Etopia EcoCommunity for the February 17th Nonprofit Commons Meeting

Join us this Friday, February 17th for the first Nonprofit Commons in Second Life meeting will feature a presentation from Gloria Kraegel (Namaara MacMoragh in SL) with an update on the Etopia EcoCommunity and other projects.  

Namaara MacMoragh, aka Gloria Kraegel, has 30+ years independent consulting experience focusing on helping nonprofits and cooperatives develop capacity through training, information management, and organizational systems development. She is also the creative force behind Etopia EcoCommunity in Second Life. Established in 2007, Etopia is designed to showcase real-world ideas for living sustainably in social, community, business, and environmental contexts.

Gloria’s current project with the Brain Energy Support Team gives her an even greater opportunity to blend real life situations with Second Life experiences that raise awareness, model healthy living skills, and provide educational opportunities for individuals, professionals, classrooms, and businesses within, and outside of, the brain injury community. More on BEST at: http://brainenergysupportteam.org

You can learn more about Gloria’s work at http://greatkreations.com and http://etopiaisland.org

 

Join us in Second Life!

Nonprofit Commons Weekly Meeting 

Friday, February 17th, 8:30 AM PT / SLT

Plush Nonprofit Commons Amphitheater 

http://bit.ly/NPCinSL

 

AGENDA (all times below PT) 

  • 8:30 am Introductions & Announcements
  • 8:40 am Mentors Central – Team Building, Renne/Zinnia
  • 8:50 am Featured Discussion – Gloria Kraegel (Namaara MacMoragh in SL) 
  • 8:40 am Discussion
  • 9:50 am Community Open Mic

Following the NPC Meeting, there will be a tour of Etopia Island — beginning at the main landing area at: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Etopia%20Island/194/56/22 and then the Etopia Water Treatment Plant at: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Etopia%20Island/203/21/22

 

The Nonprofit Commons in Second Life is a program sponsored by Caravan Studios – http://caravanstudios.org, a division of TechSoup Global, http://techsoup.org. The mission of the Nonprofit Commons in Second Life is to create a community for nonprofits to explore and learn about virtual worlds, foster connections, and discover the many ways in which nonprofits might utilize the unique environment of Second Life to achieve their missions. 

http://nonprofitcommons.org

Written by: Rhiannon Chatnoir

Transcript of August 17 Nonprofit Commons Meeting – Virtual Vision 2020 – a community plan for Second Life with Pam Broviak

Nonprofit Commons Weekly Meeting
August 17, 2012, 8:30 AM SLT / PST
Plush Nonprofit Commons Amphitheater

AGENDA
8:30 AM Introductions
8:40 AM TechSoup Announcements
8:45 AM Mentors Central
9:55 “Virtual Vision 2020 – a community plan for Second Life” with Pam Broviak / Pam Renoir
http://www.virtualvision2020.com
9:30 AM Open Mic / Announcements
http://nonprofitcommons.org

Introductions

[08:30] Buffy Beale: Good day everyone

[08:30] bulaklak: hi, buffy

[08:30] Buffy Beale: hi bulaklak 🙂

[08:30] Merlin Moonshadow: Hi, Buffy!

[08:30] Tori Landau: Hi Buffy and everyone else and got a mug of water
ty Zinnia °͜°

[08:31] Brennan Blaylock: Hello Buffy!

[08:31] Buffy Beale: Hi hi hi all 🙂

[08:31] Siculus: hi

[08:31] Zinnia Zauber: ah good Tori!

[08:31] Zinnia Zauber: Okay! Let’s get started!
[08:31] Zinnia Zauber: Hi there!
[08:31] Zinnia Zauber: I am Zinnia and welcome to the Nonprofit Commons!
[08:32] Zinnia Zauber: AGENDA

8:30 AM Introductions

8:40 AM TechSoup Announcements

8:45 AM Mentors Central

9:55 “Virtual Vision 2020 – a community plan for Second Life” with Pam
Broviak / Pam Renoir

9:30 AM Open Mic / Announcements
[08:32] Zinnia Zauber: Here is our Agenda for today!
[08:32] Zinnia Zauber: So we start with introductions!

[08:32] Ronnie Rhode: Denise Harrison, The Garden for the Missing,
http://www.gardenforthemissing.org/ and SLURL Remora (203,148,21),
Project Jason, assistance for families of the missing,
http://www.projectjason.org.

[08:32] Ethelred Weatherwax: Dave Dexter, Neenah Historical Society,
Wisconsin USA

[08:32] Zinnia Zauber: Please share your real name, org, location, and
online links, please.

[08:32] Buffy Beale: Buffy Bye, Bridges for Women, Victoria BC Canada,
http://www.bridgesforwomen.ca @bridges4women

[08:32] Chayenn: Monique Richert, Protect Yourself 1,Inc., Baltimore,
MD, protectyourself1.org, facebook.com/PY1US, @PY1US

[08:33] Zinnia Zauber: This information will be made public.

[08:33] Gentle Heron: Virtual Ability, Inc. www.virtualability.org

[08:33] Zinnia Zauber: Renne Emiko Brock-Richmond, Sequim Humanities
and Arts Alliance, Sequim, Olympic Peninsula, Washington.
http://www.sequimartsalliance.org
http://www.facebook.com/sequimartsalliance @renneemiko

[08:33] Brennan Blaylock: Good Morning! Claudia Richards, AAUW
Washington, DC www.aauw.org @AAUW on Twitter

[08:33] Glitteractica Cookie: Susan tenby, Online Community and Social
Media Director, TechSoup and The Nonprofit Commons, San Francisc, CA
USA @suzboop @techsoup @npsl www.techsoup.org

[08:33] bulaklak: Michael DeLong, Senior Manager Online Community and
Social Media, TechSoup Global, San Francisco, CA, USA, @TechSoup
@MichaelDeLongSF, www.techsoup.org

[08:33] Merlin Moonshadow: Michael Smith, Emory University

[08:33] Zinnia Zauber: If you are coming in a little late to our
meetings, please still introduce yourself to us.

[08:33] Zotarah Shepherd: BEACH College, Santa Rosa, CA

[08:33] Ozma Malibu: Sandy Andrews, Floaters Org, Arizona, Mexico and
On the Road, @ozma

[08:33] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): Pam Broviak, Virtual Vision 2020,
Geneva (IL-USA), http://www.virtualvision2020.com

[08:33] Svea Morane: Mayo Clinic, www.mayoclinic.org

[08:33] Zinnia Zauber: Encourage folks to do that, please.

[08:34] Magic Pathfinder (any1.gynoid): Magic Pathfinder
(any1.gynoid), Faculty at New Citizens Inc (NCI), Teaching hands-on
Artificial Intelligence and Pathfinding in Second Life

[08:34] Tori Landau: Patricia Dean, volunteer event coordinator for
the Open University’s Deep Think sims. www.open.ac.uk

[08:34] alebez: Ale Bezdikian, Online Community Coordinator, TechSoup
Global, SF, Ca, @TechSoup, @alebez

[08:34] Zinnia Zauber: We have a great bunch of folks here today!
[08:35] Zinnia Zauber: Our meetings are always open to the public and
it is a wonderful way to learn and connect with other people who do
good for the common good.
[08:35] Zinnia Zauber: Did everyone get to introduce themselves?

[08:35] Oronoque Westland: Roberta Kilkenny, Hunter College, City
University of New York

[08:36] Dancers Yao: Kara Bennett, Elder Voices, Los Angeles, Ca.
Health Care and Human Rights

[08:36] Zinnia Zauber: Please state your real name, org, location, and
online links including twitter handles if you got them.
[08:36] Zinnia Zauber: Our transcripts will be made public.
[08:37] Zinnia Zauber: I don’t know about you guys, but I get lots of
great new people to follow on twitter after the meetings!

[08:37] bulaklak: Absolutely!

[08:37] Coughran Mayo: same here

[08:37] Zinnia Zauber: I love it!

[08:37] Coughran Mayo says @Coughran, @Innovaision

[08:37] Zinnia Zauber: lol
[08:38] Zinnia Zauber: Remember, if you are ever late to a meeting,
please introduce yourself in chat.

[08:38] Thynka Little: LuAnn Phillips,USDA Cooperative Extension
Service, Albany NY, extension.org, thynkalittle.com@thynkalittle,

[08:38] Buffy Beale: lol C

[08:38] Zinnia Zauber: I know I am saying this like 80 million times today.

[08:39] Dave12 Kline: Dave Broviak

[08:39] Zinnia Zauber: I just want to encourage folks to be welcome and known.

[08:39] Siculus: rik lee @rik_na1

[08:39] Zinnia Zauber: Our meetings are also a great time to check out
other people’s profiles and revamp your own.

[08:39] Svea Morane quick cleans up his profile 😉

[08:39] bulaklak: Good reminder, Zinnia. Mine could probably use a sprucing.

[08:39] Zinnia Zauber: How many open their profiles right then?
[08:40] Zinnia Zauber: ah! Yes!

[08:40] Tori Landau: blushes lol

[08:40] CarynTopia Silvercloud: Caryn Heilman, Topia Arts Center in
the Berkshires of NW MA, www.TopiaArts.org, @topiaartscenter

[08:40] Merlin Moonshadow checks Zinnia’s profile

[08:40] Zinnia Zauber: I am always giving homework! lol

[08:40] Brena Benoir: Brenda Bryan, Preferred Family Healthcare,
Kirksville, MO www. pfh.org, @brenabenoir @PreferredFamily

[08:40] Zinnia Zauber: hehe Do it Merlin!

TechSoup Announcements

[08:40] Zinnia Zauber: okay!
[08:40] Zinnia Zauber: TechSoup Announcements

[08:40] bulaklak: Hallo, folks!

[08:41] Buffy Beale: hi bulaklak 🙂

[08:41] bulaklak: So, as we spoke about a few weeks ago, TechSoup
partnered with Zero Divide and the Mozilla Ignite folks on an Idea Jam
that posed the question: what if the internet had no limits?
[08:41] bulaklak: The event was excellent with a ton of energy and great ideas.
[08:42] bulaklak: For example, the Green team proposed capturing the
excess energy from the dancefloor at clubs to power the grid.
[08:42] bulaklak: Here is a recap of the entire evening with all of
the ideas that came out of it
[08:42] bulaklak: http://bit.ly/Pln5Ii
[08:42] bulaklak: You can still submit ideas up through September 20
[08:43] bulaklak: and there is a $5k cash prize to help realize your
idea if it is ultimately picked
[08:43] bulaklak: Next Wednesday, August 22, we have the summer
edition of our mostly monthly OCTRIBE meetup for community managers
and those interested in community building
[08:44] bulaklak: We are going to do an open forum / roundtable
discussion at TechSoup HQ in SF

[08:44] Glitteractica Cookie: And those interested in social media in general

[08:44] bulaklak: But we will be live streaming to Adobe Connect and
will send that link around to anyone who registers

[08:44] bulaklak: Here is where to register
[08:44] bulaklak: http://bit.ly/OYY0Rp

[08:45] Glitteractica Cookie: and taking questions from the virtual participants

[08:46] bulaklak: Lastly, as Glitter noted last week, our team is
hiring. If you are or know an amazing on and offline events producer
in the Bay Area (yes, it’s a local job out of our SF office) then here
is the info
[08:46] bulaklak: http://bit.ly/OMn5lb
[08:46] bulaklak: Thanks, all! Have a great meeting and awesome weekend!

[08:47] Glitteractica Cookie: thanks bulaklak

[08:47] Zinnia Zauber: Do we have more TechSoup news?

[08:47] Glitteractica Cookie: Alebez?

[08:47] alebez: nope

[08:47] Glitteractica Cookie: anything we’ve forgotten?
[08:47] Glitteractica Cookie: Oh wait, I have one more

[08:48] Zinnia Zauber: great

[08:48] Glitteractica Cookie: We are starting a breakfast speaker
series for Nonprofit tech folks in early October

[08:48] Glitteractica Cookie: so, if you are in the SF Bay Area,
please join us. First one is on Oct 2
[08:48] Glitteractica Cookie: not sure about whether we will live
stream into SL, but the live, in person series starts oct 2
[08:48] Glitteractica Cookie: breakfast on us
[08:48] Glitteractica Cookie: ok, that is all

[08:48] Zinnia Zauber: Nice!
[08:49] Zinnia Zauber: Well, I know that we will all love it if more
cool events like that are streamed inworld for us.

[08:49] Glitteractica Cookie: topic is free tech resources and classes
for nonprofits and friends of nonprofits
[08:49] Glitteractica Cookie: it would be great to see some of you there

[08:49] bulaklak: oh great topic

[08:49] Zinnia Zauber: We are thankful that you look into providing that.

[08:49] Glitteractica Cookie: We are happy to provide it

[08:50] Zinnia Zauber: We will have to bring our own donuts. 🙂
[08:50] Zinnia Zauber: Super, thank you for all the TechSoup News!

Mentors Central

[08:50] Zinnia Zauber: Mentors Central
[08:51] Zinnia Zauber: Last week we discussed our upcoming NPC Birthday!
[08:51] Zinnia Zauber: We have Mentors that are taking names and ideas
for our special event on Sept 21.
[08:52] Zinnia Zauber: Buffy, Ozma, and Brena are taking names!
[08:52] Zinnia Zauber: We also have our meeting after this meeting to
brainstorm.
[08:53] Zinnia Zauber: How many of you been with the Nonprofit Commons
from the start?

[08:53] Glitteractica Cookie: me
[08:53] Glitteractica Cookie: ;-P

[08:53] Buffy Beale: hand up 🙂

[08:53] Oronoque Westland: since the first public meeting

[08:53] Zinnia Zauber: wow!

[08:53] Ozma Malibu: yep

[08:53] Glitteractica Cookie: coughran has been

[08:53] Zinnia Zauber: Look at that!

[08:54] Ozma Malibu: since stone circle days 🙂

[08:54] Zinnia Zauber: I remember reading about you all and had to
wait until I got cable to finally make it here!

[08:54] Glitteractica Cookie: there are lots from when we were on info isle
[08:54] Glitteractica Cookie: many are still here

[08:54] Zinnia Zauber: That is really something to celebrate!

[08:54] Glitteractica Cookie: archives are all on the npsl wiki

[08:54] Ozma Malibu: Rik, Rhiannon from time to time

[08:55] Zinnia Zauber: Please be sure to connect with the Mentors
about sharing your story during our celebration.

[08:55] Buffy Beale: I remember dancing for joy when I got the second
last office here 🙂

[08:55] Zinnia Zauber: lol That is great, Buffy! We all are in this together!

[08:55] Ozma Malibu: Buffy you were right next to the Floaters office

[08:55] Zinnia Zauber: How cool!

[08:55] Buffy Beale: yup we were neighbours 🙂

[08:56] Oronoque Westland: I am the permanent fly on the wall

[08:56] Zinnia Zauber: Please join us Sept 21, mark your cal!
[08:56] Zinnia Zauber: We will have speakers, music, and of course dancing!

[08:56] Gridjumper (tanya.smedley): Is there audio?

[08:56] Zinnia Zauber: We are in chat, Gridjumper.

“Virtual Vision 2020 – a community plan for Second Life” with Pam Broviak / Pam Renoir

[08:56] Zinnia Zauber: Okay!
[08:56] Zinnia Zauber: It is time for our speaker today!

[08:57] Gridjumper (tanya.smedley): ok just checking wan’t sure if it was me

[08:57] Zinnia Zauber: Pam Broviak / Pam Renoir is going to discuss
Virtual Vision 2020, an initiative to develop a plan for the Second
Life community.
[08:57] Zinnia Zauber: Pam is a licensed professional engineer with 30
years of experience in public works, most of which was spent working
in local government.
[08:57] Zinnia Zauber: Since joining Second Life in late 2006, she has
been exploring how to leverage virtual world technology in delivering
engineering and government services.
[08:57] Zinnia Zauber: Recently she has been facilitating plans for
virtual communities by applying planning concepts traditionally used
for physical spaces.
[08:57] Zinnia Zauber: http://www.virtualvision2020.com
[08:58] Zinnia Zauber: I met Pam in DC in May and excited to have her
share with us this plan!
[08:58] Zinnia Zauber: Please welcome Pam!

[08:58] Gentle Heron applauds for Pam and for community planning.

[08:58] Merlin Moonshadow applauds

[08:58] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): 🙂 Hello everyone and thank you for
having me here today

[08:58] Buffy Beale: yay Pam!

[08:59] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): 🙂
[08:59] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): Let me first share a general
explanation of what Virtual Vision is all about:
[08:59] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): Virtual Vision 2020 is an attempt to
capture the community’s thoughts, ideas, opinions, and goals for
Second Life.
[08:59] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): Modeled off the community planning
process that takes place in communities all across the world, this
virtual plan can help the Second Life community define itself, set
goals for its future, and offer a roadmap for success.
[09:00] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): Before starting down this road, it’s
important to explore this question: What is a community plan?
[09:00] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): To paraphrase an ICMA’s publication,
A community plan helps people anticipate and prepare for their
collective future.
[09:00] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): More specifically it explains why
the plan is needed, identifies community goals and objectives,
compares options and sets priorities, and suggests actions and
solutions and explores how well they might meet expectations of the
community.
[09:01] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): It also identifies who might be best
positioned to carry out those actions or implement those solutions.
And finally it presents a method to measure the success of the plan.
[09:01] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): I was wondering if any of you have
participated in a community plan in your city or county?

[09:02] Gentle Heron has participated in community planning for her SL
community.

[09:02] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir) whispers: Gentle – what was the
timeline for your plan

[09:02] Ethelred Weatherwax: Yes

[09:02] bulaklak: What is the ICMA?

[09:03] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): ICMA = International City/County
Management Association

[09:03] bulaklak: thanks

[09:03] Dancers Yao: in my RL city…Los Angeles

[09:03] Zinnia Zauber: Pam, is it okay for people to ask questions
along the way or do you want them at the end?

[09:03] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): that organization provides guidance
to management of communities

[09:03] Tori Landau: Same as Gentle, was when the OU had a social
island. I was involved with the planning for the community then.

[09:03] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): yes, please ask as I speak or feel
free to chat while i talk

[09:03] Zinnia Zauber: super, thank you!

[09:03] Oronoque Westland: Pam Broviak (pam.renoir) whispers: Gentle –
what was the timeline for your plan

[09:04] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): Zinnia – you can change the slide

[09:04] Zinnia Zauber: 🙂

[09:04] Ozma Malibu: wow Pam this is good timing, I am setting out to
organize my RL community so our SL gallery can manifest in a RL
historic district, first have to complete all the local paperwork as
we have national status now.
[09:05] Ozma Malibu: I am all ears. eyes.

[09:05] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): Ozma – that is awesome! I believe
there is benefit to a RL/SL experience in planning
[09:05] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): we have much to learn from each environment
[09:06] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): So one question that might be asked
in here is: But why do we need a plan?
[09:06] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): Again from ICMA, communities are
layers of human interaction and activity.
[09:06] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): And these interactions can lead to a
community’s confusion about its identity and purpose when they as a
whole occur with no guidance, purpose, or goal in mind.
[09:06] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): This also leads to a future vision
that is unclear and not defined.
[09:06] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): One consequence is that people
become hesitant about investing time and money in that community.
[09:07] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): Obviously not every action occurring
in a community is done for the purpose of carrying out the plan’s
objectives.
[09:07] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): But if no actions take place with a
plan in mind, the community risks adequately providing for its
success.

[09:07] Gridjumper (tanya.smedley): Looking at the time zones one
possible solution would be to work with colleagues in differnt time
zones to make most use of space – leverage $$
[09:07] Gridjumper (tanya.smedley): while some sleep other use the sapce
[09:07] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): exactly – it is a huge advantage of
the virtual space we can leverage

[09:08] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): While much of this happens on a
subtle level, I’ll give one of the more obvious examples of why this
is important.
[09:08] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): Take Las Vegas – what do we think of
when we hear Las Vegas? That community spent years developing that
image.
[09:08] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): What do all of you think of when you
hear Las Vegas?

[09:08] Gridjumper (tanya.smedley): gambling

[09:08] Oronoque Westland: losing my money

[09:08] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): 🙂

[09:09] Thynka Little: excessive energy use

[09:09] Gridjumper (tanya.smedley): an oasis in the middle of a desert

[09:09] Dancers Yao: Elvis

[09:09] Ozma Malibu: party

[09:09] bulaklak: unreality

[09:09] Ethelred Weatherwax: foreclosed houses

[09:09] Gridjumper (tanya.smedley): Maing lemonade out of lemons

[09:09] Zotarah Shepherd: Gambling, entertainment

[09:09] Ozma Malibu: homeless in tunnels

[09:09] bulaklak: and buffets

[09:09] Thynka Little: dry heat

[09:09] Gridjumper (tanya.smedley): fun

[09:09] Ozma Malibu: haha yes buffets

[09:09] Gridjumper (tanya.smedley): sin city

[09:09] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): lol

[09:10] Zinnia Zauber: Where I buy all my sequins!

[09:10] Siculus: crime

[09:10] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): yes, one of the more well-branded
communities years in the making
[09:10] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): If you manage a large research
facility focusing on the study of corn and soybeans, would the lot
next to the Bellagio be a good investment as a future location for
your business?

[09:10] Gridjumper (tanya.smedley): It has an identity for sure

[09:10] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): Probably not.
[09:10] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): And if you had any doubts, you could
be sure of this by studying that area’s community plan.
[09:11] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): So while plans can drive investment,
they need to help ensure the most successful investment will take
place.

[09:11] Gridjumper (tanya.smedley): They have one of the largest
school districts in the country – Clark County

[09:11] Thynka Little: http://www.extension.org/soybeans

[09:11] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): So if you want to open a gambling
place – it’s a great place, but maybe not so much for other types of
uses
[09:12] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): They have a huge employment base
because of the strip so many children
[09:12] bulaklak: Fascinating. Never thought of Vegas in terms of
identity management before, but I’ll never look at it without that
lens again.
[09:12] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): A community’s identity is critical
for its economic development

[09:12] Gridjumper (tanya.smedley): Hmmm so is SLs identity a problem for us?

[09:12] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): Yes, Gridjumper, This will be a
critical component of a plan for Second Life.

[09:13] Buffy Beale: good question Tanya

[09:13] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): Zinnia – you can change the slide
[09:13] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): In developing a plan for the Second
Life community, it seems logical to follow the process used in the
physical world.

[09:13] Zinnia Zauber: 🙂

[09:13] Gridjumper (tanya.smedley): SLs identity is tied to LInden and
what they see as their future – do we know what that is?

[09:13] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): thanks 🙂
[09:13] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): Grid – that is the challenge and why
I had hoped they would participate in this effort. But I do not see
that happening

[09:13] Lotta Flux: good point, gridjumper

[09:13] Gentle Heron: We may be seeing hints with the link to Steam.

[09:14] Gridjumper (tanya.smedley): They are certainly watching
[09:14] Gridjumper (tanya.smedley): if not participating

[09:14] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): It’s been successfully used for a
long time, and there are many examples to follow. However, we need to
adapt it to our virtual environment.
[09:14] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): These are the categories I’ve set up
so far to try to capture the most important sectors without getting
too detailed.

[09:15] Buffy Beale: One category I would think is Recreation (fun stuff)
[09:15] Buffy Beale: ohh silly me I see it now 🙂 scratch that

[09:15] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): yes recreation is a critical
component for our quality of life

[09:16] Gridjumper (tanya.smedley): Bandwith is a necessity

[09:16] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): i would definitely be interested in
feedback on these
[09:16] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): yes, i would place bandwidth in the
infrastructure and services category
[09:16] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): Next slide please 🙂
[09:17] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): And this slide lays out the general
steps we will follow in developing the plan.

[09:17] Zinnia Zauber: 🙂

[09:17] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): Right now, we are in the beginning phases.

[09:17] Ozma Malibu: there are 2 kinds of education going on:
SL-related (highly necessary) and educators from outside investigating
how SL can contribute to RL/distance ed
[09:17] Ozma Malibu: the latter are having trouble with financing now

[09:17] Thynka Little: the SL business plan and the community plan
would not be one and the same.

[09:18] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): Exactly Ozma – education of us both
for RL and SL and us using education for RL purposes
[09:18] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): Thynka – I believe you are correct –
although the plan for the community can address the business side of
it, a more detailed plan would help the business aspect much like a
downtown plan is used as a subplan for RL spaces

[09:19] Oronoque Westland: ? – Pam pls clarify who “we” is

[09:19] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): for the plan? the we would be anyone
on the planning team – it is a volunteer effort open to anyone who
wants to help

[09:20] Merlin Moonshadow: How do you propose to implement the plan?
Test communities that might then become part of an overall community?
Obviously, there won’t be a full implementation without Lindn Lab’s
support.

[09:20] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): so far I have only a few volunteers
– Thynka, Sandy Adam, and Eric Hackathorn

[09:20] Oronoque Westland: thank you

[09:21] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): Merlin – you are correct – the best
implementation would have the support of LL because only they can
accomplish some of the goals. The plan should identify the best group
for implementation of each objective/goal
[09:21] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): Then it would be up to those groups
to accept the responsibility for working towards that goal
[09:22] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): Just like a RL plan that might
identify land owners or organizations, in the end only they can choose
to implement the suggestions
[09:22] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): So far we’ve had two workshops that
Georgianna Blackburn and I hosted at SL9B. And we are planning to host
many more.

[09:23] Merlin Moonshadow: And there’s still value in a voluntary
grass-roots effort to build a community plan.

[09:23] Magic Pathfinder (any1.gynoid): I would like to help this
effort. I think about these issues constantly.

[09:23] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): Yes, Merlin that is what I finally
realized after watching SL9B

[09:23] Ozma Malibu: do you have RL educators involved, who are trying
to hang on here?

[09:24] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): It would be great to have as many of
you as possible help develop this plan- I really believe it would help
all of us so much as a community

[09:24] Oronoque Westland: I am hanging on by a thread

[09:24] Sarvana Haalan: It has been an uphill effort… with so little
funding 🙁

[09:24] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): Ozma – I have talked to some people
in the education community – they are a vital component of this plan.
But I haven’t yet had a chance to present the idea to them

[09:24] Gridjumper (tanya.smedley): There is a group of educators
associated with ISTE (SIGVE) they have a small space and there are
higher ed communities here and there

[09:25] Zotarah Shepherd: ISTE used to have 4 sims and weekly speakers
and a inworld TV show

[09:25] Oronoque Westland: @Pam, perhaps you could present this idea
to a VWER round table

[09:25] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): Education is critical for our
success as a community – just as true here as in RL

[09:25] Merlin Moonshadow: VWBPE

[09:26] Gridjumper (tanya.smedley): ISTE now has a small space and
monthly speakers

[09:26] Zotarah Shepherd nods

[09:26] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): Oronoque – I would love to do that
and hope that some educators would volunteer to be on our planning
team
[09:26] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): ISTE would be a great partner i nthis
[09:27] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): So something I’ve been amazed about
and Something I hadn’t initially considered, but quickly realized was
the amazing amount of constructive feedback the Second Life community
provides online.

[09:28] Sarvana Haalan: indeed

[09:28] Ozma Malibu: We are losing our education island end of
December unless we find 2 more ppl/groups willing to share. just btw.

[09:28] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): It will be so helpful to capture
that information and use it in the development of the plan. This is
something that does not yet happen in our physical communities, but
hopefully someday will.

[09:28] Merlin Moonshadow: Since SL is a community of communities, how
can we define one single community to base a plan on?

[09:29] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): Merlin – that is a great question i often see

[09:29] Ozma Malibu: a community of interwined communities, really

[09:29] Thynka Little: certainly parts of it are very vocal, and this
initiative would be looking to draw out participation from as broad a
user base as possible

[09:29] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): I guess I have approached it as we
do in our physical communities

[09:29] Gridjumper (tanya.smedley): perhaps a database of all the
islands and timeframes of rent running out

[09:29] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): That is true Thynka

[09:29] Sarvana Haalan: Would th eplan help connect the communities
for collaborative activities?

[09:30] Gridjumper (tanya.smedley): If ppl have a similar purpose but
are using the same during differnt times it could work

[09:30] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): Yes Sarvana – it could very much
help provide a plan for assisting with those types of efforts which
might be critical to our success

[09:30] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): Ok, so Once we have collected
feedback, we can create a draft plan. Then we’ll throw it out to the
community for review and comments. We can revise the plan based on the
information we receive and then finally publish. The plan can then be
used to help all of us work toward common goals to ensure our future
success as a community.

[09:30] Sarvana Haalan: Making “community” more than a word

[09:30] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): Next slide please 🙂
[09:31] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): There are many ways to participate
in this effort. I’ve listed them on this slide.

[09:31] Gridjumper (tanya.smedley): I like the range of possibilities

[09:31] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): And again, please let me know if you
want to help in any way. It is definitely an open, community effort
[09:31] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): or if you have any other ideas
definitely bring them up anytime
[09:32] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): We can go on to the next slide
[09:32] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): This is the last slide: You can
follow the progress of the plan on the Virtual Vision 2020 Website at
http://www.virtualvision2020.com or by joining our Second Life group.
[09:32] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): The last two things I want to
mention are that the plan will be published as a public domain
document – it will be most useful if there is no specific owner of the
plan.
[09:32] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): and again I want to add that this is
a volunteer effort by the community and not affiliated with Linden Lab
in any way. Although I believe it would be beneficial to have their
involvement, and I tried to propose the idea to them, they expressed
no interest at all in leading the effort.

[09:33] Gridjumper (tanya.smedley): no interest in LEADING – any
interest in following?

[09:33] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): We have a few minutes left for
feedback and questions but feel free to ask anything

[09:33] Gridjumper (tanya.smedley): supportin?
[09:34] Gridjumper (tanya.smedley): LL imean

[09:34] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): I could only hope they would
participate somehow – maybe eventually LL will
[09:34] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): it would be so much better if we can
all work together

[09:34] Gridjumper (tanya.smedley): Have you considered any work in Opensim?
[09:34] Gridjumper (tanya.smedley): Lots of educational comunities have moved
[09:34] Gridjumper (tanya.smedley): mostly due to pricing

[09:34] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): I do believe eventually in OS we
will have to do the same thing. We are working on a community plan
right now in MOSES

[09:35] Sarvana Haalan: any plans for Kitely?

[09:35] Gridjumper (tanya.smedley): Well it could start with support –
for and among eachohter

[09:35] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): I think Kitely is a great service
and very useful. Once they interconnect the sims it will also become
more of a regular community and could eventually benefit from a plan

[09:35] Gridjumper (tanya.smedley): i believe that was on your list

[09:37] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): Gridjumper – because the edu
community is so large and active, they probably would benefit from a
plan like Thynka suggested for the business community. That plan would
probably look at all worlds in its implementation.

[09:37] Gridjumper (tanya.smedley): how do you join the group in sl?

[09:37] Oronoque Westland: ? – is there a need to clarify the
perspective the plan is coming from…seems to me we are more
advocates than we are community planners

[09:37] Sarvana Haalan: awesome… this gives quite a bit to share
with “doubting” colleagues when discussing our virtual “community”

[09:37] Thynka Little: i think of the community as separate and
distinct from any particular platform

[09:38] Veri Oddfellow: Oh, should have said before … Brad Lewis,
Great Strides, Damascus, MD http://www.greatstrides.org. Sorry so
late.

[09:38] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): Oronoque – the plan will state that
objective. We are advocates but now are moving into planning mode.
It’s either that or allow others to choose our destiny

[09:38] Sarvana Haalan: I just joined via your Profile group listing

[09:38] Gridjumper (tanya.smedley): One way to share with the doubters
– since it is not easy to bring them here – is Machinima or live
streaing

[09:38] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): Thanks Sarvana- yes you can find the
group in my profile and join. Thanks!

[09:38] Gentle Heron: Just because we live next door to each other in
RL doesn’t mean we belong to the same community (or communities). Only
in the sense that we both pay taxes to the same entity, which gets to
make a “community plan” that affects how they run a sewer line to both
of us. We don’t either one of us get to choose the sewer line. The
tax-collecting entity does that.

[09:38] Sarvana Haalan: Me too,.. Sally S.Cherry, Baltimore, MD

[09:38] Magic Pathfinder (any1.gynoid): Virtual Vision 2020 click
this.. to join the Virtual Vision 2020 group

[09:39] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): Thanks Magic!
[09:39] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): And yes, Machinima would be very
helpful in our effort

[09:39] Thynka Little: get Draxtor involved
[09:39] Thynka Little: i will contact him

[09:39] Gridjumper (tanya.smedley): thanks any1

[09:40] Merlin Moonshadow: Do you think there’s a benefit in creating
a multipurpose plan that smaller communities could use yet that would
scale to a larger community?

[09:40] Sarvana Haalan: are the previous workshops archived?

[09:40] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): That is true Gentle – it’s why i
think an overall plan will work here even though we have so many
subcommunities – RL does not involve each specific community but
provides the broad picture
[09:40] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): Merlin -yes most definitely – that
would be a great goal for the plan
[09:40] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): Sarvana – I put up a summary on the
Virtual Vision Website of the first workshops

[09:41] Oronoque Westland: ? – are the slides available?

[09:41] Sarvana Haalan: Great!!!

[09:41] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): I can post them at
http://www.slideshare.com/publicworksgroup

[09:41] Oronoque Westland: oh, great…I would like to know more about
the workshops

[09:41] Zinnia Zauber: Thank you Pam!

[09:41] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): ok, i think we have to wrap up

[09:41] Zinnia Zauber: This has been super!

[09:41] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): thanks so very much for allowing me
to share this idea

[09:41] Gentle Heron: Thanks Pam, this is an excellent process for
community planning.

[09:41] Sarvana Haalan: Pam rocks!!!!! woot, woot!!! 🙂

[09:42] Gridjumper (tanya.smedley): I am here only because I have a
day off – my school district blocks SL. Times of presentations and
events can be an issue – thus streaming and taping can be useful

[09:42] Oronoque Westland: I am thinking I can introduce my students
to this process

[09:42] Zinnia Zauber: I think everyone really wants to ask you more
and I bet they can IM you?

[09:42] Gridjumper (tanya.smedley): Bravo!!! Great job Pam.

[09:42] Magic Pathfinder (any1.gynoid): Very Brave and Ambitious Pam!
Ty for Leading This Initiative!

[09:42] Zinnia Zauber: Thank you for sharing this with us Pam! Awesome!

[09:42] Magic Pathfinder (any1.gynoid): ☆☆☆ HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooow! ☆☆☆

[09:42] Sarvana Haalan: I am still travel back from Atlanta… taking
the scenic route via Charlotte, NC. LOL, LOL

[09:42] Tori Landau: Thanks Pam, a lot to think about °͜°

[09:43] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): yes, definitely! i can talk about
planning and virtual worlds all day lol

[09:43] Zinnia Zauber: I know we want to! lol

[09:43] Sarvana Haalan: And she knows what she is talking about…

[09:43] Buffy Beale: Cheering! this was so interesting

[09:43] Zinnia Zauber: Thank you so much!

[09:43] Merlin Moonshadow: Thanks, Pam!

[09:43] Sarvana Haalan: Thanks Pam

[09:43] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): Thanks to all of you!

Open Mic / Announcements

[09:43] Zinnia Zauber: Okay, before we hit our Open Mic! I have links
for you all!
[09:44] Zinnia Zauber: Here are the many ways to can get involved with the
Nonprofit Commons in Second Life:

Nonprofit Commons Blog: http://nonprofitcommons.org

Wiki: http://npsl.wikispaces.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/npsl

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nonprofitcommons

Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/TechSoup-Second-Life

Google Calendar: http://bit.ly/2tMEYh

http://flavors.me/nonprofitcommons

About TechSoup the sponsors of the Nonprofit Commons:

http://www.techsoup.org/stock/howtousetechsoup.asp

http://flavors.me/techsoup
[09:44] Zinnia Zauber: Join us inworld:

NPC Weekly Meeting on Fridays, 8:30 – 10 AM SLT Plush Amphitheater,
Plush Nonprofit Commons (91,127,26)

NPC Mentors Meeting: Fridays, 10:10 – 11 AM SLT Plush Amphitheater,
Plush Nonprofit Commons (91,127,26)

Wharf Ratz Tuesday Night Extraordinary Dance Extravaganza, Every
Tuesday 7 – 9 PM SLT Preferred Family Healthcare on Aloft, Aloft
Nonprofit Commons (168,223,22)

CommonGround – Color Themed Monthly Networking Event on 3rd Thursday,
5 – 7 PM SLT CommonGround on Aloft, Aloft Nonprofit Commons (59,68,25)
[09:44] Zinnia Zauber: Okay!
[09:44] Zinnia Zauber: Who has an Open Mic Announcement?

[09:45] Thynka Little: me 🙂
[09:45] Thynka Little: The 5th annual Virtual State Fair Week,
sponsored by Cooperative Extension, will be September 10-16. Any
non-profit with content related to the Extension focus areas is
welcome to put up an exhibit on the fairgrounds. Please message me for
details. The fair is located at
[09:45] Thynka Little: Morrill (131,6,24)

[09:45] Gentle Heron: Virtual State Fair is more fun than a barrel of corn dogs!

[09:45] Zinnia Zauber: lol

[09:46] Thynka Little: to figure out if your content relates go to extension.org

[09:46] Magic Pathfinder (any1.gynoid): http://www.extension.org

[09:46] Gridjumper (tanya.smedley): Next Tuesday night SIGVE is having
an event for Connected Educators – Please stop by SIGVE or watch on
youtube http://sigve.weebly.com/connect.html

[09:47] Lotta Flux: Grid, Do you have the SLURL or LM?

[09:47] Zinnia Zauber: Excellent! We WA folks know how to teach and party in SL!

[09:47] Sarvana Haalan: lol, indeed so Z

[09:47] Gridjumper (tanya.smedley): The destinations are:
Second Life ISTE SIGVE Headquarters at EduIsland 9 (41,93,22)
Virtual Pioneers at EduIsland 9 (106,77,22)
VSTE at VSTE Island (59,193,28)
SLEEC at SLEEC Island (31,192,22)
Games MOOC at Front Range in Second Life at Front Range (148,88,33)
Cognitive Disonance Guild at World of Warcraft Sisters of Elune Server

[09:47] Lotta Flux: thx!

[09:48] Gridjumper (tanya.smedley): Each of the ed sites will give a 9
minute tour the whole thing is bieng streamed via Google hangout
[09:48] Gridjumper (tanya.smedley): It starts at SIGVE HQ

[09:48] Zinnia Zauber: That is great Gridjumper!

[09:48] Gridjumper (tanya.smedley): The method has been working very
well and one I would recommend to this group

[09:48] Sarvana Haalan: cool

[09:49] Zinnia Zauber: Super!
[09:49] Zinnia Zauber: Any other announcements?

[09:49] Gridjumper (tanya.smedley): If the goal is to bring in new ppl
[09:49] Gridjumper (tanya.smedley): for support etc

[09:49] Zinnia Zauber: good plan, events are super for that!

[09:49] Gridjumper (tanya.smedley): 9PM EST next tuesday
[09:49] Gridjumper (tanya.smedley): August 21
[09:50] Gridjumper (tanya.smedley): Yes perhaps SIGVE could partner
with this group
[09:50] Gridjumper (tanya.smedley): we seem to have similar goals

[09:50] Zinnia Zauber: Let’s talk about that!

[09:50] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): Don’t forget to join the virtual
vision group if you want to keep up with the progress or volunteer!
🙂

[09:51] Magic Pathfinder (any1.gynoid): Virtual Vision 2020 click
this.. to join the Virtual Vision 2020 group

[09:51] Zinnia Zauber: Great!
[09:51] Zinnia Zauber: Any other announcements?

[09:52] Magic Pathfinder (any1.gynoid): <– motions to adjourn

[09:52] Zinnia Zauber: Okay, one more thing before we go.
[09:52] Zinnia Zauber: Not so fast Magic! lol

[09:53] Sarvana Haalan: we never adjourn here… we just pause… lol, lol

[09:53] Zinnia Zauber: I wanted to encourage everyone to set in their
Prefs to not let your avatar to sleep.
[09:53] Zinnia Zauber: Do you guys know how to do that?
[09:53] Zinnia Zauber: I take much better photos when everyone is awake!

[09:54] Dancers Yao: how?

[09:54] Thynka Little: zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[09:54] Zinnia Zauber: And, it makes our speakers feel great if you are awake!

[09:54] Lotta Flux: lol

[09:54] Zinnia Zauber: okay

[09:54] Sarvana Haalan: true

[09:54] Buffy Beale: lol Thynka

[09:54] Gentle Heron: Yes Zinnia, but more accurate photos when some
of us are asleep.

[09:54] Merlin Moonshadow: So pass out the caffeine, Zinnia. 😉

[09:54] Zinnia Zauber: Under Me >

[09:54] Sarvana Haalan: tea for me, please…. hehe

[09:54] Zinnia Zauber: Preferences

[09:55] Karaoke String: peanut butter and jelly marshmellows for me please

[09:55] Zinnia Zauber: General >

[09:55] Karaoke String: i just found the recipe

[09:55] Gentle Heron: Me -> Preferences -> General -> Away Timeout
(set it for over an hour)

[09:55] Zinnia Zauber: At the bottom, you see Away Timeout
[09:55] Zinnia Zauber: Yes, or never

[09:55] Magic Pathfinder (any1.gynoid): / Control P preferences..
General tab… in Viewer 3 there is an Away Timeout pulldown… more
complexicated in other browsers… … V1 variants.. Ctrl Alt D to get
Advanced Menu… then Advanced > Character > Character Tests > CHECK
Go Away/AFK When Idle

[09:56] Zinnia Zauber: Thank you guys for helping!

[09:56] Sarvana Haalan: I have mine set on “Never”.

[09:56] Magic Pathfinder (any1.gynoid): Uncheck***

[09:56] Zinnia Zauber: Please set that, we never sleep in SL!

[09:56] Oronoque Westland: I never go to sleep, not even in RL

[09:56] Zinnia Zauber: Great meeting and thank you all for being part
of our community!

[09:56] Gentle Heron: oh Oro!

[09:56] Zinnia Zauber: hehe

[09:56] Buffy Beale: ohh Oro have a nap then

[09:56] Glitteractica Cookie: Thanks

[09:57] Sarvana Haalan: This is My Life… I never sleep… I let
“Sally” do the sleeping… LOL, LOL

[09:57] Buffy Beale: lol Sar

[09:57] Gridjumper (tanya.smedley): TY very interesting presentaiton

[09:57] alebez: thank you!

[09:57] Merlin Moonshadow: Thanks, everyone. I have to run back to RL. 🙂

[09:57] Sarvana Haalan: Excellent presentation!!

[09:57] Zinnia Zauber: We have the Mentors Meeting at 10:05
[09:57] Zinnia Zauber: ANd, thank you you again Pam!

[09:57] Magic Pathfinder (any1.gynoid): yes, great meeting ty
everyone! Huggles ZINNIA! u da boss!

[09:57] Zinnia Zauber: lol, thank you Magic!

[09:57] Sarvana Haalan: going for my tea now… brb

[09:58] Buffy Beale: bye all who aren’t staying after have a great week

[09:58] Glitteractica Cookie: bye alll=

[09:58] Pam Broviak (pam.renoir): yes, thanks to everyone!

[09:58] Zinnia Zauber: Please take care!

[09:58] Gentle Heron waves to everyone who is leaving

– End of Line –

Written by: Zinnia Zauber

Come Celebrate the official launch of the EcoCommons in Second Life!


Join in the official launch of the EcoCommons in Second Life! Our grand opening celebration will be happening Earth Day, Wednesday, April 22nd, 11 AM PT/SLT, on the new EcoCommons island in Second Life.

EcoCommons is a virtual location (sim) designed for environmental organizations in the 3D virtual world of Second Life. Developed by TechSoup’s Nonprofit Commons team in partnership with OneWorld.net and OneClimate Island in Second Life, EcoCommons provides a network for environmentally-focused nonprofits to promote awareness, community-building and environmental education efforts in the virtual world and beyond.

Through EcoCommons and the Nonprofit Commons as a whole, environmental organizations may join this alliance to increase impact. Members can host virtual meetings, lectures, and other events by tapping into a thriving, existing virtual community of early adopters and technologists. Individuals and organizations around the world can connect through EcoCommons, while also reducing their carbon footprint by eliminating the need to travel to a physical meeting place.

Launching on Earth Day, Wed. April 22nd, in the virtual world of Second Life, this interactive event will feature a keynote speech by Jacqueline Chenault, New Media Specialist, U.S. House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, and will be broadcasted live from Second Life.

The launch event will include educational sessions and presentations, and is a part of the TechSoup Global GreenTech Initiative‘s month-long campaign: Telegreening Your Work, to educate social benefit organizations on how to save money and the environment by using technologies, such as Second Life, to work remotely and collaborate online.

Event details:

* The launch party event takes place Wed. April 22nd in Second Life, 11:00 am- 12PM PST (SLT), online in Second Life, and is hosted by TechSoup Global’s GreenTech Initiative, Nonprofit Commons , and OneWorld/OneClimate.net
* Second Life activities will continue throughout the day and week as part of Earth Week Second Life: http://slearthweek.wordpress.com/

Schedule of speakers:

11 AM: TechSoup Global GreenTech Initiative

11:15 AM: Jacqueline Chenault, New Media Specialist, U.S. House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming

11:40: OneWorld/OneClimate.net

Noon-: Tours of the island and other The Nonprofit Commons islands and further Second Life activities throughout the week of Earth Day

About the Nonprofit Commons in Second Life

Nonprofit Commons consists of three virtual locations (sims), with a fourth underway. Housing over 80 social benefit organizations in virtual offices, and over 400 members who are not residnets, but still are community-volunteers, the Nonprofit Commons is managed by an entirely volunteer-run community of nonprofit employees, under the leadership of TechSoup Global.

Nonprofit Commons was designed to lower the barriers of access to Second Life, to create a community of practice for nonprofits to explore and learn about the virtual world, and to investigate the many ways in which nonprofits might utilize this unique environment. Through this community, we provide free office space to qualifying groups, meet and network, create a cooperative learning environment and foster outreach, education, fund-raising, all in a virtual space. Our focus is on providing an accessible entry-point to Second Life and on creating a community of nonprofit organizations (NPOs) for effective collaboration and support. We believe that Second Life is a wonderful place not just to entertain, but also to educate, inspire, and work together to assist our fellow avatars (and the humans behind them). You do not have to be a resident of the Nonprofit Commons to get involved with our community. We welcome all who wish to join us as partners, collaborators or supporters.

Nonprofit Commons’ first sim was donated by Anshe Chung Studios and the Nonprofit Commons 2nd sim was donated by TakingIT Global. The third Nonprofit Commons location, EcoCommons, was developed in partnership with OneWorld.net/OneClimate Island specifically for environmentally-oriented organizations. The Nonprofit Commons’ fourth sim will be focused on health-related nonprofits, and will launch in conjunction with the NetSquared Confernece on May 27th, 2009.

Members of Nonprofit Commons meet each Friday at 8:30 PST/SLT at Plush Nonprofit Commons Ampitheater. Visitors are always welcome to join us in making a difference one pixel at a time.

For more information, please email Megan Keane (megan@techsoup.org) or Susan Tenby (susan@techsoup.org) or IM Penguin Kuhn or Glitteractica Cookie in-world.

Visit us online:

Nonprofit Commons Blog:http://www.nonprofitcommons.org and wiki: http://npsl.wikispaces.com
OneWorld/OneClimate.net: http://www.oneclimate.net
TechSoup Global GreenTech Initiative: http://www.techsoup.org/greentech
Telegreening Your Work Campaign: http://www.techsoup.org/greentech/travel/index.cfm

Written by: penguin kuhn

WWF brings an ecological message to SL in their new Conservation Island

The international conservation organization formerly known as the World Wildlife Fund, now simply called the WWF, has launched a new “Conservation Island” in Second Life to spread their message about living in harmony with nature. Clearly they are taking a whimsical approach to this, with orangutans that sell you ice cream and pandas that teach about sustainable products. Check out the sim at this SLURL.

Thanks to Nobody Fugazi for the heads up!


Second Life look at nature’s real-life problems
From WWF Press Release

Gland, Switzerland – Ever dreamt of building a new life on a deserted island? Then pack your virtual toolkit and head for Conservation Island, a place where an orang-utan will “sell” you ice-cream and a panda will be your friend.

Set up by WWF in the virtual world Second Life, the island is the latest initiative in the global conservation organization’s campaign to get people to live in harmony with nature.

“WWF set up the island as a way to help people learn about conservation issues and the need to live sustainably,” said David Cole, Online Outreach Manager at WWF International. “We want to be able to show people that WWF has solutions to the real environmental issues affecting their ‘first life’.

“We hope that Second Life residents will become a community that helps us build and develop the island and at the same time learn about conservation in a fun, engaging and interactive way.”

Second Life users, called residents, can interact with each other, explore their world, participate in social events and activities, and “purchase” goods and services.

On Conservation Island, for instance, if residents “buy” an ice-cream from Mr Tangee, the orang-utan who runs the ice-cream van, they will have the chance to learn that plantations to provide the soy and palm oil found in an array of everyday products, from ice-cream to cosmetics and chocolate bars, already cover an area the size of France and are growing. This threatens not only some of the world’s greatest forests and traditional lifestyles, but also endangered species such as orang-utans and jaguars.

Visitors to another part of the island can befriend a panda who will tell them about environmental issues and go with them as they explore a town powered by a wind-powered pinwheel.

“Conservation Island provides WWF with an opportunity to put its message before a new audience, potentially millions of people who may not otherwise engage with conservation issues,” said Cole.

“Residents will be able to learn about climate change and marine and forest loss in a fun way, and then, if they want to know more, they will be directed to WWF’s website, www.panda.org.”

Conservation Island was developed for WWF by Enable Interactive, the Bristol-based specialist digital agency.

“Social and consumer behaviour is changing, so the way brands communicate must change too,” said Matt Connolly, Strategic Director at Enable Interactive. “At Enable, we’ve enjoyed helping WWF innovate around how it communicates, and believe its presence on Second Life will help it get a whole new group of people to make conservation part of their lives.”

For further information:
Moira O’Brien-Malone, Head of Media Relations
WWF International
Tel: +41 22 364 9550
E-mail: mobrien@wwfint.org

END NOTES:

• Screen grabs to illustrate this story have been posted at:
https://intranet.panda.org/documents/document.cfm?uFolderID=61441&uDocID…
User name; intranet@wwfint.org, password dropbox.

• If you already have Second Life installed on your computer, you can access Conservation Island via:
http://slurl.com/secondlife/WWF/138/199/41/

• WWF’s presence in Second Life was developed by Enable Interactive and made possible with the generous support of South West Screen and the South West of England Regional Development Agency.

Written by: rikomatic