Tonight, the LBJ School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin hosted an address by former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright. I got to watch and participate in this event at the GSD&M Idea City Island Amphitheatre in Second Life (teleport SLURL). It was a good crowd for a foreign…
Using my geek powers for good: a Global Kids teambuilding exercise
Yesterday at Global Kids, we did a team-building activity called "The 2008 Street Fair: The Fall Collection." Organized by my colleagues Dominique and Sandip, the game was actually quite challenging and nuanced. We divided up into five teams of about eight people, who were each given a bag containing two items. The rules were as…
“Sling Shot Hip Hop” documentary on the Palestianian hip hop movement premieres in NY on Thursday
At breakdance practice last night, I was talking with Waleed, another dancer who told me about a real cool film project he is involved with. "Sling Shot Hip Hop" is a film about the role of hip hop music for Palestinians as a form of political expression: Slingshot Hip Hop braids together the stories of…
Notes from my talk on “Beyond Best Practices: Taking Non-profits to the Next Level in Second Life” at SLCC
For those that weren’t able to be there, here’s a quick rundown of what I spoke about at the Non-profit Commons mini-track at the Second Life Community Convention this past weekend in Tampa, Florida. While this year’s non-profit track had less folks participating than last year, we had some great exchanges with non-profit innovators like…
SLCC Wrap-up: Virtual educators dominate the Second Life Community Convention in Tampa
The three day Second Life Community Convention from September 5-7, 2008 in Tampa, Florida firmly made the case that some of the most vital and innovative work in the virtual world is being done by the education sector. With 400 some real world participants (plus others beaming in virtually) converging on the grand Marriott Waterside…
Congrats to Coreina Grace & Jade Lily on getting engaged at SLCC!
Here’s the perfect metaverse romance: At the Second Life Community Convention in Chicago last year, Global Kids’ own Coreina Grace (aka Meghan in real life) met in the flesh her friend SL developer Jade Lily (aka Keith in real life). They apparently hit it off because they began dating and then moved in together soon…
Tuna Oddfellow’s virtual magic performed live at SLCC Tampa (video)
Today we got to see Tuna Oddfellow performing his "virtual magic" at the Second Life Community Convention in the bar of the Marriott. Trippy, cool stuff!
Rafi’s feedback to Linden Lab on improving Second Life for educators
Here’s Rafi Santo giving his feedback to Linden Lab during a session today in Tampa at the Second Life Community Convention on how to improve Second Life for educators. Claudia Linden was there carefully taking notes of everyone’s comments during this feedback session. It’s great to see a concrete example of how that the Linden…
What happens at Strokerz Ball stays at Strokerz Ball (not really)
"Hi, I’m Stroker Serpentine, and I’m a pervert," announced the bald man with devil ears. So began yet another incarnation of "Strokerz Ball" at SLCC 2008. Infamous adult industry purveyor Stroker Serpentine threw another of his raunchy bachannals at the Second Life Community Convention last night, in a sweaty, dark party room in a Tampa…
Metanomics’ Beyers Sellers explains “Why Johnny Can’t Rez” at SLCC / SLEDcc ’08
Beyers Sellers, Professor at Johnson School at Cornell University and host of the popular "Metanomics" talk show in SL, gave a really neat keynote address on “Why Johnny Can’t Rez.” Beyers addressed the difficult issue of how to convince your higher-ups and colleagues to support your virtual education project. It was a nice capstone to…