A random avatar I met late last week made the comment that also applies to me - we should have spent more time on Orientation Island when we first landed in Second Life. Of course, it isn't a surprise to anyone that knows me that I jumped right in and wanted to get to the good stuff. And it wasn't until another professor avatar mentioned that looking like a newbie limits your interaction - especially with the folks who have significant experience in online worlds.
So, I did some googling and found some Second Life-related resources that pointed me to some clothing that is appropriate for my vision of myself in Second Life. It's a bit to the casual side right now given that I don't want to look like I am going to an evening formal. I also don't fit the 'fairy-like' mold - especially when others don't realize that their wings cause problems in group interactions when you keep having a wing almost bigger than your whole avatar waving around in front of you.
So, I found some clothes someone had included in their blog along with the stores they had purchased them in - so I went to SL and did a search for places that picked up on those names. I then went shopping. The only disappointment is a skirt that appears to be shorts and I have two of them given that I thought I had just downloaded wrong the first time.
I also had the experience of someone on a different floor of the building in which I am renting an apartment wanted to do some marketing and redirecting. The problem is that the changes meant I could no longer teleport home and I had his name over my head instead of just EduIsland II. My landlord Fleet took care of it immediately and did all he could to make both of us happy. There are new situations that wouldn't crop up in the real world (you can't teleport to your apartment in real life - at least not yet). But I was quite concerned that I had somehow lost my apartment. I noted in my conversation with Fleet that had I been notified of what was happening, I would have been less upset. It really threw me off - especially given that I was showing some potential commercial interests around Second Life later that same day (and most SL activity is still primarily in the evening when everyone is "off work").
I need to limit some of my SL time to specific events and interactions so that I get some needed downtime in the evening and also get my other work done. I can easily stay up past my bedtime if I get onto Second Life late in the evening.
Finding a desk and possibly creating a teaching corner or, at the very least, putting up a place to show my PPTs is where I want to start with making my apartment not just a personal space. For example, I don't see needing a bed in SL. I have a central gathering space right now and might buy a dining room since throwing a dinner party in SL slightly intrigues me.
I need to investigate building prims and a bit about 3-D modeling that also applies to SL as one of my next steps. I also hope to meet with the guys at Greenbush active in Second Life this week.
BTW, if you're interested in a formal invite to Second Life, just send me an email at woestman at pittstate dot edu and I'll be glad to send one and get you straight to the ed stuff if you are interested in bypassing the same junk that exists in the rest of the internet. And, for the record, I'll make some Linden cash in the process.
