tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5041624883246722973.post8472421059402631695..comments2022-11-11T04:13:56.292-08:00Comments on In a Strange Land: Escape Plus: Secondlife.com's Need to Turn a PageIggy Ohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10834075825456226770noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5041624883246722973.post-3993834283400710212011-03-09T17:54:26.892-08:002011-03-09T17:54:26.892-08:00Don/Addison,
I feel for AJ and his colleagues. Ho...Don/Addison,<br /><br />I feel for AJ and his colleagues. How else do most of us create our SL avatars if not through LL's Web site? Perhaps AJ might have used one of the portals such as New Media Consortium for avatar creation.<br /><br />I'm not hypersensitive about Linden Lab's emphasis. I do know that while educators already in SL probably care less about the slant of the front page, our colleagues who might not have avatars will.<br /><br />If this platform is to be used for serious academic work, Linden Lab needs to have a page such as the Community Page for its landing spot. The relentless "be a vampire" or "kiss on the Eiffel Tower" will not endear the platform to many of my colleagues in higher ed.Iggy Ohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10834075825456226770noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5041624883246722973.post-55840895530883620852011-03-09T08:44:20.597-08:002011-03-09T08:44:20.597-08:00I think we educators are maybe being a bit hyperse...I think we educators are maybe being a bit hypersensitive in our criticisms of Linden Labs. As someone who uses SL both for social and business/educational uses, I don’t really mind the advertising slant. Frankly, I would not just blindly send any colleague to the website or even into Second Life itself. It is a world, and in many respects a unique culture to learn and be indoctrinated into (just like higher education is a unique culture – we don’t often step outside and realize it). There has to be some context provided, and I don’t think it is necessarily up to Linden Labs to provide that. <br /><br />Linden Labs has to make money. They are trying to market their product to customers they perceive to be income-producing. I’m not saying that education does not provide them a level of income, but I’m betting that romance and social opportunities provides a lot more. <br /><br />I would never judge any website or platform by scanning the landing page, whatever happened to “don’t judge a book by its cover?” Before we criticize too much maybe we should look at how our organizations market themselves. I looked up University of Richmond’s website – it featured smiling frat boys, the basketball team, and semi-naked Japanese drummers. A look at Montclair State University’s page which featured the ice hockey team and the opportunity to network with “Rocky,” who appears to be a giant red bird (or a college student in a giant red bird costume). What should I assume about these institutions based on these images? They are fine schools – I can recognize that they are using images that appeal to their primary customers. <br /><br />I think you have a valid critique to a point though – how hard would it be for Linden Labs to have an “Education in Second Life” webpage – with targeted information for educators? If I Google “Second Life Education” first hit is the Second Life Education Wiki Page. It is (was?) very professional looking and targeted toward the academic. Unfortunately, it also seems to be in the process of being replaced by the community platform. Clicking on the community platform link takes you into an information abyss – not very helpful. If Linden Labs could use the format and content of the wiki page and use that as an education portal, which might help all involved.Addison Greymysthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05782312770958781480noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5041624883246722973.post-85868334599192427572011-03-09T08:36:59.460-08:002011-03-09T08:36:59.460-08:00I think we educators are maybe being a bit hyperse...I think we educators are maybe being a bit hypersensitive in our criticisms of Linden Labs. As someone who uses SL both for social and business/educational uses, I don’t really mind the advertising slant. Frankly, I would not just blindly send any colleague to the website or even into Second Life itself. It is a world, and in many respects a unique culture to learn and be indoctrinated into (just like higher education is a unique culture – we don’t often step outside and realize it). There has to be some context provided, and I don’t think it is necessarily up to Linden Labs to provide that. <br /><br />Linden Labs has to make money. They are trying to market their product to customers they perceive to be income-producing. I’m not saying that education does not provide them a level of income, but I’m betting that romance and social opportunities provides a lot more. <br /><br />I would never judge any website or platform by scanning the landing page, whatever happened to “don’t judge a book by its cover?” Before we criticize too much maybe we should look at how our organizations market themselves. I looked up University of Richmond’s website – it featured smiling frat boys, the basketball team, and semi-naked Japanese drummers. A look at Montclair State University’s page which featured the ice hockey team and the opportunity to network with “Rocky,” who appears to be a giant red bird (or a college student in a giant red bird costume). What should I assume about these institutions based on these images? They are fine schools – I can recognize that they are using images that appeal to their primary customers. <br /><br />I think you have a valid critique to a point though – how hard would it be for Linden Labs to have an “Education in Second Life” webpage – with targeted information for educators? If I Google “Second Life Education” first hit is the Second Life Education Wiki Page. It is (was?) very professional looking and targeted toward the academic. Unfortunately, it also seems to be in the process of being replaced by the community platform. Clicking on the community platform link takes you into an information abyss – not very helpful. If Linden Labs could use the format and content of the wiki page and use that as an education portal, which might help all involved.really?https://www.blogger.com/profile/06432424066318521640noreply@blogger.com