burgeoning virtual metropolis simu- lating an area more than 1,577 million square meters. The “world” functions almost entirely on the input of players,or “residents,”as they are known in SL parlance. The corporate owners of SL— Linden Lab, affectionately called “the Lindens”— describe SL as a platform that simulates the real world but also affords .

(Rymaszewski et al. 2006)

Second Life

“To me, that’s the beauty of Second Life: all we’ve created is a platform, an almost empty world; where we got lucky is in the fact that you [users] came along and breathed life into it. If Second Life is a world at all, it’s because you’ve created it.”

(Philip Rosedale,quoted in Rymaszewski et al. 2006,iv) ideas (Barlow 1994; Lessig 2004)

How is Second Life used for marketing?

There are 3 main reasons why Second Life has been successful to-date:

Micropayments which can be converted into real dollars

Intellectual property rights owned by residents

Open source so developers or businesses can extend what is possible

Creating business in Second Life 

SL users are part of an economy where Linden Dollars micropayments are exchanged for furniture, clothes, land or other services

Turnover daily is $600,000

6,000 full-time jobs created for residents

The Law in Second Life 

1.Global Standards, Local Ratings: All areas of Second Life, including the www.secondlife.com website and the Second Life Forums, adhere to the same Community Standards. Locations within Second Life are noted as Safe or Unsafe and rated Mature (M) or non-Mature (PG), and behavior must conform to the local ratings. Any unrated area of Second Life or the Second Life website should be considered non-Mature (PG).

2.Warning, Suspension, Banishment: Second Life is a complex society, and it can take some time for new Residents to gain a full understanding of local customs and mores. Generally, violations of the Community Standards will first result in a Warning, followed by Suspension and eventual Banishment from Second Life. In-World Representatives, called Liaisons, may occasionally address disciplinary problems with a temporary removal from Second Life.

The Law in Second Life 

3.Global Attacks: Objects, scripts, or actions which broadly interfere with or disrupts the Second Life community, the Second Life servers or other systems related to Second Life will not be tolerated in any form. We will hold you responsible for any actions you take, or that are taken by objects or scripts that belong to you. Sandboxes are available for testing objects and scripts that have components that may be unmanageable or whose behavior you may not be able to predict. If you chose to use a script that substantially disrupts the operation of Second Life, disciplinary actions will result in a minimum two-week suspension, the possible loss of in-world inventory, and a review of your account for probable expulsion from Second Life.

4.Alternate Accounts: While Residents may choose to play Second Life with more than one account, specifically or consistently using an alternate account to harass other Residents or violate the Community Standards is not acceptable. Alternate accounts are generally treated as separate from a Resident's principal account, but misuse of alternate accounts can and will result in disciplinary action on the principal account."

Second Life

Second Life

Second Life

Second Life Documentary

Another Perfect World (2008)

Dir(s): Jorien van Nes, Femke Wolting

Screening: YouTube (16 mins):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxZP_ur_Tvo&feature=player_embedded#

Activity

• In groups of 3 or 4 visit the Second Life Markeplace site:

• https://xstreetsl.com/modules.php?name=Marketplace

• Select a product and answer the following questions:

• How useful do you find the product in real life?

• Why is this product relevant in Second Life? Would you purchase this if you have the ability to?

Q&ADo you see that conventional means of mass media advertising can translate into Second Life? Provide reasons why or why not?