Sucked in by Second Life

As Vanessa so eloquently put it in her summary blog posting, I've been sucked in by Second Life, leaving most of the blog and discussion board responsibilities on hold until today. I've also been sucked in by Wikispaces, where half of my Produsage 1 assignment currently resides. I realize what I've done (or am still doing as of this morning) is probably overkill, but I wanted to build something that would not only introduce people to Second Life, but would also entice them to stay and play a while, keeping the project alive well into the future.

I remember watching Max Headroom back in the late 80's and then a few years later The Lawnmower Man (both the original and the sequel) and thinking how great it would be to be able to live in "cyberspace" and experience true virtual reality. Of course, at that point I didn't realize that I would be wandering around, years later, in a virtual world, creating 3-D effect of my own for my classmates to enjoy. The computer has certainly changed our lives, especially since the Internet became a public place to hang out and develop.

In reading Shirkey and Bruns, I am amazed at the evolution and revolution that Web 2.0 has encited. Each time I read a new account of a woman getting her cellphone back or a couple of people building a new online encyclopedia database or of citizens staging a protest by eating ice cream or smiling in the public square, I am reminded that we take those possibilities for granted everyday, even though many people my age saw the technology develop throughout our lifetimes. For children today, the technologies seem as though they've always existed, as if Fred and Barney were text-messaging Wilma and Betty over the Astrodon Tyrannosarus and Triceratop Network (AT&T for those who aren't paying attention :).

Three weeks into the class and I've been moved by what I've learned so far. I knew all this stuff existed and I use much of it everyday without this class, but I never looked at it all under the microscope of academics. Web 2.0 is an amazing tool with which I look forward to becoming a skilled craftsman.