Commentary: Thirteen Years of Writing The News in Second Life

 
By Bixyl Shuftan

Although it was December 2006 I first came to Second Life, it wasn't until July 2007 I started coming on regularly. By late summer, I had bought my first avatar following the one I walked into the grid with, and was talking to people, making friends, and exploring around. Wanting to know more about this strange new world, I started looking up blogs and newsletters. Some were more informative than others. The most interesting of them was the Second Life Newspaper, owned by JamesT Juno with Dana Vanmoer as it's editor. One day, I saw a request for some reader submissions. So I sent in an amusing picture. A couple weeks later, there was another, so I sent in another picture and a short commentary. That got the attention of the editor and owner as they asked me to meet up with them at the office for a possible job. And at the end of the meeting, I got it. 

I had been writing fiction for over a decade, mostly sci-fi, and posting it on a website. But my last story had been a little depressing. So I thought it was time for a break from it. Since I prided myself on keeping up with the news in real life, the idea of being a reporter and writing news articles myself was a welcome change. And with my avatar being an anthro fox, there was the "Fox News" pun. My second and third articles were probably the trickiest to write as I was still getting the knack of things and wondering which things made the best topics. But I never did have real trouble sending in articles an average of once a week, and often twice a week. James and Dana also wanted pictures for cartoons. With my sense of humor, I had little trouble finding at least one a week and often twice.

And so over time, I would go about the Grid and explore places, attend events, talk to people, and take a closer look at things. And I would write about numerous people, places, and events in Second Life of many kinds. While I would do a few stories about the wilder and adult areas, most of my articles weren't about them. While occasionally I would write about some kind of controversy, I wouldn't do so for it's own sake. One of my coworkers at the old SLN commented that it was easier to sell something controversial than of people acting to help others. But I didn't think those interested in how the Grid was doing was interested in reading most of the time. For entertainment I did do a little Second Life fiction and a few obvious parody articles. And of course there were the screenshot cartoons, for which James and Dana were appreciative.

I would continue to write for Second Life Newspaper for two and a half years, eventually reaching the position of "Office Manager," which was updating the paper when Dana couldn't. But James and Dana's real lives would catch up to them, and in 2010 the decision was made to close the paper. I talked to three of the other reporters, and we made the decision to form a new one, the Second Life Newser. So my position had changed over time from reporter, to reporter and assistant editor, and finally the editor and head reporter of a new publication. Things were scary in those first few months. But as the stories came in and got reported on, and both ad purchases and sponsors came in, it became clear we were around to stay.

Many of my friends and family have been more than a little critical of the real-life press. Perhaps in becoming part of the Second Life media, I was subconsciously trying to do something about their concerns. But it's also given me something of a perspective from the inside. While a reporter can express his opinion, it should be obvious that's what it is when he does so. As a reporter turned editor/head writer of a newsletter, I try not to tell the readers what to think. It's my objective to give the facts and let people think for themselves. As of my observations of much larger real life news publications and networks, yes there have been times individual newspapers and networks have acted badly. But I see no grand conspiracy among major news media productions to brainwash the public, unless perhaps it's to make more money.

As the years have gone by, there's been numerous challenges and developments in both real life and Second Life. Being part of a community, one of the landholders provided space for an office as well as the office itself. In turn, I've helped them with their Relay for Life team and helping to manage one of their clubs. I've also chatted with a number whom have been feeling frustrated or down at times. And this year with a deadly pandemic and a sense of political crisis, there's been plenty. When I have a number of anxious and worried friends that need an ear and a word of encouragement, that can occasionally mean less time to write something. But that hasn't stopped me from still delivering the news.

And I've been writing about other things as well. At the suggestion of real life family, I started a blog to write about topics other than Second Life: "Food on the Table." It doesn't get updated nearly as often as the Newser, about an article every few months. But this is were I write about things such as current events and history. I've also gone back to science-fiction writing. I've done some short stories, and have been working on a science-fiction novel, "The Corsean Encounter," about the adventures of two humans as they end up in a Medieval/Renaissance/Pre-Industrial level world and dealing with both the friends and foes among the not-quite-human inhabitants and other humans that soon discover the way to the world. I've made some good progress, and it looks like it will be a series of novels. I'll likely discuss more about it in the near future.

And the future? Well, when I started I wasn't sure how much longer Second Life would be around as it's glory days were coming to an end and Linden Lab was reacting with some questionable moves. But Second Life has continued to provide many tens of thousands a place in virtual reality. And with the Pandemic, it's gotten a second wind. It will continue to be around for some time to come. Unless something out of the blue happens, such as a traffic accident I don't walk away from, I should be continuing to write for years to come.

I'll keep on reporting on the people, places, and events here in Second Life.

Thank you all for your support,

Bixyl Shuftan

Eleven Years of Reporting

By Bixyl Shuftan

It was about eleven years ago that yours truly got his start as a reporter here in Second Life. Before coming to Second Life, I had been writing a few science-fiction stories and posting them on a personal website. They got some reads, and a little fanart. But by 2007, I felt it was time for a break, so put that on pause. In the meantime, I had taken an interest in Second Life, and that year started logging in on a regular basis. Wanting to know more about this virtual world, I began looking up websites and blogs. I eventually came across a few newsletters, the one getting my attention the most being "Second Life Newspaper." It was owned by JamesT Juno and run by Dana Vanmoer. After a while, I came across an invitation for it's readers to send in "reader submitted" articles. So I wrote a few and sent them in. James and Dana were impressed, and invited me for a job interview. After several minutes of talking, I got the job.

Although I wasn't always sure what would make for a good subject in the first few weeks, I soon got the hang of things. I would write about a variety of subjects about the people, places, and events of Second Life. While occasionally my stories were a bit on the sensational side, such as writing about "Zig Zag" and her adult media company, more often than not, they were about how Second Life sometimes mirrored real life, such as the 2008 Presidential Election, people doing good things in Second Life, notably the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the Relay for Life, the various things people made here, or people just having fun such as the games and virtual pets. And of course I was part of a great time, some who would become my friends.

In Spring 2010, James and Dana were having to deal with real life situations that would not go away, and made the decision to close the Second Life Newspaper. Four of us, Gemma Cleanslate, Grey Lupindo, Shellie Sands, and I made the decision to start a new paper with me as the leader. And so my role changed from just another writer to the head of the team. Over the years, the team has seen people come and go, such as DrFran, Zymbers Slade, Grease Coakes, Majik, and others. But the team remains, with Gemma and I still writing stories.

As Second Life has changed, I've written about new places, things, and people here, such as the development of mesh and Bento. I've written about other virtual worlds, such as InWorldz. And as my friends here also play games outside Second Life, I've written about those as well, such as Minecraft, World of Warcraft, and more. But the main focus continues to be this virtual world. I'm able to write one, two or three larger stories each week, plus briefs for the front page about Linden blog announcements and other breaking news.

So now what? For one, I plan on continuing what I've been doing all along. But I also have something else going on. Before getting into journalism, I wrote a few fictional stories, some short and some long. And recently I've started up on another science-fiction novel, "The Corsean Encounter." This is the story of two men as they end up on an alien world that in some ways is quite familiar, in others very different, in a pivotal moment in it's history, and the decisions they and their friends and enemies make will affect the world for generations to come. As of now, it's slightly less than halfway done. The Newser keeps me busy.

Eleven years later, much has changed. But the primary objective remains the same, getting the word out about the people, places, and events, of Second Life.

"And that's the way it is."

Bixyl Shuftan

Creative Fiction: Second Life’s TV Commercial

Originally written and published in Spring 2010 under Second Life Newspaper, this was my attempt at Second-Life inspired fiction. These were the days of M Linden. For those not familiar, he the second CEO of Linden Labs noted for his apparent disconnect from the wants of the residents of Second Life and a number of questionable moves on his watch. In this story, M Linden is interested in television advertising to pick up numbers, and an aide gives him two proposed commercials.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“So what do you have?”

“Well, Sir, our agency went through a number of commercial ideas, and selected two different ones to do commercials on. We decided to leave it up to you which of them to air, or perhaps both if both are to your liking.”

“Or we could ask you to start over.”

“Um, of course, Sir. Anyway, we heard there was a dispute between your staff about which direction to take in marketing your virtual world. Do you try to appeal to a select audience, saying Second Life is a special environment that is only for those looking for more creativity other places online offer? Or do you say Second Life is so big and so diverse, you have a little something for everyone with a computer?”

“I believe your job is to create commercials, not make decisions on issues limited to management.”

“Er, well, Sir, in any event, these two commercials each market a different point. I will go ahead and play them for you, and hopefully they will meet your approval.”

“We shall see.”

A TV screen in the room came on, and then appeared a caption, with a narrator speaking the line as well.

“You could join a Massive Multiplayer Online Game, with everyone.”

The scene then switched to an animated figure in medieval armor, sword and shield, fighting a ferocious looking beast. It’s a tough fight, and the health bar of the fighter is getting low. Finally the beast cries out and collapses. The scene then changes to the player, “Whew! That was close. ... Aw darn, only fifty experience points. Man, I hate grinding.”

Another scene comes of, of a dwarven figure picking at a rock with a pickaxe. After a few seconds, it changed again to a frustrated gamer, “C’mon, c’mon ... Finally! Just seven thousand one hundred, and twenty one more addimantium ores before I level up. Only a dozen more levels before I can finally mine unobtainium!”

The screen switches to the man talking into his computer, “Hey guys, who wants to make a dungeon run?” “Sorry dude, you’re too low level for me.” “I only go on Level 200 runs.” “Beat it, newb!”

The scene changes again, a man dresses in financial Medieval garb, going down a road. All of a sudden, a shadowy figure leaps out, there’s a flash of a blade, and the first figure collapses. The scene changes to a surprised player, “What the, one shot?” And from the computer there’s laughter, “LOL! I haxxor yur gamez. I pwned U, nub!!”

Another scene comes up, a team of players is gathered around the body of a dragon. The man behind the computer types, “Whew! It was tough going, but we did it. I’ll bet you guys never faced anything like this at the office.” But the comments get confused remarks, “Office? I’m in 8th grade.” “7th for me.” “Dude! You’re old!”

The screen goes dark again, and comes a caption, with the narrator speaking again, “Or you could go to Second Life.”

The scene changes to a handsome-looking, though plainly dressed female avatar walking through a door, and into a well detailed club, with bright lights, crystalline structures, and a few dozen avatars either dancing in the middle, or socializing closer to the new visitor, mostly human, but also a few nekos and a single furred, all well dressed. A few notice the new arrival, and wave at her, “Hi!” “Welcome.”

The screen then shows the woman outside a store, cutting to her inside and looking among a wide variety of dresses, on both mannequins and signs. Split second shots show her in a variety of fashions, from punkish, to high-class elegant, to ready for a night on the town. Her next stop, a scenic beach, which shows her at one point riding a jet ski, cutting to flying a hang glider alongside a flock of birds over a lush forrest, to surfing a big wave.

The scene cuts to a party, in which the lady is happily dancing at a club to some music. She stops, and walks to the wall, where there’s a sign saying “DJs wanted - will train.” The next scene then shows her in the DJ booth, operating the controls, and the audience emoting, “I love this tune - whoo-hoo!”, with her tip jar radiating dollar signs.

The next scene is after the party is over, it shows her making adjustments to the DJ table, slightly higher in places. Then she’s in a sandbox, building furniture. Following that is a store with her face on the sign, with “Grand Opening” underneath, and furniture inside. The next scene shows her on a stand, designing dresses. Following that is the store with several of her designs, a number of women looking and shopping. This is soon followed by a fashion show, with models going down the runway. Then comes a scene in front of an audience with her and another lady sitting on chairs on stage, with what look like TV cameras pointed at them, and a screen showing the two of them, “Tonight, we look at the woman recently voted by Metanomics as ‘Second Life’s Newcomer Entrepreneur of the Year ... “

The screen then goes black, and captions appear again, “You can go to an online game with everybody, and be a noob. Or, you can go to Second Life, a place where those whom are exceptional can go limited only by what they want to do.”

“Second Life: Not for everybody.”

The screen then faded, “And that’s our first commercial.”

“Hmmm. Not bad, though it seems instead of a broader audience, we would be appealing to a niche market.”

“Perhaps, Sir. It seems no matter what we do, numbers of people turn away. They’re confused by not being given clearly defined goals, or they confuse virtual worlds with games and don’t see a point if there’s nothing to kill. With that in mind, we did this commercial. That it focuses on a woman character was a deliberate decision. Although Second LIfe has no shortage of female users, forty percent compared to the twenty percent of World of Warcraft, there’s still room for improvement..”

“Hmmm. So, the second commercial is more about mass appeal?”

“Yes, Sir. The theme is ‘a little something for everyone,’ appealing to peoples’ varying tastes. We had a little fun with it at segments, appealing to humor. Perhaps low humor, but - “

“Can you please just play it?”

“Oh, pardon me Sir. Here you go.”

The screen was black, with the following caption appearing, with the narrator speaking the words, “People are different, and are interested in different things.”

Another caption appears, “The apartment-dwelling nature lover.”

The scene changes to a blonde lady in plain-looking clothes talking to the camera, “I’ve always loved walking around nature, but with my job I need to live in the city, and the park is so far away.”

The screen changes back to black, and up comes another caption, “The veteran.”

A middle-aged man wearing a POW shirt and with thinning hair is now the speaker, “I like getting in touch with my buddies from the Army, talk about Iraq and other old times. But we can meet up only so often, and while there’s chat rooms, I wish there was a way to see them.”

The screen goes black again, and the caption is now, “The science-fiction/fantasy fan.”

A dark-haired lady wearing glasses and dressed as if working in an office appears, “I’ve always had a love for sci-fi and fantasy, not just the adventure, but also seeing new worlds and peoples. Movies and books are great, but I wish there was something more.”

Once again, the screen goes black and comes a new caption, “The world traveler.”

The person now facing the camera is a man in a business suit, “I’ve always liked traveling about and seeing the world, the monuments, the different cities and cultures. But I have only so many vacation days a year, not to mention limited cash.”

Again, the screen blackens, and comes still another caption, “The average 18 year old male.”

The person shown is a young man with rumpled clothes and hair, and a few acne spots, “Boooooooooobs.”

The screen blackens again, with a new set of captions and narration, “Different people with different wants. Yet they all go to the first place to meet them.”

“Second Life.”

The scenery that appears is a blonde lady avatar walking around in a virtual forrest, the underbrush lush with flowers. The voice from the nature lover speaks, “Oh wow! It’s just like being there.” A scene change then shows her riding a horse. Then comes a scene of her hang-gliding over the treetops. This is followed by her underwater, swimming in a skin-diving suit with bubbles floating to the surface while looking at a coral reef, “So cool!”

The scene changes again, and a group of men and a few women are sitting in a circle, some in uniform, others in T-shirts & jeans or denim vests and jeans. Speaks the voice of the Veteran, “I’m really happy to be here with you guys.” The scene changes to the men reflecting in front of a solid black wall with names, and flowers and flags at the bottom: The Vietnam Wall, “Here, we can truly reflect better than in a chat room.”

The scene switches to an avatar much like that of the dark haired woman on a posing stand. It goes through a few changes. The first is just clothing, to skimpy fantasy armor. Then the avatar changes to a slender lady elven form in a silken dress, then an athletic-looking but still feminine orc fighter wearing just leather shorts and a top, then an anthro skunk in shorts and a short blouse. The woman’s voice is heard, “Hey, I can look like just about anything here!” The scene then changes to the skunkgirl wearing a jumpsuit and wielding a lightsaber, swinging it at a robot and cutting it to pieces. Then comes a scene in which a six inch catboy avatar is sitting on the skunkgirl’s shoulder, and the camera panning out a little shows her on the shoulder of a fifty-foot macro catgirl, “It’s just like walking into a book here.”

The scene changes to a well-dressed male avatar, walking in a city square with sizable and detailed fountains, “I don’t believe it. They got all this in a computer?” The scene changes to the man looking at the Statue of Liberty, then the Eiffel Tower, then the Mayan Pyramids, “This is great. I can just look around here until one day when I can afford to see it for real.”

Then comes a scene of a seedy looking girly bar, with rap music playing, and over a dozen male avatars ogling at a few scantily-clad females twisting and moving around dancepoles. The camera focuses on one punkish-looking male in the bunch, staring at one girl dancer as she moves and bends down to him, as if to give him a closer look of her front. Then comes the voice of the young man, “Boooooooooobs.”

The screen goes black, and comes a caption with the narrator speaking, “Second Life: Something for Everyone.”

“Well, there you are Sir. That part with the kid we debated whether to include or not, so we decided to run with it, and see what you thought. If you like this commercial, we could easily delete than part.”

“No, do not get rid of that. This is what we need.”

“Excellent Sir. I’ll contact the stations that expressed interest in airing an advertisement, and - “

“No, that’s not what I meant. Could you do a commercial focusing more on the 18 year olds and what they like?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Second Life really needs to tap into the young adult market, and so far we’ve been lagging behind. We need to make stronger appeals to them, and nothing sells to them quite like sex.”

“Um, Sir, haven’t we been trying to get away from the perception that Second Life is about little but sex and populated by mostly perverse men? We were just having a little fun with it, and including there was much more.”

“Yes, but for some time our numbers, both in revenue and users, have stagnated, even declined. We need a fresh approach to bring people in, and young adults are the key market.”

“Sir, you do realize that if what you’re proposing hurts our reputation, it will take quite some time, perhaps years, to undo the damage?”

“Don’t give me that! You do your job, and I’ll do mine! I’ve made my decision!”

“(sigh) Yes, Sir, I’ll have work done on a commercial focusing more on the, adult, side of Second Life.”

“Excellent. We’ll feature various places in Zinrda. Maybe work with the pornographic studios. I can just see the business world talking about our new numbers.”

“I just hope we don’t end up making boobs out of ourselves.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

M Linden was shown the door not long after this story first aired, so whatever ideas he had for TV advertising went away. But if you could, what TV commercial would you do for Second Life?

Source: Second Life Newspaper

Bixyl Shuftan

Four Years of Reporting

It was four years ago this month in which I started writing about the Grid as a Second Life reporter. It had been just weeks since my time as a newcomer had come to an end, having taken a greater interest in the virtual world, logging on more frequently, finding a hangout and making friends, and ditching the newbie ringtail in favor of the Lusk red foxboy. I wanted to learn more, so began searching the ‘net for websites related to Second Life. It was this search that led me to Second Life Newspaper, run by founder JamesT Juno and Editor Dana Vanmoer, and began reading it daily. I took pride in keeping up with real-life news, so felt keeping up with it here would only help.

In October 2007, I came across a notice calling for “Reader Submitted” articles and pictures. I responded by sending some amusing screenshots along with noteworthy personal accounts. It wasn’t long before James and Dana called me to their office for an interview, and offered me a job. Needless to say, it was an opportunity I couldn’t refuse. I would do more than just read the news, I would take part in reporting it.

And the rest, as they say, is history. With my first payment, got a trenchcoat and hat to look the part of a “Fox Reporter,” standing out in the SL Newspaper staff. I continued to produce at least one article a week, along with at least one picture for a cartoon, which added a little humor to the paper. Although some writers specialize in one field, such as music, I preferred to cover a variety of topics, reporting on the various people, places, and events across Second Life. Sadly, real life caught up with James and Dana, and SL Newspaper closed. In response, Second Life Newser was created for most of the remaining staff to keep reporting on the news. But I now had a new role: editor.

Second Life has changed quite a bit since I began writing on it. Back then, it was still somewhat new, and it was being talked about warmly. In the BBC News website at the time, one reporter was describing his experiences of creating an avatar, getting past Help Island, and going about the Grid. Politicians such as Newt Gingrich appeared via an avatar to make a speech before residents. It even made network TV a few times, most notably in an episode of CSI that was a cooperation with Second Life. Viewers saw the police track down a killer in the virtual world, and on the grid residents got a chance to play a CSI game. Companies from Honda, to Circuit City, and most notably IBM appeared on the Grid.

As the years went by, Second Life didn’t make real-life news so much. It has gotten a little attention for veterans getting help there recently. But unfortunately people seem to know of it more through someone getting in trouble through a love affair on the Grid. Talking about it with real-life friends and co-workers, most have a hard time understanding what it is. One guy kept calling it a “porn site.” Another I talked to was interested only in it’s seedier aspects. People have been much more familiar with World of Warcraft, and especially Facebook.

My own personal experiences in Second Life have also changed over time. When first writing about the Grid, I had only recently found a couple hangouts and a group of friends. Over time, I’ve lived in a few estates, taken part in a few communities, become part of a combat RP, helping run a few virtual clubs, taken part in the Relay for Life, and gotten to know many friends and talented individuals. People like Pooky Amsterdam and Delinda Dyrssen have made a name for themselves showing what one can do with Second Life. Other talented individuals, such as Lomgren Smalls and Alleara Snoodle, prefer to work more quietly behind the scenes, such as at eh Relay for Life.

And of course there’s the people I’ve been writing with. I’ve had a number of interesting people I worked alongside with at SL Newspaper, some of whom I had the fortune of joining up with me at the Newser such as Gemma Cleanslate and Grey Lupindo. I’ve had a number of interesting people on the team along the way, and more recent arrivals such as Netera Landar and Xymbers Slade show there are still more people interested in writing about the Grid.

Writing about Second Life has been no small challenge, but it’s been an experience well worth it. And I’ll continue for as long as I can.

Bixyl Shuftan