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Come to the Party!

As many of you know SL is about to turn 5 years old… Yup, a whole handful! This is a great opportunity to bring some attention to the work your nonprofit is doing in SL and RL.

As Linden Labs announced yesterday the party will be a two week event with the second week featuring exhibits from “business, education, health care and nonprofits”. Not only that but as they stated in their blog on Tuesday, June 3rd,

“We’ll close with a ceremony including a special guest speaker
with a very important announcement. “

The suspense is killing me!

So fill out an application and come join the party!

To learn more about this big birthday and apply for an exhibit space go to the SL blog here: http://blog.secondlife.com/

The deadline is Tuesday, June 10th 6pm PDT so get your application in NOW!

Written by: Kali

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New Perspective on NPC2 Launch Event

Hi. Penguin asked me to cross-post my blog entry “Get a (Second) Life” about the Netsquared event from my newbie perspective. For your reading enjoyment …

I attended TechSoup’s NetSquared Conference today in Second Life about the launch of the Nonprofit Commons 2. If that sentence doesn’t make any sense to you, don’t worry. I’ll explain. Up until now, I have been avoiding Second Life – an online virtual world where you can meet people, shop, fly, do lots of fun stuff. It took me years to get over my computer game addiction and I don’t need another distraction from my job search. But now I find that nonprofits are using Second Life to spread their message, fundraise, and even fulfill their missions “in world.” I had to check that out.

It was a “mixed reality” event, meaning that the live conference was occurring in California while in Second Life our avatars were observing the panel discussion and participating in a virtual tour of the new Nonprofit Commons afterward (this is actually the second one). TechSoup, an organization that offers free and discounted software and technical expertise to nonprofits, manages both Nonprofit Commons and offers nonprofits free, virtual office space. The panel discussion featured some of the tenants.

There were some technical difficulties getting the sound to work so we missed the first half of the panel. I was having plenty of technical difficulties of my own. I just joined Second Life this morning and had a lot to learn. Once you create your avatar, you are taken to “Help Island.” There you can learn about your new virtual life and there are helpful volunteers to answer your questions. In my case, there was also a Romanian man who wanted to chat me up. I didn’t have much time for help or chatting because I had to get to the conference. Unfortunately, once you leave Help Island, you can’t go back. So, if I want to continue using Second Life, it will involve a lot of trial and error. My avatar, Carin Finesmith, stood throughout the presentation because I couldn’t figure out how to make her sit. Fortunately, she’s in better shape than I am and didn’t find it too taxing.

Here’s what I learned from the three speakers I heard:

First was Jani Myriam, founder of the Transgender Resource Center (TRC). She talked about how Second Life (SL) was a safe, anonymous place for her to explore gender issues in a way that was not safe in the “real world” and eventually lead her to make substantial real world changes in her life. Jani saw a need and a solution so she created the Transgender Resource Center as a way to provide support to transgender people in Second Life. They now have 800 members, so they must be doing something right. Jani mentioned it’s a much more affordable way to be a philanthropist than the real world (there’s no way she could afford office space in the Bay area). Other important benefits for a first-time philanthropist were access to resources and training from TechSoup and connections with other nonprofits. As far as I can tell, TRC only exists in SL. That’s one model that works well for a very specific population.

The next speaker was Jessica Dally from Community Voicemail (CVM) – very much a real life organization that provides voicemail services to people in crisis. CVM was introduced to the possibilities in Second Life through their major technology partner, Cisco Systems. Apparently, Cisco has a large presence in SL. Jessica mentioned it was helpful that she had some personal experience with SL because it’s not easy to jump into. (I was thinking “yeah, you can say that again.”) She said the biggest advantage was making connections with other nonprofits. They can’t have an office in every city, so they rely on partnerships with other nonprofits on a local level. She also mentioned the opportunity to meet people you wouldn’t otherwise (like the CTO of voice solutions for Cisco). This model was very interesting to me. I figured that people who don’t have access to voicemail also don’t have access to Second Life. But CVM isn’t using SL to connect with those they serve. This was a great way to make and strengthen partnerships.

The last speaker was Rik Riel from Global Kids. This is a 20-year-old nonprofit for teens in New York City, so it definitely pre-dates Second Life. SL allows them to reach new populations of teens – outside New York, with disabilities, even a group of incarcerated teens. Because they serve teens, it’s not surprising that Global Kids has some of the most creative uses of SL and the most seamless combinations of SL and real life. They also are active in more than one virtual world, but Rik didn’t talk much about that. Global Kids sees Second Life as a virtual place to promote real-world change. They have a program called “Dream It, Do It” where teens can propose projects to benefit their community, find funding, and manage the project. They also hold a lot of events in SL, including a live simulcast of Kofi Annan receiving an award from the MacArthur Foundation and trials from the International Criminal Court with lawyers providing running commentary for context.

Lastly, Rik answered a question that had been buzzing in my head – what about the kids who don’t have internet access. Global Kids is working on a project called “Switchboard” that allows users to exchange SMS text messages with people in the virtual world. The first test case they are planning involves teens in a refugee camp in Chad. How cool is that?

Rik’s slides are available at Slideshare. I looked at them so I could see what I was missing since I couldn’t get the presentation to work. Like all good Powerpoints (there are so few of them) the slides weren’t much use without the presenter. However, coincidentally (or not) I found on the Nonprofit Commons wiki a white paper titled “Best Practices for Non-profits in Second Life” from Global Kids which looks pretty good. I intend to read it soon.

Lastly, I got a magic carpet ride tour of the Nonprofit Commons. It is home to dozens of organizations from all over the world – too many to list here. Some, like Giving Circles, I had never hear of and others, SPCA are well known. It’s not just about information exchange, our tour guide mentioned that Kiva, which provides micro-loans, has a tip jar in their office that raises real money. The International Humanities Center acts as a fiscal sponsor for small organizations without 501c3 status. I may pay them another visit for Marketers Making a Difference. Also unique to SL is Garden For The Missing. It’s a virtual garden which displays posters of missing persons. All missing persons posters are clickable so that you can read more about their disappearances. There were also a few art galleries, hang gliding, canoe rides, sky diving, and a swimming pool. I feel a new addiction coming on.

Written by: Carin

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NPC2 (Aloft) Grand Opening a Success!

Congratulations to all on the resounding success of the NPC2 May 28th Grand Opening, including the Net Squared mixed reality event in the morning in CA and the superb musical events and activities that followed well into the night (with as many as 75 avatars at one time), capped by an impromptu midnight dance celebration and fireworks! Led by TechSoup, many NPC non profits, volunteers, musicians and others contibuted to the planning, setup and delivery of the launch, celebrating the Aloft island opening, which took place after more than three months of development and buildout of the island and offices — a true community collaboration across NPs supported by expert volunteers. Special thanks goes to all those who organized and presented at the mixed reality event in the morning (which was both educational and inspiring), including Glitteractica Cookie (TechSoup), In Kenzo (IHC), Ozama Malibu (Floaters), Jani Myriam (Transgender Resource Center), Kali Izdiak (Community Voicemail), Coughran Mayo (Preferred Family Healthcare) and Rik Riel (Global Kids). Also special thanks to Any1 Gynoid and the NPC 2 team that organized the musical activities and events (and automated tours) the remainder of the day on Aloft, including Manifold Destiny (PGSPCA), Ronnie Rhode (Garden for the Missing), Coughran Mayo (PFH), Parhelion Palou (NPC Volunteer), Skeeboo Tammas (Kiva.org), Mercedes Ochs (Volunteer), Anika Pastorelli (Giving Circles Network), Veri OddFellow (Great Strides), and Dave Radio (Boomer Esiason Foundation). The launch was by several accounts one of the best events ever in SL, with stellar performances by Cylindrian Rutabaga, Lonnie Nightfire, Noma Falta, Thumper Boucher, MichelleD Ecksol, Freestar Tammas, Louis Volare and Vienna James! Lastly, we thank all the individuals who came to enjoy in the celebration and support our newest NPC island!

Written by: GCN

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Mixed Reality Aloft Nonprofit Commons Launch at NetSquared Conference

Hi, I’m BJ Wishinsky, Communities Program Manager for the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology (http://anitaborg.org/). At Glitter and Penguin’s requests, I’m cross-posting here my live-blog on this event from the NetSquared Conference blog.

My avatar, Biji Mornington, has been attending Nonprofits in SecondLife (NPSL) meetings at the Nonprofit Commons (NPC; http://nonprofitcommons.org/) on Friday mornings. So when Megan Keane (Penguin Asana in SL) asked me to live-blog this mixed-reality event, I said yes. A lot of the buzz at NPSL meetings of late has been about the launch of NPC’s second island, Aloft, and plans for this morning’s mixed reality launch event. Our panelists are physically here at the Netsquared Conference and virtually inworld at Aloft. Here in San Jose, CA we can see avatars gathering at Aloft, and at Aloft the avatars also see our panelists by video. Evonne Heyning (In Zenzo) introduced our panel:

* Sandy Andrews (Ozma Malibu) of Floaters
* Dick Dillon (Coughran Mayo) of Preferred Family Healthcare
* Rik (Rik Riel) of Global Kids
* Jessica (Kali Idziak) of Community Voicemail
* Rebecca Wise (Jani Myriam) of Transgender Resource Center

Susan Tenby (Glitteractica Cookie) then kicked us off by introducing the Nonprofit Commons, a TechSoup project that provides to real world nonprofits virtual office space and support in SecondLife. Susan is the driving force, but other TechSoup staff and many volunteers make this a tremendous resource for nonprofits exploring how SecondLife can help them build community and meet their organizations’ goals. Currently about 70 nonprofits have free inworld office space at the two NPC islands, on donated land. There are two SL groups that avatars can join: Nonprofit Commons (NPC residents only), and the TechSoup group of those who, like me, are interested in nonprofit use of SL but not ready to commit to office hours. Volunteers are always needed and new group members are always welcome. Volunteers come from dozens of countries. Those of us who attend NPSL meetings are happy to be here today and finally meet our colleagues in person. One great thing about SecondLife is you don’t have to be anywhere specifically, physically, to do anything. But it’s nice to meet face to face when we get the chance.

Sandy tells us about Floaters, a program that provides access to those who otherwise wouldn’t have access. Her group has been able to connect, through NPSL, with other groups who have similar goals. With Bridges for Women, Kiva, and others they are planning a large scale project for people who are displaced, homeless, survivors of domestic violence, or otherwise in transition: http://www.aplacefordreams.com/. They’ll provide services and mentors for the displaced and homeless, who can log in to SecondLife from places like McDonalds. They are looking for a programmer to help with a widget that would help people find shelter, food, training on life skills and computer skills. They offer free voicemail also. Services will be available from both the website and SecondLife. They offer training that will help people design and build a business in SecondLife, and hope they will in turn become mentors themselves.

Dick gets a big laugh by saying he was drawn to SL by the ease of use of the technology. Those who have organized this panel have had to work through several technical issues (apparently voice from the panel just now started coming through in Aloft). His agency is a nonprofit mental health service provider with emphasis primarily on drug abuse programs. They’re big, with 35 offices and 500 employees. They’ve been aggressively exploring SecondLife as a platform for the last year. In the mental health field the ability to reach out to people in hard-to-reach places is critical. If it would take too much time, effort or energy to get to an office, many people won’t go. So any technology from telephone and chat rooms to virtual worlds can be a big help in bridging that gap. A virtual world provides a sense of place, once people have learned the basics of getting around, and the real-time interactions help blur the distinction between real life and the virtual world in getting clients involved. And there are trade-offs. A client asked about lack of body language in SL. Coughran, his avatar, showed the client 40 different body positions his avatar could assume and also noted that when communicating face-to-face we don’t have the benefit of emoticons.

Our next speaker is Rebecca from the Transgender Resource Center. She talks about the behavioral health implications of SecondLife and says SL has unique qualities that make it an ideal environment for self-discovery. It’s safe and anonymous; you can delete your avatar at any time. It’s deeply immersive, so you can really explore your avatar’s identity by customizing it in ways you might not risk in real life. SL as a diverse and tolerant community. Yee and Bailenson’s 2007 report “The Proteus Effect” showed that as individuals explore their avatar’s self-representation, this in turn has an impact on their real-life self-identity. She told us her personal story and how important SL was in providing a safe space to explore her own gender identity. In SL, with a distinctly female avatar, no one questioned her identity and she could explore this safely. She was also able to make some connections in SL that pointed her to resources in real life that helped her with her own transition. Based on that experience she founded the Transgender Resource Center in SecondLife which provides a unique resource for community, information and peer support. Inworld they provide book excerpts, movie trailers, links to web sites and forums, bi-monthly support groups, and more. In the Nonprofit Commons TRC has found a supportive community of peers and mentors frm other nonprofit organizations, as well as free virtual office space, tools and training. TRC has over 800 members now.

Jessica’s organization, Community Voicemail, provides 24 hour voicemail service to people in crisis and transition. These phone numbers can be used for job searches, to connect with family, medical care and other resources, for people who are homeless, between jobs, etc. Community Voicemail has a multi-year grant from Cisco (our conference hosts) and heard about SecondLife from Cisco and then connected with TechSoup/NPC. They partner with nonprofits and agencies in different areas and SecondLife gives them a rich way to make these connections and spread the word about the services they provide. People in SecondLife are very community-minded and help spread the word, give advice, etc.. They don’t have a dedicated person on SecondLife but she spends part of her time there.

Rik Panganiban is a SecondLife producer for Global Kids. Global Kids empower the kids by teaching them technology and leadership skills. His topic “Turn Off the Damn PC and Go Outside” got a laugh from the (real) room. This was a line from a post on Boingboing.net that initially inspired his perspective on virtual worlds. They use the teen grid in SL as a space where real learning happens. Earlier this year they streamed Kofi Annan talking about human rights into SL, where the kids had their own conversations about human rights and what that means to them. They use virtual worlds to foster leadership, self-confidence and collaboration skills, and engage them in working for real change in the real world. Their International Justice Center in SL will provide access to war crimes trials and opportunities for dialogue and learning. Global Kids is looking at the crisis in Darfur, giving them information and access to activists, and they are brainstorming with kids in other countries about solutions. They’re currently working on an application that would provide access on mobile phones for those who do not have access to computers for virtual worlds.

Inworld, the Aloft Nonprofit Commons festivities continue throughout the day with games, music, and tours. Here at the NetSquared Conference, I’m looking forward to sitting at a SecondLife table at lunch.

Written by: BijiMornington

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San Francisco Meets the Metaverse 3

Join in the Celebration of the Launch of the Second Nonprofit Commons Sim! Nonprofits and their supporters will be hosting a mixed reality grand opening celebration in San Jose as part of the NetSquared conference and in the metaverse on Wednesday, May 28, 2008, starting at 10:00 A.M. PST/SLT (Second Life Time), in the new second Nonprofit Commons location.

Highlights:

  • Grand opening May 28 of the Nonprofit Commons 2/ALOFT, our second sim housing a large community of nonprofit organizations Mixed-reality event, to include a live presentation, a demonstration of the new Second Life Nonprofit Commons island to attendees at the NetSquared Conference in San Jose, and events within Second life
  • Live peformances all day within Second Life, with over 8 hours of music from musicians around the world
  • Media is invited to attend in-world event as well as to San Jose, and phone interviews are available upon request

This second of two Nonprofit Commons nonprofit sims was generously donated by TakingITGlobal. Like the first Nonprofit Commons sim on Plush, a virtual space for nonprofits, managed by TechSoup, Nonprofit Commons 2 creates and houses a community of social benefit organizations in the online virtual world of Second Life. This community of practice is entirely volunteer-run and hosts organizations from across the globe. To date, they have created a community blog, Twitter account, and a resource-rich wiki, and have held mixed-reality events, workshops, and regular weekly town hall meetings. This international community is a hub for charities to share best practices, work together on innovative ways to benefit their causes, and network with organizations from across the globe.

The Gala event will be a mixed-reality launch party, complete with networking, a panel of speakers, and tours of the Nonprofit Commons. This live event will take place in the real-world of San Jose, California as part of the NetSquared Conference, and within the virtual world of Second Life. These events will occur simultaneously and will also feature interactivity between the two worlds. Following the mixed-reality event, we will have an afternoon and evening full of live entertainment in Second Life. Audience members in the Second Life portion of the event will include Nonprofit Commons residents, their invited guests, and media representatives.

Don't miss this interactive collaboration, connecting the virtual world with real-world issues.

Event details:

Event activities:

10am- 11:30am PST/SLT (Second Life Time): Nonprofit Panel and Q & A session
11:30- noon: Tours of the Nonprofit Commons offices in Second Life
Noon–>: Activities continue in Second Life throughout the afternoon and night with major concerts, poetry readings, tours, dancing, and games.

Please RSVP via email to Megan Keane (megan@techsoup.org) for in-world attendance to this event or IM Penguin Kuhn in Second Life. Join the TechSoup group, in-world to receive announcements about this event and future nonprofit events in Second Life.

Written by: penguin kuhn

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Dancing in the Streets Tomorrow, May 17th to Benefit Ophoenix, Nonprofit Commons and China earthquake relief

Ophoenix logo

Don’t miss Dancing in the Streets–well, virtual dancing, that is– on the streets of NPC2 this Sat. May 17th from from 2-6 pm SLT/PDT.

New Nonprofit Commons resident, Ophoenix will be having an in-world dance party/fundraiser in conjunction with their real life fundraising event. Come and enjoy music avatar DJ Namov Abramovic, dancing, and tours of the second Nonprofit Commons location, NPC2.

Want to help the fundraising efforts? Click on one of the virtual images of artist, Shirley Pinchev’s artwork and you can show your support by donating real-life dollars. All proceeds will be split evenly between Ophoenix, the Nonprofit Commons project, and OxFam America’s support for earthquake relief in China. As a thank you to supporter, contributors who give $40 USD will receive a copy of the image of their choice You can see all of the photo landing pages here.

Come show your support for Ophoenix and the Nonprofit Commons tomorrow afternoon at the Dancing in the Streets event and spread the word to any interested avatars!

Written by: penguin kuhn

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New Tech Grant Program–Knight Drupal Initiative

The Knight Drupal Initiative is a grant program designed to foster development in the Drupal project.

Knight Foundation is a Miami-based non-profit grant making organization. Since 1950, the foundation has invested more than $300 million to advance quality journalism and freedom of expression worldwide.

read more…

Written by: Creech

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Metanomics Show: Nonprofits in Second Life, Mon. April 28th, 11 A.M. PST/SLT

Tomorrow, April 28th at 11 A.M. PST/SL, Robert Bloomfield and Metanomics hosts Susan Tenby (aka Glitteractica Cookie) of TechSoup, and the American Cancer Society’s Randal Moss, Director of the Futuring and Innovation Center.

Monday’s event will take place on Muse Arena on Muse Isle, as well as through Metanomics’ event partners, and filmed and streamed live on SLCN.tv.

Afterward, if you wish to discuss the topic further, miss the live event, or hope to network with others in the virtual business community, attend “Metanomics Rewind” on Muse Isle. This week’s episode of Metanomics will be rebroadcast on Tuesday at 3:00PM SLT.

Contact Bevan Whitfield or JenzZa Misfit in SL for more details or visit the Metanomics site.

Written by: penguin kuhn