Marianne McCann's Journal

10:49am: Mitch's announcement
Steppin' outta character f'r a moment.

So Mitch Kapor did his big announcement, and it wasn’t that big. A US$10,000 prize, paid in Lindens and amounting to very little real cash for Linden Lab to have to really worry about. To me, the real story was between the lines.

He talked a lot about the pioneers of Second Life, and how their era is drawing to a close. He treated charm and character as yesteryear concepts, as indicated in Dusan Writer’s blog. His view of this Metaverse is one of real people doing real people things. Avatars that can look, act, and sound just like your real world counterpart, so you can virtually take part in office meetings and such.

Maybe he’s been hanging around the IBM inworld campus a bit much, but the Metaverse is more than pixilated videoconferencing.

Second Life’s longstanding slogan has been “Your World, Your Imagination,” and the platform has existed as a place where residents could make their wildest dreams take flight. It’s a world dominated by svelte, attractive human, furries, fantasy characters, and all sorts of others. Some of the most popular places in this world are a giagantic sized home populated by “Greenie” aliens, the mystical biosphere of Svarga, and any number of other fantastic places.

It is not dominated by “Initech” style offices and such, no more than it was real-world style American Apparel stores.

Mitch, however, feels that it should be. He views this transition to business platform as necessary, and that all the “pioneers” are simply going to have to live with these changes – adapt, or die as it were. As an example, he talks about how text-based communication was a boon in Second Life – but he hated it. Clearly, we know now why voice was pushed so hard on a very resistant world.

I feel like Mitch, and maybe others at the top of Linden Lab, are dealing with a surplus of hubris. They seem to be developing a not exactly healthy attitude that they know better than their own user base. No, that their user base does not matter: the means to an end, as it were.

When Philip Linden handed the keys to “M,” one of the challenges discussed was the wild ways of the userbase. It was viewed as a challenge, rather than as the very lifeblood of the world we exist within.

This is foolish thinking, and was the downfall of a great many internet based systems.

What Second Life should really consider is taking their “3D Web” goal to heart. Look at what the web is. It is the home of a great many businesses and universities – the very market Mitch wants – but it is also the home of “Tron Guy” and “Peter Pan.” It is a place where people hunt up videos of “dramatic squirrels.” It’s weird and freaky – and retains a bit of a wild west edge even this far into “Web 2.0.”

Linden Lab needs to look at Second Life as that sort of animal. Go ahead and court the businesses and schools – I’ve been doing work inworld with them too – but also know that you’re bigger than that. The “Burning Man” spirit remains very much at the heart of this world, and holds just as much value. The community is still the central focus, and the thing that can make or break the very world.

I fear that they won’t hear such, though – in which case I hope Mitch notices that he used a bell curve in his presentation, and each up will have a down. The top, however, might be closer than he thinks.

1:10pm: SL5B
I want to write something about the SL Fifth Birthday. I feel like I should. I've said pages and pages on the SL Forums about, I did a big post on the SLC blog, and I've spent the weekend going over it no matter where I went.

But try as I might to collect my own feelings on it, I end up conflicted.

I understand Linden Lab being in a difficult position here. They want to keep their business, and view things like Representative Mark Kirk's recent attack on Second Life as very damaging to their business and livelihood. Doing their best to "sanitize" this showcase event may seem like the best way to ensure their continued well-being, I dunno.

What I do feel is that this was all handled wrong. I'm not sure what "right" would have looked like. Maybe asking us kids, rather than making such a hard-edged, immediate decision. Maybe having things be clearer the day we were given the information, I dunno.

but the thing I keep coming back to is this.

I am a resident of Second Life. I've been in Second Life for two years, three months, and change. I've been a premium member for about a year and a half of that time, paying above the usual tier for a chunk of mainland. I have a lot of ties to the grid, as a business owner, a content creator, a role player, a photographer, a writer, and just generally as an "avatar about town."

I've a fan of the world. I like the very notion of that place (those places?) and have generally been willing to see it grow and improve. I've been a part of the last two Second Life birthdays, was involved with the SL Day of Remembrance, and have donated content to other Linden builds.

But now, I'm not welcome.

Oh sure, I can attend their party, but unlike nearly any other content creator on the grid, I am unwelcome as an active participant at their event. My application was denied before it could even be reviewed, the victim of my choice of avatar and my desire to help create some positive press for those who opt to play child avatars in Second Life.

This does not make me feel like donning the Philip Linden made party hat and blow a noisemaker. Indeed, at a party where us resident have traditionally celebrated the good fortune of Second Life, I know that my own successes within the grid are not to be celebrated or even acknowledged by Linden Lab.

The SL birthday has been a resident event, run by residents with the only major Linden hand being in the offering of tier-free land. It was supposed to be our party, not theirs to put on. Our showcase, not theirs.

Which makes one pause and ponder: if our party can be so quickly taken over, then what of "our world, our imagination." It rings kinda hollow right now.

I'm not going to make grand comparisons of my choice in avatars and the human rights abuses of the real world -- but I will tell you this. No matter the size of the transgression, one can easily spot when something isn't fair. I'm a member like anyone else here, but I've been told, essentially, "your not convenient to us, so we're going to hide you."

The correct response would have been to champion your members. We're all a little freaky and odd. I play a kid. Some people grow fangs, or have pointed ears. Many wear pelts or scales. Some are engaged in activities I've never even considered. Don't condone those activities which truly are illegal in the real world, but stand behind the people who keep the lights on at 945 Battery Street. It is the right thing to do. heck, it's part of the Community Standards.

Happy Birthday, Second Life. I hope someone around here grows up a bit.

6:32am: Someting a friend of mines did
Just a goofy bit of video, but still fun. It was a silly night :-)

10:39am: Bay City!
Yesterday night I visited Bay City, the new area created by the Linden Department of Public Works Moles.

Anyway, I took a lot of piccies, an I felt like sharing them. So here they are! Click any of them to see way bigger versions.

( More behind the cut! )

11:48am: Linden stuff
A few weeks ago, around when the Luna Oaks and Big Ben's lottery was announced, I went over to look at these places. I went to Luna Oaks because I did put my name into the running, and I wanted to see if anyone actually used that space at all. While there, I noticed the charming little Luna to Dore trolley, and took a ride. Sadly, the trolley derailed shortly before making it to Dore.



I then headed up the tracks on my own, ending up in the big Ahern infohub. This was where I originally showed up inworld, though I quickly changed to the now-missing Sami infohub. As usual, it was hopping with new folks, getting their first experiences with Second Life's wonderful "lag" feature.




Curious, I poked around some of the areas surrounding the infohub, just to see what was there. I tend to be a bit of a fan of what some would call "legacy" builds. That is, places that were created by or under the sponsorship of Linden Lab as public spaces.

What I discovered was that many of these places, much like the Luna to Dore trolley, have not exactly been kept up. I discovered a saloon in Wild West Town (in the Oak Grove sim) that was almost entirely gone, probably the victim of some glitch along the way.



I also discovered that the archery range just off the way from the infohub was now set to noscript/nobuild, making it nothing more than decoration.

So I did some more poking around, to see just how well some of these other places are. I went to ones I knew, and I asked others about any they might know. I found out that the vehicle sims were about as bad off as that saloon, and that the Second Life Railroad hadn't seen a train in months (it got worse post Havok 4, too). Amongst many other troubles.

So I've since put the things I've found into the JIRA, as well as putting in support tickets on each. Please take a look at these, if you wish:

MISC-1073
MISC-1074
MISC-1075
MISC-1081
MISC-1097
MISC-1139
MISC-1140
MISC-1141
MISC-1142
MISC-1143

I know, if I came into this world, and saw so much of the areas around my first log-ins made all-but-unusable, victims of neglect, I would wonder why I should be a part of this world. These places, they give us a sense of permance and place in a world that is constantly changing.



I am, of course, being realistic. We need the system to work, for logins to not fail, for assets to at least attempt to be stable. Those are much higher priorities. But we also have a "Linden Department of Public Works" building the new "Bay City," altering (then reverting) the Rausch combat sandbox, and putting into the long-missing void sims within the Korean continent. Why not see some of that stuff fixed?

9:56pm: Time for a change
Well, after a year or so of having to continually fight to be accepted as a child avatar, especially since the most recent Sky News piece, I've finally decided it's time for something new. Introducing the new Marianne McCann.



I guess this needs a question. Um. Hot or not?



























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Ya, so I started a bit early on the April foolin'! It's 4/1 in most of th' world already!

Mari

8:59am: On the latest from Sky News...



I wrote a loooong piece about the current Sky News controversy with child avvies an sexual ageplay an all dat. I have it on the Livingtree blog, for those who wanna read it.

9:50am: Sailing in SL
Yesterday, partially for fun, I took my sail boat -- a Flying Tako named "Greenie" -- out for a cruise. I say partially, 'cuz I also was doing it as a personal challenge.

( Avast ye! Thar be words an piccies ahead! )

(X-Posted)

7:27am: NYE Fireworks Show
My big fireworks show in Winterland went great, with the only issue being a couple of wannabe griefers trying to set off some of my works prior to the show. They only shot off a couple minor things that were easily replaced after they got bounced. Other than that, it was all perfect!

My friend Ziggy Quirk made a video of the show. It's all stills to music, but still fun to look at. even if I am ruthed in a couple of the piccies. :-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGD7tkP4Rkk

7:29am: Happy New Years!
Look for me in Winterland tonight, ringing in the new year!

Even though folks say kids my age should be in bed by then, I'll be doin' a big, big fireworks show tonight at midnight SLT (dat's around 7:00 p.m. in Sydney, 8:00 a.m. in London, and a late, late 3:00 a.m. in New York).

I'll be using many new faves as well as some brand new (for me!) works to make for what I hope will be my best show ever!

Winterland is in Del Agua, at http://slurl.com/secondlife/Del%20Agua/123/66/28

11:52pm: One year
Following Jenn Dolari's lead, here's my year in piccies...

( Twelve piccies ahead! )

8:47am: I'm speakin an stuff tonight...
Happening at the Cannery Rezzable sim tonight at 5:00 p.m. SLT. Here's their blurb:

"Come to the Cannery Gallery and meet one of the featured artists for the show! Marianne McCann is an extraordinary person who explores what is joyful about SL. She will talk about her work and about her creative process."

More information on the Cannery is at http://slart.rezzable.com/ -- an please come on out!

1:00pm: To try an reduce my own spaminess a bit here, I’ve gone ahead an created a group blog for Livingtree stuff, at http://livingtreeupdate.blogspot.com/ - I’d love any feedback on it!

1:57pm: As if I dun have enough goin' on
Dis is a press release dat's gone out today

"A Different Light - a different view on Second Life"

Presented by Rezzable, Inc at Cannery Rezzable
slurl.com/secondlife/Cannery%20Rezzable/128/125/200

Curators: Shoshana Epsilon and Vint Falken

Opens Wednesday, December 5th 4pm
Featured artists:
* Mylena Aquitaine
* Kimberly Mirabeau
* Marianne McCann
* Isolde Flamand
* Andromega Volaire

Additional artists:
Codebastard Redgrave
GM Nikolaidis
Jazss Saiman
Kim Dench
Loki Popinjay
Luna Zolnir
Raul Crimson
Ryker Beck
Shoshana Epsilon
Stephen Venkman
Vint Falken

Dancing starts at noon and goes until midnight. Official opening at 4pm SL time. Come meet the artists! Buy some art!

5:05pm: What a week
In the real world, dis has been a really challenging week, with a pet passing away, a lot of hard days at the borin' place I gotta go to to make money, an other stuff.

In-world, though, it's been a purty exciting week.

Last Sunday, I gotta be on Tonight Live with Paisley Beebe, an talk about kid stuff. I was super nervous, but I tink it still came out okay.

Then on Monday, New World Notes made it official an named me the winner in the Uncanny Valley Expo 2007 contest. Hamlet Au decided to take it a step further, doing a full interview with me over a couple of days, then releasing it as a really big NWN entry.

I did not expect dat, but really, dat's why I entered the contest - to gain some positive visibility for kid avvies. There were a ton of good comments, an even more positive IMs my way, too. Even one other blog dida great little write up an mentioned the entry. It's nice to see someting positive about kids in SL for once.

Then today was Kid Scouts, an I was promoted from Brownie to Junior Girl scout. Got a new uniform an everyting. My mommy an my daddy was proud, an I was super happy. After, I had an amazing experience visiting Winterland a day before it opens, then a new build by Lumiere Noir (of Ivory Tower of Primitives fame) dat blew me away cuz it was so pretty.

It weeks like dis dat make me glad to be in Second Life. With all in my real life, it gave me a heck of a boost.

2:28pm: Now I've done it...
New World Notes has put out their interview with me.

http://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2007/11/mere-childs-pla.html

I hope it ain't too wordy or nuttin!

3:09pm: I won! I won!
New World Notes has finally announced the winner of Uncanny Valley Expo 2007

http://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2007/11/uncanny-valle-2.html

I can't hardly believe it, but there it is! Waaa hoo!

12:47pm: Way cool!
Robbie Dingo has another new video out - an both me an my brother (an RacerX, Aimee, Flea, Torley, etc...) are in it!



If yer not familiar with Robbie Dingo, by the way, do some searches. You *gotta* see "Better World," "Watch the Worlds," and "meteors." They're all super cool.

8:33am: Uncanny Valley Expo - One More Week
I'm still in the lead, with one week left to vote!

http://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2007/10/reader-vote-sel.html

If you haven't yet, an you feel like it, please vote for me, 'kay?

Mari

8:18am: Happy Hallowe'en, Everybuggy!



(I kept it kinda small for your friends' page an stuff. Clicks for larger)

11:41am: I just spent a wonderful week at camp...
Camp HardKnock is the outgrowth of the the old HardKnock Elementary. Run by Jill Caldera and Gattz Gilman in the Tu Amor sim on a seasonal basis, Camp HardKnock serves as a sleepover camp featuring numerous guided activities and plenty of "free play" time.

I arrived a day or two late, due to real-life commitments, as well as a little trepidation about being away from my SL family for so long. A Second Life week can feel like forever!

Once I settled into camp life, however, I saw that the experience was something quite wonderful. The sort of thing I wish there was far more of in Second Life. A place full of joy and delight, peopled by some very loving and caring individuals, and a place to truly, safely explore one's own "inner kid."

There were activities galore, from a "cabin pranking day" that left the boys cabin full of pink, and other filled with giant cup cakes, to a talent show full of play acting, performing, and other moments quite unlike the dance clubs of "mainstream" SL spaces. We had ghost stores, camp outs, dances, scavenger hunts, and even just pancake breakfasts in the mess hall.

Even when there wasn't a scheduled activity, we still found ways to occupy our time. In the open area between cabins, there was always plywood cubes being turned into some new shape as kids let the imaginations go. Counselor Gilman's morning building events -- more of a "build on a theme" gathering with some instruction as need be -- made for everything from sentimental mementos of camp friendships to imaginary creatures.

Then, one night of camp, you got to see the real heart of the place: one camper's SL father -- and another's SL grandfather -- was killed in a real-life car accident. The camp pulled together for them, holding a solemn memorial for those who lost family, and reflected on how much their own SL families mean to them.

This is the thing about these Second Life kids, and about this camp. While there sure are some to whom the name might fit, we're not some perverse subculture that some would lead you to believe. The camp, while red taped to allow a respite from the outside world's interference, was something I wish all could see, just to have a better idea what all these kids are doing on Second Life.

We're creating and using our imaginations. We're sharing with each other, and enjoying each other's company. We're caring about each other, and lending a hand when needed. We're learning new skills, new ideas, and even new interests. Above all this, we're having fun.

For those who might be interested, there is a movie on YouTube that Counselor Caldera put together at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9iNjwMy8eU - an also photos at http://www.sluniverse.com/pics/Default.aspx?Name=Marianne+McCann , http://www.rainbowramen.com/princessofsl.html , and in Maxi Rehula's MySpace at http://www.myspace.com/maxirehula .

(x-posted)

8:05am: Uncanny Valley Expo, an last weekend's picnic
Voting opened dis mornin' in the Uncanny Valley Expo thing, an I said I'd tell everybuggy about it - so here it is!

http://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2007/10/reader-vote-sel.html

So far I'm waaay in the lead, but I 'spect dat'll change quickly. It's got two whole weeks for people to vote.

Also, the picnic an BBQ dis weekend? It went super. We had over 30 people for a bit, an everyone loved the fireworks (RacerX was havin' me test a new one, an it's super awesome). We also had a fun fun game of tag, an other stuff. My sis took some great piccies of the fireworks.

A lot of SL kids and their parents showed up, an it was really neat to see all the kids an parents there jes havin fun on the island jes like RL families. I wish I could put some of dat inna prim an hand it to people who say "icky kids!" an stuff.

9:04am: Livingtree Harvest BBQ and Picnic, This Sunday!
This Sunday beginning around 2:30 p.m. SLT at Livingtree, enjoy fun with the whole family as we host a barbecue and picnic for Second Life's children and families! Enjoy a feast of picnic goodies courtesy of Kitchen Korner, enjoy all the island has to offer, and just have some fun with us! All are welcome!

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Livingtree/137/129/24/

This will be the last day for my "Why A Kid" photo exhibit!

( Oh look, or don't, at the rest of the ad )

While there, feel free to check out the island. All of Robin Sojourner's stores (The AV store featuring her skin and clothing work, The Broom Closet, and Kick The Can for child avatars) are located there, as well as her texture tutorial, library, and Wiccan learning center. You'll also find You Know... For Kids and Pygar's Stuff That He Made main stores, as well as my herbs and plants.

Also, there are rentable (free) kayaks for exploring the island, a big playground, a swimming hole, drum circle, Neo-Realms fishing area, and other goodies to explore. There's even a few hidden surprises here and there!

2:53pm: Uncanny Valley Expo
They announced the finalists in the Uncanny Valley Expo competition today an... I'm one of them! My piccie, blog.secondlife.com has been picked as one of the ten finalists, out of a total of 43 entries!

http://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2007/10/the-uncanny-val.html

The voting starts next week. now the hard part!

I'm still displayin' my piccies in Livingtree, 'til Sunday. I'll be having a family barbecue dat day too. More information on dat really soon. :-)

Mari

6:52am: Wow, cool!
I had the opening for my art show on Saturday, an wow what a crowd! We had bunches of people come an see my work, which was really cool.

I tink I most got a kick out of how many people who visited, decided to put on their own kid avatar versions of themselves, and come to the show. Definitely not anything anyone hadda do, but still really nice to see that I inspired em.

I'll be there for about two more weeks, at Livingtree, and I'll be there purty frequently. I also rigged up a system dat allows you to hear a little bit of information about each piccie, too.

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Livingtree/77/129/24/

(X-Posted)