Some people say that Second Life is just a big 3D chat room, and on some
level they are correct. But that is like saying a computer is just a very
fancy calculator. At some level that is true too, but fails to capture the
full reality of computers and their impact on our lives for the past fifty
years. Hopefully, the other pages, in this collection, have peaked your
interest enough to have you read some more serious commentary on the
Second Life phenomenon. This collection of commentary is intended to look
more deeply, indeed, much more deeply, into this
potentially very important phenomenon. Second Life may well represent a
technological discontinuity in our understanding of computers and computer
interfaces and it may be more socially and psychologically transformative
than any technology to date. This has implications as esoteric as the
philosophy of technology and as pragmatic as the future of business
applications. These pages will explore the wide range of issues at these
two boundaries and many interesting things in between.
Whither Second Life? - Where Does Second Life
Fit on the Landscape of Computer Technologies?
A Word on Methodology - I Went Into Second
Life as a Researcher But Without a Specific Research Question. Some of the
Other Researcher's Were Appalled by My Lack of Rigor. So in My Defense I
Provide a Justification for the Approach I Took.
A Deeper Look at Second Life - Why Is Second
Life So Compelling and Why Do I Think It Will Represent a Technological
Discontinuity?
Speculating on future applications of
Second Life.
A Rich Set of Research Possibilities
in Second Life - Forget About the Technology. Second Life is a Great Place
to do Research.
Second Life in Evolutionary Stages - Second Life
Can Be Completely Overwhelming. This is Largely Because It Is Many Things
At Once. In Order to Make Sense Out of It, Pulling Some of Those Things
Apart Can Help.
The Pitfalls of Second Life - Second Life is
Not Without It Pitfalls. And There Are Some Regular Criticisms That Crop
Up. This Last Page Explores Some of Those Criticisms.