Second Life … a Ghost Town?

Today, when I was riding home from work, I heard this commentary by Andrew Wallenstein on National Public Radio … an editorial on the “tweeting” craze now incorporating itself into pop culture, particularly into television programming.

The message: these fad social networking tie-ins never work.  Their proof?

A few years back, the networks embraced Second Life, three-dimensional virtual communities that allowed fans to congregate online. Everyone from CSI to The L Word rushed into this space. Then, after the initial hoopla, TV left Second Life a ghost town.

TV left SL a ghost town?  Really?

Considering that this particular social network relies on its participants to do more than type out something in less than 140 characters (we have to spend actual money for anything other than a “newbie” virtual experience), Second Life is hardly disappearing into the weathering desert winds.  TV was involved to a certain extent in its early success — mostly because of news programs trumpeting its potential and exponential growth at the time, but it certainly wasn’t created or even enhanced by network TV entertainment programming.  And, while the rise is no longer meteoric, it continues to improve month after month, with concurrency breaking records quite frequently.  According to Neilson Games, SL was the second top PC game title for April 2009.  Residents spent 120 million USD in virtual goods and services last quarter … enough to have built half of that infamous “Bridge to Nowhere.”  Again … 120 million USD in Q1 of 2009.   For those interested in that little business term called growth, that’s 64% better than same quarter last year … and during a world recession.  Still writing the obit, NPR?

This is not to say Second Life hasn’t had it’s troubles.  When gambling and banking were banned, our markets were affected, especially with the former.  But, these were issues endemic to Second Life … in fact, the statistics (linked above) prove that the Second Life economy has barely noticed the recession we’re all experiencing now in real life.

The problem that Wall Street and Hollywood have had with Second Life isn’t that our community isn’t a viable social network, or a viable business market … it’s just that these business gurus haven’t spent enough time in our community to figure out what are markets are.  People don’t log into Second Life to find out what’s happening on CSI, to shop at Best Buy, or to guzzle Coca-Cola … we log on to experience something completely different than real life and traditional amusements can provide, and … *gasp* … we are willing to pay for it.  SL residents dump more than $35 million every month buying virtual clothing, living in virtual mansions in increasingly well-designed communities … all of it made by other residents, some of whom actually make a living by providing these items and real estate.

So, what’s the best thing Wall Street and Hollywood could learn about SL?  Stop trying to make our virtual world a portal for their real markets.  If they want a piece of the action, then they can provide the virtual goods we’re spending millions on already …  and not just a new way to sell reality shows, root beer, and refridgerators.

Meriken Boy

Yeah … it’s hot as hell out there, but that’s no reason to let fashion linger in the shadows.  Get it out of the closet … and  do it than with some of the great new things Meriken Co. has for guys this season!

I couldn’t help but pick up everything they had new … the outfit in the top pick was a great bargain … less than 500L for the whole thing*.  Below, I was also able to rack up the savings with two fatpacks … four pair of cotton half pants and four short-sleeve tops for awesome style during these hot and humid days and nights!

Top Photo:
“HNB”  Jacket by Meriken Co.
Half Cotton Pants Black by Meriken Co.
Straw hat Charcoal by Meriken Co.
Thatch Bracelet by Aitui
Sunglasses M6 by Kal Rau
Flip Flop by Kal Rau

Bottom Photo:
Madras Shirt (Green / Blue) by Meriken Co.
Half Cotton Pants (Brown / Basic) by Meriken Co.
Thatch Bracelet, Sunglasses, and flip flops (see above)

*not including accessories by other merchants

Farewell to a Friend

A lot of people judge him, but fewer take the time to try to understand what a genius and beautiful creature Michael Jackson was.  He left an indelible impression on Western pop music … one that will be as great (if not greater) than the ones left by Presley or the Beatles.

He didn’t regurgitate the tastes of the masses … for nearly two decades, he made them.

He was the King of Pop …

… and now the King is dead.

I survived Hair Fair 09

Hello everyone! Hair Fair 09 is here… lots of lag and lots of fun too… so funny to watch how people struggle with lag there, how people panic when the sims are down… The organization is doing their best to provide a low lag HF09 to everyone: advices, red boxes… you can try anything you want, but all the lag of the grid is at those 4 sims now!

So after three visits (4 hours each one, I must say), I finally came up with my selection of the best Male Hair (imho) this year. I have to confess I have been disappointed by some brands, but pleasantly surprised by another: one of the good things about this kind of events is that you find new brands to follow, and even to fall in love with; and I think I have found a few!

So, in addition to the hair I featured on my previous post, these are Aris’ HF09 picks! I hope you like them too!

<3, Aris.

http://slurl.com/secondlife/HF%202009/78/223/28

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Beta%20Business%20Park/195/81/28

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Hair%20Fair%202009/91/182/23

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Hair%20Fair/166/135/28

Unlisted

Friendships … In SL, they’re as loving, precarious, loyal, superfiscial, unconditional, awe-inspiring and forgettable as they are in real life.  No two of them are alike, and despite the pixels we hide behind, our unique humanity makes them all as beautiful and ugly as each of us are inside.

In our virtual world, they are valued by placement on our “friends list” — that telecommunication board that enables us to talk to anyone we wish to remember for all the reasons of business or pleasure there are in Second Life; and sometimes on “our picks,” that place in our profile meant for favorite places, but often used for favorite people, or to memorialize special moments of virtual living in real time.

Because of the very real feelings that people have toward each other in Second Life, that “list” has a very emotional value placed on it by many who spend a good deal of time logged on.  When we want to share something we saw or heard or experienced, we’re often moved to click our “communicate” button to share.  And, on rare occasions, we’ll pop up that list to share with a friend or acquaintance … only to find that they’re no longer there.

That’s happened to me a couple of times recently; and both times, it stung a little, but tapered off quickly to just a feeling of curious amusement.  Neither were people I spoke to with any frequency, and with the last one, I just laughed it off and went about my business.  With the first … I IM’d him immediately to find out what had happened.

“We never talk,” he said, without elaborating.

“Uhm, okay.” I replied, knowing he was lying.  Never apparently included a few weeks prior when he had popped in my store, and we shared a conversation for about half an hour about things in our lives and in the real world.  The real truth — I discovered later — was that he had recently split with the friend we shared in common, the person I was introduced to him by.

The second one was a similar case … a friend of a friend just disappeared from my list.  We had only chatted a few times at clubs and so forth, but he had also been to my home a time or two with our common friend.  This friend-in-between recently asked me to bury the hatchet …

“What hatchet?” I replied.  “I just signed on one day, and he was gone.  I never did anything to him.”

I pressed for more answers, and was told the other guy doesn’t “do fake friends.”

This one floored me.  For starters, I have no delusions of being an SL celebrity, but I am often very, very busy while in world.  At last count, I had over five hundred people on my friends list — I’m not bragging, I’m aware of people with much larger lists.  But … okay … 500 people on a list, and only so many hours a day I can be online.  There’s no way I have time to be cuddle-buddies with each and every one of them — god knows I neglect my close friends on SL to the point I find myself apologizing quite frequently.

But, somehow, being a polite acquaintance to this one was taken as being a disingenuous friend.

Then I recall my own cleansings-of-the-list.  I’ve been on SL for two and a half years; this being my second main avatar.  Up until the last thirteen or fourteen months, I would purge my list completely every time a guy would break my heart.  Reason?  I was leaving Second Life never ever to return … and I wanted them all to know I was leaving … to feel my pain!  Yes … I was a major drama queen back in the day, and a few say that still hasn’t changed.  Well, except for the mass list cleansings and the back-to-back soap opera romances (which have also slowed considerably in the last year … and matured).

That’s not to say I still don’t remove people from time-to-time.  On occasion, I’ll go through the list … and when I see someone I absolutely can’t remember, someone I obviously met once and never followed up with, I’ll look through the profile for any redeemable information.  Is this person a business contact?  A friend of a friend?  If the profile is wiped clean, I’ll usually delete it since the presence of nothing usually means the person has abandoned the account.

And, when personal or business relationships go sour to the point of no redemption — I remove the temptation for either party to throw darts at each other.  Often, weeks later, we’ll kiss and make up later when we see each other at a party … laughing at our ridiculous emotional outbursts, and our paranoid delusions about the other.

But, that’s the new me.  I delete only after careful consideration or with very good cause … because I know how it feels to be on the other end.  But, how harshly can I judge those few immature residents who react with such absolute virulence to slights so obviously perceived?

Not by much.  I wouldn’t like those three fingers pointing back at me.

Comic Book

Hey everyone! Here I am again to share my look for the day, and since geek is the new hot, and having Comicon in San Francisco next month, I decided to go Geeky for today’s post.

What every geek must have is geek glasses, with some tape, of course! I found this amazing glasses at Undo’s store, SHADE THRONE… lots of glasses and accessories there!

I am wearing what will be one of the best-seller hairs in the Hair Fair 09 (starting tomorrow!): a.C STD Jajay Hair! As you can see, the color tip is scripted and the design is fabulous, this hair is already getting a lot of buzz in flickr and the feeds. Oh! And pay attention to the ‘CheerNo’ one once you visit a.C Store stand. It’s even better! By the way, the skin I am wearing is a.C STD Venus Summer, available soon!

The Lookr jacket is one of their last male releases: the design is really different from what we are used to see in male jackets, and the sculpted collar fits perfectly the layer. A really sexy relelase, also available in Black, Blue, Brown, Dark Blue and White, but I decided to go Red, to fullfil the Spidey spirit I wanted to give to this look, thanks to the awesome Spiderman Ice Cream from Reek and the cool Spiderman Tattoo I found at Lucky Inc. with the lovely Tomoyo.

To finish the look, I am wearing these pants I bought at anuenue, which I trully believe are for women – thanks for letting me inspect your prims, Madi xD – and the Tartan Boots I got at M’zs, thanks to moddish, who is always exploring the craziest sims and stalking the weirdest lucky chairs!

Thanks to Tomoyo and Anya Ohmai for allowing me to use their HUGE pose collection!

xoxo,

Aris.

What Aris is wearing

• Eyes: bodyline – eye – wildjungle style 02
• Hair: a.C STD.GloXhair JAJAY TREND Color [Sand dollaR][Coming Soon! - Hair Fair]
• Jacket: LOOKR ~ Wolf ~ Red
• Glasses: [[[SHADE THRONE]]] – KOOL GEEK GLASSES
• Skin: a.C – GloX – Venus Summer [Coming soon!]
• Pants: “anuenue.Loose HalfPants(blue)
• Boots: * M’z Laceup middle boots black *
• Ice Cream: Reek – Spiderman Ice Cream
• Tattoo: *SL* Spidey

Newness from Scarlet Creative

I’ve been a long time fan of Charlotte Bartlett of Scarlet Creative.  So I was excited to see a new build of hers today.  This one is something very different from her usual modern line.  It’s vintage!!   Cracked walls, peeling paints, exposed bricks, rain streaked windows, and water stains all done with meticulous detail.  Sounds a bit grungy yet it still has that ever present dreamy feeling that all her other builds do.

This model is called the Scarlet Driftwood Warehouse.  It’s 302 prims and has a 35m x 35m footprint.  As with all of Scarlet homes it comes with the mind controller for the doors and windows.  Charlotte informed me she’s been working with Penny Dreadful Arcade to make a vintage furniture pack.  This new line will feature items like velour day beds and knit rugs.  These items will be out next week.  However if you buy the Driftwood Warehouse between now and June 13, the furniture pack is yours for free!!!

Speaking of free, Charlotte has a lovely little office building available for those of you looking for a fun little studio getaway pictured above.  This is a great gift for those of you tight on a budget or that collect fab freebies.  It’s available in one of the shops (ScarletCreative, 141, 149, 24).

I couldn’t resist taking more pics as the sims are totally gorgeous, so more pics after the break of some really stellar builds.  -Fi

TP TAXI RIGHT HERE

Shopping Sunday!

Probably one of the best things about SL is the fact that stores don’t close on Sunday, so while everyone was sleeping (hey there timezones ;D), I took a walk around one of the next best shopping areas inworld, GLOOM! and looking cute as I was, I observed the avenues and places for the stores to come.

I am wearing one of last Gritty kitty hairs, Lenin, with headbands and also Gritty Kitty’s sunglasses, both color scripted so you can find tour perfect color match. My eyes are from bodyline, designed by the talented Nedeko Kohime, they are beautiful and very realistic, check them out at her store. I am also wearing shopping bags from a.C store; there are versions with or without forced poses, so you can choose whether to grab the bag gracefully as I do or not. Real men wear shopping bags FYI.

I can’t resist myself to the cuteness of [Pink Fuel] so I was nomming this donut all day long. I am wearing an Aoharu shirt, with their magnificent sculpt collars, and the nicely patterned cardigan from Aitui. I saw these awesome Painter Pants while i was shopping at *Algernon* with my friends Stokely and Tyler that I had to buy them! aren’t they rad? I am even wearing a hammer! The versatile BLITZED belt, the coolest sneakers ever from UBU and ARAI’s daily socks complete the look for the day.

See you inworld! <3

What Aris is wearing

• Eyes: bodyline – eye – wildjungle style 02
• Hair: Gritty Kitty: RUSTY Lenin
• Shirt: AOHARU_BT_SilkFlowerShirt_White
• Bag: a.C – STD.PLASTICBag [FASHIONISTA] M2
• Bag: a.C – STD.PLASTICBag [FASHIONISTA] M1
• Pants: *Alg.* Painter Pants 2009
• Belt: *BLITZED* Classic Belt
• Socks: *ARAI* Daily socks (Socks01)
• Cardigan: Aitui – Ornate Cardigan /Wet Sienna/
• Sneakers: UBU Drunks
• Sunglasses: Gritty Kitty: Pa-Zazz! Glasses
• Donut: [PF] Pink Sprinkle Donut

Just Curious

Hi there! Lots of new releases for this ‘Look of the day’, I am so excited what’s new and what’s about to come in the next days, 2 days to MHO Hunt woohoo!

Mr. Malte Antfarm, well known designer and owner of [insert cool name] is back from his SL hiatus and became part of a collaboration project named *Curiosity*, and among all those preppy clothing, we can find these beautiful argyle cardigans: I am wearing black and green this time, but you can find them in other colors (blue, purple and red). the textures are highly realistic, with all those wrinkles, and it comes with prim sleeves, adding up a lil more of realism to it. He also released those Suit Pants, running away from jeans textures, you can wear this nicely detailed pair of pants, with the obligatory prim cuffs… not the regular prim cuffs, Malte developed a technique so they seem seamless: well done Mr. Ant!

The hair I am wearing is all a.C Store fresh collection, released less than 24h ago. Summer78 and MelrO became classics already. Summer78 is a really fabulous hair with a nice scripted cap peak, you can change the color so you match your outfit. Also scripted is the awesomely cute (kawaii!) cap, part of MelrO hair; this hair is perfect for those anime lovers, Akira Toriyama fans: they will remember the cute winged cap Arale used to wear, well, here it is, just another excuse to look handsome!

I am also wearing one of the last cargo pants released at Zanzo: the cuffs and pockets are perfectly done and re-size scripted, so you won’t have any problem matching them to your shape. They are also available in several colors, and you can always get a fatpack. The sneakers I am wearing are from Kalnins: they released recently his own version of sneakers, of course, they have a built-in scripted menu and lots of presets in case you don’t want to use time customizing them but you want them to look different every time. The textures and the design are awesome, like everything Kalnins releases.

The belt I am wearing is from one of the last additions to the male fashion industry: Reek. They have awesome stuff, but what I like the most, is the extensive collection of belts they have. Well, actually they have three released but you feel like you have 300 (or maybe more!) The belt, apart from being perfectly designed in every detail, is texture scripted, so you will find and endless number of combinations to match your style for the day. I chose this cool ‘Star Wars’ texture.

To finish the look,  I am wearing the Kari suspenders, an AOHARU shirt and my friend the Plush Robit from japancakes store.

See ya inworld!

What Aris is wearing

Right

• Eyes: bodyline – eye – wildjungle style 02
• Hair: *aC Hair Cap MelrO V1 [MochA]
• Band Aid: aC STD*Band Aid ROCK.edition
• Cardigan: *Curiosity* Checked Cardigan Green
• Sneakers: Kalnins Sneakers – Dinamika
• Belt: Reek – I Heart Themes Belt (Boxed)
• Pants: *Zanzo* Bavarian Cargo Shorts (Grun)

Left

• Eyes: bodyline – eye – wildjungle style 02
• Suspenders: { Kari } – New school suspenders
• Robot: +J+ Lil Plush Robit
• Hair: aC – STD.Gloxhair Summer 78 [BeacH]
• Shirt: AOHARU BT_Pinstripe_FormalSuit_Set_Black (Shirt+collar)
• Sneakers: Kalnins Sneakers – Dinamika
• Cardigan: *Curiosity* Checked Cardigan (Base)
• Pants: *Curiosity* Suit Pants

One Fine Day

Just another fine day in Second Life. I was looking for something cute and comfy, with a little touch of  ‘aris’ on it,  so I had a look at my huge collection of sunglasses, Decollage has grown in me lately… and I took the dust off my nice old elven ears, bought at The Plastik.

The new items I am wearing for this post are the gorgeous new TRUTH hair (Zach, worth every L$) and the highly detailed scripted scarf I found in this little beautiful store, MIEL… I met the owner there and they are working on new male stuff, so be prepared

The suspenders are old friend of mine, you know Kari hasn’t released new stuff in a while but i keep praying for a mega-release (Mennooooo!). The boots are Redgrave’s, went camo this time; the Tee is from Emery, old collection but still rad, and so is the wristband, a must-have accessory for a guy inworld.

The jeans are new for me, but they have been released for a while, at Lookr… lots of colors and styles available!

I am very excited about the MHO hunt (Make Him Over) so I will *hopefully* do a wide coverage… can’t wait!

Keep it sexy, darlings! mwah! <3

What Aris is wearing

• Tee: Emery – *Stutter 1 black Tee*
• Jeans: LOOKR ~ Let Rip ~ Grey
• Boots: [*RG*] Biker Boots -Soldier-
• Sunglasses: Decollage - Rainbow Shades (Orange)
• Hair: >TRUTH< Zach – coffee
• Skin: [LeLutka]-ABSOLUTE-sunkissed
• Suspenders: { Kari } – New school suspenders
• Wristband: Emery – Yellow Skulls Wristband
• Scarf: MIEL SALMON PLAID SCARF
• Ears: [T.P]- Animalistic Elven Ears- Plain