Update, June 3rd: the auditions will be held on Friday, June 3rd at Enter Bay City, between 12:00 noon and 14:00 SLT, and again on Saturday, June 4th 18:00 to 20:00 SLT at the same location.
While the traditional Second Life Birthday celebrations are now pretty much coordinated and run by the community – hence the title Second Life Birthday Community Celebrations, the Lab has a track record of sharing in the celebratory mood around the time of SL’s anniversary through various promotions, gifts, and so on, often as an overall part of the community celebrations.
In 2015, the Lab held an Anniversary Music Festival, for example (and among other events) – and they’re doing the same again in 2016, as Xiola Linden has blogged:
Last year’s auditions turned out to be an incredible showcase of some of the diverse musical talent in Second Life. It was its own mini-musical-fest – with nearly 50 musicians pulling out all the stops in front of the Second Life music community. This bite-sized showcase led to the final line up for Music Fest. It’s definitely worth reading this audition day wrap up from musician and Second Life Resident Zak Claxton on his blog from May of last year.
This year, once again we’re hoping to draw out all you guitarists, bassists, drummers, singers, tambourine shakers and other music makers to come audition for the festival. All genres are welcome! From bands to solo acts, opera to rock and roll – we encourage anyone to sign up for consideration. The Second Life Music Fest is an opportunity to perform at one of the biggest celebrations in Second Life, and it’s a paid gig!
ast year, the Music Fest was held during the SL12B Community Celebrations at the SL12B Ixtlan Stage, designed by Cube Republic
Those interested in taking part are invited to complete the audition application form – and to do so no later than Thursday, May 26th. The blog post notes that completion of the application does not signify a commitment on the part of the artist to take part, nor a guarantee they’ll be called upon to audition before a panel of judges comprising Lab personnel and residents.
Musicians who are selected to audition will receive word directly from the Lab via e-mail. Those successful in their 5-minute audition, as judged by a panel of Lab staff and residents, will be invited to perform a 30-minute set at the Second Life Music Fest, and (subject to the Lab’s terms and conditions) receive payment for doing so.
The auditions themselves will be on the following dates and times:
Friday, June 3rd 12:00 noon to 14:00 SLT
Saturday, June 4th 18:00 to 20:00 SLT
The venue for the auditions is currently TBA, and I’ll post news & update this post once the location as been announced.
So, if this sounds like it might be your kind of gig as a musician – follow the links and apply.
We’re all by now familiar with the situation in Alberta, Canada, where a wildfire broke out on April 30th, 2016. By Wednesday, May 11th, and still out of control, it covered an estimated 241,000 hectares (930.5 square miles).
As the firs spread during the first weeks of May, so it engulfed the city of Fort McMurray, forcing the evacuation of almost 90,000 people.
Many of those affected by the fire have lost everything: homes, jobs, the basic necessities of life, and are having to be placed in temporary accommodation and shelters, prompting the Canadian Red Cross to launch the Alberta Fires Appeal.
Within Second Life, and in response to a plea from a Second Life resident directly affected by this tragedy, Models Giving Back have launched The Courage Event. Between May 15th and the end of the month, 38 designers are providing over 50 exclusive items that will not be sold again, with proceeds from the sales going to the Canadian Red Cross and the Alberta Fires Appeal.
The funds raised will be donated in two lots; the first halfway through the event, in order to obtain the matching funds the Canadian Government is providing, and then the second donation will be made at the close of the event. Totals and donation receipts from the Canadian Red Cross will be posted on the Models Giving Back Revamped website, and on the Models Giving Back Facebook page.
The Courage Event. organised by Models Giving Back, runs from May 15th through to May 31st, with 38 designers offering over 50 exclusive, never to be re-sold items to raise money for the Canadian Red Cross Alberta Fires Appeal
In addition to the exclusive goods available at The Courage Event, visitors are able to donate directly to the Canadian Red cross via the Kiosks found throughout the event area, or by visiting the Alberta Fires Appeal website.
It’s time to kick-off a week of story-telling in voice, brought to our virtual lives by the staff and volunteers at the Seanchai Library. As always, all times SLT, and events are held at the Library’s Second Life home at Bradley University, unless otherwise indicated.
Crazy Eights sees Caledonia, Corwyn and Kayden reading from The Return of Sherlock Holmes on Sundays from the living room of 221B Baker Street. This week: The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter.
Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson in “The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter”, Sidney Paget / Strand Magazine, 1904
Godfrey Staunton is missing. He’s the key player in Cambridge University’s rugby team (and also the heir of Lord Mount-James, his uncle).
With an important match against arch-rivals Oxford looming, Staunton needs to be found, and Mr. Cyril Overton of Trinity College, responsible for the university’s rugby team, has come to London to seek Holmes’ help.
Overton informs Holmes that Staunton had not been looking well and seemed preoccupied. Then, the previous evening, a bearded man had arrived at Staunton’s hotel with a note for him – and Staunton apparently vanished shortly afterwards.
Returning to Cambridge with Overton, Holmes and Watson set about their investigation, learning that the bearded man who delivered the note to Staunton appeared to be worried as well – the hotel porter noted his hand was shaking, and that he muttered something about “time”.
Staunton’s uncle is unable to provide information which may help matters. However an academic at the university, Dr. Leslie Armstrong, may hold the key to the mystery …
Caledonia Skytower presents selections from the wonderful, imaginative world of author and illustrator William Joyce, including The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, Jack Frost, and Ollie’s Odyssey.
Monday May 16th, 19:00: The Alchemyst (The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel #1)
Faerie Maven-Pralou reads Michael Scott’s mystical magical novel.
According to the records, Nicholas Flamel was born in Paris on 28 September 1330 and died in 1418. Only his tomb has forever lain empty, because Nicholas Flamel is the greatest Alchemyst of all time. Entrusted with the care of the Codex – also known as the Book of Abraham the Mage – Flamel found within it the secret of eternal life.
But there is much else in the Codex which, if used by the wrong minds, could very well bring about the end of the world. So, for 700 years, Nicholas Flamel has guarded the Book, keeping it from all those who might otherwise seek to abuse its secrets.
Until John Dee steals it. And John Dee has the desire to unlock the Codex and bring about the very cataclysm Flamel has always feared. Without the book, Flamel and his wife, Perenelle, will age and die, whilst with the book, Dee can thwart all attempts to recover it.
Enter 15-year-old twins, Josh and Sophie Newman. Prophecy has foretold of a time when the world would be threatened – and of the two youngsters gifted with extraordinary powers who will save it. Flamel recognises the Newman twins as those youngsters, and sets out to awaken their magical talents. So it is that Josh and Sophie find themselves cast into the middle of the greatest tale – the greatest confrontation – of all time.
Tuesday May 17th, 19:00: When Sisterhood was in Flower
The writings of Florence King return to Seanchai Library as Trolley Trollop continues reading When Sisterhood was in Flower (1982),
Isabel, a conservative southern writer living in Boston, finds her life taking a number of strange turns. After an explosion brings down the wall of her apartment she is forced to share her living space with her neighbour, an ardent, humourless feminist called Polly Bradshaw. Then, between them, they take in nutty Gloria, who is fixated with all things medieval, including the lute, which she constantly plays, and the death of Edward II.
Things start unravelling further when Polly inherits a house in California, and unilaterally decides they’ll form a self-sufficient feminist commune there. Along the way, they collect Agnes, who is trying to escape her survivalist husband, and Martha, a widow whose estranged husband died after an unfortunate incident with an inflatable rubber doll.
Then Isabel has the opportunity to earn a living as a writer … of pornography …
Wednesday May 18th, and Thursday May 19th 19:00: Crazy Eights: The War that Saved My Life
It is the Second World War, and when nine-year-old Ada’s little brother is evacuated from London to escape the blitz, she is determined not to be left behind because her mother is too ashamed to allow her to be seen in public with her twisted foot.
So it is that Ada, experiencing her first time in the world beyond the house in which she has always lived, finds herself on an adventure, adapting to life with Susan Smith, the woman charged with caring for Ada’s little brother, and who unexpectedly finds herself with a second ward in her care.
As time passes, Ada learns to ride a pony, watches for German spies, and finds a bond forming between her and Susan smith, a bond shared with her brother, but over which hangs the shadow of what will happen when they have to return to London and the cruelty of Ada’s mother.
Thursday, May 19th, 21:00: Seanchai Late Night
With Finn Zeddmore.
Saturday, May 21st, 13:00: Crazy Eights: Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland – The Big Read
Saturday, May 21st
“All the words, all in one session from down the Rabbit Hole to Alice’s Evidence. We begin and the beginning and go through till the end and then, we stop. Seven voice in rotation.”
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Please check with the Seanchai Library SL’s blog for updates and for additions or changes to the week’s schedule.
The featured charity for May / June is Habitat for Humanity, with a vision of a world where everyone has a decent place to live – a safe and clean place to call home.
Bay City celebrates its eighth anniversary on Sunday May 15th, and the Bay City community is marking the day with a another special time of festivities and fun to which everyone is invited!
Activities will kick-off at noon SLT with a parade line-up at the bandshell in Bay City – Harwich. At 12:30 SLT, the parade will make its way down Route 66, and proceed to the Bay City Fairgrounds in the North Channel region. GoSpeed Racer of KONA stream will be providing the music throughout the parade, which will be followed by at live concert from 13:30 SLT onwards at the fairgrounds.
The line-up for the concert this year comprises (all times SLT):
13:30 – 14:30: Zachh Cale. Influenced by Elton John, Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, Joni Mitchell, jazz standards, and many of the greats, he re-interprets rock and pop songs in unique way on piano/keyboards
14:30 – 15:30: Maximillion Kleene. With a range from CCR to Foo Fighters and Train to Jason Mraz, he rings a vast repertoire of quirky, classic, and current covers to Second Life
15:30 – 16:30: Noma Falta. Brings her own bluesy, soulful, music to Second Life, and brings the experience of fronting for numerous rock bands on RL concert.
The event will be a cause for a double celebration. On Friday, May 13th, Marianne McCann announced that Bay City and the Bay City Alliance have received special recognition by Child’s Play charity, which Bay City has long supported:
Thanks in large part to our donations from our annual Hot Bay City Nights and holiday Tree Lighting & Silent auction Events, as well as the generous Linden Dollar gift from Ivan Suen, Bay City is snow listed as a Silver Level sponsor on Child’s Play’s website.
In addition, our donation kiosks are now transferred over to Child’s Play Charity. They have announced this on their website at www.childsplaycharity.org/misc/secondlife. You can learn more about the organization and their efforts there.
Congratulations to all at Bay City for their continuing efforts in supporting Child’s Play.
About Bay City and the Bay City Alliance
Bay City is a mainland community, developed by Linden Lab and home to the Bay City Alliance. The Bay City Alliance was founded in 2008 to promote the Bay City regions of Second Life and provide a venue for Bay City Residents and other interested parties to socialize and network. It is now the largest Bay city group, and home to most Residents of Bay City.
Commencing on Saturday, May 14th and running through until the end of the month is Benefit for Bri, a fund-raiser being held at the Starlight Ballroom to help the daughter of Second Life resident, artist and photographer, Tomais Ashdene.
Bri is currently studying at Purdue University, Indiana, to become a teacher, and is doing well. However, due to corporate downsizing, her family have hit some financial issues. So, to ease the burden on them of paying tuition fees, Bri launched a Go Fund Me campaign to raise the money she needs to continue with her education and obtain her qualifications.
Benefit for Bri has been organised by those close to Tomais, notably RickJ Ewing andr Kahvy Smith, to help raise funds to be put into the Go Fund Me campaign. The shopping event featuring Consignment, Ex Machina, StoraxTree, Blue Balls, Powerdesgin, Fix Auto, Atelier by Stephano, Yer Old Gacha, Ohiomike’s Kilts, Lilliput for Tinies, Rosa Fashion, The Grey Goose, RickJ Designs, Sophie’s Choice, L.Querrien, Cake Fox, Photography by Tomais, Regimade, and Lazy Day Designs.
There will also be a benefit gala on Saturday, May 21st, featuring from 13:00 SLT, Samm Qendra, followed at 14:00 SLR by Reallymad Morpork, with DJ Kahvy spinning the tunes as well. Formal attire is requested, and the event is powered by JJ Goodman Event Photography.
Samm Qendra and Reallymad Morpork: singing at the Benefit for Bri gala, Saturday, May 21st
Commenting on the event, the organisers state:
Bri is an amazing young woman who found herself in a bit of a problematic financial situation as she is working hard to become part of the next generation of amazing teachers to our kids. All proceeds of this Benefit will go towards her Go Fund me Page after converting the lindens into USD and will be published there after the event.
One of many poster walls at Whole Brain Health’s Cultural Hub. So many images!
by Caledonia Skytower
Part 4. Creating Visual Collateral
“Visual Collateral? What the heck is that?” The word “collateral” is used here as an adjective, such as “accompanying; auxiliary.” Another possible interpretation would be “additional; confirming.”
Visual collateral refers to anything visual or graphics related, that you need to promote your event or venue. It may seem like a real fancy way to say “make a poster”, and perhaps it is. But as your promotional strategy gains sophistication, and your reach extends beyond the immediacy of your friends list, you will find that you need more than just a single image to get the news of your event out effectively. You need different versions of your image to fit different uses and promotional formats. You create a core image, and then collateral!
I couldn’t be more grateful that there was a pause between Part 3 and this post. I was struggling with how to share these ideas without pointing fingers at people’s posters and saying “that sucks!” The break enabled me to go through an exercise in humility that effectively brought me back to what is really important when you are creating this kind of work: what is the purpose of an image? How and where is it being used?
I have been peripherally involved with a long-standing event in SL that has an established visual brand – an easily recognizable style in their promotional graphics that they use over and over again. I have been critical of their poster work. Openly critical. The graphic design work is beautiful, but to me they failed as functional collateral on several levels.
This year I was more directly involved, and I got to experience the event from an inside perspective. It changed my view entirely. I realized that I had completely misread the application of the images – how they are used. The event itself is immense even by virtual terms. Individual components of it have to be promoted within the extended event area. THAT is the primary use of these images. They are not really for outside use, or social media. They work effectively on the website because the other basics are taken care of by the page text (see post #2 – The Basics – Who? What? Where? When? How?). The festival event itself is so large that other brand images (really simple ones) get people into the greater event, and these images help them make decisions on sub-sets of activity. How and where you use your images is important.
So everyone’s first sure-fire reaction to planning an event is “we need a poster” and that’s not a bad reaction. Next time you find yourself thinking that, try adjusting your thinking to “core image” and grab a notepad and pencil. Start writing down all the possible uses for that visual image and ask yourself if one version of your core image will satisfy all those needs. Be brutal.
A poster that works well in your in-world venue or at information centres may not look so great on a facebook post, in Google+, or on a website. If you are sending out images with press releases, not all bloggers or media outlets use the same AR (aspect ratio) for their pages and if you don’t provide images that they can use (both portrait and landscape), they are not going to clog up their posts with what you did send.
There are some missteps that happen when you use a single image for everything. I have been guilty of some of these myself, and some become unpleasant habits. Be conscious that not every poster/image “fits all”:
Don’t use an image that says “click for info/information” in an application where it is not linked to anything.
Try not to use a background image so complicated that your basic information is lost against it (Quick test: throw your eyes out of focus – do you still see “what/when/where” easily? effortlessly?)
Avoid using a 1:1 image aspect ratio in social media or other applications not designed for that. You end up with a BIG, dominating square image and your accompanying text is diminished and ineffective
Why would size matter? On an in-world poster, residents can move their cameras in close to look at your image. For your average 19″ monitor screen, that can be quite a large image. I did a quick survey of various SL related blog sites and websites, and the largest images averaged 4″ x 6″ on-screen. Popular social media such as Facebook and Google+ run to comparable limits of 5″. Those dimensions are based on my smallest screen (19″) and many people’s screens are even smaller. You should consider that when planning your visual campaign – some people may be seeing your image on a notepad or even a phone. Keep it strong and simple enough that people want to zoom in to it because it looks interesting, not because they can barely read it.
In all these cases, you can usually click on an image to see an enlargement, but that too can be of limited help. Your objective is to make it easy for people to get to your information. Adding clicking steps is counter to that intent. Every click you add, loses the interest of more people. Social media marketing guru Guy Kawasaki suggests that you keep you images at a max 500 pixels for any kind of post. So, consider those relative sizes when deciding what version of a poster you need based on how and where you intend to use it. Do you intend to promote on social media? You may need a version of your core image specifically for that.
Lest we forget, the basics! Every choice that you make in promotion has to communicate one of these basic informational objectives.
I have recently seen several posters for prominent events (an awards event and an artistic performance) that had a slew of sponsors, presenters, artists and participants on them. It is great to see that many people pulled together for an event, but you have to be able to actually distinguish their names to appreciate it. Save such details for a Lobby Card at your event, where you can make it as large as you have room for, or on your website. In both cases I ran into these images on Facebook and was immediately overwhelmed by their visual clutter. I couldn’t get them large enough to read all the text. A simplification of the image would have been much more effective. Size does matter! I refer you to the very first post in this series:
“Forget the catchy subtitles, or the extensive explanations. Distil the essential details into quick bites, simple phrases, and make them prominent. The other information is just that: “other.” Once someone’s attention is caught, THEN you can dazzle them with your witty descriptive prose and all the cool people who are making things happen.”
It is easier than ever to create attractive poster images, even for those with layman’s graphic skills. I myself am a good poster artist, though no one will ever mistake my work for those highly accomplished in the graphics industry. If you don’t have that skill set, make friends with someone who does and treat them well. You have to start with an image for your background that reflects the activity in some way: it’s theme, or some vision of what it will be like participating (i.e. is it a fun dance party? a lyric poetry event? is it wild? is it serious? are there crowds or is this an intimate experience?).
Choose your image carefully. Images with people active in them are always the best, but if they are low quality snapshots that scream “SL 2010!” you are better off to go for an image that reinforces your theme even if no avatars appear in them. If you are promoting a musician or DJ, have several different high quality core images of the artist to work from so you can adjust them to fit the venue and the set. If people see the same image over and over, used for multiple gigs at multiple venues, it can become visual white noise.
One of the most effective posters for a musical event that I have seen is a poster which the musician (who happens also to be a graphic designer) uses for one of the venues he performs at weekly. He is not pictured in this poster, nor is the venue. The image base is a silhouette over the heads of a crowd of dancing people. It’s says “dance” and “fun” without those words ever appearing. He uses different images for different gigs, all of them good, but that is the most successful one I have seen: a simple message, clearly depicted.
So let’s quickly review:
Choose a strong image for the core
Evaluate where the image will be used and how many different versions you will need to accommodate different uses and formats
Cover your basics: Who? What? When? Where?, and as appropriate How?
Three examples of promotional images I have created that I know they are imperfect by my own stated criteria. Can you identify their individual strengths and weaknesses? Which image do you think is the most successful?
What’s left? One final consideration relates to distribution, and I cannot give you clear-cut guidance on this one. It is something you need to consider as it impacts how and where you intend to distribute your images: are promotional graphics “art” or “marketing”? It seems like a silly question, yet time and again I receive No Transfer posters from people (so I cannot push them out to groups I promote to) and No Mod (so if they did not make them the size I have space for, they don’t go up) or otherwise treated as precious.
If you choose to lock down your collateral to No Mod / No Trans, there are some very good reasons why you might. My personal opinion is that proprietary artwork is counter to the objective of promotion. Yet, while it has been a long time since I heard of anyone abusing someone’s poster or poster art, I can conceive that people have had those experiences and have taken steps to be cautious. So, I’ll be fair and say the amount of proprietary control you exercise over your collateral pieces is a choice.
If you make the choice to lock-down the work, you need to accept that you will be handing your collateral to one person at a time, and it will go no further than that one person’s immediate sphere of influence. Sending it out to groups, or getting people to help you promote by enabling them to pass you poster on to other interested persons who might also display it or share its information cannot work locked-down collateral.
The best marketing is always positive word of mouth, or “buzz.” If you can create buzz without barrier-free distribution, then you can afford to be more proprietary. Most of venues and events don’t have that luxury. If you have issues around this, especially when working with a volunteer staff, I suggest you include on your list of collateral the need for a “non-precious” version that you can target for wider distribution. Then pass it out like candy.
Sending out images or posters with permission change instructions is not effective either. Once it is out of your hands, you no longer have control over it. Accept that. Your time is much better spent focusing on making your event or performance the very best that it can be, not acting as the poster police over use enforcement.
NEXT POST: Building a network.
Catch the Entire Series
If You Just Build It… is a multi-part series. To catch up with everything, follow the links below.
Update, June 3rd: the auditions will be held on Friday, June 3rd at Enter Bay City, between 12:00 noon and 14:00 SLT, and again on Saturday, June 4th 18:00 to 20:00 SLT at the same location.
ast year, the Music Fest was held during the SL12B Community Celebrations at the SL12B Ixtlan Stage, designed by Cube Republic
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 