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The Virtual Whirl: A brief history of Second Life, the middle years
This week, we cover the second installment of our summarized history of Second Life and Linden Lab (or check out part one, if you missed it). From 2005, there's an impossible amount of material to cover, but there are some interesting stories lurking among it all. Join us as we work our way through some of the interesting highlights from 2005, 2006 and 2007.
Forbes writer ignores bigger story to make insult
In an article titled 'Second Life Deathwatch: Star Trek Reenactments', a quote is pulled from a Technology Review story about the Ginko Financial debacle, the point of which seems merely to be to imply that enjoying Star Trek reenactments somehow confers loser status to the subject.First of all, your hobbies, the activities you enjoy, are entirely your own. It's not for anyone to stand at a distance and point a finger and laugh -- believe me, everyone does something someone else will find worth of ridicule, but so what? The things that make us happy, make us wise. Believe me, there's much more than just Star Trek in Second Life, too -- I was able to find Star Wars roleplay, Silent Hill roleplay, Final Fantasy 7 roleplay ... there aren't links for those, you just have to find them in-world by searching. But instead of celebrating 'IDIC', the writer goes for the obvious gag.Second, is this really what Forbes considers a substantial article these days? The article linked to is a much more important document, bearing import for more than just virtual worlds. The writer missed an opportunity to say something a bit more than 'Ha ha, look at the geeks!'Third, how is this an indicator of the 'eventual decline of Second Life'? There's one comment at the end of this post that sums it up well: 'Here's a hint, if you don't like SL then stay in RL, and leave those of us who enjoy it alone. There is nothing worse that critics who sit on the sidelines ridiculing everyone else who is having a good time.' Oh, and by the way, nothing says 'professional' better than a photo of yourself wearing a t-shirt, really. This article, if you can call it that, is nothing short of insulting, both to its subject and to its audience. You need to do better than this, Forbes.
WSE issues again
Those of you who are following over from Second Life Insider will know that the Worlds Stock Exchange (WSE) has a long and spotty history. Including being hacked, announcements that criticise the system vanish, there are some odd seeming deals done, and the whole set up is, apparently, questionable at best under Australian Law.The latest part of the saga: Midas Bank has invested a chunk of its money in Hope Capital Bonds and Hope Capital, the owner of WSE has defaulted on payments worth over L$650,000, which is making Midas Bank struggle with a cash flow crisis. Last time we had one of those, Ginko Financial collapsed. Midas Commons, CEO of Midas Bank, proposed a boycott of WSE until such time as their due payments are made - a situation met with some support from other customers in this state. Given the previous history it is little surprise to find there are no announcements about Hope Capital Bonds not paying, but all the Midas Group stocks are suspended with a one line "pending an important announcement" statement. Where will this particular cash flow crisis end up, anyone care to guess?[Via SLReports]
