Learning to Walk

My journey into Second Life, reminded me of The Girl Who Was Plugged In. Tiptree describes an adjustment period in which P. Burke must learn to control the new body she has been given in Delphi. P. Burke had to adjust to the new level of consciousness so that her movements and expressions would be genuine. This involved the dexterity it takes to grip a toothbrush, as well as balance, while in motion. Once I began Second Life, simple things like hand movements became foreign. Flying, although once complex, became simplified.

The snapshot that I took, shows my conversation with a resident who was happy to converse with me. He seemed like he was simply out for a stroll and enjoying the scenery. He was interested in the college course that involved Second Life. The snapshot shows how I gazed at the palm trees and beach on the island. I arrived there by accident and couldn't grasp the eerie coincidence that this place in Second Life was identical to my former real life residence on Ft. Myers Beach in South Florida. My house was not very far from this area.

Once I recovered from this shock, I asked my new friend how he came to choose his avatar. His initial response was that he was trying to imitate his appearance in real life. He was dressed in jeans, and I realized that his attire led me to believe that he would be friendly. Since he was dressed casually, I instantly thought that he wouldn't mind my casual approach. As we talked, he explained that he adapted well to Second Life. It did not take him very long to learn the ropes. He asked me questions as well, and was concerned with how well I was adapting. We discussed my school and major to which he responded, "cool".

This interaction, overall, made me less apprehensive about speaking with other residents. I also realized that my avatar may come across as a little scary. My initial goal was simplicity. The black jumpsuit seemed like a streamlined answer to clothing. I liked the goth-locked-and-loaded look, as opposed to party girl appearances which usually came equipped with vile pig-tails. I am however, going to try some new things that may tweak my image. I'm interested in appearing approachable. Maybe I can stand on the bridge between friendly and walking target. Just like in my real life, I became concerned about appearances and did not want to give the impression that I was vulnerable. I may adopt my friend's philosophy and imitate my physical appearance in real life.

Creating Digital Stories

My favorite aspect of creating a digital story, was the amount of control that I had. I remained enthusiastic about the project, mostly because I received hands on experience from start to finish. In traditional films, It's rare to see one person get their hands dirty with audio, visual, and editing tasks. There are usually several people to fill those roles. I also liked that I had to shift my thinking from narrative to audio while constantly thinking about the visual aspect of the project. The challenge was getting all of these aspects to align.

In Convergence Culture, Jenkins states that "When people take media into their own hands, the results can be wonderfully creative; they can also be bad news for all involved." While my experience was good, Jenkins gives an example where high school kids create impromptu pornography with a cell phone. In only minutes, it was distributed to fellow classmates all throughout the campus. This is, of course, a nasty incident. Despite bad things like this, I think more good comes out of it than bad.

Youtube seems to high light some fundamental aspects that come out of convergence. I have a friend who wants to post his short film on Youtube. His film shows ATt&T, and Cingular merging together to become the network "with the most dropped calls." In one segment, he is standing outside of the Cingular store when his phone drops the call. He also goes into his unexplainable charges associated with his Iphone. He can effectively and creatively rant without censorship. Before Youtube, an average customer could not take advantage of low budget production tools like Imovie. Another network could definitely critique AT&T in a commercial, but they would probably be heavily censored in even the mentioning of the rival company's name. My friend can post an example of a company flaw in a matter of minutes. With Youtube, he can show. He doesn't have to rely on telling. Convergence seems to offer less censorship.

Control is also a major aspect. Traditional production on a film is usually expensive. Imovie allows users to edit features such as sound and effects, therefore allowing more creative input from the user. The publishing industry has also experienced a type of convergence. Authors can now choose to self-publish, and many times this is a last resort for authors who believe in the strength of their own work.

Will Clarke is the author of Lord Vishnu's Love Handles. His manuscript was repeatedly rejected by traditional publishing houses. He self-published his book and sold copies from the trunk of his car. As this progressed, a major publishing house couldn't help but notice that his book was definitely selling. They offered him a contract shortly after. Clarke wrote two other novels in which they published. Although Clarke's story is an exception to the rule, convergence made it possible to take publication into his own hands. Through nontraditional means, his novel caught the attention of traditional publishers.