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Brahmarshi Vishvamitra, a sage of ancient times in India, once undertook the creation of a parallel universe, to soothe his hurt ego. In this, he wished to create a parallel heaven for king Trisanku, who was denied entry into this universe's heaven.
Philip Rosedale, in June 2003, might have thought of something similar, when he launched a virtual (online) universe by the name of Second Life (SL). His company, Linden Lab, had enabled a platform that lets you create and interact with other avatars (residents of SL) anonymously. Also, the venture drew a parallel with Vishvamitra's ego-fuelled alternative universe. All those denied a pleasurable existence in this life, now could opt for Second Life. In other words, Rosedale had unleashed a new lease of life for all those hemmed in by social, physical and other handicaps. Rosedale had created a virtual "heaven".
My 'other' life
Rosedale's venture had drawn a lot of media attention. In 2007, he was among Time Magazine's 100-most influential people in the world. His platform was touted internet of the future, even as everyone, blue-chip companies (such as IBM) included, scrambled for a presence on it. By the time I entered (2013), the hype surrounding SL had gone. Once a boom town, now it had the feel of a ghost town.
Before I could know anything else, I came across the fact that this month marked ten years since SL had first opened to the public in June of 2003. "We'll be celebrating the anniversary with a number of community initiatives," said a Linden spokesperson.
This was another spur for my quest. I had got a whiff of SL, and I set about to explore its last remaining parts.
I am reborn
With my virtual birth in SL, I looked to taking on multiple identities. Foremost would be those I wouldn't dare to act out in the real world. This is the thrill the virtual universe could afford me and many others in our other-worldly adventures. For example, Bubb1e, an SL resident since March 8, 2011, wishes to come out of the closet only in SL. "I am a transgender who lives in the south of the US. It is a conservative place. Boys used to call me gay. I found it difficult to interact. SL gave me the chance to express my true self. Still, I feel ashamed to talk in my voice." His voice sounds feminine at first, only to betray an oddly masculine tone later. "I wish I had a better voice."
Dark side
As a fresh avatar, I wandered about aimlessly, flying, running and sometimes walking. My quest took me to strange places, with outlandish landscapes, designed by others. The option to travel to places in a flash had me in New York in an instant, and in Hawaii the next. The places mirrored their real-life counterparts.
This was fantasy copying life, but what if fantasy took wings of its own? I was to found out.
Psychiatrist's therapy couch
"SL is a place to experiment. Earlier, all my time was taken up in caring for my autistic son. Now that he and hubby have moved to a facility, I have let myself go on SL," says Missbellarose (on SL since November 01, 2012). "My marriage is strained and am looking for companionship."
For people like Missbellarose, SL is a no-holds-barred universe, where one can live her fantasies, however dark. It can be a social outlet. A shy wallflower may hope to bloom on the grid. And an introvert could mount on a full-blown rant.
Avatar Emma Bennet, a 22-year-old psychology student from Buenos Aires, says SL acts as a psychiatrist's therapy couch. "Since joining SL in January, I have been seeing how people behave." She says SL is an experiment in virtual freedom, where one can dabble carefree, and explore dark crevices in own mind. Other than that, the Spanish speaker hopes to improve her English here.
The nature of SL
The nature of SL has been debated a lot. Many call it a game, others dub it as a futuristic Facebook that failed to take off. "Though SL has been compared to social media, the reality is it's different. We don't see it as a competitor. Users often tweet about events in SL, or post snapshots from SL on Facebook," said the Linden spokesperson. "Its complexity demands a broadband connection, a free downloadable software client, minimum technical specifications, etc., which exceed those of simpler social experiences." While Linden has many products, such as Creatorverse and Versu, for mobiles, the complexity, says the spokeperson, makes SL still best suited for Mac and personal computer for the time being.
It would be hard to term SL a game: There are no losers and winners, only real-life losers fantasising themselves as virtual superheroes, as the saying goes in SL.
Constanse Levenque (SL name) resides in suburban Oslo, Norway. While Constanse has been using SL an hour daily for four years and five months now, in real life, she claims to be looking for work. She says she doesn't have much money for mobiking, but SL seems to have fuelled her interest. "I convert real life money into SL money (Linden dollars). This buys me mobikes, hair, clothing, etc at a fraction of real-life costs."
User-based business activity remains robust, according to Linden. "We see an average of 1.2 million daily transactions between users for virtual goods, and there are more than 2.1 million user-created virtual goods for sale." All dealings are carried through Linden dollars, convertible to real ones, and vice-versa. "The SL economy remains healthy and is managed by a team at Linden," the spokesperson said.
In the boom years, SL was abuzz with economic activity from realty dealings, content and smut. "Without getting as much media attention, a number of companies still maintain presence in SL. We continue to see interest from companies (as well as educational institutions) for everything from marketing and brand engagement to virtual events and meetings." However, Linden insists its focus is not on businesses but making SL a shared 3D creative experience for everyone.
Second, real life overlap
Rainy Ray's Sweetheart is the daughter of Arciamay in SL, and real life as well. Both live in Chickasha, Oklahoma, US. Owing to the physical distance separating them, they find it convenient to meet on SL.
"We have been breeding horses and dogs for fun's sake. Afterwards we auction them," says mum Arciamay.
"We have a dog farm and we keep trying to breed better horses," chips in daughter Sweetheart. "Going to amusement parks and sitting in an unidentified flying object are also some of what we do."
"My daughter dragged me to SL six months before. It has been useful in carrying forward our relationship," says the mum.
The missing Indian link
According to Linden, SL sees roughly a million monthly active users from all over the world. But everyone I talked to on SL was a foreigner. The ones using Indian names were also foreigners trying to "plumb the depths of the mystical East". Hari bol or Hare Krishna was their stock greeting.
"A number of communities in SL have formed around shared countries of origin and languages," says the spokesperson, "and we don't have plans to launch a separate platform for the India." Linden admits to not focusing on the India, "but we continue to see quite a few logins from India each month."
Weighing the prospects
Often criticised for a complex interface, Linden has made changes to it. "We introduced a change to the interface for the numerous communications tools, enabling users to customise it." Indeed, the changes have made a lot of difference to the way I use SL now. Linden, on its part, hopes "to continue to provide users with tools for creating, sharing, and enjoying the impressive things that make the virtual world what it is today."
"It's our users that create the content and community. SL is a shared creative space."
10 years of SL till now. Could we expect another ten? "Absolutely!", the spokesperson added.
