Trends are interesting things to observe. Sometimes you can learn a lot from them – other times, you can end up looking a complete twit for ever getting involved.
I’m really not sure which way this will go, but I’ll mention it anyway, given I’ve already posted on the SL blogrum.
There has been a lot going on around the subject of SL and RL identities of late – almost all of it initiated by Linden Lab. Vis:
- Drawing ever closer to Facebook
- Wallace Linden’s utterly mishandled posting on the subject of aligning rl and online identities
- Running a Valentine’s day “scavenger hunt” in which the main prize can only be won by those prepared to “out” themselves on Facebook
- The arrival of Viewer 2.0 with the Profile section rearranged to place rl information right below SL information
- Running an advertising competition that encourages residents to reveal their rl selves in return for some unspecified prize…
And now, to add to the list, we get Lexie Linden initiating a conversation on residents meeting up in RL (which, at the end of the day, is the most intimate means of linking one’s rl and SL identities).
Leaving aside my astonishment at Lexie initiating a discussion, rather than stomping on one (oh, me bad!), as far as I’m aware, she’s not come anywhere near starting a discussion on anything up until now.
So I can’t help but feel that her choice of subject is not entirely…random, shall we say?
Given the trend demonstrated to date, I cannot help but put “ulterior” and “motive” in the margin alongside Lexie’s thread. After all, if people indicate that, under the right circumstances (such as at events like SLCC, etc.), they’d be prepared to reveal their rl identities, might this not be seen by some in LL as a sign that closer in-world linking of rl and SL selves would be acceptable…?
Or should I simply lay off the cheese late at night?
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 