"My Second Life Has a Second Life!"

The first time I heard about Second Life was on the TV show called The Office. Whenever I hear about Second Life, I think of the episode where the character Dwight talks about the Second Life avatar he created! I, myself, have never gotten to experience the world of Second Life, but I can only imagine that the experience of it would be quite similar to playing an interactive online video game. I used to have XBOX Live set-up at my house years ago, and I can remember having this cool headset on, and I was able to talk to other people who lived across the United States, and I think even in other parts of the world! But it was so long ago that it is hard for me to recall the exact details unfortunately...

Anyways, the video we watched in class last Wednesday about Second Life was extremely fascinating to me. I can understand and see the creative aspect behind the concept of Second Life, especially after hearing the creator Philip Rosedale speak about his inspirations for it. I can see where he is coming from as a designer. From an artistic perspective, I think that Second Life can promote an immense amount of creativity and enable people to dream of and create new and exciting things (even if they aren't technically real). There are no limits... because cyberspace virtually has no limits! I think that on paper Second Life is an ingenious concept. Along with being able to connect with others around the world, it also presents entrepreneurial opportunities for people who are interested in making some money.

Even though Second Life appears to have some really great capabilities, I think that there can be negative aspects as well. Similar to the problems I have with the concept of Facebook, I am not sure about how the issues of privacy and cyber-bullying are dealt with on that site. Also, I do think that if people become too heavily reliant on sitting at the computer logged into their Second Life in order to communicate with others, they really might be losing out on real-life human interaction that I think is really important to have. When you are on Second Life, you are living through a character in a virtual fantasy world that doesn't really exist... it's not technically your life, but more of a "fake" life. I think that it does (like everything else in life) have the potential to become an unhealthy addiction. Some may spend hours and hours in their basement playing the game every day, which may seem a bit excessive and obsessive, but I do think it probably wouldn't be too bad of a thing to engage in a few hours a week to relieve stress, and just have some fun! But remember.. when your Second Life avatar has created its own Second Life... that may be when you know you should put the mouse down and step away from the computer, because two lives is already enough! 

Facebook Roulette......Facebook Revolution!

Reflecting on our in-class discussion from Wednesday, I think that everyone brought up great, valid points about Facebook! I can see/understand the “casino analogy” in regards to the social networking site. Facebook can be similar to a casino because both can be exciting, yet "risky" places, and both do involve a hunger for money. Facebook sells users’ information to advertisers who tailor their ads to users’ individual “needs.” Which makes me wonder... is anything ever really private on Facebook...? 


Also, Facebook can be a gamble at times: when you post something, how are you to know how others will react to what you said, or did, until you post it? Some people may enjoy whatever it is that you posted, while it is possible for others to be offended and have a newly-formed negative perception of you. Taking this into consideration, one might want to be careful about what he or she posts on Facebook. Also, I can only imagine the possible damage that revealing photos can do to future job prospects... I do believe that the image you create of yourself on your Facebook page can have a profound effect on how other people perceive you in real life.

Before I had heard of the “casino analogy,” I had thought of Facebook to be like those celebrity gossip-column-type magazines you find in the check-out stands of supermarkets. Similar to how the paparazzi (and the rest of the celebrity-fandom-world) follows who Britney Spears and Justin Bieber are dating, Facebook makes it more-than-easy to follow (or “stalk”) other people’s personal lives. When people end relationships and change their “relationship statuses” on Facebook, there are even announcements to all friends via “News Feed” that the people are now single (not to mention an icon of a "broken heart" is pictured by this announcement)! I can suspect that some would probably find it at least slightly embarrassing for 500, or even 1,000, other people to know that they were dumped by their significant other, on Facebook!!

Over the past week, my idea of Facebook has changed: from being like a celebrity gossip column, or a casino, or merely a “fad,” I have now realized that Facebook is more than just any of those things: it is one of the most powerful forces of communication in today’s world (and it's probably here to stay, for a while at least!). 


In fact, Facebook not only has the ability to bring people together, but most importantly, it has the ability to completely change the course of history, and political activists in Egypt have proved this.

I was astounded to learn that thousands of people were able to organize meetings and band together to protest in the streets of Egypt, simply through the creation of organized online “groups” and “events” on Facebook. Who knew that one website could be so effective in connecting people and facilitating political change? Mubarak had been Egypt's president for three decades, but stepped down from his position of power after weeks of serious protests. It is possible that this would have not happened if it weren't for the use of Facebook.

Like power, and many things in life, I think that Facebook can be used for good, OR bad: it is up to the individual to decide what he or she wants to use it for!