Second Life means different things to different people. For some it’s an escape from Real Life and a get away from what makes them unhappy. For some it’s just a game but for every AVI there is a Real Person behind that screen. For some Real Life and Second Life blend seamlessly into one.
What made you join Second Life? An Advert? A Programme about it? A friend who was already on it? OK so you know how but why? Was it to stop boredom? For friendship? Maybe you were looking for love?
For 17 years now Second Life has become a thriving Community with people from all walks of life, from all over this planet Earth that we call home, coming together to make a diverse Cyber World. Here from behind your screen you can pretty much be anything you want to be.
Some people in Second Life are gamers, they come here to play and have fun. There is plenty they can do too from huge Robot machines to Role Play sims and anything in between. However more and more people are coming into Second Life to find love, get married and have children. Maybe it’s to fill a void in their Real Life or maybe it’s just a personal choice that online love is all they have time for when their Real Life Work is so hectic and takes more and more of their life from them meaning less time to meet people in the way most would normally. Whatever the reason, the fact that 17 years on Second Life is still here, still making headlines and still pulling in a large audience is not an easy task and one that should be celebrated.
Technology has changed over the years and yet no matter what the Computer World has thrown at it Second Life has risen to the challenge and come back fighting time and time again. Creators have become adept at making first Prims and now Mesh dance to their tunes and one look at the Second Life Marketplace shows the amazing talent that keeps the vast economy that has been created by the People that inhabit this Cyber World turning. There is so much love and hard work that is put into everything you can buy there from Clothing to Accessories, to AVI parts and Furniture but lets not forget the vibrant shopping world from within the Second Life Grid. There are Sims where Shopping malls exist, where brands can create a name for themselves and for many there are VIP groups offering freebies or discounts that you only get by shopping in-world. The Grid doesn’t just stop with creators and shops you have clubs with live DJ’s and talented singers and sims dedicated to Real Life places to bring a little of Earth and the countries that make it to your fingertips at a click of a teleport. Yet year in year out your read reports that Second Life is dying, that Linden Labs will pull the plug and plunge this place we call home into darkness. The truth of the matter is Second Life will not just switch off, the money making machine is out living rivals. The Lindens and their Moles have stayed ahead of the game and keep pushing technology to its limits. Does Second Life have a shelf life? Well a few years back when Sansar was announced (which has since been sold on) and VR was praised as the next big thing, you would have been forgiven for thinking it might. However the year of 2020 and it’s pandemic curve ball have proved more than ever that Second Life is here to stay as people have used it to get away from lockdown, to have company when they need it. Sure the Economy might have had a slow down but the creators of Second Life rallied the troops and showed that there is good out there issuing freebies from clothes, Mesh bodies and heads to furniture and in store credit.
Second Life is not dying, its breathing, it’s living and it’s stronger than ever. Celebrate a world that is ours that is all of us coming together as one because when the world throws you lemons, Second Life will make Lemonade! If you haven’t been to SLB17, (Open till July 12th 2020), then go and support creators who have been the backbone of our community and share the joy that they spread, add your picture to this year's time capsule and be a part of History. Don’t stop loving Second Life because it’s always here for you no matter what your need is.
Writer:
2013UK Resident (Milae Marksman)
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