Hi Helen Ana, I think that there are some very important differences which I believe you may have highlighted already, that still need to be considered in respect of Second Life in contrast to other, grass roots platforms such as Upstage and Visitorsstudio.
There is a Sufi saying that says 'if you want to know what the purpose of what something is and why it really exits, consider all its functions and behaviours', and it seems to me that SL's main interest these days is economical and of course, this is fair enough. But what effect does it have on grass roots, communities and groups culturally and economically? All that energy that artists are spending inside these environments instead of building more potentially sustainable groups elsewhere must be having some kind of social effect, what are these effects and should we be concerned about this? Already we know that users are useful fodder to get social networking platforms incomes increased, so that larger conglomerates can buy them, takeovers by Google, Microsoft, Ebay and The Murdoch Industries for example. Perhaps, I expect too much in this world and am deluded and presume that people want more than just corporate parenting. tt is not easy building things from bottom up, sharing and constantly re-evaluating one's own position, whilst making room for others as a way of practice. Although, I do think that it offers value and qualities which far out way the 'spectacle' of SL and many of the other platforms. I sue some of these platforms myself such as StumbleUpon, Facebook - but I still feel that what I already share with others has something that is special and different and less disposable... marc > well i'd be interested except for being already over-committed > already in my own virtual factory ... : ) > > i've also been participating in the empyre discussion on second life > & like you it isn't an environment that grabs me. it's been fun to > get to know it a bit better, & to do the gallery tours with others; & > i'm really happy with my tail : ) but in terms of a creative > platform i'm much more comfortable & creative in UpStage or Visitors > Studio ... > > will be interesting to see what happens with SL. > > h : ) > > >> Very funny, as an old activist (four years in jail, etc, etc), I am >> fully conscient nothing can be achieved by sheer will or alone. >> Bauhaus was the expression of a special time, the Weimar republic and >> it's contradictions, the Factory was the expression of Warhol carisma >> and his need of an arena for his own productions. We need other >> expressions and other arenas, I am discussing in -empyre the value of >> the new virtual worlds as frames for activism and art. Many argue than >> Second Life can transform itself to one of those creative hubs I long >> to, but I have been in SL several times and never been attracted to >> it, a bit too sterile and chic for me :) >> But I am game if someone is interested in a virtual or not virtual Bauhaus... >> Ana >> >> On 8/30/07, Helen Varley Jamieson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >> >>> please don't wait for it, make it happen if it's what you really want ... >>> >>> h : ) >>> >>> >I was in Faces myself, but never found it was useful to generate new >>> >thinking, it was most linking and socializing among women who knew >>> >each other. But it was not a great collaborative place... >>> >I think Marc's Furtherfield, Post.Thing, -empyre are this list are for >>> >me the places where I find myself most intellectual nutrition. >>> >Faces was (is?) most a linking to people's projects but not a >>> >discussion place. >>> >I am still waiting for a net Bauhaus, a net The Factory... >>> > >>> >> > >Ana >> > > _______________________________________________ NetBehaviour mailing list [email protected] http://www.netbehaviour.org/mailman/listinfo/netbehaviour
