A community-led project, providing space to meet and network, all to create a cooperative learning environment and foster outreach, education, fundraising, all in a virtual environment.
On March 8 and 9, a collaborative of Second Life residents will be presenting an original production called "In the Pink," a series of one-acts intended to fight gender violence. The inspiration is Eve Ensler’s play "The Vagina Monologues" and co-incides with a series of real worlds events called "V-Day" to draw attention to the issue of violence against women. The premiere is this Saturday, March 8 at 1:30PM PST at Ivy Falls (click here to teleport.) The show repeats at 5:30PM that day, and again on Sunday at 2:30 and 6:30PM.
This is from their press release:
“IN THE PINK” celebrates the strength of women, exploring sexuality and what it means to be a woman in real life and on Second Life. The diverse collection of voices and actors guarantees a unique and highly entertaining experience in both theater and in Second Life, as well as an opportunity to contribute to organizations that support programs that free women from violence. The play will be performed by avatars from all over the world using voice and backed by slides, offering insight and provoking discussion.
I ran into the lovely Rekka Berchot (pictured here), one of the performers in the play and set designer, hard at work getting the stage ready. She took a break from prim wrangling to chat and drop on me a cool umbrella and t-shirt for the production, which I will be proudly sporting for the next few days.
Please check back on the SLCC Blog for details, as it gets closer to September, there will be more informaiton. Remember that we have a Wiki Page where you can volunteer and post your ideas. So far, we have a pretty solid idea of the four sessions (or so) that will be featured in that mini-track. We are still looking for sponsorships, so please contact me, if you are interested in being a sponsor!
Also, if you want to attend, let me know about that too.
I just took Sharon Burns’ virtual worlds tour and I recommend it, especially if you always wanted to know about the leading virtual worlds, but SL eats up all your time, and you couldn’t possibly dare to enter another metaverse.
She surveyed kids’ and adults’ virtual worlds (also referred to as: immersive worlds, metaverses, the 3-D web and MMORPG)
Here is a snapshot of the landscape of worlds she covers, and a few words on each one:
There.com– Similar Audience to SL, not as much role playing, a few nonprofits are there, they have 1 million active users, and users can purchase There bucks (they have a currency).
Entropia– Not much to say except that it is a MMORPG (Massive Multi-player Online Role-playing game) with fierce graphics and their users spend a long time on the game. She cited MMORPGs to the new way that people are having online community
World Of Warcraft– They are the grand daddy of all MMORPGs. They have 10 million active users, nuff said.
Gaia Online — They have an audience of 8-18 year olds. Most of their users are in the 14-16 year old range. The have art contests and poetry forums. It’s a creative space. I think what makes Gaia online particularly compelling (and Sharron may not have known this, b/c she did not reference this) is that their accompanying discussion forum that is the online community companion to the virtual world is the number one forum on the Internet. with nearly 12 million members.
Club Penguin– For kids, acquired by Disney for an enormous amount of money, it costs $5.95/month to play and there are 15 million registered users
Hi pi Hi– Launched this year, in Mandarin, a chinese version of Second Life that has commerce, community and collaboration.
Y-ville– Launched in 1999, it’s an education-based virtual world that is mainly focused on science learning. It has the backing of orgs like NASA and the CDC. Mostly girls belong to Y-ville.
Webkins– it was the first site to integrate a real-world purchase with a game or virtual world. You buy (adopt) a toy and then use the secret code on the product to access the world, where you can dress and house your pet. It’s a kids’ site, obviously.
Mokitown– for 8-12 year olds, a community about traffic and safety.
Although this tour was only 8 minutes, it provided a good fly-over of the landscape. There was very little mention of nonprofits, as most of the above virtual worlds do not have a nonprofit presence. The real tour that we are all on the edge of our seats for is the part 2, the Second Life tour. I will be sure to let you all know about it, when it comes out.
NPC resident Community Voice Mail (http://www.cvm.org/) was recently recognized for their work; from the press release:
Community Voice Mail today announced it is the recipient of the prestigious Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy (CECP) Directors Nonprofit Excellence Award on National Corporate Philanthropy Day in New York. The national nonprofit is being recognized for its exceptional long-standing partnership with Cisco and the Cisco Foundation, who nominated it for the award. The partnership is being honored as an excellent example of how a nonprofit organization and global corporation can come together and have a significant impact on major social issues of homelessness and the technology/telecommunications gap that exists for the poor.
Mark your calendars for Friday, Feb. 29th , 2008: Join us for a 1-day free online event happening on TechSoup.org’s Community forums and in Second Life:
Using Virtual Worlds and Emerging Technologies for People with Disabilities
This two-part, interactive event will take place in two locations online:
9 AM PST in the Nonprofit Commons Amphitheater in Second Life: Simon Stevens (aka Simon Walsh in Second Life) will be speaking about his work in Second Life. Simon Walsh is chief executive of Enable Enterprises which manages the Wheelies nightclub for people with disabilities in Second Life and the Second Ability Second Life simulator. In real life, Simon has cerebral palsy and lives in Coventry, UK. He is a disability consultant and trainer working with many organizations large and small. You can watch a profile of Simon Stevens on YouTube (see above).
Simon will give a virtual talk via text chat in the Nonprofit Commons amphitheater, in the virtual world of Second Life.
10AM PST- 6PM PST –the follow-on discussion will continue in an all-day, asynchronous (not-live) forum on TechSoup. This event will occur in a question and answer format in the TechSoup Accessible Technology & Public Computing forum, where we’ll discuss issues such as:
-Innovative ways that emerging technologies are making technology more accessible for people with disabilities
-Ways people with disabilities use technologies to expand their communities?
-How can we work to make accessibility a design priority in the virtual world as well as the real world?
-What are some free resources to help people with disabilities find accessible technology tools?
-How can nonprofit organizations help make technology more accessible for people with disabilities?
Global Kids Inc., a New York City based non-profit organization dedicated to transforming urban youth into successful students and global and community leaders, is seeking to fill a short-term freelance position as Online Community Developer/Content Editor, to be filled within our New York City offices or remotely. The position will run from mid-March until end of June.
The Online Community Developer/Content Editor will work with staff at Global Kids to create the structure and content for a new social networking site called “RezEd: A Hub for Virtual World Educators.” This project is designed to provide educators using virtual worlds with access to the highest quality resources and research in the field, and to use the most effective technology to establish a strong network of those using virtual worlds for education. RezEd features will include podcasts, newsletters, best practice documents, contributor blogs, an event calendar, job postings, resource library, listserv, and other social networking functions.
Dear Friends of Great Strides (a Nonprofit Commons tenant on Aloft Island),
Katie, a 5 year old Gypsy Vanner who lives at our farm and works with clients, sustained a rather severe leg injury this week. While we are pleased to report that she is recovering from her surgery, she will require several weeks of hospital care, followed by an extensive recovery period back home.
With seed funding from our JAM Fund, which covers extraordinary expenses for horses participating in our program, we are launching a fundraiser whose first priority will be to cover the cost of her surgery and subsequent care. The cost of the surgery alone is already exceeding our available funds by several thousand dollars. Any donations raised in excess of the cost of her care will be used to replenish the JAM fund.
Each and every member of our herd selflessly contributes to the healing work at Great Strides each and every day. Here is our opportunity to give something back when one of our herd is in need.
Please keep Katie in your thoughts as she begins her journey toward recovery. And, if you can, please make a contribution to the JAM fund in Katie’s name. Any assistance you can provide will be greatly appreciated.
To help, and see a picture of her on a better day, please go to:
Ok, first you might be wondering, what is a mashup? Handyland started by explaining. Wikipedia has a pretty good definition:
In technology, a mashup is a web application that combines data from more than one source into a single integrated tool; an example is the use of cartographic data from Google Maps to add location information to real-estate data from Craigslist, thereby creating a new and distinct web service that was not originally provided by either source.
NetSquared is a project of TechSoup, that seeks to spur responsible adoption of social web tools by social benefit organizations.
Got an idea of how to combine data from more than one source into an integrated tool that would increase awareness around an issue? Maybe you have an idea of how one or more applications can work with Second Life to help nonprofits? Then you’ll want to submit it to the NetSquared MashUp Challenge.
Handyland went on to share how the NetSquared project is awarding a share of $100,000 in prize money, and a trip to the NetSquared Conference, to the top 20 winners of the NetSquared Mashup Challenge. You can submit your idea for a mashup with social impact. Entries are accepted until March 14, 2008 at 5 PM PST.
Handyland explained that you don’t have to have the tech skills to create your mashup, just the idea. Your application will explain the change that you are trying to make, as well as the information/data sources that you believe can be married to help create that change. The NetSquared Team will reach out to web-savvy collaborators to help translate your idea into a Mashup Project.
From there, Handyland continued, teams of developers will start building your mashup. The week of March 17th, the NetSquared Community will vote for the mashups they think are the most innovative, and that will create the greatest social impact.
On March 24 the top 20 mashups will be announced, and the winners will be invited to attend this year’s NetSquared Conference (N2Y3) in San Jose, CA May 27-28, 2008. Each of the top 20 mashups will get an allowance for travel (including airfare to and from the Conference, along with a hotel room for two nights).
At the Conference, project teams will have an opportunity to display and discuss their mashups, and attendees will vote to select the top three. All twenty projects at the Conference will receive a share of $100,000 in prize money. The share will be determined by voting at the Conference.
Handyland answered questions from avatars about the challenge. The contest is open to everyone worldwide, though the submission form is in English. You can find out more information on the NetSquared site or contact net2 [at] techsoup [dot] org. And if you’re a developer who wants to help build the mashups, email Billy Bicket at bbicket [at] techsoup [at] org
Get Activated! Leading Non-profits Discuss "Best Practices" for Using Virtual Worlds for Activism, Collaboration, Education, and Fundraising
Friday, February 8, 8:30AM PST, Plush Nonprofit Commons Amphitheater in Second Life
The year 2007 was a remarkable year for charitable and civil society activity in Second Life — from the launch of the 32-office Plush Nonprofit Commons to the record US$100,000 raised by the SL Relay for Life. On Friday, February 8, from 8:30-9:30AM PST, there will be presentation and discussion on "Best Practices for Non-profits in Second Life." Based on a report prepared by Global Kids organizer Rik Panganiban, the program will explore what are some of the lessons that non-profits have learned from their first forays into the virtual world.
Event Details: TITLE: Presentation and Discussion on "Best Practices for Non-profits in Second Life" DATE / TIME: Friday, February 8, 2008, 8:30-9:30AM PST LOCATION: Main Amphitheater, Plush Nonprofit Commons sim (teleport SLURL )
From Education to Fundraising, Community Outreach, Collaboration and Activism, citizen’s groups are beginning to figure out how to spread their messages and support their causes using 3D multi-user environments like Second Life. Organizers from groups including the SL Relay for Life, the Alliance Library System, Global Kids, and YearlyKos will talk about their own experiences in each of these areas, followed by an open discussion.
This forum is particularly relevant for non-profit managers, activists, funders, and community organizers trying to decide if Second Life can help their organizations. And we encourage groups to share your own experiences (good and bad) with working in SL during the open discussion period. We’ll close the event with ideas for next steps in building up civil society spaces in Second Life, and beyond.
The full text of the report can be downloaded from this link. At the event a virtual "thinkbook" will be available, providing the main recommendations from the report.
Prepared on behalf of the Online Leadership Program of Global Kids, the report was made possible by support from the Digital Media and Learning Initiative of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
A report and photos from the event will be available shortly afterwards for those not able to attend.
For more information, contact Rik Panganiban at rik@globalkids.org or in-world IM to Rik Riel.
