Linden Lab revamps new user experience – Social Island and Learning Island


This week Linden Lab has added two new regions called Social Island and Learning Island for new users signing up to Second Life.  The former Destination Islands and Welcome Islands are no longer on the grid. It seems Linden Lab has revamped the first hour experience by changing the look of the setup install process and new user regions. There is more to see on Social Island and Learning Island but there is still no information on getting started in Seoond Life like the old orientation islands/help islands.

Map of the new Social Islands and Learning Islands

Social Island and Learning Island map

New SL setup preview

Second Life setup

If you click the Advanced button you can change the installation folder and now there is a tick box if you want for Second Life to start up after installing. It now gives you a tutorial on getting started when installing which is rather neat.

Second Life setup

It will now download the latest SL viewer for you which is good so now you just need to log into Second Life with your username/password then accept the terms of service box. Wooot!

First Preview of Social Island 

When you first arrive on Social Island you will start on a beach on a island surrounded by the sea. Then you have to follow the path up the mountain to teleport to learning island. No information on getting started in SL anywhere.

Learning Island

Walk through the gate to automatically teleport to learning island.

Learning Island

First preview of Learning Island 

Once teleported from Social Island you will arrive at the welcome point. Again nothing to explain the basics of Second Life.

Learning Island

Walk along the path to the destinations area to teleport to well known locations across the grid. Other things to see on Learning Island: Tiki Beach, Lighthouse, Hot air balloon, Quiet Isle, The Cave Club and Club SL.

Learning Island 2013

What do you think of this latest revamp of the new user islands ? 

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SL10B Community Celebration ends officially


At midnight SLT today the SL10B regions closed for public access for another year after two weeks of celebrating Second Life 10th birthday. The first week of live music and events was a huge success I think. The second week was a nice relaxing week exploring the builds I missed in the first week and the final party was amazing. View my SL10B snapshots here.

Overall there was more blog coverage this year on SL10B, more visitors, less lag, more positive views this year and it was good to see Lindens attending the birthday celebrations too. This year the lab took part in providing SL10B freebies, there was more blog posts on the SL official blog this year and there was more SL10B locations to visit on the SL Destination Guide this year. A big thanks to all the SL10B organisers, volunteers, and builders etc that made this year awesome and for making this 10th birthday celebration possible.

To mark the closing there was first a SL10B flags event where all the SL10B flags were lowered for the last time. After there was a awesome firework display at the main cake stage. Then finally hundreds of avatars gathered for 8 hours yesterday at the Turtle Stage for the final live music party of the SL10B Community Celebration and it was really great to see everyone having fun.

  • What are your views of SL10B this year ? 
  • What are your suggestions for SL11B in June 2014? 

SL10B – Thank You! 

SL10B last day

Goodbye SL10B!

SL10B goodbye

My SL10B Blog Coverage

This marks the end of my SL10B blog coverage and thanks to all my SL blog readers for reading my special blog reports on SL10B. I guess the countdown starts now for SL11B which planning starts in early 2014. I can’t wait to take part!

The Drax Files: Episode 8: MadPea Games


Watch the new episode 8 of The Drax Files called MadPea Games. Great video production and good coverage of MadPea Games this week. Great work as usual, Drax. 🙂

Details about Episode 8

The debate if SecondLife is a game or not is alive and well at least since on NBC’s The Office [2007] Dwight Schrute rejects a narrow definition of the vast virtual world in which he “plays” a paper salesman.

Meanwhile, Finland based design company MadPea Games has not been paying much attention to this back and forth, instead churning out complex immersive adventure games and game-based learning concepts within SecondLife using the platform’s vast array of tools to the fullest. 

MadPea’s globally dispersed team operates as if they are working out of a joint because the persistent universe of SL allows them to do just that: scripters from Holland manipulate game mechanics with 3D modelers from the United States in real-time while designers from Germany, France and the UK test game flow on their new work-in-progress action game “Unia”, disproving assumptions that only consoles can handle intense game-play, high-end graphics and epic storylines.

more info at http://www.madpeagames.com

Watch Video 

SL10B Closing Ceremony events on the final day


Today marks the official end to the SL10B Community Celebration after two amazing weeks of celebrating Second Life’s 10th birthday celebrations. There are special closing ceremony events taking place today which should not be missed between 12pm-9pm SLT at the SL10B regions. It’s time to go out on a high and party all day. 🙂

Thank you sign at the SL10B Cake Stage

SL10B last day

Closing Day Event Schedule for Saturday 29th June 2013

  • The SL10B flags will be lowered today starting at 12pm SLT at X marked locations
  • Fireworks start at the main cake stage after flags are lowered 
  • Closing Party from 1pm-9pm SLT at SL10B Impressive and SL10B Spellbound 
  • SL10B sims close to the public late evening (SLT)

Waving goodbye to the SL10B Cake Stage

SL10B last day

Let’s celebrate one last time and after today the countdown starts for SL11B.

SL10B Community Celebration Feedback

  • Share your thoughts about SL10B on this year’s feedback form.

Feel free to write in comments your reviews (good/bad/suggestions) of SL10B and also what things would you like to see happen for next year at SL11B? 

 

 

 

SL10B Time Capsule First Preview


Check out this year’s SL10B Time Capsule which is east of the SL10B Welcome Area. This is a very unique flower creation of the time capsule to mark 10 years of Second Life. The SL10B regions will be closed for access tomorrow evening after 2 weeks of the SL10B Community Celebration event. This is the last chance to explore the sims and take snapshots.

SL10B Time Capsule First Preview 

SL10B Time Capsule 2013

Time Capsule created by Caro Fayray.

You can view previous Second Life Birthday time capsules from the past here.

London Pride Event at London City sim in Second Life


There is a new event coming up for London City region in Second Life called London Pride. The event will start at 5am SLT on Saturday 29th June 2013 with concerts and events throughout the day. There will be a main stage show at 1pm SLT and there is a chance to win 1000L for best in theme.

There will be great live music, funfair, best SL DJs, competitions/prizes and merchandise to collect. London City is one of the most popular destinations in Second Life and it’s time to celebrate PRIDE this weekend.

Check out the new posters below for the London Pride Event 2013 below.

Teleport to London Pride Event.

 

SL RFL Press Release 2013 “It’s Time To Relay”


A new Relay For Life Press Release has been released for the upcoming 9th annual RFL event in Second Life which takes place on 13th-14th July 2013. There will be 40 RFL regions and hundreds of volunteers helping out this year. This year marks 100 Years of Hope and it’s expected to be fantastic event this year. The goal this year is to reach the 2 million dollars milestone. This year the Relay track will be divided into Past, Present and Future areas which sound very cool.

RFL Sims 2013

RFL regions 2013

See full details below…

After four months of fundraising, Second Life Relayers will be gathering on July 13-14 for the ninth annual Relay For Life of Second Life 24 hour event to CELEBRATE, REMEMBER and FIGHT BACK. The Relay track will stretch across 34 of 40 Relay sims and will bring together thousands of volunteers and team members who have so far raised an amazing US$300,000 in the 2013 fundraising season and who will be walking the track together in their quest to see an end to cancer.

Stingray9798 Raymaker ( Jeff Montegut, the American Cancer Society’s staff partner to SLs Relay) said: “Thanks to the tremendous support of our volunteers, teams, committee members, and corporate partners, we have raised an astonishing amount of money and are getting so close to an all-time total of 2 million dollars raised in Second Life. This important contribution is money that funds the mission of the American Cancer Society – research, education, and prevention. I’m looking forward to personally thanking everyone at this years event!’

The theme of this year’s Relay is ‘100 Years of Hope’, a theme that has inspired some of the most imaginative events and builds and in celebration of the American Cancer Society’s 100 year anniversary. The Relay track will be divided into Past, Present and Future areas. The fun-filled weekend will also include five activity regions that will house live music, djs, a silent auction, an art show, a Raffle for Relay, Snail Racing, a Teams vendored flea market and a special ‘Teams R Us’ clubhouse where teams can hold events away from the track so that they can celebrate without lagging the track sims.

Visitors will land at the Welcome Area, upon arrival, located on the Relay For Life region, where there will be a lot of helpful information to help them get started and where there will be volunteer greeters to answer questions and give out the 2013 Visitors Guide. There are themed laps between the main ceremonies and visitors will see signs over the track that display the current lap theme.

The event will officially open at 10:00am on Saturday with an Opening Ceremony, where the Fundraiser Club Banner Awards for 2013 will be presented to the teams. More than 100 cancer survivors and caregivers have registered to take part in the ‘honor walk’, which is a CELEBRATE lap and will start immediately after the opening ceremony, followed by the team spirit lap.

At 9:00pm the track sims are turned to midnight to light up the thousands of luminaria (candles) along the track, each representing a survivor or someone who has passed from cancer. For one hour people walk the track in silence as the dedications are read over the broadcasting stream, provided by T1 Radio. This lap is known as the REMEMBER lap.

At 6:00am is the FIGHT BACK Ceremony when people gather together to make a personal pledge to help fight cancer. It might be by pledging to have a regular breast exam, to follow a healthy diet, or to stop smoking.

The Closing Ceremony will begin at 10:00am on Sunday, June 14th followed by a final victory lap at 11:00am. The Raffle For Relay and Silent Auction will remain open until that afternoon.

Nikki Mathieson, 2013 Event Chair, said: “We have had an amazing season. Our volunteers have worked non-stop, their excitement, commitment and dedication has not wavered! We are looking forward to Relay Weekend, where we will come together to Celebrate, Remember, and Fight Back. Relay For Life of Second Life has made such an important impact, with thousands of people logging in to make some loud noise and pitch in on Finishing the Fight against cancer! We have proved that a determined group of people who care, can join together and do amazing things. We CAN make a difference! Congratulations to each and every person that was involved in this year’s relay!”

Relay For Life is the signature fundraiser of the American Cancer Society. Relay For Life of Second Life (RFL of SL) is an annual activity that takes place in Second Life in July each year. Volunteers form or join teams to have fun while fundraising and raising awareness from mid-March through mid-July. In July teams build campsites and walk a track, just like in a real world Relay. Relay For Life is about coming together with a group of people you don’t know to effect change in the lives of people you may never know.

The premier sponsors of Relay For Life of Second Life in 2013 are: Amaretto Ranch Breedables, Lanterns For Life, Mossms, Peace Haven’s Communities, Pink’s Props, and Touched By Angels.

FOLLOW US on:
Twitter: http://twitter.com/RelayForLife_SL
Facebook: http://facebook.com/rflofsl
RFL of SL Updates: http://rflofsl.blogspot.com/
For background information and the history of RFL of SL see:
SL Wiki: https://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Relay_For_Life_of_Second_Life and
Official RFL of SL website: http://www.relayforlife.org/secondlife

FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Gem Sunkiller (RFL of SL Outreach Area Chair)

 

SL10B stats


Check out SL10B stats for this year’s birthday celebrations in Second Life…

  • SL10B Regions: 22
  • SL10B Exhibitor plots: 375
  • SL10B Event Duration: 14 days
  • SL10B Blog Stats: 110, 965+ views so far
  • SL10B Stages:
  • SL10B Grand Opening Attendance: 640+ avatars
  • SL10B Linden Guests: Torley Linden, Amber Linden, Michael Linden, Governor Linden, Patch Linden, Widely Linden and more!
  • SL10B Flickr Group Stats: 928 snapshots – 195 members
  • SL10B exhibitor applications: 500+
  • SL10B performer applications:  470+
  • SL10B volunteer applications: 350+
  • SL10B pods: 19+
  • SL10B Press group: 65 members
  • SL10B Greeters: 115 
  • SL10B Exhibit Assistants: 33
  • SL10B Sim Co-Ord: 13
  • SL10B Stage Managers: 18
  • SL10B Mods: 48

SL birthday Stats from SL3B to SL9B can be found here.

New Philip Rosedale interview at Burn2


On 21st June 2013 Philip Rosedale was interviewed by Emcee Widget on a wide range of discussion topics including the future of virtual worlds at Center Camp during the Conception event at BURN2 in Second Life. It’s still great and interesting to listen to Philip Rosedale talk about Second Life and virtual worlds for 30 minutes. Looks like there was a attendance of 20+ at this interview at center camp at BURN2.

Today the repeat of the interview has been published with a video slideshow showing snapshots taken during the event and audio.

Woooot!!!

SL10B regions remain open until 29th June 2013


We are now into week 2 of the SL10B Community Celebration which is the relax week after all the main SL10B live events have successfully finished for another year. The SL10B sims were packed though week 1 full of amazing and fun live events. I loved the DJ and live performances this year. There was a great feeling of excitement and amazement this year compared with previous years. It’s very quiet at the sims now after the biggest party the grid has ever seen. Now a new decade of Second Life starts (2013 to 2023).

SL10B regions will remain open until Saturday 29th June 2013. This is the last chance to explore the SL10B exhibitor builds and main stages before the sims go offline in early July 2013.

Explore, take snapshots and videos to mark this special 10th birthday occasion in Second Life. I would like to say special thanks to all the organizers and volunteers that made SL10B possible and supporting this big event on the grid. I have enjoyed blogging about SL10B during week 1 and there will be more blog posts this week. Stay tuned!

What did you think of SL10B this year ?