My So Called Life
Last night, I visited Second Life for the first time. I did it because a friend suggested I beta test Blue Mars, a cross between WoW and SL, and since I've never played any of these games I thought it would be a good idea to see how Second Life works.
My first impression was good, but soon I got freaked out as people's voices popped in and out of my computer - usually inane conversation with thick London accents. Five minutes into it, a guy called Dingo introduced himself, said he was a hopeless romantic and asked if he could dance with me for ten minutes (I chose to play as a blonde chick), and soon afterwards he was asking if we could go somewhere more "quiet" and "romantic".
He also said he had started SL three weeks ago, was hopelessly addicted and loving it. I ended up falling into a pond by accident and not being able to fly out of it, so I logged out.
I managed to take only one photo - during my Salsa dance with Dingo (he reminded me a little of Peter Andre).
I spend all day in front of a computer... I'm not sure I want to come home and do the same! I think I'll just stick with my books for now.
However, I was thinking this morning: these virtual environments are perfect for senior citizens. There's that mixture of freedom of movement with the ability to share ideas, start projects or just chat which I think would appeal a lot to them - if it was introduced the right way.
My first impression was good, but soon I got freaked out as people's voices popped in and out of my computer - usually inane conversation with thick London accents. Five minutes into it, a guy called Dingo introduced himself, said he was a hopeless romantic and asked if he could dance with me for ten minutes (I chose to play as a blonde chick), and soon afterwards he was asking if we could go somewhere more "quiet" and "romantic".
He also said he had started SL three weeks ago, was hopelessly addicted and loving it. I ended up falling into a pond by accident and not being able to fly out of it, so I logged out.
I managed to take only one photo - during my Salsa dance with Dingo (he reminded me a little of Peter Andre).
I spend all day in front of a computer... I'm not sure I want to come home and do the same! I think I'll just stick with my books for now.
However, I was thinking this morning: these virtual environments are perfect for senior citizens. There's that mixture of freedom of movement with the ability to share ideas, start projects or just chat which I think would appeal a lot to them - if it was introduced the right way.