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What You Should Know About Second Life

By Vincent Doogan

In the 1950s, a highly popular children's television program called Winky Dink and You provided a unique television experience that directly engaged the audience in an interaction with the host, Jack Barry, and the animated star, Winky Dink.

The technology used in the show was simple — a rectangular piece of clear vinyl plastic that was placed on a TV screen and rubbed with a cloth to create a static charge, which would hold the sheet to the screen. During the program the viewer would draw on the screen, at Jack Barry's direction, to aid Winky in his animated world. Jack also emphasized inviting a friend over to watch the program; sharing crayons and sharing in the drawing were valued and encouraged.

For instance, Jack would point at the TV screen and say, "Winky needs a bridge to cross the river. Draw one here!" Suddenly, children were immersed in an action that moved the scenario along. Later in the program, the host might begin a circle and tell his audience: "Draw a line as I move my finger on the screen. Done? Now, say the magic word, Winko!" Suddenly, a child's circle had a context — it was a bowl with water and gold fish!

Of course, even then there was the issue of a technology divide between the "haves," those with a fifty-cent Winky Dink kit that contained the necessary vinyl sheet, cloth, and four color crayons, and the "have-nots," who often — out of desperation — resorted to using ordinary crayons on the bare TV screen, to their parents' chagrin.

Winky Dink and You was an interesting experiment along the road to today's highly elaborate and sophisticated electronic interactive games and multi-user virtual environments or worlds. The latest incarnation is an increasingly popular "virtual world" software application called Second Life that would astonish the creators of Winky Dink.

What Is Second Life?

Second Life is a software application operating across a grid of computers to produce a three-dimensional animated world populated by a global community of individuals who are Second Life members. Each member is represented in this world (termed "in-world") by an animated character called an avatar, which one operates on a personal computer, using free proprietary software downloaded from the Internet.

Second Life was launched in 2003 by Linden Research, Inc., a San Francisco-based company. Its creator, Philip Rosedale, was the former Chief Technology Officer of Real Networks, makers of the popular digital entertainment software, RealPlayer. Unlike a game, Second Life is not associated with a specific goal or outcome. Through their avatars, members engage in all forms of social and creative interaction with one another and with their environment.

In Second Life, avatars ambulate through a world of earthly proportions. Second Life comprises about 10,000 islands that, when scaled to "real life" proportions, are 65,000 square meters each (about the size of Lincoln Center). One walks, runs, flies, or teleports to other locations in-world, communicating with others through text chat or instant messaging.

Voice communication has recently been added, using either a headset with a microphone or the simple built-in microphone and speakers that come with most computers today. Second Life members can also create and view presentations and send and receive information both in-world and between Second Life and the "real world."

What Can You Do In Second Life?

The 3D environment of Second Life has attracted millions of individuals from many countries. Second Life avatars, or residents, total nearly 9.5 million; more than 1.5 million residents have logged in during the last sixty days. At any moment, between 30,000 and 60,000 residents are logged in. This scale of participation in Second Life facilitates a potential cornucopia of digital crosscultural encounters, experiences, and collaborations as residents play, socialize, conduct business, and go about their daily lives in ways that closely resemble the "real world".

Second Life also has a robust economy, produced by in-world transactions for in-world goods, services, and real estate. Second Life has its own currency, Linden dollars (L$), which can be bought or earned in Second Life, and a money supply of more than L$3 trillion dollars. The L$ to US$ exchange rate is constantly changing, but is generally about L$270-300 to US$1. Currency fl ow in Second Life is facilitated by credit cards and PayPal. Many residents participate in Second Life by being the producers or consumers of Second Life goods and services. Products such as buildings, vehicles, and apparel mirror most of what we encounter in our daily lives; services span the areas of education, design, construction, security, entertainment, and real estate. Through real estate transactions, residents establish their own communities and business locations.

Who Is Using Second Life?

Many colleges, museums, universities, and corporations have established a presence in Second Life for community building, education programs, and collaboration.

In Spring 2007, Red (an orchestra from Cleveland) performed the first-ever live digital simulcast of a classical orchestra in multiple Second Life amphitheaters. Each amphitheater had the capacity for about fifty avatars and displayed the streamed performance and graphic stills on three screens. Residents (avatars) attended, listened to stereophonic sound, and chatted about the musical program during both the concert and intermission. Case Western University, the New Media Consortium (of which NYU is a founding member), and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, among others, supported this project.

Filmmakers and animators, both amateur and trained, have produced entertaining, well-respected "Machinima" within Second Life. "Machinima" is a fusion of the words "machine" and "cinema". It refers to a set of filmmaking techniques as well as a genre. From the Second Life interface, one can initiate a simple recording in QuickTime format of all that is seen in the viewing window. More complex projects require residents as actors, as well as sets, locations, costumes, and third-party video production software.

In June 2007, Jonathan Fanton, President of the MacArthur Foundation, delivered remarks on "Philanthropy in Virtual Worlds." This presentation was broadcast into Second Life. Fanton elaborated on MacArthur's recent announcement of a $50 million initiative "to investigate the role and impact of digital technology on the lives of young people." About Second Life, Fanton stated, "In virtual worlds, we see unprecedented opportunity for innovation because interactions are multi-modal, simultaneous, physical, and virtual, and advances happen on a daily basis . . . it's clear that there are real opportunities for education."

How Do You Get Started With Second Life?

Getting started with Second Life is relatively easy. It involves acquiring a free membership and downloading free software for your computer from the Second Life website (http://www.secondlife.com/). Minimum software requirements are Windows 2000, XP, or Vista, Mac OS X 10.3.9 or higher, or 32-bit Linux. Computer hardware should not be more than two years old and a cable or DSL connection to the Internet is required. While basic Second Life membership is free, a premium membership for $9.95 permits one to own Second Life land and to receive a weekly stipend in Linden dollars.

The membership process requires your real name and a valid email address. You select a name for your in-world identity and choose an avatar from a small collection. The final step involves a response to an email sent to your account. After that, you can download the software, and you are on your way to your first Second Life visit on an orientation island. Linden Labs provides optional software updates almost bi-weekly; you will learn of these when you log in. In tandem with these updates, the system grid goes offline for maintenance (usually Wednesdays, 12:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. ET).

How Do You Create Things in Second Life?

There are numerous opportunities for creativity, self-expression, and fun in Second Life. A variety of tools with graphical interfaces are built into Second Life for changing the appearance of your avatar or constructing geometric elements that can be assembled to create more complex objects such as buildings, trees, and furniture. Files from high-end graphics software like Photoshop can also be uploaded into Second Life to add surface textures. Photographs and other flat art can be uploaded for use in Second Life art exhibits, too. The Linden Script Language (LSL) — a powerful, Java-like coding language — is also available for sculpting and creating objects or for simply adding behaviors to objects and avatars.

Of course, each resident is concerned with the appearance and identity of his or her virtual self, so intuitive Second Life tools and templates permit extensive enhancement of an avatar. Remember, if you cannot build it, you may be able to purchase what you need or contract another resident builder or consultant to do the work for you. Numerous help guides and in-world classes are available too.

Finally, because you control your intellectual property rights in Second Life, you can easily transfer or sell your creations to others.

Where to Learn More

At NYU, startup activities in Second Life began this past summer, as Information Technology Services (ITS) leveraged its membership in the New Media Consortium to lease Second Life property located on an educational community island. A modest Welcome Center, two amphitheaters, and several sandboxes for construction practice have been created and are available for use.

Currently, ITS is also working with three faculty members who are using Second Life in conjunction with their classes in Fall 2007. Their use involves Second Life as an object of study, as a means of strengthening student engagement and communication, and as an environment for media design and movie-making. In addition, several NYU student services organizations and clubs have expressed exploratory interest in Second Life.

For easy access to NYU's Second Life facilities, log in to Second Life, type "NYU" into the Second Life search tool, and teleport directly to the NYU Welcome Center.

For more information regarding ITS' nascent support services for the use of Second Life at NYU, contact Vincent Doogan at vincent.doogan@nyu.edu. Collaborations and partnerships are welcome.

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Author Biography

Vincent Doogan is the Director of ITS Student Technology Services.

Page last reviewed: November 20, 2007. All content © New York University.
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