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Slumming it in Second Life
January 25, 2007
The mucketymucks have invaded Second Life. Or at least a little roped-off corner of it.
The big thing at this year's elite World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, is to don a cartoon persona and slum around the virtual world as if you "get it." An avatar, reports the Financial Times, "has become the must-have accessory for [WEF] delegates." A big attraction on yesterday's program was a session called "The Age of the Avatar," and another session featured an interview with a couple of 'tars about "identity in the modern world." The WEF's impresario, Klaus Schwab, says that the embrace of Second Life is all about "enlarging the Davos conversation" to include the commoners.
That sounds fine, but I'm suspicious. In order to "participate" in the Second Life sessions, residents had to send their questions in advance to Reuters' avatarian reporter, Adam Reuters, who got to choose which ones to ask. Residents and other "Internet users" were then invited to "watch the interviews online." Some conversation.
When I see the avatars of the power elite surrounded by griefers, then I'll know they get Second Life. Until then, it's just virtual window dressing.
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Comments
Nick, I totally agree with you. VIPs jumping onto the SL bandwaggon seems more of an act to garner recognition in the eyes of the in-crowd by joining the latest online hype.
Posted by: darkobserver ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.roughtype.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at January 25, 2007 10:22 AM
What about the FT's Digital Business segment this week? There was so much vomit-inducing Second Life hype in there it was untrue!
Perhaps next time youre talking with your FT chums you could give them the link to Valleywag's fisking of SL's numbers.
Posted by: john at January 25, 2007 03:31 PM
more interesting are the VIPs who stay anonymous in Second Life. Jeff Bezos and Pierre Omidyar (both now investors in Second Life) had accounts prior and were just ordinary, or not so ordinary, avatars running around the world. Wonder who else is behind those avatars?
Posted by: hunter walk at January 25, 2007 09:46 PM
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