Nonprofits, Virtual Worlds, and the Triumph of Ironic Distance

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I

I was constrained in my choice of body.  All the human avatars looked a little too perfect, in a distended, Giacometti kind of way.  So I chose one with a human body and the head and tail of a raccoon.  I chose the name Pfrank Pfeffer.  I wanted to go as Al@n T_ring, but to do so I would have had to pay for the privilege.

Buy and Sell Linden Dollars!

Own Virtual Land!

This focus on commerce, on the buying and selling of property, objects, and the tokens of identity, was one of the first things that struck me about Second Life.  “Your World.  Your imagination,” the tagline assures you.  But ultimately it’s your money that enables you to make a mark on this online virtual world of some 5.7 million souls. 

There are buildings in Second Life, and carefully rendered water and trees.  And there are fanciful objects that In-Worlders construct from “prims” (short for “primitives”):

A Prim is a cube or sphere or other shape that you create using the build tools, and which are combined together by linking to make much of what you see in Second Life—houses, vehicles, furniture and so on.

The number of prims you can use will depend on the amount of land you own in a region—simply put, more land equals more prims.

You mix your labor with prims and make yours the objects you produce thereby; you’re given prims in proportion to the amount of land you own; you take land out of the State of Virtual Nature by laying down cash on the nail.

Thus Second Life is reassuringly Lockean in every detail.

II

There’s a Nonprofit Commons under construction in Second Life, described as “breathtaking” on the Nonprofits in Second Life blog.  The virtual land was purchased and donated by Anshe Chung, the first “virtual world millionaire.”   The Commons will cost $200 a month to maintain.

TechSoup’s apologetics for the virtual world are compelling:

• The American Cancer Society raised more than $40,000 through its Second Life Relay for Life event. ...
• Educators are using Second Life to present seminars and stage performances and storytelling sessions designed to help youth learn about other cultures. …
• People with disabilities reportedly  have been using Second Life to explore environments where physical constraints are minimized and where they have almost absolute control over their avatars’ features and actions.

More money for cancer research, young minds expanded, people with disabilities free to roam at will, unfettered by crutches and wheelchairs.

I catch a glimpse of the New Eden when I arrive and find myself surrounded by handsome young avatars with perfect skin and teeth, flying above my head—the preferred method of In-World locomotion.  I see wonders on Help Island—a colourful, 700-pound parrot bending a telephone wire, a holographic news service, fantastic sculpture floating in mid-air.

The spell is broken the first time I open my mouth to speak.

A young man dressed in urban chic, with an unpronounceable name, sidles up to me and types into an invisible keyboard, “Are you from the United States?”  Chagrined that I’ve been so quickly found out, I respond, “Yes.  Was it my tail that gave me away?”  He says nothing.  After a long pause, he does the hula, one of the avatars’ pre-scripted “gestures.”  I reply in kind. 

Embarrassed perhaps by my boorishness, by my apparent lack of interest in his country of origin, he takes a few steps away and begins to examine a mechanical rat.

The biggest problem with Second Life, as I see it, is that we can’t help but bring our selves to it.  Our feeble turns of mind, our bad manners, our overweening concern for the effect of our tails.

How does the saying go?

Sow an act, reap a habit
Sow a habit, reap a character
Sow a character, reap a destiny

—for this life and the next, it appears.

III

I’m in my garden as I type this.  Nothing moves.  My strongest impression is the sun’s light on my skin.

My body pushes against the wooden bench on which I sit.  I sense the rough, weathered texture of an old pillow against the small of my back, the drip of sweat down the inside edge of my upper arm.  I feel the purple glow of the azaleas, the sticky green of new growth, the yellow-green of bamboo reborn.  I feel the heavy green of a tired hemlock.  I see—almost taste—the rust color of a young pine that didn’t survive the winter.  I smell grass and magnolia blossom mixed with the scent of my own body.

A sparrow’s chirrup announces the slightest breeze and suddenly I’m in the moving, indescribable Infinite.

Comments

[Dr. Trotsky]

more like this please

[erasmus]

Thanks, Al, your post brought it all back to me. My daughter dragged me to one of these worlds once. I remember a lot of people standing around shape-shifting then flying up into the air for no good reason.

[ahfukit]

Would that we all attended our gardens thus.

[M]

I keep meaning to check out what Second Life is all about. The excuse I've used for staying away is that between all of the other online activities I just don't have the time. The Second Life Nonprofit Commons sounds interesting enough to make the time for.

Your garden sounds lovely.

[Creech]

"There’s a Nonprofit Commons under construction in Second Life, described as “breathtaking” on the Nonprofits in Second Life blog. The virtual land was purchased and donated by Anshe Chung, the first “virtual world millionaire.” The Commons will cost $200 a month to maintain."

I'd like to clarify that the commons costs the Nonprofits in Second Life Group nothing. It was all graciously and generously donated by Anshe Chung Studios.

--The land was donated
--The time it took to create the sim was donated
--The monthly land fees are donated.

The net result, so far, is a connection between many excellent nonprofits and like minded individuals who are interested in collaboration in creative and new ways. The nonprofits involved cross international borders.

[Albert Ruesga]

Thanks for your comment, Creech. A connection between excellent nonprofits is often a good thing.

I invite you to help skeptical readers understand what you believe these nonprofits will achieve by giving their staff time to these virtual interactions.

[Susan Tenby]

There are many articles and information covering this topic (why Nonprofits should care about virtual worlds.)

In fact, our project (TechSOup's nonprofit commons)was just written up in the New York Times. With large foundations like Mac Arthur funding virtual worlds, and hundreds of organizations in-world, soon the skeptics will realize the potential of this new platform (it is not a game) for its creative, social networking and awareness-building capabilities. Everyone is invited to participate in TechSoup's weekly meetings in the Nonprofit Commons space from 8:30-9:30 every Friday to see for themselves.

[Beth Kanter]

Albert,

As with any new technology there are limitations, barriers, and skeptics. I seem to remember a "I'm sticking with DOS campaign" that came up late 1980s. Anyway, there are also opportunities and the nonprofits working in second life are gaining valuable experience in what works and what doesn't. Also, ditto to all the points that Susan and Creech make above. But the best way to form an opinion is via first-hand experience -- so come join the weekly TechSoup meetings.

I hope you'll correct the statement in your post about the maintenance cost for nonprofit comments.

I'd li

[Albert Ruesga]

Hmm, time to set the record straight a bit. The $200 figure came from your own post, Creech. Here’s the link. I never claimed it would cost the nonprofits involved $200 a month to maintain.

I tried, in my own post, to give a sense of the creative possibilities of Second Life, and my response to Creech was a sincere invitation to have him expound on some of those possibilities. Do you think differently in Second Life, and if so, how? Is it considered rude to edit your appearance while somebody’s "talking"? Most importantly, has some breakthrough in nonprofit thinking happened in Second Life meetings that would not likely have happened in real world meetings?

I think readers would find these kinds of things interesting.

Lest you peg me for a Luddite, my first career was as a software designer (we called ourselves programmers back then) and I’ve seen Forbidden Planet at least three times.

What are the trade-offs with the new technologies? What’s the seamy side of Second Life? Are we discouraging whole generations of pimply youths from learning important social skills? Is it yet another decadent diversion for nonprofits, trotted out under the banner of innovation? Are there grounds for being skeptical about all the technological boosterism that goes on in our sector?

[Dooch-Bahhhk]

It's too late, Glitteractica_Cokie, Albert has aleady hired professional help!

[Beth Kanter]

Ah, I think you misread what Creech wrote - the $200 monthly maintenance fee or rent for the sim is being covered by the donor. There are not costs to nonprofits except for their time.

[Noah Chesterman]

Al,

I think you pegged the problem of SL with your first ‘interaction’. Sure it looks pretty, but what is it good for when the only people you meet do the hula and inspect their rat… good for nothing. That’s why many people were excited about the donation and creation of the Creative Commons area.

When I log into SL, I know no one. It is an endless amusement park, but how I am going to meet likeminded people or exchange ideas; largely impossible. However, with the Creative Commons area people can click a single link outside of SL, and instantly be transported to a global conference hall. Who’s speaking and are the creative juices flowing? Not always, but it’s an excellent starting point to find information and real people from across the world to sharing ideas, opinions, and exchanging viewpoints.

The nonprofit I work for can’t afford to send me to conferences within the same state, let alone across the country or internationally. The people participating in the Friday morning conferences are from all over the world. I learn from the ideas and viewpoints they bring to the meeting.

So it could be looked at as I spend an hour wasting time in a game; but it’s more of a free form conference and meet-n-greet for a globally diverse group of likeminded people. (and yes, sometimes people in CC do the hula too, there is no place you’ll escape that in SL)

Noah Chesterman
Director of IT
Central Coast Energy Services
www.energyservices.org
noah (at) energyservices.org

[Albert Ruesga]

Noah, thanks for your very thoughtful comment. It's helpful to hear from others about their "lived experience" of virtual worlds like Second Life. And I appreciate your reading the post in the spirit in which was written. I'll look you up next time I'm on the Commons.

[Tidy Sum]

That stuff creeps me out, man.

Some might say we ought to worry about our first lives.

I recently talked to an Iraqi vet at a county fair at the National Guard Booth and he struggled to make sense of how out of touch American's are with the war.

My grandmother's view of the world is totally mediated by 100 channels and a monthly trip to the beauty salon.

And come to think of it...

Kids spend over 4 hours a day watching TV.

Adults spend more than an hour a day surfing the net.

On my subway ride into work, everyone is mezmerized by their own electronica.

One in four adults read no books last year.

Half of American's are overweight.

Half of American's don't vote.

And on and on.

Those virtual worlds seem awfully self-indulgent, but I grant that they have their utility for some.

So go shake your thang. Go get your virtual high five.

I just find the real world far more interesting and important.

[Albert Ruesga]

I hear you, TS. We appear to share some of the same concerns. I understand the benefits of virtual worlds (and there are many we haven't alluded to in the main post or the comments). But I worry about the general trend of plugging in and tuning out. I feel there's been an atrophying of thought and sensibility, attributable, in some measure, to the increasing amounts of time we spend online.

[Zonker]

Doing Nothing Online

[i.a.t.]

yo, zonker, my son and his peeps aren't raising money for darfur. they're spending hours on facebook visiting babe profiles and writing "nice nads."

[His Lordship the Viscount St. Austell-in-the-Moor Biggleswade-Brixham]

Never trust a Yalie.

[Albert Ruesga]

I know exactly what you mean. Those smug smiles, the arched eyebrows.