Second Life: Exploring the Expanse

As tempting as the bling you get from sitting in the chairs at H&M sounded, I decided to go out and do some exploring today.


When you want to go somewhere in Second Life, there's an option where you can "search" for locations. Type in generic terms like "store" and you get myriad options between stores set up by residents and those put up by real-world companies. When you find a place you want to visit, you can opt to "teleport" to the location, and SL will instantly send you there.



But reality is what it is, I spend too much damn money in real life, can't go buying shit in SL. So, I move on...

I did come back to H&M to find Aki Octagon asleep (aka "away"). He's dedicated to the cause, not leaving till he gets that bling in his hand, his second piece of ice yet. He got the first prize, the diamond earings, but he's going for it all.


Went to check out the Reuters spot, see what that was about. For those that don't know, Reuters angle into Second Life (I posted about it a little while back) was to put one of their media corespondents in as their "bureau chief" in SL. I'm sure his virtual self is enjoying it in this crib.


What I'm starting to discover (as Aki hinted at in his post) is how, even though I sit 5 feet away from another live human being, I still search for interaction within SL. Though (in First Life) I'm more often than not the type that prefers the company of just a few, I find myself searching for where the masses congregate in SL. +1 million residents yet I've only run into other Second Life inhabitants in few places (H&M comes to mind, the place where Aki has chosen to camp out in order to rack up the bling).

Perhaps its just because I don't quite fully understand how to navigate the world yet, but I find myself flying around, finding sporadic pieces of land with random building structures, yet zero signs of activity. Admittedly my "avatar" is essentially my eyes seeing into this world and I'm comparing it too closely to my first life, but its erie seeing developed infrastructure, well-designed rooms, in seemingly city-like places with no inhabitants in sight. Walking around a mall or going into a club and being the only person there is a strange feeling, I must say.

Soon enough, we'll figure it out and we'll be reporting back on - or perhaps even creating- the hot spots where the residents want to be in SL.