Introduction to Second Life

Introduction to Second Life, Part 1 SLA/Click University 03 December 2009 Scott Brown Member, SLA VW Council Social Information Group Cindy Hill Chair, SLA VW Council Hill Information Consulting Group 1

Agenda  SLA Virtual Worlds Council  Upcoming SLA virtual events  Overview of virtual worlds and Second Life  How to get started in Second Life  Information for Part 2 – let’s meet in-world!  Resources & more detail in the slide set 2

SLA Virtual Worlds Council  Appointed by President Gloria Zamora  Created to recommend short and long-term direction for SLA’s presence as an association in virtual worlds  Develop and promote opportunities for members to learn more about virtual worlds  Learn more at http://sla-divisions.typepad.com/sla_in_second_life/ 3

Upcoming SLA Events in SL  Library Buzz sessions  Check for upcoming events in 2010: http://wiki.sla.org/display/SLASECONDLIFE/Upcoming+Events  SLA Leadership Summit Highlights  Feb 2, 4 and 10, 2010: Anne Caputo and Janice Lachance  Possible SLA Annual Conference sessions in June 7

Why virtual worlds?  Long-standing interest  “Snow Crash” by Neal Stephenson  Tron  Interactive, social environment  “Next web”?  New and emerging technologies 4

Why virtual worlds? http://www.kzero.co.uk/blog/?page_id=2092 3 5

Webkinz 8

Club Penguin 9

Habbo 11

Twinity 12

HiPiHi 13

Multiverse 4 14

Multiverse 15

Protosphere 15

Wonderland 16

Quick Survey  Do you have an avatar – in any world? 6

What is Second Life?  Internet-based 3D virtual environment created by Linden Labs  Users have avatars (called “Residents” within the universe) and can explore, learn, socialize, conduct business, participate in individual and group activities  Linden Labs only provides the infrastructure; the entire contents are created and owned by its residents  Second Life is not a game – unlike some virtual worlds 18

Environment 19

Simulation 20

Government agencies 21

Simulation 22

Connect remote employees 23

Simulation 24

Thomson Reuters 25

Active learning 26

Modeling 28

Play with scale 29

US Federal government in virtual worlds 17

Why virtual worlds?  Virtual worlds hold great potential for learning and for organizations – and it’s starting to emerge ◦ Education, collaboration, eco-responsibility, global reach  These environments are: ◦ Generally non-threatening ◦ Great ways to enhance and encourage knowledge sharing, collaboration ◦ Very dynamic and engaging – “just like being there” ◦ High-touch  Conversations can be more open and honest  Community can develop at a rapid rate 30

Quick Survey  Have you spent time in Second Life? 31

How does Second Life work?  Download Second Life's software package onto your computer ◦ Currently clients for Windows, Mac OSX, Linux & Solaris x86 ◦ Launch SL software and log in there – not on secondlife.com  Create your avatar ◦ http://join.secondlife.com  Must have a broadband Internet connection of some sort ◦ Cable, DSL, etc. - Dialup will not work 32

How does Second Life work?  Must have a fairly powerful computer and connection ◦ Windows XP 2000, XP, or Vista ◦ 800MHz Pentium III or Athlon, or better; 256MB memory or better; nVidia GeForce 2, GeForce 4mx, or better video card ATI Radeon 8500, 9250, or better ◦ For Mac, Mac OS X 10.3.9 or better; 1 GHz G4 or better; 512MB memory or better ◦ Linux system requirements also available on Second Life site These are MINIMUM requirements; RECOMMEND even more power than this See http://secondlife.com/corporate/sysreqs.php for full requirements 33

Once you’re in…  Communicate by instant messaging  Voice available; you will need a headset  Move through Second Life by using your arrow keys, fly and teleport to different locations 34

True-to-life Avatars 35

“Furry” Avatars 36

SLA campus 27 38

Janice & Gloria in Second Life! 39 3

Library Buzz sessions 40

Quick Survey  If you have a Second Life avatar, what is your Second Life name?  If you don’t – what would you choose for a first name? 41

Getting ready to meet in-world  Download the software at secondlife.com  Create your avatar ◦ http://join.secondlife.com ◦ Create your basic look: gender, skin color ◦ Choose a name ◦ You get to choose your first name ◦ Choose your last name from a pre-determined list ◦ May register one avatar per email for no charge 42

Getting ready to meet in-world  Register for ClickU’s Part 2 session ◦ This is how we’ll send you information on meeting in- world  Get in-world and play around – a lot – before the session ◦ Launch SL software and log in there – not on secondlife.com ◦ Second Life takes getting used ◦ Walk by using arrow keys on keyboard ◦ Fly by clicking on “Fly” button (click again to stop flying) ◦ Teleport by searching for places and clicking “Teleport” button 43

Second Life, Part 2 session Remember to get your avatar before registering! Last one of the year!  Second Life: an introduction, part 2: Registration – Thursday, December 10, 2009, 8am PT http://www.sla.org/content/learn/members/webinars/webinarreg/secondlife1110.cfm 44

Upcoming SLA Events in SL  Library Buzz sessions  Check for upcoming events in 2010: http://wiki.sla.org/display/SLASECONDLIFE/Upcoming+Events  SLA Leadership Summit Highlights  Feb 2, 4 and 10, 2010: Anne Caputo and Janice Lachance  Possible SLA Annual Conference sessions in June 7

Thank you! Cindy Hill (aka Sydney Delphin) Scott Brown (aka Steven Source) Chair, SLA VW Council Member, SLA VW Council Hill Information Consulting Social Information Group Group scott_r_brown@comcast.net cindyvhill@yahoo.com 45

Resources: SLA in Second Life  SLA Second Life wiki  http://wiki.sla.org/display/SLASECONDLIFE/Home  SLA in Second Life blog  http://sla-divisions.typepad.com/sla_in_second_life  SLA in Second Life: Google Calendar  http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=slasecondlifecalendar%40gmail.com 46

Resources: Second Life  Second Life system requirements  http://secondlife.com/support/sysreqs.php  "The Mission of Linden Lab" by Philip Linden  http://blog.secondlife.com/2006/11/06/the-mission-of-linden-lab/  Build your own SLURL (Second Life URL)  http://slurl.com/build.php  “Second Life for Business: Ten Techniques”, FUMSI, October 2008  http://web.fumsi.com/go/article/use/3326 47

Resources: Islands in SL  Cybrary City II (SLA area in SL)  http://slurl.com/secondlife/Cybrary%20City%20II/59/100/22/  Alliance Virtual Library: Info Island  http://slurl.com/secondlife/Info%20Island/128/128/33/  ALA Island  http://slurl.com/secondlife/ALA%20Island/127/102/29/  Virtual Ability 48

Resources: Groups, listservs, newsletters, etc.  The Immersive Internet: Make Tactical Moves Today For Strategic Advantage Tomorrow - ThinkBalm  http://thinkbalm.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/thinkbalm- immersive-internet-report-nov-20084.pdf  Virtual Worlds News  http://www.virtualworldsnews.com/  Clever Zebra: events, news, etc.  http://cleverzebra.com/list 49

Walking around • Use the arrow keys to move your avatar • Pressing Ctrl-R (Cmd-R on a Mac) toggles running instead of walking • Pressing Shift-Left Arrow or Shift-Right Arrow moves the avatar from side to side • You can also enable the Movement Controls using View → Movement Controls to help move your avatar. 50

Flying Press the Fly button to start flying and Stop Flying to land Use the “E” key to go higher & the “C” key to move lower and the arrow keys to adjust direction. You can also use “Page up” and “Page Down” 51

Sitting Select the object you'd like to sit on and right- click it (On Mac, select Cmd-click) If the object can be sat upon, Sit will appear in the pie menu To stand, click “Stand up” 52

Mini-map The Mini-Map is a small panel that shows your present location and where other avatars are currently located, if they are close by. the World Map Dialog 53

Searching for places and other things The search button on the bottom of your viewer opens the Search Dialog You can search for: Classifieds – things for sale Events – training, concerts, shows public meetings, etc Showcase - highlights some of the best in-world locations and resident creations Land sales – real estate for sale or rent Places – land whose owner allows searchable listings People – avatars with public listing (a profile option) Groups – groups that allow their listing in Search the World Map Dialog 54

Making friends In Second Life, your friends are avatars you have connected with and agreed to friendship. To add someone as your friend, Right-Click their avatar and select Add Friend. If they agree, they are added to your contacts list as Friends. the World Map Dialog 55

Friends Friends are added to the Contact Lists “Friends” the World Map Dialog tab on the Communicate Dialog 56

Friends Friends are added to the Contact Lists “Friends” the World Map Dialog tab on the Communicate Dialog 57

Communicating: Local Chat Local chat is an “open channel” to everyone within a 20 meter radius of your present location. You can “shout” in local chat to reach avatars within a 100 meter radius. To say something in chat type your chat in the text box provided in the Local Chat tab or Send the chat by pressing Return 58

Profiles Your profile contains information about your avatar. To open your profile either: Right-click your avatar and select Profile or Select Edit → Profile from the menu To open another avatar's profile simply right-click their avatar and select Profile 59

Example profile 2nd Life – About your avatar Web – Favorite web sites Interests – Topics in SL the interest you Picks – Favorite places in SL Classified – Things you have for sale 1st Life – your real life profile My Notes – private notes you want to record about this avatar – these are notes linked to any avatar's profile but only accessible by you 60

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Introduction to Second Life

by Scott Brown

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