The class experience in 2nd life was the most fun of my 4 visits to date. Although being there made it difficult to concentrate on Alex’s talk, trying to figure out who everyone was, and the arts island, were a lot of fun. The avatar (I actually wrote “human” first, which just goes to show that one does in fact suspend disbelief while engaged there) sculpture was my favourite location/experience. Being able to take photos of what was happening on it somehow made the moment seem more “real” to me. This may be because I was searching for camera angles and composition, just as I would in real life, instead of being a more or less passive observer.
(my daughter just came crawling into my bed to read my blog – aaah – Sat. morning! 
The other thing was quite startling was when Erin teleported me to her location. On my screen, in 1st person I saw myself disappear, and glancing over at her screen I saw myself land, in 3rd person. It was an almost dizzying feeling, being inside and outside myself at the same time. Very disorienting. This clearly speaks to the quite deep level of connection we quickly assume with our avatars, and for me was a rather profound recognition.
Ontario Sorbet kept me entertained with his rapidly changing appearance and “toys” (thanks ML). This was also an important discovery, because I learned to identify people by their names, not their looks. In a “world” where everything can be shaped and changed on the fly, it points out that some kind of consistency or references are needed in order to not feel repeatedly and entirely lost. Identifying people by text rather than by sight was a completely new experience for me.
I did notice though that once the novelty wore off, there wasn’t much to do but look or fly around. Many things that looked interesting seemed to have no apparent means to interact with them or get information from them. Most information seems to be text-based signage, which seems very old school in a new environment with unlimited opportunities for using media. As Alex pointed out, many of the artists are more interested in the collaborative process than the outcome. This is understandable given the newness of working this way, but most of it still feels like a largely empty experience to me.
Also odd was that while we “spoke” to each other onscreen, at times we were still talking face to face, and that nothing very interesting was said onscreen. This reminds me of watching my kids on MSN. They have 5 or 6 windows/friends they are chatting with at one time in a flurry of typing, but their conversations are pretty banal and minimal.
I am looking forward to visiting some of Alex’s links in the hope of finding some more stimulating conversations, demonstrations or interactions in 2nd Life. Otherwise, except for the occaisional opportunity to fly around and explore with friends there, I already have a very full 1st Life to keep me busy and engaged.
