Possible connection and location for the new SSP continent

Update (27/3) 

Part of the new SSP continent has come online along with new region names. It’s believed the next batch of regions will show very soon.

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SSP Latest Developments – March 2019 Update

The top of the Jeogeot continent now has a whole bunch of new water regions which is believed to be the new bridge which will connect up with the new SSP continent very soon. This is the most likely location of the new continent will be placed. At the moment the SSP continent lays far north east of the map. It’s closed still as work continues behind the scenes.

• 24 regions straight down/up x 16 regions across = 384 total SSP regions 

Here is the bottom of the Sansara continent where it is most likely it will connect up with the SSP continent going down south. The group that owns these regions is the Linden Department of Public Works (LDPW).

The water regions stop at Salt Breeze & Whitecap regions which is marked in the red circle below. If you click the map below you should be able to see the rough outlines of the water regions.

It’s believed the new SSP continent will fit roughly in the empty space right of the red circle below.

The current location of the new SSP continent. The yellow dot is where the new continent will be moved to very soon it’s believed.

I’ll post more updates soon on SSP.

Scenes from Home & Garden Expo 2019

Here are some of my recent photos of Home & Garden Expo 2019 which runs until Sunday 7th April.

The H&G Expo showcases some of the grid’s best decor, homes, gardens, landscapes, furnishing designs and much more. There are over 100 exhibitors participating this year across ten regions.

The Home and Garden Expo raises money for Relay For Life of Second Life (RFL of SL). There are events and activities happening every day from hunts, auctions, classes and much more.

If you are interested in the latest home trends and latest buildings then check out the Home & Garden Expo today.

Check out the 2019 Home and Garden website for the latest events and news.

Second Friends social network closing down

On 13th March Seth Regan announced on Facebook that the social network called Second Friends will be closing down.

The social network started a few years ago by Seth. Over recent months it’s become an expense and time issue apparently. Around 4, 000 members joined and now they will need to find another social network to join. .

The Second Friends Facebook page will remain active. Seth hopes to create a brand new social network in the near future.

Here is the full closure announcement via Second Friends Facebook page.

Save your Google+ content before 31 March 2019

My Second Life Google+ Page

Google+ will be closing down in a few weeks time on Tuesday 2nd April 2019. For anyone that it is interested there is still time to save your Google+ content before 31st March 2019.

Today the Google+ team sent out this email to all those that still have content on their Google+ personal account. It’s a shame it’s closing down because the Second Life community had a strong presence there and it was a great way to find out the latest news across the virtual metaverse.

You’ve received this email because you have content in Google+ for your personal (consumer) account or a Google+ page that you manage.

This is a reminder that on 2 April 2019, we’re shutting down consumer Google+ and will begin deleting content from consumer Google+ accounts. Photos and videos from Google+ in your album archive and on your Google+ pages will also be deleted.

Downloading your Google+ content may take time, so get started before 31 March 2019.

No other Google products (such as Gmail, Google Photos, Google Drive or YouTube) will be shut down as part of the consumer Google+ shutdown, and the Google Account that you use to sign in to these services will remain. Please note that photos and videos already backed up in Google Photos will not be deleted.

For more information, see the full Google+ shutdown FAQs.

From all of us on the Google+ team, thank you for making Google+ such a special place.

Google Inbox app will shut down on the same day as Google+ it’s recently been announced.

April 2019: VWBPE, Fantasy Faire and BURN2 Burnal Equinox

There are some big inworld events happening during April 2019 in Second Life including the 12th annual Virtual Worlds Best Practices in Education conference, the 11th annual Fantasy Faire and the BURN2 Burnal Equinox.

There are more events happening across the grid next month from hunts, music/DJ events and most importantly Easter events. Check out Featured Events on the Second Life Destination Guide for more great events happening now until then.

• Don’t forget the Home and Expo runs through until Sunday 7th April 2019. There are ten regions to explore including the new Linden Homes Preview region.

12th Virtual Worlds Best Practices in Education Conference

The VWBPE conference will be held from 4th April through until 6th April 2019. The theme for this year is re:Vision and the keynote speakers are the following..Dr.Tom Boellstorff, Dr.Tuncer Can and Dr.Jonathon Richter.

Linden Lab – Above the Book

> Patch Linden (Senior Director, Product Operations) and Grumpity Linden (Senior Director, Product) will be going live at 2pm SLT on 4th April 2019 at the VWBPE Main Auditorium talking about what’s new at Linden Lab.

The VWBPE 2019 schedule has been published here. All times are SLT and all sessions are held in Second Life.

11th Fantasy Faire

The Fantasy Fair 2019 will open to the public on 18th April through until 5th May 2019. If you love fantasy this is the perfect event for you. There will be live music concerts, shopping and special events to help raise funds for Relay for Life of Second Life.

BURN2 Burnal Equinox

The BURN2 Burnal Equinox takes place from 12th April through until 14th April 2019. The theme for the spring event is Eyes to the Skies. BURN2 has been community supported since 2010 and has been very successful over the years.

Spread the word 🙂

First Preview Of The New Linden Homes At The Home And Garden Expo 2019

Welcome to the new Linden homes

Everyone can now see a first preview of the new Linden Homes at the 2019 Home and Garden Expo. Check out the new extra special region called Linden Homes Preview which is now open to the public. From first glance the new Linden Homes look really nice and rather cute.

The initial deployment and launch of these new Linden Homes are still yet to be officially announced. When it does launch the new Linden Homes will be available to all Premium members. These new homes will then be made available on the new SSP continent which may be called Bellisseria.

The SSP continent (Bellisseria) will form a bridge between two of the existing Mainland continents to form a much larger continent which sounds very exciting indeed. The new infrastructure on the new continent will include new docks, beaches, roads, parks, coastlines and much more.

The new Linden Homes will be provided on 1024 sq m parcel, parcels will be made available in themed areas and each parcel will be managed by a mailbox.

The Linden Homes preview region will remain open until Sunday 7th April 2019.

• Teleport Here

First preview of the new Linden home

Upstairs

Downstairs

The new docks area

Looking from above down at the new Linden homes

Linden Lab Announces Second Life 16th Birthday Celebrations

Today Linden Lab have officially announced Second Life 16th birthday celebrations set for 20th June through until 8th July 2019. Apparently SL16B applications will be opening soon (probably within the next weeks) for volunteers, exhibitors and performers. The theme for SL16B will be set around the 1950s with a ton of fun events planned.

The SL16B regions have recently arrived on the grid which is good to see. Early preparations are now underway and the countdown has officially started for the big event.

It feels like we just packed away all that crystal magic from our 15th anniversary celebration, but our sweet sixteen is just around the corner! This summer, we’re throwing a huge celebration to commemorate 16 years with this incredible community and we wanted to fill you in on just a few of the details.

Sixteen years ago, on June 23rd, 2003, Second Life launched to the public. Though it feels like just yesterday and a lifetime ago at the same time, this year we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to go retro and embrace the “Sweet Sixteen” theme for our big party. Sock hops, bowling alleys, and late nights at the diner were a quintessential part of many teenagers lives back in the 1950s, but the 1950s were also a time of political and social change. The world was shocked by the iconic ‘Elvis pelvis,’ and poodle and pencil skirts changed the fashion world forever. Rebellion became the titillating pastime among all that soda shoppe sweetness. It was an era that – like Second Life – rocked and rolled! So, this summer we’re throwing a 1950s themed SL16B with a TON of fun events and happenings. Here is a brief rundown of just a few.

The lab have officially confirmed the dates for SL16B birthday celebrations in the blog post…

Save the Date
The dates of this year’s celebration will be June 20th, 2019 through – July 8th, 2019.

SL16B Applications for volunteers, performers and exhibitors will be opening soon – so stay tuned to our blog for more updates as these applications become available.

The lab have confirmed they are bringing back the shopping event, music festival along with gifts and parties for SL16B. The full details can be read below…

SL16B Shopping Event
We’re bringing back our multi-region inworld shopping event, complete with gifts and great deals from many Merchants from all over the Grid. If you are a Merchant and you’re interested in submitting an application to participate, please visit and complete this form. The cut-off for submissions will be June 1st, 2019, so be sure to apply sooner rather than later. The shopping event will take place for the duration of the celebrations – June 20th, 2019 through – July 8th, 2019

SL16B Music Fest
The 1950s were an exciting time for music – and we have such an incredible live music community in Second Life, we’re going to carry on the tradition of Music Fest and will be announcing application for the audition showcase and more very soon.

SL16B Gifts and Parties
There really ain’t no party like a Second Life party – and there will be some parties within the party that you won’t want to miss. Come As You Were Party (dust off those oldbies and round up those Ruths) and a modern twist on the dance party are just a few of the opportunities you’ll have to come out and shake your virtual tail feathers. There will be costume prizes – so start planning those looks. Dates will be announced as we get closer to the celebration.

Last year we introduced the Swaginator at SL15B – and we’re bringing it back again this year with some updates and changes based on feedback. You’ll hear more about this as we get closer – but Swaginator gifts will be easier to get than ever!

98 days and counting until SL16B

I have now added a new SL16B category and tag on my blog

Fran Serenade In Second Life Has Sadly Passed Away Aged 92

On 7th March 2019 Draxtor Despres sent out a tweet saying that Fran Serenade in Second Life had sadly passed away on 3rd March 2019 which is very sad news to hear. Fran was a Parkinson’s Disease sufferer, she was a true pioneer and she inspired so many people over the years.

Sad news: Fran Seranade passed away at the age of 92. She was a pioneer all her life. And she was a pioneer in #secondlife: exploring avatar embodiment & bringing so much good to the Parkinson’s community. I am deeply honored I was able to tell her story https://t.co/ICj65qvBbc pic.twitter.com/ypl4t5Rj0O

— draxtor™ (@draxtor) March 7, 2019

Fran Serenade was featured on Epsiode 13: Creations for Parkinson’s of the Drax Files series back in November 2013 designed to raise money for research into the Parkinson’s Disease. The epsiode received 28, 469 views and Fran received lots of love from the Second Life community.

This is a must read telling Fran’s story.

Fran will be sadly be missed by the Second Life community, her family and friends in RL. There will be an in-world memorial for Fran which is still being planned very soon.

You can kindly make a RL donation here > https://fundraise.michaeljfox.org/tf-2019/FranSwenson

RIP Fran

Looking at Sansar concurrent players usage on Steam Charts from December 2018 to March 2018

Sansar on Steam Players

Sansar launched on Steam three months ago on 5th December 2018 and the usage at first was starting to pick up. The all time peak reached 72 players in early December 2018 according to Steam Charts which tracks concurrent players. The average number of players was around the 22.1 players mark.

Today the average players count has gone down to 10.2 which is pretty low. It’s important to mention that all the data is powered by Steam for reference.

Since last year the overall Sansar concurrent players usage has dropped but just bumping along nowadays. There was a slightly large peak of 44 players that was recorded on Monday 4th March 2019. On a daily basis though it’s not really been over the 30 players mark apart from the odd occasion like a big event or inworld meeting.

Sansar Peak Recordings So Far 

• 44 players – 4th March 2019
• 34 players – 12th February 2019
• 30 players – 24th January 2019
• All time high peak – 72 players – Early December 2018

Sansar Usage Numbers So Far 

Month	Avg. Players	Gain	% Gain	Peak Players
Last 30 Days	10.2	+0.0	-0.09%	44
February 2019	10.2	-1.6	-13.81%	34
January 2019	11.9	-10.3	-46.38%	30
December 2018	22.1	–	–	72

Will these Sansar player numbers improve over the next 6 to 12 months ? Feel free to comment below 🙂

Linden Lab Introduces A New Travelogue Video Series

Within the last hour Linden Lab have announced a new travelogue video series which will be highlighting incredible experiences, places and events created by the Second Life community. These short quick previews will last around 60-90 seconds each apparently.

Second Life Destinations is a new weekly video travelogue series that highlights some of the incredible experiences and events created by Residents within the virtual world of Second Life.

In this series, we’ll highlight different places focusing in on the beauty and imaginative possibilities in no more than 60-90 seconds so that you can get a quick peek at the creations and communities inside each virtual space. At times we may even speak to creators of theses spaces so they can shed some light on what inspired them. Look for each new episode on our blog and social media channels, including Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.

I like the sound of this new video series showcasing the very best in Second Life. This looks like a new marketing campaign to advertise Second Life to a much larger audience. I think this new travel series will become even more popular in the months ahead with more inworld spaces being shown.

#3 The Pen in Bay City has been showcased this week – (see video above)

#2 Cica Ghost’s Drawn Town

#1 Snow Falls 

More episodes will be added here very soon.