Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Interview Report
The subject I interviewed is a staff member in the area that I am viewing. I have seen her many times in this area since I have been here. I asked her if I could interview her and gave her the card and she consented. I asked her how long she had been a staff member here and she said that she had been a member here for a few months. I asked her what she did as a staff member and she said that she was a greeter and helped protect people from griefers in the area. I then asked her what she does in this area other that the staff activities. She responded by saying that she attends the weekly service. There is also a weekly women's bible study but she said she can only attend that every once and awhile. She also said there are other impromptu activities that she frequently attends. I than asked if she attended similar activities in real life like she does in Second Life. She replied by saying that she does attend a real life church where she is apart of their music program. She then said "There are a few other groups on SL that I only wish I could do in RL lol." I then asked what she noticed about people in this area. She said that most people are Christians or a part of some other kinds of faith based groups in Second Life. She also said that there are some non-believers who do come to either find answers or to debate with people. She also said that griefers to come around every once and awhile. I then asked why she thinks people come to this area. She responded by saying most people here are members of the church or are affiliated with the area somehow. She said that some people come here for discussion purposes and some of those discussions can be very interesting. She also said that some people, the griefers, come here just to cause trouble. With this I thanked her for all of her help.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Research Propectus
Abstract
This prospectus will give an overview of my plans to do field research in Second Life. The main focal point will be on a virtual Christian church. It will show what it does and how effective it actually is in spreading faith to more people as well as developing faith in those who already believe. This prospectus will talk about what Second Life is, what I want to do, who I plan on targeting to get the research I seek, and positives and negatives in this research.
Introduction: Research Problem
Second Life is a virtual world where people can, as the name suggests, live another life. People can create an avatar, a virtual person, and can make them look however one would want them to look. One can choose everything about the avatar from the sex, height, body size, clothes, etc. If someone choose to, they could also choose to be a furry, an animal. People can buy all kinds of things in Second Life using Lindens, the currency for Second Life. Some of these things include clothes, animations, houses, furniture, among many other things. The person can also participate in all kinds of activities and experiences. Just about anything that one can do in real life; one can do in Second Life. Live music, games, and dancing are some of the more popular activities that people take part in.
I want to focus on studying Christian religion in a virtual world. I would like to see what people do and how effective it is in starting and developing their faith in this kind of environment. Religion being a highly relational experience, how effective can it be over a computer connection. Could it actually be better for some people in this kind of environment? I will go to the services that are held on Sundays as well as participate in other activities like small group discussions and bible studies when possible to see additional interactions.
Method
I want to be a participant-observer in as many activities as a can. This will be especially important in the small groups to build trust and be able to get the kind of information that would be helpful in this research. It would be hard to be able to ask people about their faith if I am a complete stranger to them. The closer I can get to people, the more truthful and deeper answers I can get. All of the identities of the people and places I research will be protected by changing all the names so they cannot be confused with who they are in real life or Second Life. I really hope to get close to a few people to get the information I need. I do not need a lot of people but I would like to have about five to get a good sample if at all possible. I would want to get people who are in various places in their spiritual journey to hopefully get a better gauge on how much this kind of environment really helps. It is really hard to tell how long it would take to get some of this information. It would probably take a lot of in world time to get this information but it would also take a lot of real world time to analyze it all. I would approximate about half the weeks available in real life and half the weeks in Second life but that could very well need to change as time progresses with the project. Outside research would have to focus on Christian religion and practices and the relationships that are created in that.
Potential Limitations
The limitations I face would definitely be the ability to get information from people. Religion and faith can be a very guarded thing for a lot of people and as such can make it very hard for people to be willing to talk about it. Not all people are willing to tell other people about their faith and the current state it is in and how it is progressing. It would also be hard, if I can get that information from them, to measure the effectiveness of this virtual church on their faith and how much it may progress or regress. Faith is a very hard thing to quantify and measure. Also it would be hard to get people to articulate their true faith. Some, especially in a church kind of environment, may embellish the truth so they do not seem like a horrible person. Also some people may not be able to describe how they feel and what they see as the “Truth” let alone how a virtual church may help that grow or not. It can be very easy to miss a lot of very important details because the people may not even know the details about themselves. There are self truths that can take a lot of time to get exposed to people and some may not have experienced what they need yet to learn those truths.
Discussion
This research aims fill in a lot of gaps on information about virtual churches. These kinds of digital churches are very new, especially in worlds like Second Life, so there is not much information about them at this present time and how much they can truly help people. This project can possibly help the church be more effective to those who use it and help the people who use it to have a deeper experience because of the effectiveness. We might be able to better understand how religion will evolve in virtual world.
This prospectus will give an overview of my plans to do field research in Second Life. The main focal point will be on a virtual Christian church. It will show what it does and how effective it actually is in spreading faith to more people as well as developing faith in those who already believe. This prospectus will talk about what Second Life is, what I want to do, who I plan on targeting to get the research I seek, and positives and negatives in this research.
Introduction: Research Problem
Second Life is a virtual world where people can, as the name suggests, live another life. People can create an avatar, a virtual person, and can make them look however one would want them to look. One can choose everything about the avatar from the sex, height, body size, clothes, etc. If someone choose to, they could also choose to be a furry, an animal. People can buy all kinds of things in Second Life using Lindens, the currency for Second Life. Some of these things include clothes, animations, houses, furniture, among many other things. The person can also participate in all kinds of activities and experiences. Just about anything that one can do in real life; one can do in Second Life. Live music, games, and dancing are some of the more popular activities that people take part in.
I want to focus on studying Christian religion in a virtual world. I would like to see what people do and how effective it is in starting and developing their faith in this kind of environment. Religion being a highly relational experience, how effective can it be over a computer connection. Could it actually be better for some people in this kind of environment? I will go to the services that are held on Sundays as well as participate in other activities like small group discussions and bible studies when possible to see additional interactions.
Method
I want to be a participant-observer in as many activities as a can. This will be especially important in the small groups to build trust and be able to get the kind of information that would be helpful in this research. It would be hard to be able to ask people about their faith if I am a complete stranger to them. The closer I can get to people, the more truthful and deeper answers I can get. All of the identities of the people and places I research will be protected by changing all the names so they cannot be confused with who they are in real life or Second Life. I really hope to get close to a few people to get the information I need. I do not need a lot of people but I would like to have about five to get a good sample if at all possible. I would want to get people who are in various places in their spiritual journey to hopefully get a better gauge on how much this kind of environment really helps. It is really hard to tell how long it would take to get some of this information. It would probably take a lot of in world time to get this information but it would also take a lot of real world time to analyze it all. I would approximate about half the weeks available in real life and half the weeks in Second life but that could very well need to change as time progresses with the project. Outside research would have to focus on Christian religion and practices and the relationships that are created in that.
Potential Limitations
The limitations I face would definitely be the ability to get information from people. Religion and faith can be a very guarded thing for a lot of people and as such can make it very hard for people to be willing to talk about it. Not all people are willing to tell other people about their faith and the current state it is in and how it is progressing. It would also be hard, if I can get that information from them, to measure the effectiveness of this virtual church on their faith and how much it may progress or regress. Faith is a very hard thing to quantify and measure. Also it would be hard to get people to articulate their true faith. Some, especially in a church kind of environment, may embellish the truth so they do not seem like a horrible person. Also some people may not be able to describe how they feel and what they see as the “Truth” let alone how a virtual church may help that grow or not. It can be very easy to miss a lot of very important details because the people may not even know the details about themselves. There are self truths that can take a lot of time to get exposed to people and some may not have experienced what they need yet to learn those truths.
Discussion
This research aims fill in a lot of gaps on information about virtual churches. These kinds of digital churches are very new, especially in worlds like Second Life, so there is not much information about them at this present time and how much they can truly help people. This project can possibly help the church be more effective to those who use it and help the people who use it to have a deeper experience because of the effectiveness. We might be able to better understand how religion will evolve in virtual world.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Notes From Practice Field Observation
These are taken from right before a sunday church service in the area I have chosen to practice my research.
These are the sample notese that I later expanded on:
10:36 arrival
10:37 2 guys talking in the circle between church and café. Using animations with sound effects
8 people in area
4 in café
4 in church
10:41 people are talking about where they are from (Ontario, Louisiana, Kansas)
Most of the people are not dressed up too fancy. The staff, pastor, and his wife are dressed up more.
10:46 person dressed like a raccoon arrives
10:47 12 people total
10:49 walked into church greeted by a staff member dressed all in black. Pastors wife also at door. Greet by her. Said hello to both of them and thank her for letting me be here. She is dressed up in a very extravagant kind of dress.
10:50 pastor talks about what he is going to preach about
Topic: answers to prayer
Observational Notes:
Interactions
10:37 saw two men outside the church talking using primarily sound effects and animations. Shortly after, they walked into the café and started talking with café staff member.
People Locations/Population Total
10:37 only 8 people in the area
4 were in the café
4 were in the welcome area in the church
Conversations/Interactions
10:41 People in the café were talking about where they were from. One said Ontario, Canada, one said Kansas, and one said Louisiana.
Outfits
The men were dressed in a t-shirt and jeans while the lady staff member was dressed up in a green skirt and suit jacket.
Outfits
In the church greeting area people were more dressed up. Male greeter was in an all black suit. Pastor was as well in a black suit. Pastor’s wife was dressed in a more extravagant green flowing kind of dress.
Outfits
10:46 a person dressed as a raccoon teleported into the middle of the benches, walked toward the church
Population Total
10:47 now a total on 12 people in the area
People Locations
10:49 Male greeter on the left side of the entrance. Pastor’s wife on the right side. Pastor no longer in that area
People Locations
A few other people in the greeting area just standing around.
People Locations/Interactions
Pastor in the service area. Sitting in the mid-right section of pews 1 row back. Looked like he was by himself. Man walked up to him and asked what the sermon was going to be about. Pastor responded by saying it is about the answers to prayers. Man said he was looking forward to it.
Methodological Notes:
I would need to get there earlier to she how the staff prepares, if any.
Just stood off to the side and observed and did not get involved and talk with anyone. I would need to interact with people more if possible.
Go into church earlier to see more how people interact inside the church greeting area and also another time to see how they interact inside the service area.
Are the people that here come every week or just sometimes? How many frequent the service? Are the numbers constant?
Theoretical Notes:
I went in comparing how a normally go to church and what normally happens there and what happens in this kind of environment. How effective can virtual church be because religion is a highly personally, heavily relational experience? How much can really be done?
When I arrived I saw 2 groups of people. One group was in the café and one in the church greeting area.
Curious what they were talking about: religion based or just shooting the breeze?
Heard the group I in the café talk about where they were from.
Over at the church, saw pastor was not in the greeting area anymore like one would expect at some church. It did have another male greeter though along with pastor’s wife greeting people as well. Male greeter tended to just say hello to people and that was it while pastor’s wife tended to be more personal with greeting and say hello then the person’s name.
After I walked into the church saw the pastor by himself in the mid-right section part of the pews. Thought it was strange that before a church service that the pastor was not being sociable with the congregation. Maybe he was getting everything prepared for the service?
These are the sample notese that I later expanded on:
10:36 arrival
10:37 2 guys talking in the circle between church and café. Using animations with sound effects
8 people in area
4 in café
4 in church
10:41 people are talking about where they are from (Ontario, Louisiana, Kansas)
Most of the people are not dressed up too fancy. The staff, pastor, and his wife are dressed up more.
10:46 person dressed like a raccoon arrives
10:47 12 people total
10:49 walked into church greeted by a staff member dressed all in black. Pastors wife also at door. Greet by her. Said hello to both of them and thank her for letting me be here. She is dressed up in a very extravagant kind of dress.
10:50 pastor talks about what he is going to preach about
Topic: answers to prayer
Observational Notes:
Interactions
10:37 saw two men outside the church talking using primarily sound effects and animations. Shortly after, they walked into the café and started talking with café staff member.
People Locations/Population Total
10:37 only 8 people in the area
4 were in the café
4 were in the welcome area in the church
Conversations/Interactions
10:41 People in the café were talking about where they were from. One said Ontario, Canada, one said Kansas, and one said Louisiana.
Outfits
The men were dressed in a t-shirt and jeans while the lady staff member was dressed up in a green skirt and suit jacket.
Outfits
In the church greeting area people were more dressed up. Male greeter was in an all black suit. Pastor was as well in a black suit. Pastor’s wife was dressed in a more extravagant green flowing kind of dress.
Outfits
10:46 a person dressed as a raccoon teleported into the middle of the benches, walked toward the church
Population Total
10:47 now a total on 12 people in the area
People Locations
10:49 Male greeter on the left side of the entrance. Pastor’s wife on the right side. Pastor no longer in that area
People Locations
A few other people in the greeting area just standing around.
People Locations/Interactions
Pastor in the service area. Sitting in the mid-right section of pews 1 row back. Looked like he was by himself. Man walked up to him and asked what the sermon was going to be about. Pastor responded by saying it is about the answers to prayers. Man said he was looking forward to it.
Methodological Notes:
I would need to get there earlier to she how the staff prepares, if any.
Just stood off to the side and observed and did not get involved and talk with anyone. I would need to interact with people more if possible.
Go into church earlier to see more how people interact inside the church greeting area and also another time to see how they interact inside the service area.
Are the people that here come every week or just sometimes? How many frequent the service? Are the numbers constant?
Theoretical Notes:
I went in comparing how a normally go to church and what normally happens there and what happens in this kind of environment. How effective can virtual church be because religion is a highly personally, heavily relational experience? How much can really be done?
When I arrived I saw 2 groups of people. One group was in the café and one in the church greeting area.
Curious what they were talking about: religion based or just shooting the breeze?
Heard the group I in the café talk about where they were from.
Over at the church, saw pastor was not in the greeting area anymore like one would expect at some church. It did have another male greeter though along with pastor’s wife greeting people as well. Male greeter tended to just say hello to people and that was it while pastor’s wife tended to be more personal with greeting and say hello then the person’s name.
After I walked into the church saw the pastor by himself in the mid-right section part of the pews. Thought it was strange that before a church service that the pastor was not being sociable with the congregation. Maybe he was getting everything prepared for the service?
Interview Questions
1. I want to interview the pastor/owner of the area. I want to talk with him because he should have the most information about the area and be able to answer the questions the easiest. When I have talked to him before he seems pretty friendly seemed more than happy to oblige. I am still waiting to hear back from him for a time to talk with him.
2. Questions
How long has worshipping occurred here?
Besides the Sunday service, what other kinds of activities take place here?
If so who runs those and what do they do?
How many people work/volunteer in this area?
What type of stuff do they do?
How did they get started?
Why did you decide to start a church in second life?
What denomination ,if any, is this church and service? Why did you choose that one?
Why did you decide to do a more contemporary kind of service as opposed to a more traditional service?
Do you have any plans to expand in the future?
Have you ever been able to meet with some of the people that worship here in real life to share stories, experiences, etc.?
2. Questions
How long has worshipping occurred here?
Besides the Sunday service, what other kinds of activities take place here?
If so who runs those and what do they do?
How many people work/volunteer in this area?
What type of stuff do they do?
How did they get started?
Why did you decide to start a church in second life?
What denomination ,if any, is this church and service? Why did you choose that one?
Why did you decide to do a more contemporary kind of service as opposed to a more traditional service?
Do you have any plans to expand in the future?
Have you ever been able to meet with some of the people that worship here in real life to share stories, experiences, etc.?
Map
This is a section of the area that I am practicing in. This was taken from a Sunday service at the church. It is of a circle of benches where many people group together with a path leading to the church where services are held. The teleport spot shows where most people teleport in at. The yellow path shows common pathways that people took to sit in the pews of the church. The blue boxes show where a majority of people gathered after the service and the green ones show where they grouped before the service.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Community of Practice of Interest
The community of practice that I will practice in is a group of Christians in SL. In the area there is a church that has weekly service and various other buildings and areas that are used for group meetings like bible studies and that kind of thing. I am curious how a group can worship in this kind of environment and how it may differ from a real life church.
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Permission for the Land Owner
This is my conversation with the land owner, who I am going to call Smith, where I wish to practice my research.
[10:25] Lando Dragonash: hey do you have a second?
[10:25] Smith: Hello. :o) What's up?
[10:27] Lando Dragonash: hello I have a question to run by you. I am a student at Bradley University doing a field research class and I was hoping that I could get permission to practice some research here.
[10:27] Smith: Are you the one I spoke with on the phone Wednesday?
[10:28] Lando Dragonash: No it was not.
[10:28] Lando Dragonash: I IMed you but you were not online at the time.
[10:28] Smith: Ah, okay. What type of research would you like to do?
[10:29] Lando Dragonash: I have a notecard here at kinda explans some of it.
[10:29] Lando Dragonash: I am just curious how people worship in sl.
[10:32] Smith: Our service begins in about half an hour. You're more than welcome to stay.
[10:32] Lando Dragonash: so I do have permission to do research here?
[10:33] Smith: If you're just taking notes, certainly. Was there something else you had in mind?
[10:34] Lando Dragonash: I may have questions at a later date but currently no.
Unfortunately my computer crashed right before I could give him my notecard and attend the service. I later emailed him with the notecard as well as thanking him for the permission and help. He replied by saying:
Jonathan,
Thanks for the explanation of what you're doing. Feel free to observe in the manner you have described. You also have permission to use my name (real or SL) without modification.
Thanks,
Smith
[10:25] Lando Dragonash: hey do you have a second?
[10:25] Smith: Hello. :o) What's up?
[10:27] Lando Dragonash: hello I have a question to run by you. I am a student at Bradley University doing a field research class and I was hoping that I could get permission to practice some research here.
[10:27] Smith: Are you the one I spoke with on the phone Wednesday?
[10:28] Lando Dragonash: No it was not.
[10:28] Lando Dragonash: I IMed you but you were not online at the time.
[10:28] Smith: Ah, okay. What type of research would you like to do?
[10:29] Lando Dragonash: I have a notecard here at kinda explans some of it.
[10:29] Lando Dragonash: I am just curious how people worship in sl.
[10:32] Smith: Our service begins in about half an hour. You're more than welcome to stay.
[10:32] Lando Dragonash: so I do have permission to do research here?
[10:33] Smith: If you're just taking notes, certainly. Was there something else you had in mind?
[10:34] Lando Dragonash: I may have questions at a later date but currently no.
Unfortunately my computer crashed right before I could give him my notecard and attend the service. I later emailed him with the notecard as well as thanking him for the permission and help. He replied by saying:
Jonathan,
Thanks for the explanation of what you're doing. Feel free to observe in the manner you have described. You also have permission to use my name (real or SL) without modification.
Thanks,
Smith
Permission Notecard
This is the notecard that will be given to anybody i wish to get information from.
My name is Jonathan McKittrick/ Lando Dragonash.I am an undergraduate student enrolled in an introduction to research methods class (Multimedia 333:Introcution to Field Research In Virtual Worlds) at Bradley University in Peoria Il, USA, that is being conducted in Second Life fall term, 2007.
We are learning to do field research/ethnography and will not complete projects this term. But next semester, if we decide to do a project, our projects feature observation of a “community of practice,” that is, a group of people doing similar things in a cultural setting. I am observing this area at this time as I consider what work I might do next term.
My observations are merely descriptive: I’ll take notes about what I see and I may summarize those notes in my paper, in class presentations to my classmates, or on my web-blog about this research. The blog is found at:
I will not record or publish either the SL or RL name of any avatar/person. Any observations about avatars or recording of their talk transcripts would take place only after having obtained the explicit permission of that avatar/person and would only happen after the name of the avatar had been changed via secret coding scheme. I will ask you if I can have your permission to observe you in general. Any pictures taken in SL, that serve as explanatory data and which might include avatars, will be modified so that avatar names and identifying characteristics are blurred/blocked.
We will also interview informants about the communities of practice that we are studying. These conversations are, again, voluntary and only with the informed permission of the avatar/person/informant. I may copy out the chat transcript from our conversations/interviews. When we do, we will change/code your name so that there is no recorded connection between you/your avatar and the data. You may choose to withdraw at any time without penalty by simply telling me you wish to stop.
You may follow the progress of all of the studies in the class, including this one at: <http://slane.bradley.edu/com/faculty/lamoureux/website2/333/bloglinks333_07.html>. Presentation of the findings from the study serve as our gift to the communities of practice who share time and knowledge with us; perhaps our perspectives will help residents to more fully understand and appreciate their activities.
If you have questions regarding the study, you can contact me, in world or out of world via email at <jmckittrick@bradley.edu>, or my teacher, Professor Beliveau in world or out of world as Ed Lamoureux at ell@bradley.edu, 309-677-2378.
Do you read English clearly enough to understand this form and to respond?Do you have any questions?May I observe your behavior in this setting and make notes about it?May I transcribe of copy of our interview for use in class presentations and published to the blog after removing your identity.?Thank you for your time and consideration of my requests.
Agree to the informed consent in general?
My name is Jonathan McKittrick/ Lando Dragonash.I am an undergraduate student enrolled in an introduction to research methods class (Multimedia 333:Introcution to Field Research In Virtual Worlds) at Bradley University in Peoria Il, USA, that is being conducted in Second Life fall term, 2007.
We are learning to do field research/ethnography and will not complete projects this term. But next semester, if we decide to do a project, our projects feature observation of a “community of practice,” that is, a group of people doing similar things in a cultural setting. I am observing this area at this time as I consider what work I might do next term.
My observations are merely descriptive: I’ll take notes about what I see and I may summarize those notes in my paper, in class presentations to my classmates, or on my web-blog about this research. The blog is found at:
I will not record or publish either the SL or RL name of any avatar/person. Any observations about avatars or recording of their talk transcripts would take place only after having obtained the explicit permission of that avatar/person and would only happen after the name of the avatar had been changed via secret coding scheme. I will ask you if I can have your permission to observe you in general. Any pictures taken in SL, that serve as explanatory data and which might include avatars, will be modified so that avatar names and identifying characteristics are blurred/blocked.
We will also interview informants about the communities of practice that we are studying. These conversations are, again, voluntary and only with the informed permission of the avatar/person/informant. I may copy out the chat transcript from our conversations/interviews. When we do, we will change/code your name so that there is no recorded connection between you/your avatar and the data. You may choose to withdraw at any time without penalty by simply telling me you wish to stop.
You may follow the progress of all of the studies in the class, including this one at: <http://slane.bradley.edu/com/faculty/lamoureux/website2/333/bloglinks333_07.html>. Presentation of the findings from the study serve as our gift to the communities of practice who share time and knowledge with us; perhaps our perspectives will help residents to more fully understand and appreciate their activities.
If you have questions regarding the study, you can contact me, in world or out of world via email at <jmckittrick@bradley.edu>, or my teacher, Professor Beliveau in world or out of world as Ed Lamoureux at ell@bradley.edu, 309-677-2378.
Do you read English clearly enough to understand this form and to respond?Do you have any questions?May I observe your behavior in this setting and make notes about it?May I transcribe of copy of our interview for use in class presentations and published to the blog after removing your identity.?Thank you for your time and consideration of my requests.
Agree to the informed consent in general?
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Assignment 2: Attending an Event
The event that I attended was a interview/presentation about CSI:New York using Second Life for an upcoming episode. It was located in an open air ampatheater which you got to by walking down big round stone stairs to the seating. In the background there was a castle on a hill which lead to a dropdown to the theater. In front of that there were two big white screens that had a little advertising in blue for the area this was set in. The seating was composed of four sections. Each section had 5 rows of a series of blue-gray benches to sit on. Each of these benches allowed three people to sit on it at a time. In the ampatheater, there was a raised platform in the back where a speaker could present their speak. Below that platform there was a table with chairs with that could be used for a panel discussion.
When the program first began, there were about 25 people there but by the end of it there were about 40 people there. There were all different kinds of people attending this event. For instance there was a girl who looked like a fairy with big wings and a man who had a big grey beard and was dressed all in black just to name a couple. There was little movement from the audience once the interview began other than the few people who trickled in to take thier seat.
This particular event had the two people stand in front of the table right in front of the audience; Alpha asked the questions and Omega answered them. Omega works at Company X that worked with CSI:NY on this project. Company X has also worked with MTV on one of their TV shows for SL.
The interview lasted just a little bit less than an hour and was streamed through the audio where you can normally listen to music. There was a little problem in the beginning because the audio was not streaming correctly. It sounded like chimpunks instead of people. After about 5 minutes the problem was fixed and the interview went on its way. Alpha did mention they were using a delay for the interview but did not say if that contributed to the problem.
Alpha had somw questiosn perpared but also allowed people to IM him questions of their own to asked Omega during the interview. Some of the questions the audience asked included the types of viewer windows CSI:NY were going to use and the effects of CSI:NY using this on the commerce of SL. Alpha and Omega talked a little bit about what CSI:NY was going to do with the story but did not go into much detail other than they were chasing the killer in the virtual world. Omega said that CSI:NY was going to use the SL episode twice but did not say if it was only going to be a rerun or a second part to the episode. Omega did mention that SL users would be able to interact with what CSI:NY was doing and help catch the killer but once again did not go into detail.
Alpha also mentioned in passing that The Office was also working on a project in SL that should air very soon but Omega could not comment on that because his company did not work on that project.
One of the biggest points was made early in the discussion. Omega talked about old medias having to move forward and try to incorporate itself with new media, exactly what CSI:NY is trying to do and more and more old medias will probably move more towards doing things like this.
The CSI:New York episode using SL is titled "Down the Rabbit Hole" and will air on Wednesday, October 24 at 10 p.m. et/pt, 9 ct on CBS.
When the program first began, there were about 25 people there but by the end of it there were about 40 people there. There were all different kinds of people attending this event. For instance there was a girl who looked like a fairy with big wings and a man who had a big grey beard and was dressed all in black just to name a couple. There was little movement from the audience once the interview began other than the few people who trickled in to take thier seat.
This particular event had the two people stand in front of the table right in front of the audience; Alpha asked the questions and Omega answered them. Omega works at Company X that worked with CSI:NY on this project. Company X has also worked with MTV on one of their TV shows for SL.
The interview lasted just a little bit less than an hour and was streamed through the audio where you can normally listen to music. There was a little problem in the beginning because the audio was not streaming correctly. It sounded like chimpunks instead of people. After about 5 minutes the problem was fixed and the interview went on its way. Alpha did mention they were using a delay for the interview but did not say if that contributed to the problem.
Alpha had somw questiosn perpared but also allowed people to IM him questions of their own to asked Omega during the interview. Some of the questions the audience asked included the types of viewer windows CSI:NY were going to use and the effects of CSI:NY using this on the commerce of SL. Alpha and Omega talked a little bit about what CSI:NY was going to do with the story but did not go into much detail other than they were chasing the killer in the virtual world. Omega said that CSI:NY was going to use the SL episode twice but did not say if it was only going to be a rerun or a second part to the episode. Omega did mention that SL users would be able to interact with what CSI:NY was doing and help catch the killer but once again did not go into detail.
Alpha also mentioned in passing that The Office was also working on a project in SL that should air very soon but Omega could not comment on that because his company did not work on that project.
One of the biggest points was made early in the discussion. Omega talked about old medias having to move forward and try to incorporate itself with new media, exactly what CSI:NY is trying to do and more and more old medias will probably move more towards doing things like this.
The CSI:New York episode using SL is titled "Down the Rabbit Hole" and will air on Wednesday, October 24 at 10 p.m. et/pt, 9 ct on CBS.
Assignment 1: Five Groups
Group 1: Race Fans
This group was located at a race track as one would expect. The Space was fairly wide open with buidlings in the background. It looked like a cityscape but had a track running through it with racing lights throughout the track. The viewers had to teleport to a viewing area that was located above the trak on a floating kind of platform. When I got there most of the people were gone because the race just ended. There was still some people hanging out on the platform still talking. After a few minutes there, there was an announcement letting people practice on the track. The people were really nice and inviting. They were more than willing to talk and answer questions if you had them.
Group 2: Music Fans
This is seemingly becoming more popular in SL. This perticular one took place in a music club. there were three walls up with the wall opposite of the musician knocked out so people could enter the building and dance floor. Ther was a little stage set up were the musician was playing. There was just one musician playing an accoustic guitar. On the dance floor there were around twenty people dancing according to the music. If songs were slower the dancing was slower, if the music was a little faster, they would dance faster, as one would expect in real life. Some people were by themselves others danced together.
Group 3: Boaters
This took place at a location that was mostly water. It looked like a fancy kind of port for rich people. In the background you could hear bells ring from time to time to kind of set the atmosphere. Most of the boats were big yachts. Most of these were white with a very colorful sail on it. Opposite of the boats on the docks were many little tents set up for people to look at. Some had stuff to buy like sailing animations and life perservers others were information and notecards. Nobody here really seemed to talk very much. The people that were there just walked by and went along on their way.
Group 4: Club Dancers
This was set up in an arial platform a little bit above ground level in a city. The place wasnt too big but big enough to have maybe 30 people there. At the time there was about 15 people. The place was fairly brightly colored. The floor was a see-through light blue with lights that would change colors in some part of it. On the walls there was various kinds of music that promoted the DJ and location. It looked like it was in some kind of Japanese city. The music was some kind of techno/electronica music. The DJ was in the back part of the room with the dance floor in front of him. He was on a little plaform with turntables in front of him. Opposite of him was a few round chairs from people to sit in but not many, only about 6. Between the two was the dance floor where people were dancing together and by themselves.
Group 5: Campers
In SL this is areally easy way to make money, it just take forever to make a lot of it. This area is located in a mall kind of area. In the middle of it the are benches were up to three people can sit at a time and there were six of those. These are in a circle with a plant in the middle. Above the plant was a big ball that would random choose someone to give 2 Linden to ever 2 minutes. Along with that there was also trivia that people could answer about all different kinds of topics. There didn't seem like there were many people talking in this area.
This group was located at a race track as one would expect. The Space was fairly wide open with buidlings in the background. It looked like a cityscape but had a track running through it with racing lights throughout the track. The viewers had to teleport to a viewing area that was located above the trak on a floating kind of platform. When I got there most of the people were gone because the race just ended. There was still some people hanging out on the platform still talking. After a few minutes there, there was an announcement letting people practice on the track. The people were really nice and inviting. They were more than willing to talk and answer questions if you had them.
Group 2: Music Fans
This is seemingly becoming more popular in SL. This perticular one took place in a music club. there were three walls up with the wall opposite of the musician knocked out so people could enter the building and dance floor. Ther was a little stage set up were the musician was playing. There was just one musician playing an accoustic guitar. On the dance floor there were around twenty people dancing according to the music. If songs were slower the dancing was slower, if the music was a little faster, they would dance faster, as one would expect in real life. Some people were by themselves others danced together.
Group 3: Boaters
This took place at a location that was mostly water. It looked like a fancy kind of port for rich people. In the background you could hear bells ring from time to time to kind of set the atmosphere. Most of the boats were big yachts. Most of these were white with a very colorful sail on it. Opposite of the boats on the docks were many little tents set up for people to look at. Some had stuff to buy like sailing animations and life perservers others were information and notecards. Nobody here really seemed to talk very much. The people that were there just walked by and went along on their way.
Group 4: Club Dancers
This was set up in an arial platform a little bit above ground level in a city. The place wasnt too big but big enough to have maybe 30 people there. At the time there was about 15 people. The place was fairly brightly colored. The floor was a see-through light blue with lights that would change colors in some part of it. On the walls there was various kinds of music that promoted the DJ and location. It looked like it was in some kind of Japanese city. The music was some kind of techno/electronica music. The DJ was in the back part of the room with the dance floor in front of him. He was on a little plaform with turntables in front of him. Opposite of him was a few round chairs from people to sit in but not many, only about 6. Between the two was the dance floor where people were dancing together and by themselves.
Group 5: Campers
In SL this is areally easy way to make money, it just take forever to make a lot of it. This area is located in a mall kind of area. In the middle of it the are benches were up to three people can sit at a time and there were six of those. These are in a circle with a plant in the middle. Above the plant was a big ball that would random choose someone to give 2 Linden to ever 2 minutes. Along with that there was also trivia that people could answer about all different kinds of topics. There didn't seem like there were many people talking in this area.
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