Mirror, Mirror - on the Avatar

I try out a great many things – new experiences are what make life ever so grand, no? The first of several efforts to log onto Second Life failed; whether it is my old computer or a cosmic aversion to stepping back into my shell, I just couldn't get the darn thing going.

That said, I turned to Wikkipedia for my answers, a few of them; I also took advantage of the Mac lab, and that's how Fallon Ordinary was born - a tall, thin, artful (dodger) dandy with a shaved head and piercing eyes. That he wears a great deal of polyester and drives a classic car would indicate that he is not that far from my actual self. For others, however, Second Life provides an escape from a life less ordinary. Put differently:

...So the first is, in the earliest wave of pioneers in any new disruptive platform, the marginal and the dispossessed are over represented, not the sole constituents by any means, but people who feel they don't fit, who have nothing left to lose, or who were impelled by some kind of dream, who may be outsiders to whatever mainstream they are coming from, all come and arrive early in disproportionate numbers.

– Mitch Kapor, Second Life 5th Birthday Closing Keynote

This hearkens back to the stereotypical image of a gamer - particularly in role-playing games, such as "World of Warcraft" or "Eternal Lands"; the pale, heavy-set geek with the action figures collection in his mother's basement can move into a world where he is a super-spy, action hero with a (flying) motorcycle and a rock star girlfriend.

So, the reaction of fellow gamers to a social pariah is complex - to say the least. We discussed in class the marginalized minority groups that might not fit in so well with the Utopian ideals that exist in the world of Second Life, i.e.: black, gay, poor, heavy-set, wheel-chair bound, etc.

Note: I represent the first three of these - so, my reaction to and /or interpretation of these under-represented minorities is one of offense and tedium. The question itself is valid and telling: "How will the Second Life participants react to an avatar that isn't perfect?"

It begs the question of how one operationalizes perfection. It also begs questions of just what's so wrong with being any of the above minority elements.

1. As a black man, I would say that my preference would be to remain black (electing African American over broccoli ... or pink bunny). There are / were individuals walking among the crowds I eventually encountered who were black; I should comment that this did come as a surprise to me - as I do not readily picture the Second Life demographic including a large percentage of black gamers.
2. As a gay man, I do see a larger percentage of gay men and other members of the LGBQT community represented, although it bears saying that we as gay men are typically very social creatures who enjoy the interaction and sex, face-to-face dynamic typical of bars and clubs. The gay bar(s) in Second Life, I note, were quiet - very quiet.
3. Poor is just a state of mind, as several people have said before, and it is true; it is especially true in Second Life - where one is issued money upon creating one's character and where - in essence - the world is your oyster. If you could have all the money, and freedom in the world, why would anyone choose to be homeless or otherwise poor? I encountered someone who appeared homeless; as it happens, the person was just a skinny, trendy teenaged girl.
4. The heavy-set thing goes pretty much without saying; I saw no one heavy, although that was the avatar I chose. Having once been 400 lbs. myself (250 lbs. weight loss - a decade ago), I thought I'd try it on for size (pun intended). As one might expect, there were some odd reactions. Mind you, they were odd because my avatar was ardently pursued by two chubby chasers who invited me back to their place for fun and conversation.
   
5. Wheel-chair bound was the last of the bunch ... and the obvious questions still apply - if you can fly, why would you remain in a wheel-chair? The answer to that question came from a wheel-chair bound fellow I found while searching for a wheel-chair bound group. I assumed that there might be one, and indeed there were three - small and dedicated; like several of the aforementioned minority groups, those who choose to stick out in this Utopian society that is in many ways ultimately dystopic, the wheel-chair bound people stuck to their proverbial guns. They are / were militant in their positions.

In short, in a world where one can be a talking cactus or a brothel-working broccoli, the particular decision to wear the mantle of one's social stigma - be it gay, black, poor, wheel-chair bound, fat, etc. - is strictly political and potent.

Adapt, or DIE ! ! !

It was the subject of my presentation last week – the future and nature of newspapers in the modern state of the world. I prefer not to cull from my presentation to explore this idea, but suffice it to say the very necessary model is one common in the animal kigdom – that of adaption (or evolution).

In truth, evolution is of little use to the newspapers question because evolution requires generations – time that traditional papers no longer have. Adaptation is simple; a challenge presents itself in a given environment and the parties of that environment either move away from, or along with said challenge and thus extend their own chances of survival ... or they fail to do so, and are made useless.

Newspapers labor under the challenge of competing with a media they can never defeat. The Internet has the twin advantages of dynamism and immediacy. Other than streaming video – which is, of course, live and in the now – the ability to receive instant updates, even the receive those instant updates in one's email or by way of a cell phone blow the stodgy nature of a paper and ink production entirely out of the proverbial water.

The only ways in which papers stay afloat, if you will, are via cross-purposing, e.g. creating an online presence the advertising revenue of which will feed and inform the tradition paper format. Eventually, logic indicates the traditional papers would die out entirely – the few reminaing being the stalwarts such as the New York Times, London Times, and le Journal in Paris. Only the oldest and most venerable would reasonably exist – kept alive by way of an honoring of bygone ways and an appreciation a few of us still have the feel of newsprint and the smell of stale ink with our Sunday cups of coffee.

"Second Life," Same as the First ...

Having had what might almost be considered broad experience with "Second Life," I can honestly say that I have my doubts that anyone who has ever gamed in this environment has any clue what the requirement might be for having a life.

Familiarity with the virtual environment is essential in order to navigate the site, which means that there's a natural learning curve preventing one from getting too involved (unless and until) one is already in too deep.

It all starts with an avatar - the virtual (digital) representation of self, which is amusing in and of itself; as Wikkipedia informed, one can be anything one wishes to be: animal, vegetable, or mineral. While one has to applaud the freedom (the pleasures of thinking, or - in this case - living, outside the box are myriad), there is a pregnant pause when considering a conversation - whether small talk or dark confession - had with a turnip.

It's a wild acid trip of a notion that plays out every hour on the hour in this virtual world where pink bunnies go to, or "work" in, brothels, broccoli is behind the register at the GAP, and you have a blind date with a particularly fetching piece of granite.

Of course, given the opportunity to be whoever you wish, do whatever you can (dream up), and eradicate such unpleasant realities as bills, obesity, near-sightedness, and a lack of social skills, who wouldn't want to live their Second Life?