TechSoup’s own Susan Tenby, Senor Manager–Online Community Development , aka Glitteractica Cookie, gave a prepared testimony before the the House Committee on Energy and Commerce’s Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet today about the potential of Second Life for nonprofits. Her testimony was part of today’s hearing: "Online Virtual Worlds: Applications and Avatars in a User-Generated Medium".
Subcommittee chairperson, Congressman Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass) moderated the hearing in-person while his avatar presented simultaneously in in Second Life. Some invited avatars were able to watch the closed hearings in a virtual version of the committee hearing room.
This hearing looked at the evolution, culture and future of virtual worlds. Its purpose was to "obtain testimony on the nature and growth of online virtual worlds; the types of applications and services, both commercial and non-commercial, supported and offered in such worlds; and any policy issues raised by virtual worlds that may need to be addressed or monitored." Susan spoke from her experience as founder of TechSoup’s Nonprofit Commons, a virtual community of practice for nonprofits in Second Life. She addressed the importance and significance of nonprofits using Second Life and the benefits of using this medium to help organizations achieve their mission. Other presenters included Philip Rosedale, co-founder of Linden Labs (the company which created Second Life) and Dr. Larry Johnson Chief Executive Officer of the New Media Consortium.
You can check out the video of the proceedings, Susan Tenby’s submitted Congressional testimony (pdf), as well as the text archive of the hearing.
Written by: penguin kuhn