Drowning in Second Life
The first time I logged on to Second Life with my new avatar, my computer froze. The second time I logged on, same thing. The third time (call me a dum-dum for even trying three times), it finally worked. Then my avatar found her way to the bottom of the ocean and couldn't get up. I finally turned off my computer again and decided to return to the project a few weeks later (this was last semester). I can name several other disorienting experiences (a parrot who tried to kiss me, some genie guy who threatened to kill me, and so forth), but by the end of the semester I found my way to my professor's office on the SJSU SLIS campus and left her a note. Phew. That took some doing.
My new discovery this time was the coordinates feature, where you can actually find coordinates to a place you want to go (find them on a blog or a website or something), and then in SL you can type them in a you will theoretically be taken to that place.
To be honest, SL is a little bit scary to me. My mom told me a story recently about a couple she knows whose relationship actually was destroyed because the woman is on SL so much. This is a true story. The woman is very unsuccessful in life--she works an entry-level clerk job somewhere and doesn't have much going for her, but on SL she is a famous fashion designer and very popular.
In a library setting, it still seems unrealistic. People using the internet at library computers don't have time to play with "luxury" games when they are on a strict time-limit. Not to mention Rebecca's earlier point that there are still millions of people disenfranchised from technology and need to learn how to email first.
It's nice for librarians to know about SL, and maybe connect with other librarians, but this is nothing I would encourage my customers to use as of now.
