Intertwined Lives

I think it's odd how technology has been implemented into our lives; so much so that we now have the ability to create 'Second' Lives. SecondLife is an online virtual world, a Simulated Reality dedicated to helping its users create Avatars, or virtual iterations of themselves to escape from the realities of reality. It's almost scary. People are online earning themselves up to $100,000 a year designing objects, clothing, scripts and plenty of other things. We've been sitting idle in the information era for quite some time, it's about time we moved on to the virtual era. Residents of SecondLife have opened up stores to sell their objects, purchased islands, and run virtual counterparts of real-world businesses. In fact in 2007, Sweden was the first country to announce an embassy being constructed in Second Life.

These virtual worlds, with abilities far greater than that of the real world, are beginning to have their own sense of identity. On the note of Sweden's virtual Embassy, several companies have virtual Headquarters constructed inside of SecondLife; some have even bought islands to build them on. SecondLife is just the beginning of the possibilities of virtual reality.

As if that weren't enough; Harvard, Pepperdine, Ball State, and New York Universities have bought over 100 islands for educational purposes, according to a New York Times article on Janurary 7, 2007.

Click here for a list of Businesses and Organisations originating and operating from SecondLife.