i guess it could be construed that i was promoting an in-world currency system with my post about one of our scripters’ work. and i guess some people will think i work for Reaction Grid because i blab so much about it
i don’t work for Reaction Grid, we get nothing for talking about it, and i talk about it because i think it works very well. besides, PayPal is not in-world currency, but that is another matter. i was trying to expand people’s thinking by talking about micropayments in OpenSim, give props to my brilliant scripter, using an trustworthy site like PayPal, and blah, blah, blah – tangential note for DreamWalker: don’t actually implement your vendor system – go innovate on something else atm (!)
i blog about a lot of stuff virtual world wise and most is specific to OpenSim and Second Life. last night’s post about harnessing waste water power does not mean that Second Life, OpenSim, or Reaction Grid endorse that as a possible “green” solution. i just found it fascinating =)
this blog is purely the ramblings of an avatar. heck, i am not even real – i am facebook certified fake!
but i like Reaction Grid and will talk about it (although i will do so with less fervor and try to be more generic). here is the biggest reason that anyone can see why i think Reaction Grid is the best for us – i spend gobs of hours making stuff for subQuark in it. i don’t sell anything i make, in fact, i give it away for free. why?
because OpenSim needs content and i am altruistic in some things (like being a certified firefighter and paramedic for a volunteer department in Texas for two years)
i had three teachers in the other night and they loved all the stuff i have made. not because they are great builds (they are okay imo, but certainly not amazing) but because there were there to explore!
OpenSim lacks the content that Second Life has and that is a big reason that OpenSim lags in growth. but in time, people like me and many others will create the things needed. i like making office stuff like chairs, water coolers, and so on because those are the things i used to buy in Second Life and took for granted (i wish i could make a decent tree though) =\
i don’t spend hours making stuff because i am a lonely homebody with nothing to do. i work fulltime, do freelance work, have a family, spend hours a week discussing stuff with subQuark (and he blabs way more than i do!), and would love to get to bed before 2 AM! i also don’t make stuff to sell - so why the heck would i make anything?
i believe that what subQuark is working on, virtual field trips for kids to learn environmental science, is a noble cause. i am so frigging sappy that i believe his work could possible impact future decision makers. i also believe that a use of OpenSim like that showcases how good it is for education. Reaction Grid is for educators and i think that is really neat grid to do this type of work on
okay, where was i? oh yeah, why do i go on and on and on about OpenSim?
i think it is a fabulous creative outlet and a better alternative for some uses. you may have remembered me saying the city of Edmonton should do something besides SL. i have had a conversation with the city’s CIO about this and, in fact, one of the lead developers for their projects is in Reaction Grid
one of the blog’s commentators makes very good points, or at least points that really cause me to reflect. he commended us on getting that mention in the Top 10 Blog. we were also the fifth fastest growing WordPress last year and are in the top 2.6 to 3.1% off all global web traffic! not too bad for a fakey person
and he pointed out that OpenSim needs more blogs like this one (that made me smile like a monkey). i don’t know of many other blogs that evangelise about OpenSim (in our sidebar we list some blogs that do)
why does OpenSim need any loud mouths like me?
well, they don’t!
i like to share what i find and i like being honest and i wear my heart on my sleeve (little and cold as it is) =p
i think that information like this might help others tap into what i think is a good thing. right now i think Reaction Grid is a good thing but that’s just my two cents and only my opinion
i also think that being able to blog and tweet makes for a better world. not that my posts and chirps mean anything, but blogging and tweeting in general helps improve the world
look at Iran last year. i personally think that Twitter helped stop a lot of potential violence
so i blog from my heart, i blog my thoughts, i blog the way i see it (distorted as it is from real life challenges, traumas, and all the other crap we all have)
i don’t blog for Second Life, OpenSim, Reaction Grid, or even subQuark – i blog because i want to share the joy i find in it
what do you find joy in? let the world know! no one has to read anyone’s blogs, let them decide what to read, what you blog about might be exactly what someone else needs right at that moment (kinda like a paramedic)
namas te =)
btw, i don’t endorse anything, i don’t even run ads on the blog (well, i do endorse subQuark, he’s family)
Wow! What brought that on? I am sorry you felt that you had to justify your voice. Never let that be the case, we all suffer too much from that.
I believe that is what the forefathers of the United States fought against!
Your blog reaches many, even Guy Kawasaki! So blog on, be louder, and never apologize for speaking your truth!
And thanks on all your builds, I think they are superb!
David Miller
29 Jul 10 at 10:42 pm
Ener, you’re a force for good, you’re a super addition to our grid, and a complete joy to have around! your blog is a super read, and I enjoy hearing all your thoughts and opinions!
Your work on ReactionGrid is noticed and very much appreciated, and I’m proud that you are on of our most prominent Gridizens.
Never stop :)
Chris
Chris Hart
29 Jul 10 at 11:06 pm
I love your work Ener :-)
Peter Limbrick
29 Jul 10 at 11:23 pm
With the way that LL treated you and your awesome work there, I’m actually surprised that you didn’t abandon virtual worlds altogether, at least for a while. No one would have blamed you.
I and many, many others are SO glad that you found a better way to showcase your heart and your skillz.
I don’t know if SL will survive the current changes, discontent, and low user retention. But I’m stoked that you have found a better path.
I’ve not left SL entirely, though I abandoned Microsoft Office long ago (OpenOffice rules!). I still have friends in SL, and as a scripter I pretty much have to use multiple worlds for testing some of my projects (since there are slight differences in which functions work, some of the physics, etc.) I’ll never be a Micheil Merlin, but I have fun!
Keep the faith, Ener Hax!
[insert some yoga word here, hee hee]
♥,
DW
DreamWalker
29 Jul 10 at 11:38 pm
Ener, I really enjoy reading your blog posts and you never have to justify to anyone. In most cases it’s your opinion and a opinion can never be wrong…it is a opinion!!! Errr…. those who say that you get some extra reaction “care” for your enthusiastic blog posts are slightly jealous because the can not feel the same emotional “reaction” for their “grid”.
Keep on – don’t chance!!!
Yours Infinite
Infinite Sunset
30 Jul 10 at 1:12 am
You do “blog from the heart” and perhaps that is why I enjoy following your work so much :)
Never underestimate how powerful your work is, Ener. When I’ve had a bad day, I open twitter and there I find a familiar start to a tweet, “w00t! New post…” They always brighten my day and get me thinking about virtual worlds, education and life in general.
Lucy :)
PS: I go on about ReactionGrid’s awesomeness too! I think educators just can’t help but acknowledge positive things when they see it. It’s such a big part of what we do with students – focus and celebrate the positive.
Lucy B
30 Jul 10 at 1:27 am
I am not up with the all phrases todays young folk use.
But I saw the post re the paypal scripting, and a subsequent comment re TOS.
And I believe the underlying tone on this was in effect to “wave the banhammer about” – thats the phrase I heard a young guy use in Second Life.
It must be a balancing act for some of the new grids. They must sell their service with a point of difference from Second Life. IE they provide a mature, robust platform that professional content creators, artists, educators, and business can use.
Yet amusingly, to achieve that they must keep a close eye on the community. And the closer that eye becomes the more the new worlds will overlap into one aspect of second life that has been a significant point of criticism, and that is the strict rule set in-place set & sometimes enforced. IE the TOS.
That invariably annoys communities and individuals. Case in point, search about TOS and second life, and witness the vuvezula like din of disenchantment.
“TOS violation”. Its akin to a security guard asking to see your receipt as you exit a shop. Though you produce it immediately and he smiles and wishes you well, most people would feel aggrieved, confused, hurt and possibly avoiding that store for a while.
One has to be careful when holding the banhammer. It spreads a lot of splash damage.
Breen Whitman
30 Jul 10 at 2:39 am
dang! (yes, irl i use the word “dang” a lot)
nice words! thanks Chris! i get excited about stuff and like to share and at least online, people can click away, irl is another matter, you can’t TP away once i get rolling in person =D
and LL was quite an experience. the selling of the estate was traumatic – of course had i not been such a dope and sold them at transfer costs, i could have walked away with a few thousand, but that’s just not my way
thanks Infinite! i had just heard a public radio programme (US) with a project in Boston where young teen girls learn to use their “voice” to be heard in life. gender prejudices are accepted in the US and Canada and this is seen in the gender pay gap (if it was not accepted, there would be no gap). there is also a large gap in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) between boys and girls. as to my opinion neve being wrong, lol, i often perceive things diff than their intention is – some of that is cultural because English is not my native tongue =)
lol, Lucy! that sounds like a nice diplomatic way of saying “what a looney tune” but one that i accept as a very heartfelt compliment. i am such a nerd that, even though fonts might not reflect it much, writing out the word “w00t” is always done with two zeros rather than “o”s! yay for “wow! loot!”. and a zillion percent right, i do have an enthusiasm about stuff that makes me want to share it and that seems common among teachers (who also tend to be altruistic to their own detriment 0 last year in the US, teachers spent an average of $363 each of their own dollars for things to help their classes
and Breen! are you a more “mature” person? you come across as pretty young to me! i’d think that you are in your early 30s? (lol, how is that for being assumptive?)
i like that term “banhammer”! it makes me think of this crazy lawsuit going on in the states between an ice cream company (Dairy Queen) and a frozen yogurt company over the name of a frozen treat called Blizz. lawyers are saying that people are being confused between the new product Blizz and an existing product called a Blizzard!good Lord, the tings people sue about! frankly, i’d like to sue Nike for copyrighting the name of a pagan Greek Goddess! how can someone copyright that? reminds me of the Australian that copyrighted the wheel a few years back (it was overturned later)
instead of Mjollnar, the modern day Thor wields a banhammer! look out little people! =D
*goes back to beating on the keyboard*
=)
Ener Hax
30 Jul 10 at 7:41 am
Yes I am in my thirties. But as we have at work, a couple office juniors. If they are talking about social events I cant actually understand what they say.
In Second Life I hear terms I have never heard(when more active a year ago). I do not mean “rez” or “prim”, but the language that those under 21 bring in.
It does make one feel old!
Breen Whitman
30 Jul 10 at 8:03 pm