3pointD Meetup Taking Shape for 10/22 in SL
The 3pointD meetup we’ve been planning to hold in the virtual world of Second Life on October 22 (at 5:00pm SL time) is beginning to take shape. There have been plenty of great comments on the various aspects of metaversal sustainability that we could discuss, and at least 15 people have RSVP’d. (If you’re interested in attending, please leave your SL name in the comments here, or Instant Message me in-world.) The meetup will take place in the new Dirty sim that 3pointD is now occupying along with Johnny Ming and a few other similarly nefarious types, so we should have room for plenty of flapping gums. I’ve given a bit more thought to what / how we might discuss, and how to end up with some material we can post on 3pointD for all the world to ponder, all of which you’ll find after the jump.
The original idea for the meetup came out of a post I made here a while back on futuring and sustainability, so this first 3pointD meetup will focus on that subject. As commenters have illustrated, though, that’s pretty broad / vague, so our first order of business will be to float some ideas about just what sustainability means in the context of virtual worlds specifically (leaving aside broader questions of other 3D online technologies for the moment). Following that we’ll try to flesh out the concepts and maybe even come up with some projects that we can take on or promote.
There’s enough room in Dirty for people who want to talk about other topics to break off into their own groups, which would be totally cool. I’ll try to stay with the sustainability track, for which I’m posting a tentative schedule of events below. I’m figuring on the event lasting about an hour or two. If anyone wants to run a different track, post in the comments here. (One note: I want to make this a public meeting, so if you show up, just keep in mind that your contributions may show up on 3pointD at some point in the future — or on the blog of anyone else that attends, for that matter!)
Here’s a tentative schedule for jawboning about VW sustainability:
5:00pm — arrive, meet, greet, rez plywood boxes onto heads
5:10pm — brief welcoming remarks from Yours Truly
5:15pm — Discussion: The Many Facets of Virtual World Sustainability (30 min.)
Everyone in turn has a chance to bring up and briefly explore anything they think relates to virtual world sustainability. Some things that have already been suggested:
•running a green grid
•fostering a healthy community (whatever “healthy” may mean)
•maintaining the infrastructure over a long period
•recording places and events for posterity
•scalebility of SL as a ‘platform’
•What vital need do virtual worlds fill?
•What aspects of the space draw people to them and is it more than just passing fancy?
•What can you do better with a shared enviroment like a virtual world?
5:45pm — We’ll take a quick straw poll in which everyone lists three ideas they’d like to push forward over upcoming months. These could be SL builds or groups, new applications or Web sites, practices that should be promoted or discouraged, anything you like. I’ll rank the ideas based on how many times each was mentioned.
6:00pm — Actions Plans (30 min.)
We self-select into breakout groups to discuss how best to promote the top few ideas we listed just previously. Start by nominating one person in the group to make a presentation on the plan of action you come up with.
6:30pm — We gather again and each group presents its plan of action on how best to promote their chosen aspect of VW sustainablity. I’ll save the chat logs from this section and sum up later on 3pointD so we can get even more people involved.
After that, we just chat until our avatars’ jawbones get tired — or the grid crashes, whichever comes first.
How’s that all sound? I’m looking forward to it, and there’s definitely still room in the sim, so let me know if you’re interested in attending. See you then.
Feeds
Am very interested in attending as an observer, but am not sure what I could contribute as someone who is relatively new to SL.
I am particularly interested in methods of promotion for creative arts in-world and the development of collaborations within the SL creative communit and will pass this on to a couple of people on my friends list who might be able to contribute to a greater degree. Thanks for putting this on :)
Sounds like a dream Mark.
Hi Mark,
I’d like to apply,
I am french, beta resident and active in those time of internationalization of sl. I am communicating a lot in the french media and i got really interested in the way Second Life is seen by those who never heard of it, like a blank sheet from today facts. This raise a good thing and a bad thing,
the good thing is that Second Life is seen as the closest approach to Internet 3D, which is good and appealling,
The bad thing is that Internet 2D is mostly ‘inunhabited’, and to the rl marketers, Internet 3D can mean, IE window with depth. That leads to the respect and the use of the residents of sl, creatives or not. In the absence (or lack) of gouvernement in Second Life, it is interesting to raise some social point side to side to economical and technical matters. Especially if rl companies massivelly inject money and contents in SL.
I wonder if this post stands for apply, if not can u post where 2 ?
thank you :D
Nick Rhodes
Nick, Aki: no applications are necessary and observers are welcome. You’re in.
Walker, I dunno, should I come to Brooklyn? I’m not sure I have all my shots. Could I come online instead?
Hi, I’d like to attend. My SL name is Mohegan Sun. Thanks!
Mark, Miller Copeland here, editor-in-chief of “In The Grid” magazine. Just wanted to let you know I’ll be there as well.
Mark// I’m catching up a bit late, but at least I got on board before Sunday. Anyway, while Prokofy Neva frames a compelling argument (in the comments on your site) on sustainability based on world resource allocation and behavior within the community, she stops short in reference to the impact of these worlds on those same communities (”people really do need permanence,” or “…they need prims to make structures that look more real”). At the same time she aptly describes the essential physical substance of these worlds (”streaming ephemera constantly changing…”), she doesn’t believe that those qualities can actually form their material composition.
I think that sustainability is absolutely dependent on the emergence of “streaming ephemera” as a true media or material of the world’s fabrication. This will incur necessary mutations of its spatial fabric. It is through the emergence of the metaverse-as-a-media that synthetic worlds will be able to radicalize their uniqueness and develop an adequate spatial expression based on these new materials. Their habitation will depend on the emergence of the psycho-spatial perceptive capabilities adapted to “feel(ing) comfortable.” The sustainability of virtual worlds is only possible if they exert enough disruptive force on real life, marking their difference while ensuring their influence. This force will come from their development as viable social and economic environments emanating from a spatially coherent material foundation.
Anyway, I’ll try to be there on Sunday.
>It is through the emergence of the metaverse-as-a-media that synthetic worlds will be able to radicalize their uniqueness and develop an adequate spatial expression based on these new materials. Their habitation will depend on the emergence of the psycho-spatial perceptive capabilities adapted to “feel(ing) comfortable.”
Prokofy is he.
Gosh, not only do I need to touch up my immunizations to get on the subway, I need to bring some vinegar to cut through the fatty metaversal rhetoric…
ty Mark ^^
He is Prokofy… mille excuses.
hi,
I’m editor on www.JeuxVideoPC.com, France’s #3 video games online press website (more than 50,000 readers a day). I will be glad to be observer on the meeting.
Thanks,
Fractal.
See you there, mon!
Jamie Margulis, novice reporter, shall attend. As a fly on the wall, of sorts.
3pointD Meetup Today…
The 3pointD meetup is planned for today at 5PM PST(SL Time). The idea is to get a buch of people who are interested in the metaverse and virtual worlds together all at once and share their thoughts on metaverse sustainability, mash it all up and come u…
I’ll be there Mark. I may be a few minutes late - guess I’ll plan to come with a box pre-rezzed.
Is there still room for one more? I’d like to attend.
sure!