Introduction to Second Life (05/02/2015)

‘Virtual Environments Is One life Enough’

‘Virtual Environments, Is One Life Enough’  is a social media course taught at the Dublin Institute of Technology. But this module has a twist and is taught for 10 weeks in 'Second Life'. Second Life is virtual on-line world created by Linden Lab and was released in 2003 “Second Life, the pioneering virtual world that’s been enjoyed by millions of people and seen billions of dollars transacted among users in its economy.” This unusual model is aimed at undergraduates, professionals and educators that are seeking to advance in the use of on-line tools, such as Second Life, Wordpress and twitter. The module also offers the extraordinary opportunity to learn and explore through interactive learning different from the norms of a class room.     

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My Expectations

My expectations for Second Life, a world with no repercussions, where your avatar is free to roam through vast landscapes, experiencing all that world has to offer, are perhaps unmeasurable. We live in a world with social restrictions, obligations and responsibilities. It is a world with great knowledge, power and experiences, but this world is not easily accessible and freedom does not lie behind every door that is opened. Therefore,  it is hard to have expectations for a world that is so different from our own reality. A world that is said to have every door wide open, to give limitless amount of opportunities and endless streams of communication, this world is beyond our comprehension, or perhaps just mine. So my expectations are everything and nothing all at the same time. I guess my expectations are to merely experience a second life, a limitless life and find out if one life enough.

My Goals (what I hope to get out of the module)

The goal is to a explore a second live and find out how people act, react and communicate within a world that offers unlimited opportunities for your avatar. To interact with different people to develop a greater knowledge of why Second Life is so popular and why do so many people find solace in removing themselves from reality. The module gives the chances to develop a greater  skill at using online software/social media sites such as twitter  and wordpress. I would like to take this opportunity to do this as I think that it would be a good bases to develop a greater understanding of the design aspects of second life and other online platforms similar to it. The ambition is to learn to establish and strengthen an online avatar and become accustomed to using the settings of Second Life. Because it is an interactive class I hope that I learn to work online with other collaborators and use this interaction as a learning block for social media interaction.

What I Might Be Able To Contribute

Previous to studying Creative and Cultural Industries, I studied Fashion and through this I feel like I have developed a good eye for fashion and would be highly in to how people dress and present themselves in reality. I would use this skill set to form a basis on how people portray themselves online in comparison to how they do in reality. Through many years of experience working in the hospitality industry I have worked with many different people giving me an in depth awareness of people and communicating with them. I feel if I was working in a team that this would help to improve productivity within in the team. As the hospitality industry can at times be a high stress environment, through my position with in this industry, it has taught me to alleviate team members stress and develop a greater sense of HR within a team.  

The Relevance Of The Module Objectives

Its important because it will give me a unique opportunity to observe how people live, react, socialise and interact in a world with no social repercussions. I think it is important to understand the way in which the development of technology is impacting on our culture and the way we live within it today and in the future.

Ending Here

Foot note 
1.  Lindenlab.com,. 2015. 'About Linden Lab | Linden Lab'. http://www.lindenlab.com/about.