If the computing media — not to mention Linden Labs themselves — were to be believed, we should be deeply immersed in our Second Lives by now. Companies are using it for press conferences, people are having sex inside it — Sweden even has an embassy in it, for goodness' sake. Although early in the primaries there was a flurry of SL activity, things seem to have quietened down.

The author believes that this is largely due to the difficulty in raising funds from within SL — it is difficult to check where donors are based, and many are from outside the US.

Perhaps Linden Labs' estimates of the number of SL users is a little on the padded side, too. If you are unsure just how many of the 14 million or so residents actually log in on a regular basis, how much time are you going to devote to talking to them?

Both McCain and Obama have criticized video games — most notably McCain, although Obama has made repeated pleas for parents to 'turn off' their kids' consoles and get them outside — and might be wary of seeming to endorse such a controversial medium by actually appearing inside it.

And then of course there are the griefers. Honestly, if I were running for president I would want to do so in a public forum that carried the lowest possible risk of being buzzed by a flock of winged penises.

Presidential candidates overlook Second Life universe [Houston Chronicle Game Hacks)

"To me, the CEO role at Linden Lab combines perfectly my passions for art and design, business and technology. Until Second Life, we experienced the digital world passively in two dimensions. By enabling users to create a rich and immersive virtual world, Second Life is transforming the way we connect, collaborate, learn and transact online.

Linden Lab Appoints Mark Kingdon As Chief Executive Officer Former CEO of Organic to Lead Company into Next Phase of Its Evolution

SAN FRANCISCO—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Linden Lab®, the developer of the 3D virtual world Second Life®, today announced that its board of directors has named Mark Kingdon to serve as chief executive officer. In his new role, Kingdon will lead the day-to-day management and operations of the company, working closely alongside Linden Lab founder, former CEO and current chairman Philip Rosedale.

Since 2001, prior to joining Linden Lab, Kingdon served as chief executive officer of Organic Inc., a leading digital communications agency, establishing its reputation as a groundbreaking, innovative provider of user-centered design. Prior to Organic, Kingdon worked with idealab!, providing strategic guidance and operational support to emerging companies. Before that, Kingdon was a partner with the consulting division of PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP (PwC), where he held a variety of senior roles throughout his twelve-year tenure. He received an MBA from the Wharton School of Business and a BA in Economics from UCLA.

"Our search for the leader of Linden Lab demanded both tremendous business skills and a deep understanding and passion for Second Life and where it is going. Mark is the perfect choice," said Philip Rosedale, founder and chairman of the board, Linden Lab. "His management style, unwavering leadership in the face of great challenges, and approach to team-building exactly matches Linden's needs. He is a passionate believer in the potential of virtual worlds to change the world, and I look forward to working by his side while we watch it happen."

"We wanted to find someone with an exceptional blend of strategic, analytic, business and leadership skills, but also with endless creativity and a passion for the company and growing the virtual worlds category," said Mitch Kapor, founder of Lotus Development Corporation and a Linden Lab board member. "Mark has demonstrated all of these attributes throughout his career, particularly at Organic, which, like Linden Lab, puts an incredible emphasis on overall user experience and design."

"Joining Linden Lab at this moment in its evolution, with so much growth and opportunity on the horizon, is incredibly exciting and I look forward to working with Philip and the Linden Lab team to help Second Life realize its limitless potential," said Mark Kingdon, Chief Executive Officer, Linden Lab. "To me, the CEO role at Linden Lab combines perfectly my passions for art and design, business and technology. Until Second Life, we experienced the digital world passively in two dimensions. By enabling users to create a rich and immersive virtual world, Second Life is transforming the way we connect, collaborate, learn and transact online. I am thrilled to be part of this epic transformation."

Kingdon assumes the position full time on May 15, 2008.

I will be 100% involved and fulltime at Linden Lab. Second Life is my life's work, and I am not going anywhere.

Despite near-continuous coverage in the popular and business press, metaverses like Second Life are experiencing slowing growth and limited impact because of the tethered nature of their virtual world experience.

Fans praise Second Life as a virtual hangout where you can meet and chat and buy sneakers and real estate (that's fake stuff for real money) and dance and go bowling and have sex — suggesting that "virtual humans" doing "human things" online in Second Life is somehow less pathetic than, say, cooking Kaldorei spider kabobs or making magic pantaloons in World of Warcraft.

eHarmony, MySpace, Evite.com, and Meez.com round out the list. A sign of mainstream media backlash to come? I doubt it.

5 Worst Websites [Time Magazine]

Granted, I've never actually "played" Second Life, as online social interaction is two spots higher than attending a Russian-American "bear" cuddle party on my list of enjoyable pastimes, and the closest I've come to partaking in Linden Labs' eyesore of an alternate reality was an aborted download of the client this past winter. When I think of Second Life and its ilk, I think of this.

The case will still need to play out and only concerns the sum of $8,000. However, it appears that greater scrutiny and enforcement of commerce within Second Life and other virtual worlds is possible and may be necessary. The "commerce" (largely characterized by pyramid schemes, faulty valuations, and unreal exchange rates) could be subject to real world law.

It's too bad there aren't any court shows filmed in Pennsylvania. I would love to see Judge Judy wrap her head around this one and then explode. She's a robot, I tell you. Kim Phu

The Virtual World Just Got a Little More Real [Valley Wag via C|Net News]

Add atmospheric conditions to things MMO Second Life offers. SL's creator Linden Labs has acquired atmospheric rendering tech WindLight and 3D cloud simulator Nimble. WindLight gives 3D environments realistic haze and Nimble creates, well, realistic 3D clouds. Said Linden Lab's Cory Ondrejka:

Our core development team is tightly focused on improving the Second Life experience in terms of stability and scalability, but open sourcing has enabled external developers to integrate additional enhancements that are also hugely valuable; WindLight is one of these.

Sounds good. Bring on the realistic in-world pollution! Brian Ashcraft

Better Haze Coming to SL [Next-Gen]

We are working to fix bugs and enable incremental improvement. At the same time, we are building the foundations for the next-gen architecture that will radically improve our ability to scale.

I can think of only one way this problem can rectified. It's time to call upon Furry Fahey to lead the resistance. Viva Le Caliban! Kim Phu

Second Life Publisher Responds to Open Letter [C|Net]

We remain fully supportive of Second Life and are more than willing to continue doing our part to help, but our confidence is steadily being eroded due to a general lack of communication and the apparent failure to successfully address the many issues detailed above. What we are asking for is that these problems are addressed immediately, ahead of new features, and that we are able to see tangible improvements. We accept that this will not happen overnight but it also cannot be allowed to continue indefinitely either.

There must be some kind of inner-peace you can buy in the virtual markets because if I had all those problems in one of my games, I would be pissed. Alec Baldwin kind of pissed. Kim Phu

'Second Life' Users: Fix It, Already [C|Net]

Okay, I know SL. You know Second Life. But a good chunk of Japan has no friggin' clue. That's all about to change. The game's maker Linden Labs is rolling out a version for The Land of the Rising Sun. What do the pundits think? Real money at stake, an active virtual world — the scare factor is just kicking into gear. An IT expert tells tabloid Shukan Shincho:

The Japanese version is on the way, but the American subsidiaries of automakers like Toyota and Nissan have already put cars on the market in the virtual world. They do it for promotional purposes, but performance in the virtual world is said to reflect performance in the real world, too. If a Japanese language version starts running, more Japanese companies are gonna get involved... This is the first large-scale online game where real money is involved. It'll be interesting to see whether the cops will be prepared to deal with disputes that have occurred within the game. I can see all sorts of social problems coming out of this.

Just wait till they find out about the furries. Brian Ashcraft

SL Hitting Japan [Mainichi via Japanator]

The beauties of Second Life get portraits. Based on Andy Warhol's films 13 Most Beautiful Women and 13 Most Beautiful Boys comes a series of canvas-mounted portraits by Italian artists Eva and Franco Mattes. These avatars were created by actual Second Lifers. Most likely, the inevitable pictures portraits of these avatars' creators to follow. Brian Ashcraft

13 Beauties [Aeropause]

The VIP area of the party, while disturbingly artsy, was filled with what I will go ahead and crown the best food of any party this GDC, including delicious miniature cakes, various little things stuffed with mysterious stuffing that you only find at this sort of event, and what I am relatively sure was lamb. Note the strange, ghostly glowing rising from the meat tray. Is it simply a hand holding tongs, desperately trying to get to the food before me, or is it, perhaps, the lamb of hell?

Are these, perhaps, the tiny cakes of hell?

The point I am making here is that no matter how swank the party might be nor how nummylicious the pear cider they have at the bar may be, once you see your face reflected in a prophetic art piece describing a man with one tooth munching on corpses, whatever other theme you are trying to set for your party fails. It was really an excellent get together despite the underlying spookiness and the fact that i had convinced myself that half of the people there had either just finished having weird cybersex or were looking about for a laptop to get some started. Michael Fahey

Game Politics has unearthed an interesting story on the Counterterrorism blog about the potential Second Life has for nefarious people.

While the makers of Second Life (Linden Labs) pursue an admirable utopian ideal these metaverse systems can potentially also be used by those seeking to pursue a radical agenda... The rapid and potent way in which communication takes place would seem to be an ideal platform for recruitment into radical groups, especially given the age range of those engaged in the world, which is typically 18-34...

Streaming video can be uploaded into Second Life and a scenario can easily be constructed whereby an experienced terrorist bomb-maker could demonstrate how to assemble bombs using his avatar to answer questions as he plays the video... Just as Real Life companies such as Toyota test their products in Second Life so could terrorists construct virtual representations of targets they wish to attack...

By far the most useful tool currently available to radical groups is the ability to transfer in-world money between avatars that can be translated into real currency...

Yeah, but that real currency thing really isn't straight forward, it's more like trading with other users and then paying Linden Labs and then having it transfered to a PayPal account and then paying PayPal. Yeah, I don't see terrorists screwing with all of that, not without snapping. Brian Crecente

MMO Terror

By: Wagner James Au

Second Life's embedded journalist reports from SL's annual real world convention

The first time I met Nethermind Bliss, she was a woman with fire engine red hair, WWI flying ace goggles, and Wolverine wrist claws. The next time I met her was last weekend at the Second Life Community Convention in San Francisco, so this time, the meeting was in-person, and she was more or less the same, just flesh-based. (Though she still had the goggles and claws.) And even though I could have asked her real name, I still called her Nethermind Bliss. Which seemed to be the standard way of addressing people at SLCC. When meeting in person, SL residents— even staff members with Linden Lab (the world's owner)— call each other by their avatar names. That's whether they look like a version of their alter egos, or come without the fur, devil horns, alien skin, robot gear, and other enhancements you've come to identify them by in-world. What's amazing is how natural this feels, and how familiar you can quickly get with hundreds of people you've only known through 3D graphics.

It was two and a half days of fascinating SL-to-RL encounters (much of it alcohol-fueled), Silicon Valley utopianism, and perhaps causing the most audience glee, a demonstration of what appears to be the first MMO-based sex toy. These highlights and more after the break.

When Baccara Met Nick
Clockwise from left, here's Nick Rhodes, DJ Nexeus Fatale, architect/fashion designer Asri Falcone, your reporter, and Baccara Rhodes. This is the first time Nick and Baccara have met in person; in real life, Nick is a photographer from Paris, and Baccara is a retired wedding and bar mitzvah planner from New Jersey. In Second Life, Nick is known for his glamour screenshots of women avatars, while Baccara is famed for, well, being Baccara— the high-born lady in a Versace evening gown whose SL weddings and spectacular events have put her, in my estimation, among Second Life's power elite. For awhile there, Nick and Baccara shared an adoring relationship in-world, and hosted intellectual salons in Nick's art gallery. Until, that is, Nick's wandering ways became too much for Baccara ("I'm not gonna sit around here like Rapunzel!", as she recalls thinking) and she piled up their keepsakes and mementos and turned them into a giant bonfire. He took her punishment in good spirits— which is a relief, because Nick flew from France for SLCC, and to meet her. So that's where they sat together for the first time, idly chatting like old friends reunited (which they are), the handsome Parisian and the Jersey spitfire. "He's a very sweet man," Baccara told me indulgently.

Down to Business

In the premiere SLCC last year, the world had a spare 60,000 or so registered users; now it's approaching some 250,000 active users, and has become a darling of next generation Internet commerce. So the Convention is no longer just a fan con, but a business expo, too, with several metaverse development companies that create experiences and branded items in Second Life for major corporations, educators, and government contractors— including products from Addidas and Toyota both of which were announced at SLCC 06.

Sexual Rezzing

SLCC probably has the unique distinction of being the only mainstream MMO convention sponsored in part by a sex shop. Then again, Strokerz Toyz is a homegrown success story, a hardcore Macy's of animations, working organs, and play equipment for the discerning avatar. During the "Sex and Relationships in Second Life" panel, CEO Stroker Serpentine (bald shaven, dark glasses, Southern drawl) regaled the audience about becoming a successful simulated sex entrepreneur, which involves getting technical support questions via Instant Messages like, "How do I attach my penis?" and, "My vagina won't shut up!"

Stroker was followed by mad scientist inventor qDot Bunnyhug, who proceeded to demonstrate a mini-revolution in peripheral hacks for the horny. Inspired by Jane Pinckard, who famously used the Trance Vibrator from the PS2 music game Rez as a, well, actual vibrator, Bunnyhug showed how he'd managed to wire a Trance Vibrator to a laptop running Second Life, then scripted it to respond when an avatar touched a giant green vibrator in Second Life. Between fits of giggles and a suspenseful pause, Bunnyhug's avatar touched the virtual vibrator—and lo, the physical Trance Vibrator on the other computer whirred to life. (And verily, a whole wealth MMO-to-real world interaction was revealed.) For good measure, qDot held the Trance Vibrator up to the mic, so the whole crazily cheering audience could hear the buzzing— and when he was through, fired up a cigarette. Keep an eye on qDot's site, where he plans to run a video of the event, and provide schematics for creating a SL-to-vibrator interface of your own. ("All completely open source," he added proudly. "There should be no DRM to your fucking!")

There were so many other highlights, including a visionary speech by Lotus founder/initial Linden Lab investor Mitch Kapor, and Linden VP Cory Ondrejka's demonstration of Second Life back in 2001, when it was still known as Linden World, and your avatar interacted with the environment mostly by blowing it up. Not to mention the convergence of so many musicians who've made a name for themselves by using SL's audio streaming capability to perform live, for the first time performing both live and in person. (My personal favorite being, of course, Frogg Marlowe.)

The first SLCC brought in a hundred-plus real life residents; this year, nearly 500 attended. (I began reporting from the world when the entire population was barely that number.) I'm continually impressed how diverse the group is, artists, entrepreneurs, educators, developers, gamers, from all kinds of real life backgrounds. At current growth rates, SLCC '07 will be several thousand strong. What happens then is anyone's guess.

Wagner James Au continues to cover the inner life of SL at New World Notes and online games at GigaOM.

'Second Life' scores $11 million in funding [Cnet]

Only instead of a jail, it's a giant, empty cornfield that Linden Labs uses as a virtual "timeout" according to Clickable Culture (we grabbed the image from there, too). The cornfield is a place where temporarily suspended accounts are sent, folks the game has banned are just unable to log in. What's in the cornfield? An extremely un-fun and slow moving tractor and a host of TV's playing a 1940 film, Boy in Court - it sounds perfectly awful, like jail should be.

Hidden Virtual World Prison Revealed [Clickable Culture]