Philip Rosedale: Second Life, where anything is possible

[binkybecka18]

maybe the lag maybe the graphics, but SL RULES theres nothing else quite like it. Unlimited possibilities, you can be anything you can make anything. It's virtually amazing. If you don't see THAT then your the fucktard lol This man=Pure Genius

me and my best friend stay connected every day through SL. I live in New york and he lives in Austrailia.

[binkybecka18]

maybe the lag maybe the graphics, but SL RULES theres nothing else quite like it. Unlimited possibilities, you can be anything you can make anything. It's virtually amazing. If you don't see THAT then your the fucktard lol This man=Pure Genius

[binkybecka18]

maybe the lag maybe the graphics, but SL RULES theres nothing else quite like it. Unlimited possibilities, you can be anything you can make anything. It's virtually amazing. If you don't see THAT then your the fucktard lol

[098anne]

I think it's got a ton of great possibilities. He said the graphics were poor compared to games as the focus was much broader. I'd like to see an all access university built in there. Or maybe a mini TED conference.

[Delveaux]

Smooth talker but he's after your money when you're inworld. It is NOT the beautiful world he's announcing constantly. 7 years later it's stil laggy and crappy but many customers have payed millions for this poor service. But do they care? Not at all. They ignore you like hell and come up with one exuse after another, even if you're a premium user. It's all about money and nothing else. WAKE UP!!!!

[MrBlamemeforit]

What a fucktard.

[MrBlamemeforit]

Second life graphics fail.

[mimiru2582]

Star Trek doors open SIDEWAYS... I thought you could only speak for 10 minutes at TED?

[haugstule]

too weird scenes... if wanted to play it, it must have been more like real life.... like gta san-andreas!!!

have anyone seen that "the tribe" show? kinda makes me think about the 2. or the 3 season, when the technoes takes over the city and gives the people the virtual helmets :P

[Mikeunderscore]

Nothing about this looks cool!

Have fun with your second life.

[brettwad360]

i know- this guy is retarted

[USeyOUReWEs]

(^ interesting. this is a year out of date?

(^ strange how xenaphobic ppl become

(^ when interacting with unknown explorative researchers,let alone developing subcultures.

(^ i too was banned from the SLED list simply for typing funny.

(^ exploration is hindered if you already have an intended goal.

[rentluvr]

I was an underage second life player.

I played a kid avi on adult second life.

Oh I loved it.

Best Game EVER

Honestly, i mean, whoa!

You can get everything on that game.

Its litteraly addicting.

I got banned too many times...now my ip is banned from SL, and im litteraly the saddest person ever :(

[jbxenia]

Yes, SL allows you to do the impossible, but it's also impossible to do everyday, mundane things! Without proper communication, you ARE alone, and just touring a pretty 3D painting.

Show me a good deadpan stare in SL, creating that gesture is a massive undertaking.

Putting it into text is much simpler, and can be done more creatively.

Doing it in RL is still the simplest of all.

[chinaliew]

never paly second life

i love ragnarok online

[UnKnovvnUser]

@chinaliew

Ragnarok ROCKED in 2007, i quit in 2008 after it being patched, lost my 200 and i got pissed. Was super good. Sigh, i donated so much.

[ecstatica23]

instead of creating a virtual world that is ideal in terms of how we can live... why not focus that energy in creating that ideal world in "RL" REAL LIFE?? people using SL is evidence of how people want change, I think that most people use SL as an escape from RL just how a lot of people use the internet and youtube, a sad statement. Sure some will argue this but I think it's fairly evident if you pay close attention.

[crudhousefull]

@ecstatica23 I'm glad that people have a virtual world to screw up. If they made it a long time ago, this world wouldn't be screwed up with most of the living things except for humans dying off.

[PixelsSideways]

Ive been a "resident" of Second Life for over a year. I came into Second Life because I'd heard that Suzanne Vega performed live in SL and I was interested in the potential of a virtual venue for some musicians I work with. One of the first people I met is a professor of philosophy at a Boston university. He had purchased a sim to provide space for artists and invited me to set up a studio and since then, I've had the most wonderful creative collaborative experiences beyond....(continued)

[PixelsSideways]

...what I could imagine. I've directed and participated in three multi-artist collaborative "conceptual" art exhibitions featuring artists from around the world. Without substantial funding the likes of which would equal that to fund a major metropolitan museum exhibition, projects like this in "real life" would be nearly impossible to orchestrate, let alone the art that was created that defies the laws of physics. I've had the joy of working with artists from around the world... (continued)

[PixelsSideways]

and have formed friendships that have moved from the virtual to the "real world." SL is not for everyone -- but for those of us who have connected socially both in SL & RL and are creating two way streams of art in both worlds, SL has proven to be one of the most creative, inspiring and exciting environments for artists to explore, experiment, share and learn. Additionally, several universities and various learning institutions are using SL for teaching/training... (continued)

[PixelsSideways]

as are corporations. Manpower, one of the largest employment recruiting agencies in the world set up shop SL. There is an enormous pool of talent, not just visual artists but designers, scripters (programmers), as well as performing artists. There are many groups for as varied interests as there are people, including support groups for people with various challenges. Fundraisers in SL have raised thousands of dollars for numerous charities and causes. (continued)

[PixelsSideways]

The content in SL is created by the residents whose varied interests range from RP sims that run the gamut from ancient history (Rome, Medieval) to the fantastical and future. And yes, there are the adult themed sims that people seem to think solely populate SL but that is not the case. There countless sims that host galleries, museums, historical reproductions, entertainment venues, cultural events, workshops and machinima theatres. And yes, there are shopping malls. (continued)

[PixelsSideways]

People do spend thousands of real world dollars in SL. But then, people spend millions of dollars on ring tones, DVD rentals and premium cable channels, none of which provide them with the type of rich creative and socially interactive experience SL does. Anyway, I think there are a lot of misconceptions about what SL is or isn't but one thing it definitely is not is a game -- there are games to be played in SL -- if that is what you want to do -- but SL is really a... (continued)

[PixelsSideways]

social networking environment built on a game platform with an e-commerce twist.  It's really like nothing else out there. For all it's faults, and it definitely has them, Second Life is still the best "non" game in town. And as for Philip Rosedale's enthusiastic presentation on TED, well, he does look like he's channeling Ryan Seacrest but can you blame the guy for being so passionate about something he built from the ground up that is changing how people interact and... (continued)

[PixelsSideways]

connect and exchange ideas and socialize and create? Give the guy his bragging rights. It's pretty awesome when you think about it. It's amazing that it even works at all when you realize there have been millions of subscribers and an average of 250K people logging in each day. And as the open source VR simulation technology continues to develop, you will see a lot more virtual worlds like SL coming online and it's... (continued)

[PixelsSideways]

likely you'll be using VR worlds/environments like Second Life a much a you now use your cell phones, iPods and the net in general. To see what people around the world can do in SL when they come together in a collaborative environment, take look at one of our multi-artist collaborations at Caerleon Isle in SL that's posted in my profile.

[bill0756]

It might be good to have a talk on internet addiction following this one.

Don't know how exploring space is reinventing oneself - seems like he's scratching for a connection. Second Life people seem to be MORE stuck in their lives, as they put their lives on hold to play the game. But maybe it can be used to learn social skills?..so long as the people can walk away and take on the real world.

[xilliah]

I am wondering what you would define as the real world.. Might I remind you that SL is part of the 'real world' and so is the web and all the people in it and all the information including our little virtual chat.

[malachitransfer]

When I think of the real world I think of an objective reality. Where physical laws bound you. In a virtual world the only thing which has control over you is the extent of it's program and that programmings flexibility. It isn't 'real' in the same way we act in our world. IT isn't not real, it just isn't 'this' kind of real.

It's just Second Life isn't an ideal medium for half of the crap Linden Labs recommends it for. It isn't specialized. It's a community so it inhibits it's application.

[xilliah]

Yes but it is part of the real world. I know a lot of people in SL who met each other there and got married (in first life) and started a family and everything. This is not an exceptional thing to happen. On top of that I earn (first life) money there which supports my (first life) study. And if you saw the TED video 'What do customers want?' you'll know that pretty much everything in the Netherlands is made by man. I am Dutch, so to me there isn't a whole lot of difference between FL and SL.

[malachitransfer]

Yeah, that happens on the internet pretty regularly. What I mean is that Second Life isn't specialized. It's a community. A person can opt out of anything in second life at any time. There isn't a manditory factor in second life which dictates the use of second life as an 'educational' tool. That was my point. It's a great idea, but second life is not the ideal platform for it. That's what I"m getting at.

[buckeyeshine]

to bump into cartoon zombies in a world with few senses ?

[chernobila]

Waste for ted

[Utsusemi]

In real life, the most you can do is... climb some mountains, visit some countries and what not

Though with technology, you can do ANYTHING. A N Y T H I N G

In virtual world you can do anything the most epic the most spicy life.

[xilliah]

The world is not enough!

[tumbleworld]

Man, he's full of himself. I for all his banging on about all the endless possibilities of Second Life, he doesn't mention that 95% of the content is different skirts and bras to dress girl-toons up in... It's more like a big sandbox of CyberBarbie than Gibson's virtual realm.

[Exous6666]

Second Life is for porn mostly, just like the rest of the internet

[malachitransfer]

My personal opinion is that he's making second life out to be so much more then it really is. I've been to second life. It's full of creative individuals, it can be an interesting place and make friends. It's like anything else. It's just a medium of expression like forums, instant messaging, IRC, free form text based role playing. I've experienced a variety of these mediums. The thing is second life isn't all that easy, it's not terribly attractive, and it's not immersive as it could be.

[malachitransfer]

Besides, it doesn't bring anything new to the table that doesn't already require some semblance of skill. This is just another medium of artistic creativity. This is not a 'second life'. Now, true virtual reality, something (dare I use this analogy) akin to the matrix, that would be a 'second life' where what you think becomes reality, no particular or trained skill would be necessary. Otherwise, second life is just a community.

[malachitransfer]

Really, it's just like pretending. It's just imagination, and you aren't immersing yourself in the game anymore then any other game. Whatever it is that second life is bringing to the table is already achievable through practiced skills, writing, art, drawing, animation, sculpting, just because it's an interactive world does not mean it is a 'virtual world' if that were the case so is every video game I've ever played. It's a false premise. It's a game with powerful creative tools of expression.

[malachitransfer]

In other words... second life is just a way for a company to that you pay for a virtual space on their servers where you can promote and show off your creativity and let others experience it. You know what? That's not fair. People who are creative should get paid for their work. They should be praised and seen by the entire world. Second Life is an obscure medium, and it's not okay. They exploit the creative whether they realize it or not, or even accept it.

[malachitransfer]

for a company to get you to pay for (edit) ^

Creative people? Listen to me, your welcome to put your art, be it words, images, or 3d rendered objects anywhere you want, but in the end your paying someone to 'let you' be creative. Put your art in a free community where it can be cherished by everyone free of charge. You should be getting paid for your work, not the other way around. When you do what you love the money comes anyway.

[xilliah]

My girlfriend and me are creative and we earned tons of money with SL, and still do. I have to mention that a lot of stuff in SL doesn't look very good, and that is why it doesn't compete with the real pros (who are constantly competing). There is no way those people could earn money in any company doing creative things. Except maybe Microsoft.

[malachitransfer]

How did you earn money with SL? Did you see it as some kind of advertising outlet for some other medium you had outside of the game? I don't understand how you could actually 'make' money with it if you didn't source something outside of the game. I'm curios to no more.

[xilliah]

We just worked our asses off for a few months and when we found the right techniques we decided to invest in a server. Then it only got better. She now lives from the money 100%, and I stopped because I wanted to study, which I am paying with the money I earned in SL.

[malachitransfer]

Wait... so you make money the same way Linden Labs does. That's what your saying. Instead of paying Linden for a server you now get your own, and like Linden did you now make money by back packing off of the peoples creativity just like I described Linden as doing. Right, which in my book makes you no better.

Point. People in second life are PAYING to be creative and Linden Labs is piggy backing on that creativity. It's like saying a record label is necessary to make record albums. It's not.

[malachitransfer]

I'm happy for your benefits and all, but I just simply do not believe in making a creative individual PAY me for his or her right to be creative. Even if it's via an interactive medium. It's wrong. It to me, is the same thing as stealing, they are like a record label to me. They're an unecessary middle man. All your paying for is programming and server space but what they're doing is thriving on the communities creativity and not their own. To me that's absolutely criminal.

[malachitransfer]

I would sooner choose to put all of my creative content somewhere free then pay to have a place to show it off because there are lots of places which are available. Second Life just happens to be the ones advertising themselves and making the sales.

[xilliah]

Are you a retard or something? There are thousands of servers in SL where you can build whatever you want without ever paying a dime, because people are generous. And we own 4 sims that we completely filled up by ourselves, and people come to us and pay for those products because they like our style and productivity. You're just crazy I think.

[malachitransfer]

What the fuck man? Name calling? Dude grow up. All I was doing was voicing my opinion, and no I wasn't aware that there were servers not controled by Linden Labs where such was available. Usually crap like that is ILLEGAL. They're called PRIVATE servers. THey exist for numerous high population density games, like WoW, which technically aren't allowed to exist by matter of the publishers Disclaimer. I simply expected the same of Linden. So why don't you take your attitude and shove it?

[malachitransfer]

Further more I don't think you understand why I believe people paying someone else to be creative is bullshit. Linden Lab's is just a middle man. I don't think ANYONE should collect money from someone just so that person can be creative within that individual's medium.

[xilliah]

Yea I agree. And food should be free too! And they aren't illegal, they are owned by those people and maintained by LL.

[wasimsworld]

And also the idea that the memory works better from image rather than from text lists or links is not his idea and it is nothing new either. Anyone who has heard of "Tony Buzan" will have heard of concepts like 'Mind Mapping' or 'Spider Diagrams' to help improve memory and better association. These were concepts explaining the same memory techniques that this guy is talking about. He has turned already known concepts into a beleivable world by persuasion inviting people into it. Good idea !!

[wasimsworld]

He used the example of shopping at the Amazon site that we can't turn to someone and ask them about a the product incase they've bought it and used it, like you can in the virtual world, ....... BUT ....... you CAN ! You can write a review on it & read other peoples reviews so to me personally i don't want to turn to a virtual, 'somebody' and waste time playing around in grpahics crap when ALL I want to do is buy one simple product and get off the internet.

[contekkst]

what an annoying talk. The guy did infomercials before he became an innovator?? That would be my guess

[lumpfish99]

rubbish....

[1schwererziehbar1]

oh my god i can't believe that.

second life was such a scam.

if the fucking corporate media would have yet been dead by then we wouldn't even have heared of that shit. only idiots reported about it and only idiots signed up at it. and the biggest idiots baught their fake money for real money and that's where the company got their money from.

[closedmouth]

lol second life

[jmacx2334]

jdmrsearch, I agree."This is the problem when businesspeople try to talk as intellectuals... in the end, this guy is just trying to sell his product."

[Exestenz]

The people walk like robots and the only places I was able to find were empty malls that people afk camp at for money or strip bars where chicks attatch 20 inch dicks and hump dog people.

No ty.

[kalamari13]

You gotta find a good community in SL.

It's just most people tend to not realize how big the game is and are generally too lazy to find a good community ingame. I found several fun places with great people.

And about the "walking like a robot" part, there's Animation Overiders you can get for cheap that makes your walking, running, jumping, etc. animation differently and more realistic.

I hate when people bash on this game when they barely game it a chance.

[AmaijCosmos]

anyone who hasn`t been inworld has absolutely NO idea about sl. so why judging it? cause you are afraid about what? ;)

don`t even think to compare it with WoW or others, if you got the concept right.

and if you are able to think in potentials, you will know why people meet inworld to make a difference in real life.

[crazybear123]

Good Speech..

[themishkin]

The whole "social networking" aspect of games like SL, WoW, Warhammer and all the others is just a copout for people who don't want to socialize in person. The games give people a way of getting around their insecurities whether they are physical or social, real or perceived, and only help them hide from dealing with their own problems. Hiding behind an avatar and conversing in a dynamic chat room isn't a healthy way to spend the majority of your time.

[Fusbun]

What if it's how a person chooses to spend their time?

I'm not a good speaker, I prefer talking online then in-person.

[gotilk]

People said the same things about the telephone. Rubbish. Fear based, mostly. Partly just a misunderstanding of the the purpose, partly a lack of understanding of social ideas.

[Brandtalones]

This guy lost me on his "home renovations." I'm the father of a Wunderkind and he's a fast reader, fast learner. Great.

But as talented as he may be with a soldering iron and an X-acto knife, he shall not muddle with the doors of the house.

What kind of father was that? "Oh, sure son, take my sawzall to those pesky joists. They were only in my way anyway"... Sheesh!

[gotilk]

Wow. Way to spark the creative imagination in kids. Glad you're not my dad.

[Brandtalones]

Yeah, I'm a real downer. But you might step up with something in the way of a defense for slicing and dicing at something as elementally sound as the "door concept."

Q. Why do that? That's what I'd like to know. When the cost for potential repairs might grow exponentially, I see no sense in granting a youngster such power, a power which is essentially more of a grab for influence in the household rather than for an investigation of true innovation. Twas a fast grabbing of tools...

[nnabiollahi]

I couldn't watch the whole talk,

the thing is I consider myself problematic in social relations (with girls) , but I have great relations with boys,

anyway, the thing is I found 2nd life so lame, to waste time in! and I was surprised seeing how people liked and came to the place often!

[jdmresearch]

By far, the most disappointing "talk" here at Ted Talks. This is the problem when businesspeople try to talk as intellectuals... in the end, this guy is just trying to sell his product.

[srudlak]

sl is bs. play wow or war or get a life.

sl is dumb and useless.

[tmcthree]

I LOATH second life.

People paying real money for virtual land, and we wonder why the world's in financial crisis.

Not to mention the fact that 30,000 people per day die because of proverty.

[gotilk]

If we all stopped doing everything because poverty exists, poverty would grow. What you're saying makes no logical sense. Without any information-based economy, we'd be in a LOT worse shape than we are now.

[tmcthree]

Did I say stop doing EVERYTHING?

If you think spending thousands of dollars on virtual property is a good way to spend your money, you should visit my Ebay shop. "Crap for fucktards"

We're running a special on bags of air.

[gotilk]

Wall Street is more do-nothing for-nothing than Second Life will ever be. If I spent thousands of dollars on virtual property, I'd shoot myself before the end of the day. But I'll see if I can get the concept across to you. You mentioned sales of virtual land and then mentioned poverty. It's a goofball argument. Did you buy gas today? BUT..people are starving. Did you eat? But!! BUT! See what I mean now? Dumb thinking.

and.. DID I SAY YOU SAID IT?? No.

I said IF... I F !

Try to keep up.

[tmcthree]

"If I spent thousands of dollars on virtual property, I'd shoot myself before the end of the day"

Is that a promise?

"Wall Street is more do-nothing for-nothing than Second Life will ever be."

LOL you're not an economist you're a MORON!

"and.. DID I SAY YOU SAID IT?? No."

If you didn't imply I said it then...

"If we all stopped doing everything because poverty exists, poverty would grow."

...is an even more idiotic statement because it's a statement of the fucking obvious.

[gotilk]

Without any info-based economy in the US right now, what would we be stuck with? Prisons built on farmland? Homes foreclosed? Car makers that haven't been making cars people need for decades bailed out to go right back to doing what they did before? Scoff at "virtual" all you want, but it puts real food on tables. And the ones I know making a living off it still OWN their homes. So stick those facts where you will ,smart guy. Besides, most economics are based on illusion and perception anyway.

[tmcthree]

You seem to be suggesting that second life is a shining beacon of the info based economy.

Well its not Google is, you tube, is because they deal in INFORMATION. Second life deals in virtual assets. Computer generated land and houses that you can't live in.

You don't understand because you're an idiot.

[gotilk]

No, you don't understand because you clearly know zero about economics. Not every site or service needs to be google or youtube to be a "shining beacon". Hell, without the dimmer beacons, those two would be in big trouble. Google aggregates, creates almost nothing except tools to manipulate the work of others. Not a bad thing, genius in fact, but it's still the case. Youtube is the same. These "shining beacons" do fantastically well because of US.

[gotilk]

And talk about stating the obvious. Google deals in information? ORLY!!?? You ARE a genius. Why don't you go work for Goldman Sachs? Pull out a dollar bill. What's real about it? You can hold it in your hand, sure. But it's just as virtual as anything else economic. Bits? Atoms? There are very few differences anymore and in ways you don't even know about... obviously.

plonk

[tmcthree]

LOL,

My point was that Google deals in information AS OPPOSED to Second life. Which you claim is part of the information economy, which it isn't. It deals in what economists call "utility".

My argument is that the utility is grossly over-vaule because of idiots like you who know the price of everything and the value of nothing.

What you spend your money on matters. That is how second life (not gas or food) is related to poverty. Overvauled utility, like this and gambling is WASTE.

[gotilk]

He means "overvalued" and "valued", but he was in such a spitting rage over being so completely wrong (maybe it doesn't happen often?) he didn't even take a second look at what he was typing, let alone what he was thinking about.

But as for second life not being a part of what you see as the "information economy" is one of the dumbest things ever typed on youtube or anywhere. And this is after considering things like ..

"O LOL I SAW THE DRK NGHT N the JKR was the BMB YO 2 BAD HE DIDE lol" sad

[jasonlajoie]

This concept has a sensible application for engineers or doctors or designers of any kind who could congregate on line to work together on projects...but for socializing it just seems pathetic.

[Ahimsastriving]

Nonsese.

[GaddingImp]

Second Life has already been talked to death. Personally, I'm tired of hearing about its novelty.

He does bring up something interesting about users simultaneously interacting. What if users could interact with each other on every webpage? That certainly would make the internet more personal and reduce some the anonymity that creates trolls.

[Crazee108]

But some people are attracted to the anonymity factor though... they like being not "known".

[Arghira]

so stupid

[extion]

I agree with everyone that's saying second life sucks. I agree, the idea of a "virtual world" is awesome, but, it's going to be these schmucks creating it.

[DSBrekus]

lame

[owling9]

Extremely interesting and informative.

[sponki]

Second Life is soo overrated and getting way to much attention.

[tillo2008]

i can see why you'd say that, but Second Life is a great game for a variety of gamers from role players to builders to advertisers, or just people that want to socialize from their living room.

Personally, I prefer more adrenaline-based games but SL still has value

[BoozyBeggar]

Dude looks like a 60 year old lesbian.

[InsectRoyalty]

The future of distraction.

[freedomnow2012]

Welcome to the Matrix.

[ratholin]

I mean twitter is what 2 years old run by 25 guys and has a couple million users and is growing exponentially.

[homerthompsonman]

Technology usually doesn't "share" very well. It usually allows one person to get a leg up on another.

And I don't remember having to pay to walk into any mall, nor can I imagine that I would if any was willing to charge.

[ratholin]

any site that thinks a few years is early to develope a culture and only has 250k users is a dying site.

[robshred66]

Market Anarchy. Maybe we'll be convinced of this in the real world when we see the acceleration with which this virtual world will progress . . . and, of course, when the state fails, as it does.

[jjmm112]

clever cunt that preyed upon stupid "sheep"-ruined the live`s of socially inept/retarded people=conman.................­...

[Darthwillburr]

Second life is not TED worthy

[celshader]

It is. Not because of what it is but because of what things like 2nd life will lead to. Such as a full 3D Ecommerce platform.

[Truthiness231]

"3D Ecommerce platform" As in a 3D shopping center? They've been done before, there is currently a new generation that just hit the market, and NONE of them have been successful (probably because 2D format shopping, such as what people do on Amazon, is faster/doesn't require an extra program+video card on old machines/less clunky/people like to shop online because they DON'T have to move/ect.)

[Truthiness231]

Actually, a thought just occurred to me: a "3D eCommerce platform" is the oldest living system in the world. I like to call it "reality". Believe it or not, in your town or one close by there is a place called a "mall" where they put various 3D shops in one place for people to browse and buy things with either cash or credit card (not many accept PayPal though, which might seem strange to some shoppers...).

Yeah, I'm being a sarcastic bastard now ^.^

[ratholin]

right truthi, I tried second life it was fun but, I couldn't even consider actually spending real money in a virtual 3D environment just seems kind of dim. I use the internet as a whole to research products find the best price and order through secure channels. Turning shopping into a video game doesn't really appeal to people who like their real life. But I guess there are people who want to go to a virtual store so they can have more time with their vr girlfriend maybe raise some VR kids.

[Darthwillburr]

Its just a lame social network full of weirdos.

nobody wants to take a virtual walk in a virtual mall. its boring...Compared to Warcraft and Unreal, people want Entertainment, fantasy, sci-fi shoot em ups. I don't think shopping is very fun for this demographic, unless your a materialistic 14 year old who lacks the self esteem and social skill to go to a real mall.

[Fusbun]

Boring... in your opinion. But you should learn to respect that other people have other interests. I don't play Second Life but I don't make it my business to tell people what they should do in their spare time.

[Darthwillburr]

I didn't tell anyone to do anything.... But by looking at the current market trends we can see that people from 16 to 36 are interacting in the games and environments I mentioned.

Virtual malls are BORING

[1schwererziehbar1]

i think the main reason why people sign up to second life is because the corporate media told them that this shit is the newes and coolest thing ever on the internet. it's *so* web 2.0, you know? so this leads to total idiots that want to be hip to sign up for that shit and buy fake money for real money.

[Alien7ntel]

what an interesting fellow...

[TheWiseCommenter]

what happened to high quality?

[AiresQX4]

Just imagine the disassociation people will have with eachother. I think it's already bad with TV and computer time taking up so many peoples lives! For example the majority of people know more about celebrities than the bill of rights and the constitution.. Theres a huge amount of Americans that can't even find America on a map!! WTF! Thats disgusting and it's growing!

A country of decadent,arrogant,ignorant,slo­bs! Caroll Quigley wrote about it!

[ViolaeGM]

This talk basiclly told me everything I already knew, and 2nd life sucks.

Reason? Commericalism.

maybe furries too, but thats a different topic.

[CaRC1n0g3n]

over 2/3 of Second Life's population are sexual deviants and furries.

[InciteTheFight]

really? I thought it was moopy vampires and bots

[ViolaeGM]

I know, like myself, lololololol

[sixpackspy]

seriously? this is a ted-talk?

this talk angers me...seriously, how does second life improve the world, or a person's life for that matter? isn't that what Ted stands for?

and if people are going to live "a 2nd life", they are going to be a warrior fighting dragons in world of warcraft.

I'm not a huge fan of WoW, but I wouldn't mind hearing blizzard give a talk about the concepts of World of Warcraft (economic system, reasons behind design, etc). Now that would be interesting!

[Lihinel]

Actually, TED stands for TechnologyEntertainmentDesign, or something like that, not improving the world, or a person's life for that matter, though in principle the two can go hand in hand.

[Icix1]

So wait, you object to 2nd Life being a TED talk, but you wouldn't mind if blizzard gave a talk? I have to say that 2nd life is a much, much better topic for TED than WoW, because 2nd Life has a much broader social view. WoW is large and social, but very strict and contained. Everything that is done is done in the context of the Warcraft world. It is a game, first and foremost. 2nd life is more subtle than just a video game. It has implications that are far reaching and hard to predict.

[Truthiness231]

I'd argue that it's TED worthy, but yeah I'd also have to agree that the Blizzard team would be just as qualified considering how they've changed their genre and their fiscal success (or how about Richard Garrett or Mayimoto? That makes more sense than anything in light of this vid).

Although Second Life practically died a long time ago... sad how long TED takes getting these up sometimes, like after something has died (figuratively; one can still log in and see what once was... bleh).

[xenoxwolp]

The difference between Blizzard and Linden Labs is that the former only took a preexisting genre, applied their own franchise on it and cut off the corners to make it more casual-gamer friendly while the latter created something completely different and new (which is part of the reason it has so many flaws, the whole concept is borderline insane considering the amount of data involved)

[Truthiness231]

And which one made the bigger profit? ^.^ (WoW is still going, Diablo III is going to at least rival the record for game sales... and the corporate backers of SL are running faster than a Californian during fire season)

I'd still be wondering why they chose Bliz over Mayimoto or Garrett, unless they were asked first and declined (possible; I know for certain that Richard is busy right now, what with space and all...).

[Truthiness231]

And SL was sooo a game: the only elements one could say were not game-like were the advertisements, which were statistically worse than any other form of advertisement in modern times. That and it was tied to real money and there wasn't a main goal (sandbox play/virtual 3D chatroom), and there were other MMOs that beat them to that, too (Project Entropia comes to mind).

[Truthiness231]

And if their only claim to fame is "creativity in an MMO", look back at the old houses of early Ultima Online. People went out of their way to use the engine's item stacking to build all sorts of crazy creative things in their home. For some reason aquariums were common, usually made from various cloths stacked on top of one another and then fish added on that, giving the illusion of fish. Granted, it wasn't planned, but it did exist.

[xenoxwolp]

Because popularity clearly is the same as quality, that's why fast food is the best food known to mankind. Like you said, games like Ultima online had intricate housing systems, other MMOs have at least similar stuff (EQ2 for example, where a whole profession exists to create more or less useless furniture). WoW...not so much.

SL just isn't a game. The way I always describe it is IRC+LEGO. Many have tried to imitate it but they forget the second part and end up with unpopular 3D chat rooms.

[sixpackspy]

I actually like like your comparison of SL to IRC+Lego. And you are right, quality is independant from popularity.

That means something can be both, or neither. I argue WoW is both because it has good graphics, interesting economy, addicting gameplay, and an expanding community. I also argue that SL has little of each, since it has crappy graphics, probably a better economy and similar addiction, but a shrinking community. Also,1 more thing

[sixpackspy]

I just felt that these "innovative" concepts (which are interesting) could have been explained in 5 minutes.

He didn't need another 25 minutes to pump up his game. ITS A GAME! FFS, ITS A GAME! people play this, and the people inside who "design objects" aren't contributing to society. A real interesting talk would be a computer program that cures eyesight problems, or provides virtual training. And no, this isn't the same, and those things don't require a "gateway medium" like this.

[Icix1]

I can't wait for graphics to get so good that I can't tell reality from fantasy.

[sixpackspy]

oh no, that concept has already been done. i think its called life, you should get one.

[Icix1]

....thats not the point

The fact is that I would want to do things in a virtual world not possible in reality, but it would have such good graphics that it would mimic reality very closely.

[sixpackspy]

i can definately see the benefits in something like this, especially for medical purposes, training, or even simulating life experiences.

i just thought it was funny that you said you are looking forward to a more realistic version of 2nd life, which, at its pinnacle, would still pale in comparison to real life.

i really think you should stop waiting for second life, because as far as entertainment value goes, the prequel is way better.

[alackofoxygen89]

this just makes me think about a stone age version of the matrix

[kurleyfries93]

Second Life? Are you FUCKING kidding me?

[georgemargaris]

right on! Maybe now one can buy speak-time in TED-Talks

[popeyroach]

second life is representitive of a change in society. this belongs at TED

[1schwererziehbar1]

second life is representative of idiots invading the internet.

i agree with georgemargaris. and the next video "reinventing the car" is not much more than an commercial. something stinks here.

[popeyroach]

"idiots invading the internet"...

the internet can;t be invaded, it consists of its users.

i;d say your last comment is quite representitive of you as a person

[Truthiness231]

Actually, I'd concur with the past-tense form of that fragment: "idiots invaded the internet long ago"

Otherwise, you're just bringing up an issue of semantics.

[pakratmak]

Fascinating stuff.

[Lihinel]

All nice and well, but sadly it seems to be not much more than a 3D chatroom with some neat features and community created content at the momment.

Though I guess it'll really be interesting as soon as the technologies get a couple thousand to million times more powerful.

So 15-25 years it is?

Oh and:

AR + Foglets > VR

[dreamdimensions]

that's the notion, however this is driven by people who don't bother remembering their dreams. If they were aware they could go on nightly voyages through the galaxies they wouldn't bother with this stuff.

[kurtilein3]

lihinel:

to put it very simple: to create an utopia, you dont need to simulate everything down to the level that dirt starts collecting on the floor.

[Lihinel]

kurtilein3:

to put it a bit more complicated:

Oh yes, you do need to.

Or at least, you need the raw computation power to be able to do it, even if you use it for other purposes.

Like physics simulations in semi-instanced areas, object destructibility, real time translation and voice/sound synthesis, simulation of the sensory input like touch, smell, temperature & moisture of objects.

And of course, NPC AI, they don't need to pass a Turing test, but they would have to be far better than today.

[kurtilein3]

lihinel:

i still disagree. most of the things you describe can be done by the community, can be implemented as user-generated content. the server only needs to provide a 3-dimensional map and textures for you to get voice/sound synthesis, acoustic mapping, dynamic lighting, better physics engines can be implemented locally by commited users, ...

all of this can be done today. no problem. it will be good enough. you would need a far better computer at home, if you want more.

[Lihinel]

Now, if I could only see were you really disagree here, it would be fine.

Seriously, you need by far better technologies in form of computation and interface.

There is just no way you can do all this stuff in real time today, heck, most of our buisness technologies in those fields don't even come close to good.

In part for a lack of software, but mostly because of a lack of computation power, thats all there is, and those won't be solveable without that, which is all I stated.