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Posted by Joyce Stevens on May 16, 2008 at 8:42 a.m.

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My Second Life

On Wednesday, I started writing a blog post about my experience in Second Life (SL). Imagine my surprise when, Thursday morning, I read Kevin McDonough's article about the journey of a filmmaker through this virtual world. I don't have Cinemax, but if I did I would surely watch this film.My own journey began last fall when I started working for a website development company that, with the exception of the owner and his wife, is made up entirely of freelancers. Initially, I worked on writing and editing projects for them. But in January they approached me with an idea for creating a business in Second Life (SL). I had heard of SL but didn't know much about it. I was curious though. Brian, the company owner, called me several times to discuss my participation and role in creating the online business. He wanted to be sure I understood what I was getting into. I thought that I did.I have only been in SL since early February, but in that space of time my avatar has learned a lot. Since her 'birth' my avatar has had a job, lost a job, and been hired by someone else. She has built and decorated a house and become homeless when the website developers decided to, at least temporarily, abandon their SL business venture. They sold their land back to the Lindens (SL owners) and the islands they had built disappeared, along with my avatar's house. She was lucky, though, to have become friends with one of her fellow freelancers. He invited her to move her house to his land. So don't worry about her, she is no longer homeless. Her personal life has been interesting as well. I was surprised that relationships can be built within this virtual world. I did not expect to connect with other people through what, at first, seemed like a cartoon character. When I found myself getting to know the personalities of the people behind the avatars, they became as important to me as my real life (RL) friends. Just like in RL, if we don't see each other 'in-world' for awhile, we check in by sending an instant message (IM) to be sure everything is o.k. SL knows no boundaries. My avatar has made friends from all over the world. There is Elmyr from Spain, Danz from Washington, Psoul, Bluebird and Treebreeze from Michigan, Mannix from Belgium, Sarheni and Scalpaw from France, Max from Canada, and many others. Not all of them remain as ongoing friends. Just as in RL, sometimes our avatars meet, find that they don't have enough in common to sustain a friendship, and part ways. And, again, just as in RL, some friends take on a more special meaning. When that happens, it can set the stage for drama and heartbreak. My avatar knows from experience that parting ways with someone who has stolen her heart is every bit as painful in SL as is losing a friend in RL. As one friend so eloquently puts it "it's all pixels, until, with our hands, we hold its soul." He's right. We are not just pixels. Behind our avatars we are real people with real thoughts, feelings and emotions. We must be careful with each other just as we are careful with the feelings of those we know in RL.Second Life has been quite an experience. I have learned much about navigating, building and creating in an online environment. But I have also gained insight about people and relationships that I can apply in my real life. I wouldn't trade my SL adventure for anything. If you already have an avatar or you find yourself with some extra time and want to experience a virtual world, look me up in Second Life. In-world I am known as Tifany Tolsen. I would love to have you over for a drink and a chat by the fire. See you online!

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