I downloaded and installed Second Life last Monday. My avatar is named "Alife Iwish". This took some thinking, while I was allowed to put in my own first name, I only had a limited selection of last names to choose from. After trying to take some names that were already taken (like Miles Sideways), "Alife Iwish" just sounded right to me. It runs on my computer, but very slowly. While I'll use it now and again, I probably won't get as immersed in it as some people have. Which is really unfortunate, since I could see how something like Second Life and the metaverse had been foreseen by works like Neal Stephenson's "Snow Crash", published all the way back in 1992. In that book, there were also events in this metaverse, you could own your own house if you want, but this was only a part of an epic story. I recommend reading it if you're a sci-fi fan.
Anyway, thanks to Gamepolitics.com for this. I'll occasionally post on the unique events and situations that happen in Second Life. This afternoon, on the steps of the virtual Capital Hill in Second Life, former Speaker of the House and possible presidential candidate Newt Gingrich spoke to a crowd of 50 avators. Things like this are just really cool. I see a lot of potential, especially for presidential candidates who want to get close to potential voters, in a way that just isn't possible in televised debates or 20,000 dollar a plate fund-raising dinners. And it's always a pleasure to hear Gingrich speak. While I don't agree with a fair deal of what he says, and think he was an utter hypocrite when it came to the Clinton scandal, he always makes valid points and you end up learning a lot.
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