For some companies and organizations the choice seems pretty clear, a real no-brainer to become a “landowner” in the virtual world of Second Life. “The possibilities are endless!” is a common generalization used to describe what Second Life can provide companies and agencies.
Individuals are encouraged to join Second Life (owned by Linden Labs) with the seemingly harmless and common phrase “Hey, the account is free” which usually comes in tandem with the backside comment, “You know … you can fly around”. These selling points just must be a dream. How could it be possible? Why not? Free? Fly? Be anyone I want? Visit any place through teleportation? Wholly cow! Let’s GO!
It’s obvious Second Life almost sells itself.
There are some real positives to a virtual world such as Second Life. Architects can take tour and tweak their creations using a 3 dimensional view. Designers can test creations without spending large amounts money on real world mock-ups. Employees from global companies can hold meetings and exchange information/ideas/projects without logistical costs. Universities and Colleges have the ability to offer classes or disseminate resources, information and hold lectures with students who are located throughout the world. Libraries can offer services to virtual patrons as a means to expand services with very little cost.
One of the very real “endless possibilities” is that Second Life is not really equipped with the type of development tools that would allow highly detailed and advanced development of projects, inventions or ideas. Further, Second Life is really a fake life; a “world” that only exists on computer hardware/software and does not contain even the simplest “real world” processes and components such as plate tectonics and real weather. Most importantly, users (sometimes called SLer’s) can and do become addicted to this fake life that produces very real world issues.
Marriages and personal relationships are one of the first areas to be impacted by addicted virtual world users. Addicted virtual world users (AVWU) spend so much time in the virtual world that they commonly neglect real world responsibilities, lose their jobs, and strain relationships. Like most addicts, AVWU commonly cite that “It’s just fun”, "I'm not harming anyone" or (my favorite) “Don't worry, it’s not really real”. Sadly, these excuses do not provide any level of support for their claims, nor motivate friends and family to join in “the fun". Quickly, the user commonly alienates themselves as a means to maximize their time in the fake world.
So what does this all have to do with the information field? Plenty. Information professionals must evaluate all resources in order to provide proficient services to patrons. However, as illustrated by Dr. Calvert in class this past week, reference librarians in Second Life primarily answer questions about … Second Life. How is that providing good patron services for the real world?
Further, Linden Labs periodically shuts down, sometimes without notice, for maintenance -- what happens if this happens when an information professional was in the middle of handling an important patron issue? Also, while Second Life offers a free account for users, these accounts are limited and "inspire" the user to invest real world money in order to "kit out" their avatar.
Most importantly, can information professionals (and the agencies they work for) be held liable for introducing new users (or facilitating in the knowledge exchange in the virtual world) to the virtual world, if that user becomes addicted?
It is very obvious that Second Life is not really free. There are emotional costs, financial costs, temporal costs, physical costs and legal costs. Clearly, Second Life is not completely composed of virtugeeks who have no lives and have completely dropped out of the real world. However, claiming Second Life is "free" and harmless is simply misleading and untrue. In fact, Second Life could prove to be more of a liability than a benefit for the Information Profession. If information professionals are not careful, they may find themselves categorized as a 21st century drug dealer.
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Though I am still not sure of all Second Life can do, it appears it can be both useful and addictive. The architect-graphic designer mentioned he could get free ideas and models for his work. There was also mention of teaching classes online for schools. Creativity is stressed as well.
As a lover of video games like Nintendo’s Zelda, I can understand the complete waste of time, fun and obsession that can come with this kind of game. When chat rooms, video games (Sims), MySpace or even email first came out there was a sort of addictive affect on many people. Fictional character, Michael Scott, from the TV show The Office, recently declared that after he discovered you tube he didn’t work for 5 days.
Second Life is like most things though; there’s good and bad, some people abuse it, some don’t. It does appear to require a lot of time and I can see the potential for hours to be lost. While I am not one to talk regarding wasted time in a fake world (i.e. Zelda, myspace), it does seem inefficient to live a fake life when there are not enough hours in the real day. I don’t want to be completely negative because you can “communicate” with people from all over the world and there are great qualities about Second Life. I feel that we spend too much time in front of the computer as it is now.
After using Second Life for about an hour total, I'm still amazed by it--and confused. I haven't yet talked to anyone (though I tried leaning on a wall next to someone-reminds me of the lunchroom in high school), but even watching others communicate is fascinating. I get the communication that's done using chat and displayed on the screen, but many users use a microphone. I didn't know who was saying what, so it felt like I was listening inside people's heads. And they say such weird things! I heard one person give a detailed account of what he had for breakfast. However, I have to keep reminding myself that these people are real, these are their thoughts, and the computer or whoever is not making it up.
I definitely agree with Robin's assessment that this can too quickly replace the "actual reality" of one's life. After all, if one can have class, attend concerts and apparently hold down a job, what's the point of doing it all autonomously? (Though, if I were going to live in the virtual world, I would probably just eat virtual chocolates all day and not work.)
On the ALA Wiki about Second Life, there are two lists: 10 good reasons to have your library on Second Life, and six reasons why you shouldn’t. One reason on the con list is that a major tenet of a library is to work with your clients to suit their information needs. How can this be feasible with Second Life? The user already needs to be tech-savvy enough to understand how to set up the program, as well as how to navigate to the library in the first place. Would a user really do all of this to ask a simple ready reference, or even a longer answer? Frankly, given the choice, I’d be on a regular database before you could say “Library 2.0.” The only people I can think who would do such a thing are people Robin has mentioned, those who have become consumed by the game.
I’m also not convinced these people are all who they say they are. Clearly, no individual is using their real name, and corporations like Nike are obviously who they say they are. I’m curious about the security of Second Life—how hard can it be to pretend to be someone, while you’re using an alias? If users can build their own structures, can they build a library? What if they don’t have any credentials? I believe it would damage the relationships librarians have with their patrons.
On a last note, the library setting itself up on Second Life is using actual taxpayer money in reality. Not in the setting up of the account itself (perhaps in the building—I have no idea how to build anything currently), but in the time spent by the librarian within the game. Should we be paying for a service we may never use (and the librarian may never know we are using)? (I’m trying to link to the comments to that post)
I definitely plan to explore the game some more, though I seem to be stuck on this island currently. Also, my alias is Atlas Borkotron. I defy you all to come up with a weirder name.
As a person that is not all that technically inclined I have a hard time believing in the potential of Second Life libraries becoming a viable resource. I have never been drawn to the virtual world, and perhaps it is due to this, but I can't imagine going to a "fake" library looking for "real" answers. It only seems natural that reference questions would go to a established library. Can you imagine if you wrote a paper and cited the librarian from Second Life?
Maybe thoughts like that are more of a hindrance than a help in adapting new technologies. As librarians we must embrace new usable technologies, I'm reminded of one of you readings that pointed out that Online cataloging systems were once thought to be a useless expense. As for Second Life I think it is too soon to tell if this is the next step for libraries. While it is a popular community, it is not common knowledge. Remember that a fair few of our fellow students had never heard of Second Life and I don't think any of us admitted to having an account.
There is only one life! And maybe anther life after death as most of religions said. Second life will always be a game. What are the benches in the parks for if you cannot feel the wind and the grasp? Would you ever enjoy food in “Second Life” like you do in the real life? Are you able to exercise in “Second Life”? There will be always senses and instincts that cannot be fulfilled in “Second Life.” That’s why people have memories from their real life not from a computer game.
I have downloaded “Second Life” last week and played around with it. I can say that I never felt that it is a life. It was a game for me and that’s what AVWU cite that people always think that it is a game. We’ve always played “Delta Force” and “Counter Strike” but the feeling of real war it totally different. You may not have experienced real war, I did many times. Same for “Second Life” it is too simple to be real. Real life is harder, you have to work for years to build a house or to buy a car or to get the girl that you like.
At the same time, real life has no limits. “Second life” is made by human and will always have limits, like any other computer application. However the degree of our knowledge in real life is very small, we all know that what we know about the world is a point in the ocean.
Can “Second Life” be a good service in the library world? I don’ think so. As all computer software and applications, they have a limited time line. Yahoo was the most famous in the last decade, google took its place and other database might take the place of google in the future. So, we cannot build hopes on one computer application. Of course, we cannot separate librarianship from technology, but these technologies should be adopted and customized to fit in the library and serve its patrons. This is different than moving our library services to a virtual world that we do not have control on any of its aspects.
Yet, as librarians we are curious to discover new things and this is why we exist. So let’s discover this new game and who knows it may be useful in some way.
I love the World of Warcraft episode of South Park and I think it does a good job of illustrating the allure of virtual worlds. For those of you who haven't seen it here is a synopsis:
The kids get addicted to WoW but someone is running around murdering characters and he is so powerful nobody can kill him. Finally the game company, afraid to lose money because nobody wants to play any more, gives the kids a majic sword that gives them an outside chance to kill the mystery murderer. An itense battle ulimately occurs with shots back and forth between the people at their computers and their virtual characters. It turns out the all powerful murderer is an obese shut in that, throughout the battle, is void of almost any expression or passion. Switching the scenes back and forth did an excellent job of contrasting the idealized and exciting image of the virtual world with the mundane reality of the real world.
I think that is the allure of virtual worlds and I had really never put much thought into them as being anything other than entertainment. I can see where they could be useful for practical things, meetings, etc, as well as entertainment.
It would be wise to exercise caution of course. Humans tend to have addictive streaks, some more than others, and it is terrible to see people throw away their real lives for virtual ones. I remember seeing a show on tv about some virtual world, 2nd life maybe, where characters were being raped by other characters. Many people who were "raped" admitted that they were actually traumatized by the event. That seems to go a little beyond entertainment.
I agree with Ashley in thinking that it’s too soon to say if Second Life could be of use to us librarians. Personally I would never be caught dead trying to cite “the librarian from Second Life”(Sorry to quote you Ashley) but then again, who’s to say that in a few years it won’t be acceptable? This whole situation screams of a dystopian existence to me.
For me second life still seems like a game. I've seen people (on csi haha) who actually dive into this world as use it as a substitute for their real lives for whatever the reason, and I'm sure there are real people who do the same, but for me it still comes off as a virtual game of the SIMS and not really anything more. The idea of having a library in Second Life however, seems like it could be useful tool though for people who are 'addicted' to the program. The premise of a SL library reminds me of any chat function on a library website, although in these cases you are getting information from an actual librarian where in SL who knows who is manning the 'reference desk'. If there was a way to check credentials for those who are 'hired' as the librarian that would be great. I mean people have legit businesses where money is exchanged for virtual products so who's to say there can't be qualifications or a job interview for certain jobs just like in the real world. Even if the person was not qualified if they provided the proper citation for the information they provide it would then be on the patron to decide the validity of the sources. I went to an academic library website and chatted with a librarian who just combed through a database/the internet and cited the sources she gave me, and then I had to decide what I wanted to do with them, this seems like it could be similar to that. The quality of information would be in question because the patron doesn't know who is distributing it, but if that fact is known to the whole SL community then the SL librarian as sort of a search tool could be helpful.
I was most struck by the article about being addicted to Second Life. The man in the article has a virtual wife and spends more time with her than he does with his actual, real life wife. I know someone who spends hours and hours online talking to her virtual friends through her avatar on World of Warcraft. She speaks about her avatar as if he’s a real person with real friends and has developed an intricate background story for him. In spending all of this time online, she has little time to talk with the people that are around her. She could spend hours in the same house with others without ever interacting with them because she is with her avatar and online friends.
I think this scenario is becoming much more prevalent with increased access to technology. As a service to patrons addicted to Second Life or other online communities, a library could offer workshops or information about online addictions. This information might be best directed to the people who care about addicts – the real life friends and families.
As far as using Second Life as a tool for librarians, I don’t know that we are completely there yet. Librarians need to keep up with technology and be poised to implement what is most valuable. If Second Life starts to really take off, librarians should be at the forefront. However, they should maintain awareness and an ability to help patrons use it until it becomes a more widely used medium. It seems that right now, it may help some potential patrons to have an actual librarian in Second Life, but it may not be the best use of a full time librarian’s time.
I think libraries are interested in getting involved with these social networking and game sites because like our readings mentioned this week, they are a way of bridging the generational gap. It is a way the library can be seen by a younger generation and get the younger generation interested in libraries.
However, I cannot stand programs like Second Life and other social networking sites like My Space and Facebook. They are dehumanizing because they reduce human relationships and social interactions. Although people say, “It’s just a game” or “It’s just a website” people’s actions don’t reflect those sayings. How many times do hear someone talk about their virtual friends or how proud they are that they have over 500 friends? In these virtual worlds people can be whoever they want to be without having to worry about the consequences. Rather than concerning themselves with how to become a better person in “real life” many people worry about how to look better in their “virtual world.”
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