Announcement: Rare Disease Day in Second Life

 

Rare Disease Day is a yearly awareness campaign in real life that is held on the last day of February each year.

Now, due to the COVID 19 pandemic, I will recreate this event in Second Life.

On Sunday, February 28th,  2021  from midnight SLT until Monday, March 1st, 2021 midnight SLT, we will have live artists and DJs playing live on our venue

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Tainted%20Island/156/206/2004


What is Rare Disease Day?  https://www.rarediseaseday.org/article/what-is-rare-disease-day

Rare Disease Day takes place on the last day of February each year. The main objective of Rare Disease Day is to raise awareness amongst the general public and decision-makers about rare diseases and their impact on patients' lives.

The campaign targets primarily the general public and also seeks to raise awareness amongst policymakers, public authorities, industry representatives, researchers, health professionals, and anyone who has a genuine interest in rare diseases.

Why is Rare Disease Day held each year? https://www.rarediseaseday.org/article/what-is-rare-disease-day

Building awareness of rare diseases is so important because 1 in 20 people will live with a rare disease at some point in their life. Despite this, there is no cure for the majority of rare diseases and many go undiagnosed. Rare Disease Day improves knowledge amongst the general public of rare diseases while encouraging researchers and decision-makers to address the needs of those living with rare diseases.

Key figures about rare diseases:  https://www.rarediseaseday.org/article/what-is-a-rare-disease
 

There are over 300 million people living with one or more of over 6,000 identified rare diseases around the world1, each supported by family, friends, and a team of carers that make up the rare disease community.

Each rare disease may only affect a handful of people, scattered around the world, but taken together the number of people directly affected is equivalent to the population of the world’s third-largest country.

Rare diseases currently affect 3.5% - 5.9% of the worldwide population.

72% of rare diseases are genetic whilst others are the result of infections (bacterial or viral), allergies, and environmental causes, or are degenerative and proliferative.

70% of those genetic rare diseases start in childhood.

A disease defined as rare in Europe when it affects fewer than 1 in 2,000 people.
Characteristics of rare diseases

Over 6000 rare diseases are characterized by a broad diversity of disorders and symptoms that vary not only from disease to disease but also from patient to patient suffering from the same disease.

Relatively common symptoms can hide underlying rare diseases leading to misdiagnosis and delaying treatment. Quintessentially disabling, the patient's quality of life is affected by the lack or loss of autonomy due to the chronic, progressive, degenerative, and frequently life-threatening aspects of the disease.

The fact that there are often no existing effective cures adds to the high level of pain and suffering endured by patients and their families.
Common challenges

The lack of scientific knowledge and quality information on the disease often results in a delay in diagnosis. Also, the need for appropriate quality health care engenders inequalities and difficulties in access to treatment and care. This often results in heavy social and financial burdens on patients.

As mentioned, due to the broad diversity of disorders and relatively common symptoms which can hide underlying rare diseases, initial misdiagnosis is common. In addition, symptoms differ not only from disease to disease but also from patient to patient suffering from the same disease.

Due to the rarity and diversity of rare diseases, research needs to be international to ensure that experts, researchers, and clinicians are connected, that clinical trials are multinational, and that patients can benefit from the pooling of resources across borders. Initiatives such as the European Reference Networks (networks of centers of expertise and healthcare providers that facilitate cross-border research and healthcare), the International Rare Disease Research Consortium, and the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation Horizon 2020 support international, connected research.
How can Rare Disease Day make a difference?

Rare Disease Day raises awareness for the 300 million people living with the rare disease around the world and their families and carers.

The long-term cause of the Rare Disease Day campaign is to achieve equitable access to diagnosis, treatment, health and social care, and social opportunity for people affected by a rare disease.

Important progress continues to be made with joint international advocacy efforts for universal health coverage (UHC), part of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs) to advocate for equitable health systems that meet the needs of people affected by rare diseases in order to leave no one behind.

Rare Disease Day is the opportunity to advocate for rare diseases as a human rights priority at local, national, and international levels as we work towards a more inclusive society.

Rare Disease Day is a great example of how progress continues to be made, with events being held worldwide each year. Beginning in 2008, when events took place in just 18 countries, Rare Disease Day has taken place every year since with events being held in over 100 countries in 2019.

We hope to see you at our event for Rare Disease Day in Second Life on Sunday, February 28th,  2021!

Wesley Regenbogen

My Last Article For SL Newser

By Wesley Regenbogen,

Dear readers and SL Newser staff,

I joined Second Life Newser in July 2014 after searching for a virtual newspaper to write for in Second Life.

My virtual journalism career started around the year 2000, when I was member of a virtual world called Cybertown.com ( it doesn’t exist anymore nowadays ). At the time I saw an ad where they were looking for writers at CVN ( Cybertown Virtual News ). I decided to send in an article that I wrote and I thought by myself “here goes nothing.” But after a while, the editor emailed me back that the article was good enough for publication. I must admit that I was a bit blown away by the fact that my article was accepted anyhow.

But in the year 2003, the Cybertown.com virtual world had new owners and they decided to make it a subscription based website. I decided to leave CVN and thus the virtual world of Cybertown.com. After that I wandered around the web in search of other virtual worlds like Cybertown.com, but I found none that gave me the same “feeling.” Until in November 2006, I saw a video about Second Life and decided to join in and created my account.

After a few years of learning the basics of Second Life, I found out that SL Newspaper, owned by James T. Juno, was looking for writers. I then made the decision to join his team and write articles for them. But I lost interest in Second Life a while after that and decided to leave Second Life for a while. I briefly came back in 2012, but I didn’t find any virtual newspaper again and I learned that SL Newspaper was no longer existing. 

In July 2014, I found out that SL Newser, owned by Bixyl Shuftan, was writing about Second Life. I decided to join them and I have been writing for them ever since, until now.

Today ( December 13 th, 2017 ) I wrote my goodbye article and I will move on. I hope this career switch will be a good one, we will see what happens.

I would like to thank the crew of SL Newser, and especially Bixyl Shuftan, for letting me part of their team and write with them. I sincerely greet you, the readers, for reading my articles and enjoying the things I have written about.

So, I say farewell to SL Newser and I hope that the virtual newspaper SL Newser will continue to grow and will expand in the near future.

Yours truly,

Wesley Regenbogen

Barbie Alchemi on Creations For Parkinson's

By Wesley Regenbogen

About Barbie Alchemi

Barbie Alchemi is the founder of Creations Park. She created this place with the help of her family, and holds events there for Team Fox, for the Michael. J. Fox Foundation. Her real life father died with Parkinson’s and one year later her mother was diagnosed with the disease as well. Her brother introduced her to Second Life about eight years ago and her mother spend more and more time in Second Life and it improved her real life by doing so. They were all so amazed that Second Life had a so positive influence on her real life management of the disease that they felt that they needed to do something positive with their time on Second Life. Her mother is 90 years old in real life now and she is still active in Second Life today!

Interview

I met Barbie Alchemi in Creations Park. First I asked how she got into Second Life and how she created Creations Park. The answer to that question is in the introduction above. Next I asked how the raise money fo the foundation in Second Life. They started to raise money and awareness for Parkinson’s disease. Over the last eight years they raised 10 Million Lindens ( over 40,000 USD ). In addition to raising donations, they have held a weekly support group, which is open to anyone with Parkinson’s.

This year they created a Gotham Halloween Event, which is held the whole month of October 2017. They have 75 shops with fashions and home and garden decorations. Barbie told me, "You can explore our Haunted House, Cemetery and Asylum with wonderful details and surprises at every turn. We have a fun Amusement Park with Halloween themed rides and also a Lil' Pumpkin Park for families to bring their children"

They will have a fabulous line-up of DJs and live singers. They will have three performances of the "Misfit Dance and Performance Art Troupe" at 5pm Oct 21, 28 and 29. There is a raffle and auction. And we have a terrific HUNT with original gifts in every shop for only 10L each!

Then I asked how the donations are done for the foundation. She replied to me “We believe it is very important for people in SL to know how their donations are handled. Our family covers all SL expenses. Team Fox has arranged to have LL to wire all donations and money raised directly to the Team Fox Headquarters. Visitors can donate at the cute Ghost Kiosks we have around the sim. And 50% - 100% of all shop sales are scripted to go to the official Team Fox Account.

"We are extremely proud to tell you that The Michael J Fox Foundation has the top rating from Charity Navigators. Team Fox gives 100% to The MJF Foundation. They have perhaps the lowest overhead of any major charity, at only 11% !!! Which means that 89% of Your donations are going into the most promising research. We are getting closer every day to a cure. And when that cure is found it will help lead to a cure for all other neurological diseases. “

Then I asked how she manages to create the sim and the decorations. She wanted to thank a few people for this, "This event could only be possible with our talented team who has worked so well together." She listed them as.

Rose Mikaelson (djroseathena)- Events for Parkinson's Coordinator

Nola Hellershanks- Events for Parkinson's Co-Coordinator

allιє pαrĸєr (swazeyrivers)- Event Music Coordinator

Miyushu Babii- Assistant Decorator

Ayesha - Solace Beach Estates (ayesha.lytton)- Amusement Park

Linden Labs- Region Sponsor

Then I asked her how she sees the future of the sim and the events she holds for the foundation. She told me, “ Gotham Island will be here for the month of October. Creations Park has been our permanent region for 6 years now. We will continue with the fabulous Shopping, Hunts, Music and on-going weekly fun activities which we all enjoy. Our Events for Parkinson's Team has some fun plans for another big event this Spring and more in the future!"

I thanked her for the interview and wished her luck with the sim and her events for the Michael J. Fox Foundation.

You can visit the place at this SLURL :

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Creations%20Park/93/166/36

Check out this video :

https://youtu.be/nyiiWxNguGo

Wesley Regenbogen

Commentary: Misconceptions About Virtual Worlds

By Wesley Regenbogen

You might be wondering why my last article was many months ago.

I was trying to get in contact with real-life organizations for a fundraiser that I wanted to start up in Second Life. Unfortunately, I haven’t had a positive reply from the real-life organizations. So I’m calling it a day with my fundraiser idea. This is sad, because I wanted to start a fundraiser for the real life research on real life genetic disorders. Since I have beta thalassemia trait ( minor ), I wanted to support the research on it. But not only for blood disorders, but for general research on genetic disorders in real life.

But, due to misconceptions that are in the real life world about virtual worlds ( Second Life, InWorldz and others ) it’s not easy to convince real life organizations to let people fundraise for their cause. The most common misconception is that they think it’s a “game.” Or more frequently they think it’s all about “porn and sex." The result of these preconceptions that the real life world has towards the virtual worlds, is that most people don’t know what virtual worlds are and what their potential is.

I refer to my first article for the SL Newser. It was about my vision towards virtual worlds. I don’t see virtual worlds as being a “game.” They are much more than that!!!

If organizations and other people with preconceptions would be more open-minded about the virtual worlds, then they would see what potential that those virtual worlds would have and that might change their minds. Rather then thinking that virtual worlds are just a “game” or only for “porn” and “sex” stuff, it would be wiser to take a leap and see further than what reaches your mind. Because virtual worlds offer much more than the above mentioned “activities.”

If the real life world would embrace virtual worlds and see their possibilities, they would be even more successful as they are today.

So, it’s better to look at Second Life and other virtual worlds as being a “virtual world” and not like yet another “game.” Because virtual worlds lack the need to fulfill objectives and stuff like that. This makes virtual worlds not to be defined as being “games.”

Let me know what you guys think about this in the comments, please.

Wesley Regenbogen

The Lumiya Viewer : A 3D App For Second Life on Android

By Wesley Regenbogen

Since SL GO was ditched, there were not many options to stay connected to your Second Life friends on your smartphone or tablets.

I reviewed the Pocket Metaverse app ( both in free and paid versions ) but those were only messaging features, no 3D view of the world.

Now I use an Android smartphone in real life and I was looking for an app that almost delivered the same features, but I got more than I could ask for. The 3D view is preferably used when you have a Wi-Fi connection or a 3G or 4G connection.

The Lumiya Viewer app is a paid app in the Google Play Store. But it surely is worth the money.

The app was designed by Alina Lyvette , a long term resident of Second Life.

She did a nice job developing the app, It offers a nice set of features.

It’s a great way to keep in contact with your Second Life friends when you are not able to get near your computer or laptop.

Not only can you chat with your SL friends, you can also send IMs and create notecards and edit them.

Also receiving and sending L$ is possible from within the app.

The features of the app listed below ( taken from the website of Lumiya Viewer ) :

IM and Chat Local chat Private IMs Sending and receiving teleport requests Sending and receiving friend invitations Sending and receiving Linden dollars Group conversations and notices.  Inventory Management Inventory browsing and search Using and creating landmarks Copy, remove, and delete functions Sharing items Accepting inventory offers Creating and editing notecards Support for attachments in notecards Viewing images from inventory. Interaction with Objects Touching and sitting on objects Paying Linden dollars via objects Rezzing objects and taking them back to inventory Retrieve object contents 3D View Sculpted objects Flexible objects Mesh objects and clothing Avatars and avatar animations Interacting with objects by touch HUDs Floating text Avatar Outfit Control Wearing and removing clothes and attatchments Using 'My Outfits' Avatar texture baking Ready for server-side baking Multiple clothing layers and multiple attachments Miscellaneous Region minimap Region restart for landowners Chat and IM logging Playing parcel sound streams RLV functions (RLV API 1.10) Not Yet Supported Group management Object and script editing Uploading images The app costs  2,16 Euros. It's unclear how much it costs in other countries. Please check in the Google Play Store for actual prices.   If you need support for the app, you can join the Second Life group called “Lumiya Support” . For more information about the app, go to http://www.lumiyaviewer.com/ If you use the app, a WiFi connection is recommended. An EDGE, 3G or 4G connection can work, but due to instability it is not advised. Note that Lumiya has very limited feature set compared to official Second Life viewer. It is designed to be a supplement for your Second Life experience. You will most likely want to use another, more feature-rich viewer as a primary means to access Second Life grid. Official Second Life viewer is free and available for download at secondlife.com. In order to connect to Second Life grid, Lumiya will use your phone's data connection, which may cost you money. Second Life uses significant amounts of network traffic and bandwidth. Please check your data plan before using Lumiya. Wesley Regenbogen

Commentary: New Health Group, The International Blood Disorder Community

By Wesley Regenbogen

You might have noticed that my latest article dates from the end of April. This is due, in part, to the fact that I was thinking about creating a SL group and how to make it all real.

In real life I have Thalassemia minor ( or trait ) ( more info : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thalassemia ) and I found out that there wasn’t a SL group about it, so I set out to create one with the name : “International Blood Disorder Community.” Finally, the group, the website, and the Facebook group has been created.

My group has the purpose of helping those people with a real life blood disorder, both in real life and in Second Life. Since there are many blood disorders in the world, it’s impossible to list them all. Blood disorders are mostly inherited and some can’t be treated. They can be acute or chronic. Some blood disorders can affect your life drastically, leading to a special treatment or medication or even blood transfusions. Luckily, in my case, I don’t have to do medication or blood transfusions.

I’m also member at Virtual Ability, a SL organization that helps out people with a disability in Second Life. Having a blood disorder ( eg. Thalassemia and others ) is considered as a “hidden disability” which is invisible, but it is there. So, if you have a real life blood disorder, please join Virtual Ability. I love having a place again to call “home” again.

My group ( International Blood Disorder Community ) can be found through Second Life Search when you search for groups with the words “blood disorders” and it’s the first group listed. I have created a website too with some basic information about what a blood disorder is at http://pcfreakske2000.wix.com/ibdc ( Pcfreakske2000 is my nickname on the internet, by the way ).

You can find my Facebook group at this location : https://www.facebook.com/groups/1696911787203610/

I hope to hold my first meeting for the group in the near future.

I will keep you all posted.

Wesley Regenbogen  

Edited on request of Gentle Heron

K-SOCCER : Football within Second Life

By Wesley Regenbogen

K-SOCCER is a football field (or soccer field to Americans) created on the 25^th of March 2015 by Jayra79 Resident. What’s special about this football project ? Well, they teach newbies how to play and follow them closely. Like in real life football, actually, I presume.

Next to the football field there are stairs that take you up in the relax area, where you can sit down and relax. Or when you played a match, you can rest there for a while.

The football field is unique in Second Life. I haven’t tried out playing football in Second Life, but I might give it a try myself. On how to play, I received a notecard from the owner with some instructions. Near the field there are four totems one clicks to get a "K-Soccer" kit, a goalkeeper HUD, a player HUD, as well as a link to the group one can join. Players need to select "Always Run" on their viewer, which they can be clicking CTLR + R - if you want to walk again click CTLR + R again. To play, it's best that one does so in mouselook.To get a ball, "to the field if you need a ball click on the center circle with the left mouse button."

"Before the game you must click on the center of the midfield - you see on the screen a window with team or team b - DEVEI you choose one of the two teams and you can play. To join a game in progress you need to click on the center of the midfield - you see a window with the join - click and choose freely join one of the teams. Of course the most common colors are blue and red kits whiteOur do u kit benfica for red - Real Madrid for the white - blue for schalke04." For any questions, one is invited to message Dreewan Resident. Readers can find more information about the place in the landmark.

They are working on creating their own website and they advertise themselves on SL radio. So, they will have a website in the near future. But for now, they have a Facebook group and can be found through Twitch.tv (http://www.twitch.tv/ ) , as some players broadcast their matches on the internet.

On the 15^th of June 2015 they will hold their World Cup and teams can sign up for it soon.

Personally, I think this place and the project is a mention worth, although I’m not a football fan myself. So I’m not going to become a professional K-SOCCER player. But it’s cool to be able to play sports in Second Life.

So, if you're into football in Second Life, why not join them and join the competition? Be sure to check out this place. Have fun and enjoy the game !

The K-SOCCER soccer field can be found here :

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Breakaway/146/99/3502

The training soccer field can be found at this place :

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Shared%20Fantasy/161/110/2501

K-SOCCER Article Video from Pcfreakske2000 on Vimeo.

(Click here if the video fails to play)

Wesley Regenbogen

Farewell, Silver Fire

By Wesley Regenbogen

In October 2014, I decided to own a virtual horse in Second Life. I wrote a few articles on virtual horse riding and I “horsed around” a bit. I also rented a horse box for many months.

At first it was all a bit new to me, but Hope Driftwood, whom I gotten the virtual horse from, guided me along the way and supported me with everything concerning the rideable pet.

Thanks to her, I learned how to ride my virtual horse. At first I thought : “ Oh God, riding the horse with my avatar will be hard.” But I must admit, it’s not difficult at all. Once you get the hang of it, it’s quite easy to ride your virtual horse.

Providing your virtual horse with food, Amaretto food, because it’s a Amaretto horse that I had, is done at the Amaretto Main Store in Second Life. You just need to know which one to buy and buy, Salt Lick (for the horse's happiness level) and Breedable Food as well. Renting the virtual horse box costs L$ 800/month and the food costs L$ 144 and L$ 158. Hope Driftwood is a very nice person, who has always helped me out with the virtual horse thing.

Sadly, on January 3^rd 2015 I decided to stop doing the virtual horse thing. I had to make this decision, because I have a land rental to pay in Second Life as well. So this is the “farewell” article for my former virtual horse called “Silver Fire”. If you want a virtual horse, you can contact Hope Driftwood in-world. She will tell you all about it. I would like to thank her a million times for her help.

To “Silver Fire” I say : “Thank you for being my virtual horse. I wave you farewell now and I hope another owner will give you a nice virtual life in Second Life”.

I think I made the right decision and I hope that “Silver Fire” finds a good owner once again.

Farewell, “Silver Fire” and may virtual life be well for you in the future.

Wesley Regenbogen

Virtual Horseback Riding

By Wesley Regenbogen

A few days ago Hope Driftwood taught me how to ride my virtual horse Silver Fire for the first time. I must admit it was quite an experience ! How I rode my virtual horse, I will explain you later in this article. Let me first show you the stats of my virtual horse Silver Fire first ( at the moment of writing, it might be changed after it ) :

Silver Fire

Version 5.0

Age 24

Gender male

Nourishment 1%

Energy 77%

Happiness 92%

Fervor 100%

Coat: Silver Mecklenburger

Eye: Fire Element

Mane: Long

Tail: Long

Coat Gleam High

Hair Gleam High

Coat Luster Low

Coat Gloom

Hair Gloom

Coat Opal

Hair Opal

Hoof Kiwi

Ear Style Half Droop Left

Wing: Wild Turkey

bb7dff45-aac5-82e4-9ae1-84b3bfc756be

These stats look very good, right ? I thought so as well. I hope Silver Fire stays that way.

How to ride a virtual horse in Second Life :

First you need to take the horse into your inventory, so if you are at the horse box, you need to click your virtual horse and then choose “Take” in the menu that appears. Once it’s in your inventory you will need to rezz it somewhere before you can ride it. If it’s rezzed out, you will need to ride it, but that’s easy enough.

You need to click the virtual horse and “Add” it to your avatar, DON’T “Wear” it, because that will NOT work. Once you “Added” your virtual horse you will see your avatar sitting on the virtual horse.

Moving your virtual horse around is as easy as moving your avatar around, with the plain ol’ arrow keys on your keyboard, not the ones on your number pad, though. If you would like to go forward, you will need to tap the “up” key on the keyboard. If you want to gallop, double tap the “up” key and keep it pressed. You will hear the sound of a horse going into gallop.

In my personal opinion, I find that it’s not hard at all to ride a virtual horse. Once you get the hang of it, it’s super easy, trust me. If you ever buy a virtual horse and it’s over age 9, you can ride it.

If you have questions about getting, managing or riding a virtual horse, you can contact Hope Driftwood and ask her about it.

Conclusion :

Riding virtual horses isn’t that hard to learn and once you get the hang of it, it’s quite awesome. It’s like with everything in Second Life, the first time you need to adjust a bit to the new things. At first I thought, ”It's going to be difficult to ride my virtual horse”. But Hope Driftwood guided me step-by-step and afterwards, I though “Well, that wasn’t difficult at all”.

So, you see, it’s not hard at all. If you get yourself a virtual horse, follow the instructions above ( if it’s the same with the virtual horse you bought, of course ) and then you are on your way in no time.

So, happy virtual horseback riding !

Wesley Regenbogen

Virtual Ability: Accessibility For the Disabled

By Wesley Regenbogen

We sometimes don’t realize it, but there are people with disabilities in real life. They have a presence with Second Life as well. With that said, this means that over 15%, but closer to 20 % of the Second Life residents have a disability in real life. This means that 1 out of 5 avatars you encounter in Second Life has a disability in real life. That’s no small number. There are places to visit for Second Life residents with disabilities, such as Cape Able, Cape Serenity, Health Info Island and there are residential areas. But one special place for them in Second Life is Virtual Ability Island.

Virtual Ability Island was made by Gentle Heron and two friends of hers. But there are other places to visit as well: Cape Able, Cape Serenity, Health Info Island and there are residential areas for Second Life residents with disabilities. It was established in June 2007, seven years ago. 

There is a Virtual Ability group in Second Life with community events and there is a Google Calendar, which can be viewed in-world. Eme Capalini leads the Design/Build team of Virtual Ability Island. She wanted to make the island fully accessible and she did a very good job making that possible. Their website http://www.virtualability.org gives readers more information about the Virtual Ability Island.

What’s special about this place? Gentle Heron said this about it: “Our community welcomes people with all kinds of chronic illnesses and disabilities (physical, mental, emotional, developmental, and sensory) and helps them use the virtual world. We have been able to adapt all types of assistive technology that people use to access their computers to interface with Second Life.”

Able bodies don’t always think about how many skills they use in their everyday lives. But if you are recovering from a stroke or a traumatic brain injury or assisting a family member or a friend in that situation, then you suddenly realize just how many skills need to be re-learned.

In my personal opinion, this place is a nice place to learn more about disabilities, and realizing that there are Second Life residents who have a disability in real life. Either they are in a wheelchair, they are blind, or they have another disability. This makes you realize that there are many people with disabilities in both, the virtual worlds and in real life.

I find this project a very nice one, which offers many possibilities and high potential.

You can find the mentioned places :

Virtual Ability Island :

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Virtual%20Ability/54/170/23

Cape Able :

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Cape%20Able/127/128/23

Cape Serenity :

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Cape%20Serenity/128/128/22

HealthInfo Island :

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/128/128/24

Wesley Regenbogen

Avatar Social Network : The First Facebook for Virtual Worlds ( and Second Life, of Course)

By Wesley Regenbogen

Avatar Social Network ( http://www.avatarsocialnetwork.com ) is owned and operated by AP Holdings. It’s the first social network that doesn’t ask for your real life name, but asks for your Second Life name or any other virtual name you might have in other virtual worlds. They offer a free registration process. Also they offer a peaceful and friendly environment where people can share, create friendships, post photos and can be friends with each other. This is all supervised by admins and moderators, though.

Once you are registered, you can start posting, sharing and do other activities on the website and get credits for doing something on the website. Once you get a certain amount of credits, you can be rewarded in-world ( Second Life or another virtual world you are registered in ). This is why the website is a fast growing community for virtual worlds and games and where members are truly appreciated not by the rewarding system itself, but by other members as well.

You can also sign up with Facebook and Twitter, which is a bit odd, because Facebook and Twitter are more related to Real Life, right? Nevertheless, this new virtual worlds oriented social network does seem to be growing ever since it has been created. There is the ability to create groups, I created two already, while writing this article. You can also post your thoughts on the forums and you can also create your blog there. Posting videos and adding your virtual world employment to the social network are also possible. There is even a section where you can give or receive gifts. You can search with the “Search” feature, which is obvious, of course. You can add your own pages to the social network as well.

Chatting with your friends, similar to Facebook, is also possible, as well as sending private messages to each other. Playing games on Avatar Social Network, the so-called ASN Games are also available. This is more like what you can do on Facebook as well.

Well, to make a long story very short : Avatar Social Network is the Virtual Facebook for every avatar around the globe, whether you are in Second Life or another MMO or game, you want Avatar Social Network to get credits, both on the site and in-world, to get you started !

You can find Avatar Social Network ( ASN ) ATMs around in Second Life, but I don’t know if there’s a Avatar Social Network place within Second Life.

Wesley Regenbogen

Commentary: Virtual Worlds "To Game or Not to Game?"

By Wesley Regenbogen

To Game or Not to Game? That’s the question …

Some players confuse a virtual world with a game, simply because they often have a game history and play games offline and online. Although games have become very mainstream, nowadays there are many MMOs that are playable online and mostly for free.

Virtual worlds versus Games

Role-playing and creation of objects in-world

In a normal game you play a “role” in the game. In virtual worlds you can also “play” a character but most users are themselves in most cases at least. The lack of the need to fullfill objectives, makes room for other capabilities and other functionalities within the virtual world. For instance, the ability to create objects.

Most virtual worlds are almost entirely created by it’s residents. This means that many people have devoted their time to making content for the virtual world in question. Thus, all that you see is made by residents. There are no companies involved to create all what has been made in-world. Many companies only “offered the land” for creative minds to create objects and let other residents explore the world created.

Virtual Money vs Real Economy

Another huge difference between games and virtual worlds is the fact that there is a virtual economy set inside the virtual environment. You can get a virtual job in-world and get paid virtual money. The amount of virtual money you receive for a virtual job can be different from one job to another.

There is a way to convert your virtual cash into real money, using a sort of exchange in-world or on a website. These exchange services are services created to allow residents of the virtual worlds to trade their virtual money into real US Dollars ( and maybe other currencies as well ). You are able to buy virtual money or sell your virtual money to trade into US Dollars or vice versa. As in real life exchange the exchange rates can fluxuate, so be aware.

When buying virtual money and you are logged in-world already it can take a few minutes for the database to be synchronized. So, this means that the virtual world and the real world economy are bonded together.

Getting Involved

Within the virtual worlds it’s easy to get involved and a wide community of residents is ready to help you whenever they can. Either by creating objects or starting a business in-world or by helping newbies to get adapted to this environment.

Real Life versus Virtual Life

Obtaining Virtual Cash in the virtual world

Just like in real life you sometimes need (virtual) money in the virtual worlds. There are different ways to obtain money in the virtual world.

Firstly, in most virtual worlds you can take on a “job” and gain virtual money that way.

Second option is to buy virtual cash with real life money, which is the most likely option, in most cases.

Third option is making objects or trade objects with other residents and sell those for the best price on the virtual market.

Communicating through an avatar

In real life we communicate through face-to-face conversations and discussing with each other. In most virtual worlds this is also possible, but there is a different approach.

With your avatar, which is a virtual representation of yourself in cyberspace ( the virtual world ) you can interact with other avatars and discuss with them about various topics.

Groups

It’s often hard to find people that share the same idea or have the same opinion in the virtual world. Luckily, in many virtual worlds there is the ability to join groups or something similar. When joining a group, you can share ideas or discuss whatever topic the group has and connect with people that share the mutual ideas. Most groups are free to join, however, some may cost you some virtual money to join.

Moving around in the virtual world

Moving around in the different virtual worlds can be either by walking around, flying, or using a vehicle or flying object to transport your avatar around in the virtual reality. Although in most virtual worlds this aspect is different, depending on which virtual world you are in, the main goal is the same : getting around as quickly and smoothly as possible.

In some virtual worlds it could take a while to transport from one place to another. Teleporters and alike are also available in most virtual worlds, allowing avatars to quickly go from one place to another.

Conclusion

As we learn, it turns out that some virtual worlds have game aspects and some don't. Either way, it's not easy to name a virtual worlds as “game” or “not game” but virtual world. But on the other hand, the social and economic systems have similarities. We might conclude that a virtual world is often not a game and could be named “virtual world” instead. Although, personal opinions may vary and are open for discussion, my personal opinion is that I always refer to “virtual world” and not “game” as it comes to online virtual worlds.

Please feel free to comment on this topic and let me know what you think about this subject.

Wesley Regenbogen