Second Life Non-profit Commons Opening Party August 14

I’m excited to announce that on August 14 the Plush Non-profit Commons in Second Life (teleport SLURL) will be holding an official opening party.  Starting at 5:30PM PST, this will be a mixed-reality event taking place in the real world in San Francisco as well as virtually at the Non-profit Commons sim.  Here’s the official skinny from Glitteractica Cookie:

The Gala event will be a mixed-reality launch party, complete with networking, a panel of speakers (featuring Susan Tenby of TechSoup and Jeska Dzwigalski of Linden Lab in the live-event, and Anshe Chung in Second Life).  Audio and video content will be streamed live between the two worlds… This “sim,” or virtual acre of land, was designed as a pilot project to lower the barriers of access to Second Life, and to create a community of practice for nonprofits to explore and learn about the virtual world. The Nonprofit Commons provides free office space to qualifying groups to meet and collaborate, create a cooperative learning environment, and foster outreach, education, and fundraising, all in a virtual space.

Thirty-two non-profits now call the NPC their virtual home, including my own group Yehoodi.com. So come on by for the celebration. We’ll be hosting a swing dance party near our virtual offices after the official presentations at around 7PM PST. The complete press release follows…

Nonprofits
Celebrate New Home in Second Life:
Nonprofit
Commons Grand Opening Gala Event on
August 14^th, 2007

 
Contact: Susan Tenby, susan@techsoup.org
Phone: (415) 633-9333
SL avatar: Glitteractica Cookie
http://www.nonprofitcommons.org

http://npsl.wikispaces.com/

San Francisco

Meets the Metaverse:  32
Nonprofits and their supporters will host a grand opening celebration Tuesday,
August 14, 2007 at 5:30 p.m. PT/SLT,  in their new locations at the
Nonprofit Commons in Second Life.

Generously donated by the world’s first virtual millionaire,
Anshe Chung, this nonprofits-only space, managed by TechSoup, creates and
houses a community of nonprofits in the online virtual world of Second Life.
This community of practice is entirely volunteer-run and hosts organizations
from across the globe. To date, they have created a community blog and a
resource-rich wiki, and have held mixed-reality events, workshops, and regular
weekly town hall meetings.

The Gala event will be a mixed-reality launch party,
complete with networking, a panel of speakers (featuring Susan Tenby of
TechSoup and Jeska Dzwigalski of Linden Lab in the live-event, and Anshe Chung
in Second Life).  Audio and video content will be streamed live between
the two worlds.

This “sim,” or virtual acre of land, was
designed as a pilot project to lower the barriers of access to Second Life, and
to create a community of practice for nonprofits to explore and learn about the
virtual world. The Nonprofit Commons provides free office space to qualifying
groups to meet and collaborate, create a cooperative learning environment, and
foster outreach, education, and fundraising, all in a virtual space

“We believe that Second Life provides a unique
platform to collaborate, educate, inspire, and build awareness. In the Nonprofit
Commons, our goal is to assist our community members achieve their dreams in
this exciting new technology that we see as the future of the Web. We welcome
all who wish to join us as partners or supporters,” said Glitteractica
Cookie, avatar for Susan Tenby, Senior Manager of Community Development,
TechSoup Network.

“Building vibrant communities starts with great events
that bring organizations together for dialogue and exchange,” notes In
Kenzo (Evonne Heyning), Creative Director at Amoration.org. “For
nonprofits joining the virtual world for the first time, the Nonprofit Commons
offers a free place to connect with other leaders.”

Audience members in the Second Life portion of the event are
expected to include nonprofit commons residents and their invited guests, media
representatives and journalists, Linden Lab staff, and those interested in
nonprofits and philanthropy.

The live-event in San Francisco will be a part of NetSquared’s Net Tuesday.
The Gala event’s activities include:

5:30 p.m.: Meet and greet
6:00 p.m.: Speakers and event
7:00 p.m.: Tours
of the Nonprofit Commons

The events in Second Life will be at the same time, working
in conjunction with the events in the real world, live event. Nonprofit
organizations in the Commons will also be hosting their own events in
conjunction with this Grand Opening Gala. To find the Nonprofit Commons search
the places tab in SL for nonprofit commons or, go to:

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Plush%20Nonprofit%20Commons/130/125/22/?title=Ampitheater%20in%20NPC

Information and Inquiries: This event is free of charge, but
space is limited, so please RSVP via email to Susan Tenby (susan@techsoup.org)
for in-world attendance to this event or IM Glitteractica Cookie in Second
Life. Join the TechSoup group, in-world in Second Life to receive
announcements about this event and future nonprofit events in Second Life.

Attire: Avatar fabulous, if possible dress as your avatar or
your favorite avatar.

RSVP on the San Francisco NetSquared Meetup site (http://netsquared.meetup.com/1/) for
attendance to the live, real-world event.