Comments on: Second Life - What is the Hype?

By: Clif Swinford

Clif Swinford — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 20:49:51 +0000

You might be surprised. Consider that, given the rate of change in computers and the web, saying you tried something a couple of years ago and weren’t impressed might be similar to someone in 1940 saying they’d seen the Wright brothers fly and didn’t think that gadget could be good for much.

I’d say it’s still fairly clunky, but the difference between Second Life even a year ago and now, especially on a computer with a good graphics card, is remarkable. I’ve gone from finding it an amusing curiosity to regularly using it as a tool for learning, entertainment, and networking. My wife and I even attend church via Second Life. I’d suggest looking at it again.

By: Jonathan Bennett

Jonathan Bennett — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 21:52:04 +0000

I tried Second Life for a day recently. I must say, I was mostly bored throughout this whole process. I mean, flying was kind of cool, but it isn’t enough. I know there are many interesting things to do in this world, such as buying land, building property, and all sorts of other things, but this is not my type of thing. I think mowing my lawn in real life is more exciting.

What’s sad is the people who live for their second life. People should focus on making their first lives something wonderful and special. Not their “second.”

By: Maina231

Maina231 — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 04:56:40 +0000

strange thing is that! if people sit on there chairs and play this worthless games, when they gono do some real work.

ts funny that makeuseof (productivity blog) is writing this up. I would rather put secondlife 1st on “top 10 things that distract productivity”

By: Tina

Tina — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 00:29:44 +0000

Thank you for the comments everyone. I knew this might be a controversial post for MUO. However, this other, useful, philanthropic, educational side of SL has been fascinating me for a long time. My post was a sneak peak from a different perspective compared to what you normally see in the media. Mind you, I don’t think SL is a game, it’s more than that because it’s much more flexible than any game I know; it really is a world, it even has its own economy, as unstable as it may be in reality.

@Michaek You’re right, there is a lot of room for improvement. However, the learning curve is much lower than that of let’s say Excel. It takes less than a minute to understand and do the most basic things, all it takes is common sense. Yes, some people may never be able to grasp the more complicated concepts or functions, most don’t even want to and that’s ok.

By: Michaek

Michaek — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 22:51:36 +0000

Sounds a lot like a partisan AD for the game rather than the fantastic stuff that is usually posted here.

I’ve tried it, and its definitely something you could lose yourself in, after a fashion. I found the learning curve was extremely high though. And the amount of time lost trying to find the useful bits vastly outweighed any value the program provided.

By: Mark O'Neill

Mark O'Neill — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 18:13:04 +0000

Yeah and you know what? We are so devastated about that. I mean, how can we possibly live without your digg? Our life is totally over now.

By: Maina231

Maina231 — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 18:01:18 +0000

seems like you have started posting things that doesn’t interest digg!

By: Mark O'Neill

Mark O'Neill — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 12:31:13 +0000

I think you missed the whole point of the article. Tina thinks that Second Life IS a useful program. We all think differently you know.

By: Andrae

Andrae — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 11:59:28 +0000

I gained from this post. I heard about SL but was doubtful about it. Thanks for clearing it up. I hear you can start a business and earn an income from it. I will try it!

By: Catharina

Catharina — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 10:22:46 +0000

I think Second Life is a great place for education, but it takes time to get used to the world of SL and find your way, so maybe it is not for everyone.

The Linux client runs fine, btw.

By: Aibek

Aibek — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 03:23:03 +0000

The only reason we didn’t do a story on WoW is because none of us is familiar with it.

By: Chirag

Chirag — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 02:24:34 +0000

I second Alex’s comment…I didn’t really gain anything from this post.

By: Alexander

Alexander — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 02:04:23 +0000

can we please stick to articles about useful programs? The only reason you don’t do one on WoW should not be because it costs money.

By: Chip

Chip — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 01:45:13 +0000

I tried Second Life a couple years ago and found it both remarkable and clunky. What folks had created was impressive but actually finding anything could be a challenge. I’m not into fantasy or role playing so I didn’t get any entertainment value from it. I agree there are educational opportunities within 2L, but I would only consider them if I could attend a similar class offline.

My $.02.