I decided that since I am coming to Second Life with some assumptions and a generally negative attitude, I should read and watch all the videos so that I can have an educated negative attitude.
It seems to me that some of the advantages of participating in Second Life are:
- the ability to collaborate (especially from a distance)
- many possibilities for outreach
- opportunities to engage teen library users
- potential usefulness in distance education (like SJSU's model)
- prohibitive system requirements
- preoccupations with the virtual rather than the "real" (for example, museums in Second Life--why not go to a real museum? Why not travel to new places, speak to the people who live there, breath the air, experience it as a human rather than as an avatar?)
- what happens to the virtual libraries and services when Second Life goes down? I know that's no reason not to try something new and innovative, I'm just putting it out there as something that might really stink if it happens.
- What about your First Life? The one you're missing out on when you're sitting at home, in the dark, in front of your computer, all alone. Second life = no life?
2 comments:
Thank you Sarah, wonderful and thoughtful comments on both the postitive and negative aspects of Second Life.
You are right, SL isn't perfect and something better might come along but it can give libraries and educational institutions experience in virtual worlds that we might not have had.
I actually have to say that having a Second Life does not equal having no life. When I moved here I had a hard time making friends and still have quite a few. It's not just me I have heard the same sort of comments from others, how hard it is to meet people. Now through SL I have a lot of friends that I spend several nights a week with.
Is SL for everyone, no, but it does have some interesting applications that are worth exploring.
Great short overview & analysis!
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