The Making of Second Life: Notes from the New World

by Wagner James Au

The wholly virtual world known as Second Life has attracted more than a million active users, millions of dollars, and created its own—very real—economy. The Making of Second Life is the behind-the-scenes story of the Web 2.0 revolution's most improbable the creation of a virtual 3-D world with its own industries, culture, and social systems. Now the toast of the Internet economy, and the subject of countless news articles, profiles, and television shows, Second Life is usually known for the wealth of real-world companies (Reuters, Pontiac, IBM) that have created "virtual offices" within it, and the number of users ("avatars") who have become wealthy through their user-created content. What sets Second Life apart from other online worlds, and what has made it such a success (one million-plus monthly users and growing) is its simple user-centered philosophy. Instead of attempting to control the activities of those who enter it, the creators of Second Life turned them users (also known as Residents) own the rights to the intellectual content they create in-world, and the in-world currency of Linden Dollars is freely exchangeable for U.S. currency. Residents have responded by generating millions of dollars of economic activity through their in-world designs and purchases—currently, the Second Life economy averages more than one million U.S. dollars in transactions every day, while dozens of real-world companies and projects have evolved and developed around content originated in Second Life. Wagner James Au explores the long, implausible road behind that success, and looks at the road ahead, where many believe that user-created worlds like Second Life will become the Net's next generation and the fulcrum for a revolution in the way we shop, work, and interact. Au's story is narrated from both within the corporate offices of Linden Lab, Second Life's creator, and from within Second Life itself, revealing all the fascinating, outrageous, brilliant, and aggravating personalities who make Second Life a very real place­—and an illuminating mirror on the real (physical) world. Au writes about the wars they fought (sometimes literally), the transformations they underwent, the empires of land and commerce they developed, and above all, the collaborative creativity that makes their society an imperfect utopia, better in some ways than the one beyond their computer screens.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Technology, Academic

304 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 26, 2008

Reviews

[Philip Chaston · Rating 3 out of 5]

Odd to read a text from a decade ago when such virtual worlds appeared to foster opportunity as the 'next phase' of the internet. The book is imbued with that hope and expectation with the underlying tones of continued expansion and universal access. The balkanisation and cul-de-sacs of the last decade were not apparent in 2008; the darkweb and Bitcoin unknown.

An enjoyable excursion amongst the optimism of yesteryear and, one hopes, that the expectations may be met some further way down the line with augmented reality and VR. A clear example of how expectations can move faster in the short term and, yet, may be overtaken in the long term.

[Tattered Cover Book Store]

So there is this thing on the internets, maybe you have heard of it. If not, there is probably a good chance you will. I hear it is going to be big.

If you're not already aware of it, Second Life is an online... Well, it's a little hard to qualify. It looks like a game, in that it has 3D graphics, but there aren't really game-like goals to achieve. It's a little like a chat room, in that you can meet and interact with many other users around the world, but there's much more to it than conversation. It is, for lack of a better term, a virtual world, complete with its own geography, population, and economy. Apart from the ground itself, everything in it was created by users, using the provided software tools, including buildings, vehicles, furniture, clothing, and even character animations. With an active user base of over 600,000 members ("residents," in the parlance of SL) and growing, this frenzy of user-created content has birthed an economy with a gross "national" product greater than that of, if I am not misquoting the book here, Belgium. Real-world companies have taken notice, with such institutions as IBM, Pontiac, and Playboy having set up virtual headquarters. SL also plays host to real-world events, broadcast live through virtual venues - concerts, university lectures, even a presidential candidate's campaign speech. Wild.

Truth be told, I heard about Second Life a few years ago, but never really gave it a Second Thought (heh) until I picked up this book. The author, Wagner James Au, was retained by SL's creators early on in its existence to document its development, and while his coverage of this virtual world-building is at times less than objective, he really paints an interesting picture. As he describes it, and it really does make sense when you think about it, such a user-generated virtual world is just an extension of the participation culture of so-called "Web 2.0" sites like MySpace and YouTube. I don't know if this particular application is destined to be the future of the internet, but at least it seems to be an important step in the development of global information sharing. Not so much a story of the development of a piece of software as a story of the development of a community, I wouldn't call this book a must-read, but anyone with an interest in the internet's burgeoning participation culture (or "Read-Write Culture," as Lawrence Lessig calls it) might find it a ascinating insight into where it's headed.

-Nate R

[Mjhancock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wagner James Au gives a journalistic overview of the history and issues surrounding Second Life. His basic theory is that Second Life operates on three principles: it is characterized by wild improvisation; its society values flair and extended effort above other forms of social capital; and a flourishing in Second Life can affect a real life positively, and vice versa. He covers all the main points: Second Life's history, its users' play with sex and identity, its involvement with real life politics, its economic and legal potential, and its possible future. There's also a lot of smaller anecdotes, such as military veteran who uses Second Life to generate some revenue, and the Green Lantern Core's protection of the Darfur Awareness island. The book's flaws lie in its entirely positive, to point of being uncritical, portrayal of Second Life. Some of the future predictions, in particular, strike me as the same sort of hyperbolic enthusiasm that Web Enthusiasts were making in the 90s--though unlike them, Au has an actual product he can point to for evidence. I definitely found it eye-opening; while Au makes it clear he's not an academic, he raises exactly the sort of issues academics researching Second Life may find most interesting.

[Timothy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A genuinely entertaining and informative book, this one ended up being a bit too earnest for my tastes. Au knows his world and gives plenty of information about Second Life that I had not encountered elsewhere. His approach is usually even-handed, and his coverage of people with severe disabilities thriving in the virtual world is quite moving.

I had two main problems with this book. One was the unnecessary and obnoxious jargon that Au coins: "bebop reality" was a particularly galling example. The other was the obligatory future-predicting epilogue, in which Au really goes off the rails. It will probably be entertaining in ten years to revisit this section and laugh about how off-base the predictions are. (On that note, this book boasts the recommendation of the perennially wrong Howard Rheingold.) It is quite possible that the publisher demanded this unsavory bit of speculation.

[Americanogig · Rating 4 out of 5]

I knew next to nothing about the online MMORPG known as Second Life. I cannot say that any longer. This book gave wonderful insight and never once felt dry or boring. Finally giving a decent explanation of mirrored flourishing, the phenomenon of Linden Dollars, Second Life's affect on real life and real life's affect on Second Life. A great sociological look at where the internet has been and where it may take us in the future. Exploring strange quirks and difficult problems in this "game" with wry humor and easily understandable terms, I would not hesitate to recommend this to anyone who likes to study our society.

[Gealach · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't usually read non-fiction because it's usually dry and boring imo. But I picked this one up as research for a class project and I sped right through it. It is entertaining as well as informative and I'd recommend it to anyone interested in Virtual Worlds.

It mostly focuses on the history of Second Life, and it illustrates several interesting events within SL and in the real world while SL was being developed. But it also discusses virtual worlds in general and offers an overview of the history as well as initiating questions about the future of these worlds.

[Michael Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Making of Second Life is an introduction to virtual worlds, in general, and to Second Life, in particular. James Au follows a journalistic approach to present the most important aspects about Second Life, from casual socializing to the most extreme behavior. Overall, an interesting and well-written book.

[Heath · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not only is this book a good introduction to and history of Second Life, the popular 3-D online community and "virtual world," it's a solid cultural anthropology. Au's outlining of themes such as bebop reality, mirrored flourishing, and impression society are thoughtful, as well as thought provoking. This book has changed how I think about the virtual world, which has had more impact on the world and people's lives than I realized. Now I just need to spend more time there.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed reading this book. I had no idea what Second Life was all about. Its not the type of online community I would want to join and "play", but the writer of this book did a great job of relating the business and culture of the software to the business and culture of the world as a whole. An easy read, well organized. The author's concepts of "Bebop Reality" and "Mirrored Flourishing" were fascinating.

[Matthew Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

The relentless optimism about Second Life in this book is a little suffocating. Also, only like one chapter is about the making of second life. Very little of this book is about the creators, though to be fair, all the content of SL is user made. It's pretty interesting how all the social aspects of SL come together and how content is created, but overall the book was really frustrating to read due to the author having a raging SL boner.

[Deryck Hodge · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good book on the history of making Second Life. I've long been an SL user and advocate, despite it's short comings, and enjoyed this book. Other SL users may enjoy this, but I'm not sure anyone else will. It's great to have this history documented, though, depending on what happens with virtual worlds in the next few years.

[Jeddagger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yeah, I read it. I picked up a copy at Dollar Tree and it was a good look at what we now know as Second Life. If you look at it as history of the grid 101, it does explain so many things that we either take for granted today or wonder why it is like it is.

I feel like it was well worth the dollar I spent on it.

[Lia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was more interesting than I thought it might be! I learned the history of Second Life, and mused with the author on social structures, economies, and the future of the Internet. It made me want to get more involved in SL and help take it into the future!

[Adam]

This is more about the history of Second Life's development than SL theory, which is what I want to think about.

[Barry · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author was too close to the subject; it didn't offer an unbiased perspective at all.

[Brendan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was great , told me exactly what I wanted to know about SL ( without having to do it )

[Joanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good look at the beginning of Second Life. It's time for an updated version or perhaps a different book altogether that is fresh.

[Lori Grant · Rating 4 out of 5]

A should-read company profile for knowledge workers, managers, directors, C-levels, and entrepreneurs.