Thursday, April 30, 2015

2015 BIZ: PROMO: DigiWorldz lets customers promote their places on its welcome sim

DigiWorldz lets customers promote their places 
on its welcome sim 
A commercial grid depends on its customers for its income.  It needs to have a plan to promote these customers.  Here is one such plan: Let all customers have a small promotional area in the welcome sim, where new people first arrive if they have not selected a specific destination in the grid.
New people arrive here
  • The builds here are by customers of the DigiWorldz.
  • The builds tell about each region and provide walkin TPs to the region.
  • The empty parcels await builders.
  • Many of the builds are still under construction.
  • DigiWorldz Google+ Community

DigiWorldz welcome center 

  • Firestorm Hop, paste in nav bar of Firestorm, enter.
  • hop://login.digiworldz.com:8002:welcome 
  • HG address:  login.digiworldz.com:8002:welcome 
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Wednesday, April 29, 2015

2015 BIZ: PROMO: Aviation radio: Music to fly by. And to promote your aviation event.

Music to fly by.   And promote your aviation event.
A radio station designed with the grid flyer in mind. Tune in to live broadcasts or listen to recordings of previous ones. A nice mix of music that goes well with flying, boating or just about anything you are doing.-- Luke Flywalker, Second Life
  • Stream URL for SL and OpenSim virtual worlds
  • http://server4.luschaudio.com:11016
To play this stream on your virtual world parcel.
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Tuesday, April 28, 2015

2015 VIDEO: EDU: LetsDance - OpenSimulator NPCs and animations

LetsDance OpenSimulator NPCs and animations

The video is addressed to educators and others who want to see how they can easily create and animate locations (film sets).
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Monday, April 27, 2015

2015 PEOPLE: EDU: Public service instruction in virtual worlds: Unofficial 3D ADA Toolkit

Public service instruction in virtual worlds:  
Unofficial 3D ADA Toolkit
(Americans with Disabilities Act)
State and local governments have obligations under the ADA.  You want them to meet those obligations.  You want the people affected by government actions to know those obligations, so they can hold governments responsible.   You tell people with disabilities what their rights are under the ADA, and how they put any issues to the governments.  You can use virtual worlds to do that.

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Sunday, April 26, 2015

2014 PEOPLE: TKR: Technology and the democratization of creativity

Technology and the democratization of creativity 
Matthew Taylor explores new RSA thinking on how we can empower people to choose to pursue creative lives, and to contribute to enabling others to do so as well.

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Friday, April 24, 2015

2015 NEW: BIZ: Dream Creation, business model: art, sandboxes, instruction, contests, shopping

Dream Creation, business model: 
Art park, sandboxes, instruction, contests, shops
Art park.  Sandboxes.  Hold contests  of content creation.  Shops to sell into that traffic.  Does it work?  I don't know.  But it is a better business plan than "If you build it, they will come." 

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Thursday, April 23, 2015

2015 PEOPLE: ART: SL12B. What Dreams May Come. Applications open till May 13.

SL12th Birthday.  What Dreams May Come.  
Applications open till May 13.
Sunday, June 21 at noon SLT: Sims open!
Announcement and schedule for exhibitors, performers and others.  

Prep Schedule

  • Wednesday, April 22: SL12B Announced!
  • Wednesday, April 22: Performance, Auditorium and Volunteer Applications Open
  • Wednesday, April 22: Exhibitor Applications open
  • Wednesday, May 13: All applications closed
  • Saturday, May 25 to Monday, May 27: Exhibitors notified via email
  • Monday, June 1 to Wednesday June 17 at noon SLT: Sims open to exhibitors for building
  • Wednesday, June 10: Performers notified via email
  • Wednesday June 17 at noon SLT to Thursday, June 18: Sims closed for walkthrough
  • Friday, June 19 to Saturday, June 20: Extra time for adjustments
  • Saturday, June 20: Press day
  • Sunday, June 21 at noon SLT: Sims open!
  • Tuesday, June 23: The Birthday!
  • Sunday, June 21 to Sunday, June 28: Sims open with performances
  • Monday, June 29 to Saturday, July 4: Sims open for viewing

The prologue 

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

2015 ART: Explorable art by Bryn Oh

Art you walk into.  Art you explore.  
Art with a story
Bryn Oh just opened a new work of installation art on Immersiva.  It is not just a painting, not just a 3D build, but an immersive story.  Ziki Questi told about the story better than I could, so I will leave that to here.  I will just show the part about my favorite art theme:  Explorable art.    
Flat art on the wall

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

2015 ART: BIZ: The WIP show (works in progress), operating plan (WIP)

The WIP show (works in progress), 
operating plan (WIP)
To publicize the creatives of the Hypergrid, New Media Arts is sponsoring "The WIP show", a show in which people who are doing something creative on the Hypergrid can show and tell about their projects.  This article outlines an operating plan for this show.  The outline may be useful for planing other, similar projects.  Feel free to use it.    

The WIP show planning

Serene Jewell proposed a Show and Tell series at Cookie II.  I told her that New Media Arts would be happy to sponsor such an event on Cookie II.  She is willing to be organizer and MC.  

Below the fold is my preliminary set of suggestions for an operating plan.  I leave to Serene final decisions for everything that does not require action from Cookie II.  I will represent NMA in this matter.
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Monday, April 20, 2015

2015 HELP: ART: Explorable art: Tomb Rider. A free OAR you can download in OpenSim

 Explorable art: Tomb Rider, 
A free OAR you can download in OpenSim
A recent Metaverse Tour visited Tomb Rider, a sim that normally rests, as an inactive OAR file, in Miney's Musings.  It is temporarily on display in Kitely, courtesy  Min Tigerpaw.  Anyone can get a free copy of the OAR file and install it in any grid that allows you to upload OARs.  
Click image to enlarge

Tomb Rider on display in Kitely

  • Firestorm Hop to the region:  Paste into the Nav bar, Enter
  • hop://grid.kitely.com:8002/Tomb Rider
  • Firestorm Hop (in Kitely) :  Paste into the Nav bar, Enter
  • hop://grid.kitely.com:8002/Tomb Rider/189/69/22
  • HG address: grid.kitely.com:8002:Tomb Rider
  • Miney's Musings 
  • Tomb Rider Web Page 
  • Build by Avia Bonne
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Sunday, April 19, 2015

2015 EDU: PEOPLE: New way to organize. About nursing. What if it were about education?

New way to organize.  About nursing. 
What if it were about education? 
We need new solutions based on ecological, human-friendly relationships. We need new organizational structures focused on meaningfulness and new economic principles. With a new consciousness we can improve quality of life for vulnerable citizens at a lower cost.

We are living in a change of eras. Our current models of energy, finance and healthcare are not sustainable for the future. We need new solutions based on ecological, human-friendly relationships. We need new organizational structures focused on meaningfulness and new economic principles. With a new consciousness we can improve quality of life for vulnerable citizens at a lower cost. 
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Friday, April 17, 2015

2015 PROMO: PEOPLE: SEO tips for promoting your virtual community (Not how to cheat with SEO)

SEO tips for promoting your virtual community.
(Not how to cheat with SEO)
Some suggestions on how to get more interested visitors to the website about your virtual community.
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of affecting the visibility of a website or a web page in a search engine's "natural" or un-paid ("organic") search results. In general, the earlier (or higher ranked on the search results page), and more frequently a site appears in the search results list, the more visitors it will receive from the search engine's users. -- Wikipedia 

This is not about kinky sex

Use SEO with attention to the reader, not to the search engines.  You don't care about just getting visitors, you care about getting visitors who will be interested in what you have to offer.    

Thursday, April 16, 2015

2015 ART: HOBBIES: Model cars of Second Life

Model cars of Second Life.
Linden Endowment for the Arts 
Lots of kids build model cars.  Some grown-ups collect model cars--they usually don't have time to build the cars.  Too busy.  Or they have forgotten how to play.  The people of Second Life build and collect.  No mess.  No workroom. And besides the people of Second Life have remembered how to play.
Bonnie and Clyde?
  • What are those metal cylinders next to the headlights?
  • The History of the Vehicle in SL - a Linden Endowment for the Arts Project
  • Showcase will run to May 31, 2015

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

2014 PEOPLE: OPENSIM: I'm not going there unless my friends go there.

I'm not going there unless my friends go there.
New Year's Eve Party 2014 at Roxy Gellar's new club Giza on Kitely grid.

  • That is what I am saying about High Fidelity and SL2
  • That is what I said about Blue Mars, Google Lively, Opensim
  • and other alternatives to Second Life.  
  • I checked them all out, of course.

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

2015 HG: Testing HG addresses and address forms. Failure is not forever

Testing HG addresses and address forms.  
 Failure is not forever
HG travel has a bothersome number of fault modes.  To be a happy hypergrid traveler, you need a fair amount of Fault Tolerance.  The good side is that Fault Tolerance is a useful life skill.  Here is your chance to practice it.

Here is what I do then

  • After the first failure, try again.  
  • I find that about half the time the second try works.
  • I suspect too quick a timeout on the request 
  • If it fails again, I go to the Trouble mode (See below)
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Monday, April 13, 2015

2015 VIDEO: Second Life - Motorcycle - E Willy and Bonzzy

Second Life - Motorcycle - E Willy and Bonzzy
Since I have been posting videos of bike riding from OpenSim, I felt I should post this video of motorcycle riding in Second Life.  

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Sunday, April 12, 2015

2015 TKR: The power of thinking

The power of thinking
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The power of the mind and it's ability to affect physical change may shock you! Find out how simply imagining can make it so. 

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Related

Friday, April 10, 2015

2016 HELP: HG: HGProject: Travelling with Firestorm. Local, nearby, ingrid, Hypergrid, summary

HGProject: Travelling  with Firestorm. 
Local, nearby, ingrid, Hypergrid, summary
Updated 6/12/2016
Walk, run, fly, Click-walk, Dbl-click TP, Sit,  Dbl-click World World Map TP,  Double-click mini-map TP.  World Map (Ctrl+M), Firestorm hop  Landmark, Ingrid Walkin TP. Double-click on world map HG Hops, Hypergrid Landmarks, Hypergates and hypergate hubs

  • Many of these methods are also available with other viewers and with Second Life.  
  • Testing was done with Firestorm 4.6.7 (42398) Aug 12 2014 

Thursday, April 9, 2015

EDU: VWBPE15 Conference, Summary, current and years past

VWBPE15 Conference, Summary
Updated May 25, 2015
VWBPE15  is the definitive event bringing together educators/trainers, practitioners, administrators and policy makers from around the world to present, discuss and review ongoing developments in the field of 3D virtualization, its applications, and opportunities.

Continuing groups

Related

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

2015 PEOPLE: Housebound does not mean home alone--voluntarily housebound in virtual worlds.

Housebound does not mean home alone.
The web is pages.  Virtual worlds are people.
Updated 4/27/2015
Voluntarily housebound?  Yes.  By choice.  Oh, I walk outside on occasion, when the weather is nice.  And I go out once in a while for medical attention.  And I chat from time to time with the people in old folks home where I live.  But those people are old.  Most of my friends are online in the virtual worlds where I also live.  The are younger.  
Dancing and carousing
  • In a virtual world you don't need dancing lessons.  You just need an animation.
Background: I am 85 years old.  I live in a retirement facility.  They provide my meals so I don't have to do grocery shopping.  I can order anything else I need from Amazon, so I don't leave my computer when I go shopping.  I gave away my car several years ago because it was costing me more in time than it was worth to me.  I really needed it less than once a month, but I had to drive it once a week to be confident it would start.  Now, if I ever want to go anywhere, I can call a cab.  For what I was paying to support my car, I could pay a lot of cab fares.

I am telling about this because lots of people are housebound, not voluntarily.  They could be enjoying what I am enjoying.  


Tuesday, April 7, 2015

2017 HG: PROMO: HGProject. The BeatThis list for Hypergrid. Current status.

The BeatThis list for Hypergrid
Updated 7/9/2017
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A while back I started the HG BeatThis list.  It is a list of things I think we need in the Hypergrid, based on suggestions I see in Hypergrid community sources, along with what I think are the best examples we have at the time of writing.  In this article, I will summarize the objective, the item goals, and the current status. I will keep this item updated as items and information are added.

Objective

  • Publicize HG needs for specific communities. 
  • Show the current status of each item.  
  • Report progress on each item.

Where I look for suggestions about needs

  • The comments section of this article. 
  • The comments section of any article about the HG BeatThis list.
  • Hypergrid Business (see Maria's Survey, August, 2014).
  • Opensim Virtual.
  • Comments on this blog are most likely to get noticed.

What I am looking for

  • Specific items that are likely to have a specific solution.
  • (Not generic items that probably need several specific solutions.)
  • Solutions or semi-solutions that may beat the solution currently listed.

Monday, April 6, 2015

2015 EDU: WRITE: Virtual Education Journal (VEJ) needs your story. 1000 lindens if used

Virtual Education Journal (VEJ) needs your story
You don't have to write a story.  The outline is given in a series of questions. You just answer the questions.  Plenty of time to do this before midnight April 12th slt, when submissions are due.

Outline is in questionnaire form here:

The theme for the April 2015 Issue of the Virtual Education Journal (VEJ) is Professional Learning. We want to hear from you, our readers. Tell us your story. How do you best learn in a virtual world/environment? What makes virtual learning meaningful for you as a learner? If you had to pick one, what is your greatest EPIC learning experience (that BIG, AH-HA MOMENT) that you will never forget as long as you live!
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If your story is picked for the April 2015 issue of VEJ, you get 1,000 Lindens.
Questions?  Contact Roxie Neiro at rvojtek@edovation.com. 

  • Tuesday at Wizards Retreat on Cookie IINMA Presents: 
  • Matthew Broyles 11AM PST TheMatthewShow Returns!
  • Joe Rizzo 12PM A Man, A Guitar & sometimes a looper!
  • hop://grid.kitely.com:8002/Cookie II/488/461/100
  • Hypergrid:  hop://grid.kitely.com:8002/Cookie II
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Sunday, April 5, 2015

2014 TKR: EDU: General Ignorance - John Lloyd. It's what we don't know that really matters

General Ignorance - John Lloyd. 
 It's what we don't know that really matters.
Legendary producer and QI mastermind John Lloyd visits the RSA to share the culmination of a life's reading -- that it's what we don't know that really matters.

Ignorance ain't so much not knowing things, as it is knowing so many things that ain't so
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Friday, April 3, 2015

2015 HELP: HYPERGRID: Firestorm hops: Textable travel links; for the HG BeatThis list? Barely

Firestorm hops, textable travel links;
for the HG BeatThis list?  Barely
Updated 4/4/2015
The ideal Hypergrid address form would do what a SLurl does in Second Life.  I can put it in a blog article or a post on social media.  You can click on a SLurl or drag it onto your viewer screen and the system takes you to that location, including the coordinates.  The method in Firestorm does not do all that, but I can put it in a blog article, you can paste it into the address bar, and it will take you to that location, including the coordinates. But that only works reliably ingrid.

Firestorm address bar 
Click image to enlarge
  • If we of the Hypergrid generation want to attract normal people, 
  • we need to make Hypergrid addresses more user friendly.
  • We need one stop dropping you where you want to go.
  • Right to the coordinates. As a SLurl does in SL
  • We need to be able to tell people to paste the address into the navigation bar.
  • Not a long story about "open your world map (ctrl m) ..."
  • Normal people will not do that.

Who cares about this?

  • Store owners who want to give easy directions to their stores.
  • Venue managers who want to give easy directions to their events.
  • Anyone who wants to bring Hypergrid traffic to their parcel with a web post.
  • Anyone who wants the Hypergrid to attract more people.
  • Bloggers who want to give easy directions to the places they write about.
  • (Support your local blogger.)

Firestorm 2-step (Bloggers note)

  • 1. Hop to grid/region:   hop://grid.kitely.com:8002/Cookie II
  • 2. Hop to coordinateshop://grid.kitely.com:8002/Cookie II/131/382/22
  • One step would be better, but this method: 
  • Uses the bar that SLers regularly use for SLurls
  • Uses the same bar in both steps. 
  • Could work in one step if Firestorm upgrades to the Hypergrid hop.
  • May work in Kokua and other viewers