Workshop on Virtual Life

Few (dozens?) of previous pictures are from Vancouver, where I went to participate in the AoIR annual conference, this time labeled Let's Play. Prior to the conference I also join a workshop dedicated entirely to Second Life.

It was quite a experience for me, to see so many people, from so many different places  - yet having (or at least claiming to have) interest in the virtual world of Second Life.

The workshop was moderated by Alex Krotoski, renown columnist from The Guardian aka PhD student from Surrey University, and Jeremy Hunsinger from U Illinois & somehow Joi Lab too.  They helped to create very intensive yet also very creative and relaxed atmosphere during an entire day.

At some point we all enjoyed presentation (or rather information talk) by John Lester (aka Pathfinder Linden), from Linden Lab (on the picture below John is not performing, but already ripping the harvest of our joint creativity).

The day was long, and short at the same time, we managed to cover plenty of topics - from ethics of doing researching in Second Life, to  methods and tools, to issues and challenges.

Many people even manages to be simultaneously in both 'real' and 'virtual' worlds (I didn't).

Overall, great day and very memorable event; most importantly, perhaps - lots of new friends, and a very uplifting feeling of community we all belong to.

I am afraid, these clay figurines had been destroyed, but I am sure they made their impact and left less destroyable traces in our brains (or souls, as some people prefer to say).