A group of students from two universities explored Second Life to study its business and cultural aspects. As newcomers, they found it overwhelming and confusing to navigate. Their progress was hindered by a lack of time and difficulties accessing the platform without investing money. However, they also found other avatars helpful. The students observed Second Life being used for virtual communities, commerce, and real-world events. Examples of effective spaces included an orientation island, recreations of the Sistine Chapel and Cisco technology park, and a jazz club. The students learned collaboration was difficult without in-person meetings but sharing interests with teammates was rewarding. They concluded Second Life is always changing and its future depends on its developers and users.

1. A Group Perspective on Second Life through Virtual Collaboration Cyber Collaborators: Ted Lundeen & Ashton Sprouse from Bucknell University and Robert Sembler, Alexander Knights, & Lynette Rivera from St. Johns University

2. The Group’s Objectives Explore Second Life with a focus on the business and cultural aspect. Show how Second Life is evolving.

3. Difficulties the Group Encountered As newcomers : “ At first…overwhelmed with everything I had to learn” – Ashton Sprouse. “ difficult to understand what exactly was expected of me...introductory island didn’t seem to really help me; rather it confused me and hindered my curiosity of exploration ” – Ted Lundeen. “ hard to get used to since I never took part in a virtual e-learning assignment...but it was fun ” – Lynette Rivera . Our progress on a learning curve was hindered/helped by : “ lack of time I had to dedicate to a “second life” hindered my progress; however when I was able to find time, other avatars were surprisingly helpful and willing to navigate me through Second Life” – Ashton Sprouse “ A lot has hindered my progress...difficulties logging on...without investing any money into the world, motivation to interact within seems a little removed...don’t have a direct objective...at a loss of what to do...never really in a center that has a lot of avatars – so conversing with others is hard...however, transporting, friends, groups, all helped me to learn more about Second Life ” – Ted Lundeen. “ all students should have better access to e-learning opportunities...Second Life created that opportunity for me to explore a new world and made learning and interacting with others a lot more fun ” – Lynette Rivera .

4. Second Life as a Foundation for Virtual Community, Culture and Commerce “ Second Life is on top of recent, real world phenomenon like the election and movie releases, which leads me to believe that it can be a very effective platform for online community, culture, as well as commerce ” – Ashton Sprouse “ If someone is attempting to buy land and begin a company, I believe that Second Life is a valuable resource to virtually accomplish this objective...I can see that there are many people that are very proud of their Second Life avatar and world, this is where culture is most evident to me ” – Ted Lundeen. “ you can browse through thousands of items that are for sale...There are millions of Linden Dollars being exchanged throughout Second Life for the goods and services that residents create and provide...You have the ability to build your own virtual business, which could one day help in building a real business...Second Life is a great way of bringing technology and people together...We can interact with people we thought we never could ” – Lynette Rivera.

5. Some Examples of Effective Uses of Second Life New Media Consortia Orientation Sistine Chapel at Vassar Cisco Systems Technology Park Weather Channel Island Blue Fusion Island

6. New Media Consortia Orientation A more advanced Orientation Island that provides more information in a creative and colorful way It features: a running trolley car the Golden Gate Bridge opportunity for buisness with the presence of a market “ Pier of Culture” (which explains things like dealing with troublesome avatars) “ This place is a lot cooler than Orientation Island” – Ashton Sprouse.

7. Sistine Chapel at Vassar Virtual recreation of Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel that attempts to educate its viewers about art and architecture It features: a Code of Conduct that must be agreed to before entering Rafael tapestries the ability to fly to the top to get a closer look “ I was amazed that Michelangelo’s work could be recreated virtually” – Ashton Sprouse.

8. Cisco Systems Technology Park Can explore Cisco System products and their company information It features: The ability to offer suggestions on how to make Cisco a bigger company And the ability to interact with Cisco staff and ask them questions “ It was like being on a virtual campus” – Lynette Rivera.

9. Blue Fusion Island Not just a jazz club! It also features: wedding chapel mall beach club art and music Shops resemble villas in Venice. “ This could easily be the most put together and aesthetically pleasing place I have visited on Second Life” – Ted Lundeen.

10. Weather Channel Island Promotional site for the Weather Channel. It features: Huge screen for streaming videos. Surfing, biking, and skiing. Hurricane Gulf, a simmulative application.

11. Additional Comments on the Effective Uses of Second Life “ Second Life is an allows people to connect globally…I also observed Second Life as a tool for advertisement and campaigning” – Ashton Sprouse “ I actually have spoken to a couple users online about their businesses Such businesses have been the most effective/successful uses of Second Life that I have observed…One woman created her own club…The other person I met was creating sculptures/art on her land for sale” – Ted Lundeen. “ hard to reach people some how become accessible, and that to me is a huge business benefit. You are able to gain access to top companies and their products and services…Another effective use of Second Life is companies ability to have virtual conferences and group meetings, which can be cost effective and beneficial especially if employees are working from different locations” – Lynette Rivera.

12. What We Learned About Working on a Cyber Team " This new experience was exciting but also frustrating because making contact with the group memebers was extremely difficult...people seemed less inclined to respond to deadlines because the did not know/see the individuals that they were collaborating with. An effective project requires leadership and the delegation of duties for group members. Without this action, I doubt this project could have been completed " – Ashton Sprouse " If there was more time, it would’ve been easier meet at least twice in Second Life or online” – Ted Lundeen “ it was also rewarding when teammates are able to share their interests and information that I was not able to find on my own” – Lynette Rivera.

13. Final Words " Second Life is always changing and there’s always something new " – Lynette Rivera. “ Second Life has evolved tremendously and is continuing to evolve. What is in store for the future is up to Linden Lab and avatars everywhere!” – Ashton Sprouse.