Second Life
Summary
An online virtual 3-D world, Second Life allows users to create their own “sims” (virtual characters), explore the world, meet and interact with others, buy or rent land, objects and services, build, and even create businesses.
Tool Description
While Linden Labs created the second life world for recreational purposes, it has now been used for virtually every imaginable educational and civic purpose as well. Many college and universities assign students to participate in Second Life, where they can examine virtual sprawl patterns and practice planning techniques. Built into the software is a three-dimensional modeling tool based around simple geometric shapes that allows a resident to build virtual objects. Some non-profit organizations purchase and create their own regions within the game, which can be used as virtual gathering places for education and discussions.
In terms of community character planning, the potential of Second Life is mostly untapped. Activities and meetings have been created in Second Life for other planning purposes, and could easily be adapted. A community could purchase an “island” and rebuild itself from the ground up; citizens can log on and participate in virtual town meetings.
Summary of Costs
There is no charge to create a Second Life account or for making use of the world for any period of time. A Premium membership (US$9.95/mo., US$22.50 quarterly, or US$72/yr.) extends access to an increased level of technical support, and also pays an automatic stipend of $300 Linden Dollars per week. The Linden Dollar (L$) is Second Life’s internal currency, and can be used to buy, sell, rent or trade land or goods and services with other users.
Strengths
- The main advantage of Second Life is the potential for creativity and innovative community processes, which will almost certainly continue to develop.
- Many tech gurus imagine that virtual worlds will comprise important parts of the international economy in the coming decades, and that most organizations will create their own virtual home bases. If this is the case, then virtual community building and planning is not far behind.
Limitations
- The primary disadvantages of Second Life relate to its technology requirements—both skills and infrastructure. In order to use the program well, a user needs a relatively fast computer with a good graphics card, as well as a high-speed internet connection.
- Second Life takes a significant amount of time (and perhaps training) for most users to reach even a basic level of comfort moving around and participating in the game. For citizens and communities without much technical or computer experience, the task would be overwhelming.
Applications
- Communications
- Dialogue
- Engagement and outreach
- Visioning
- Visualization
Other Examples
Image Gallery
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Submitted By:
svannostrand
Last Updated: July 2, 2010, 10:01 am
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