VECoP

I now have visited the Microsoft Island in Second Life three times and thought I should reflect a bit more about the experience.

On the launch night I had difficulty getting to the island. Second Life kept saying it couldn't get me to the island and that it had teleported me nearby. Nearby was in fact miles away. I managed to hop to a nearer location and then teleport in. The lag was very bad, I chatted to a bloke from Norway who said he couldn't move for 5 minutes. I managed to pick up a free Imagine Cup T shirt (I was the only person I saw wearing one).

I had a bit of a mooch around and then headed over to the stage for the Natalie Moody concert. I was very impressed by that, I liked the music and there was a good atmosphere in the arena. The concert was followed by dancing. Dancing was easy; all I needed to do was click the floor and accept the dance steps. I do wonder how many people at the event were there because it was the Imagine Cup event and how many because it was a free concert.

The next afternoon I visited with a colleague (Futura) and we had a quick look at the facilities. There were a load of humming birds about, and they seem to be attracted to avatars, they were very annoying and so we decided to leave.

I returned in the evening for a bit of a longer look round. The island was much less busy but still suffering from lag. I was propositioned by a guy in an evening suit who thought I might like to visit another venue: "No thanks I've come to look at the IC stuff". The annoying humming birds were still around. I picked up details of a challenge (effectively an Easter Egg hunt), I was told the first egg was in area 10, which is the area which includes the UK. I didn't have much look in 10:

• I couldn't get the video for the UK team to stream;
• There was an invite to blog about my experience, but although I could read other people's blogs, there appeared to be no way to post;
• Nor could I see an egg anywhere, having organised a treasure hunt in Boracay a few months back I thought I knew about where to look for things but obviously I can't find eggs!

I'll probably go back and see if I can get some of the other videos to stream, I would like to see the UK team as I saw them at the UK finals in Reading and it would be good to know how they are progressing.

Labels: Imagine Cup, Microsoft, Natalie Moody, Second Life, secondlife, SL

Microsoft have opened an island in Second Life and have linked the launch to an Imagine cup event (see http://www.microsoft.com/emea/presscentre/SecondLife/default.mspx) the island is open until early August and is worth a visit.

There was a concert by Natalie Moody.

Followed by dancing.

Labels: Microsoft, Natalie Moody, Second Life, secondlife, SL

Experience a conference where virtual meets real life.
Encounter potentialities for businesses and learning environments in a virtual life.
Engage in political and social real-life discussions and the effect of political and social decisions on the virtual life.

The conference will consist of a one-day workshop followed by a two-day conference featuring interactive sessions and workshops revolving around Business & Marketing, Education, Art, Design & Scripting and Community & Citizenship. Keynote presentations will also be a highlight of the conference as well as evening entertainment programs.

The event will take place in Berlin, Germany, from September 16 – 18, 2007.

http://www.slconference.eu/

Labels: Conferences, Second Life

What do you do when there is no internet conection in the conference area but you really feel like playing SecondLife with your friends?