A still from Children of Creation, Linden Lab / Leverage Media
During the Lab Gab special on Monday, June 21st, that featured board member and Executive Chair Brad Oberwager (Oberwolf Linden) and the SL leadership team of Grumpity, Patch and Brett Linden, a “commercial break” was taken to show – I believe for the first time – a complete advertising cut of the video filmed for Second life as a collaborative project between Linden Lab and Levitate Media.
I’ve extracted the video via timestamps and embedded it at the end of this article so it can be seen without the interviews that come on either side of it, and during the show, Brett linden revealed more about it:
The overall project for the video has the internal title at the Lab of The Children of Creation.
The version shown (and embedded below) is one of several cuts of the recorded film, and is specifically geared towards teasing out the ideas of freedom of expression and imagination taking flight, hence the emphasis on flying.
Other cuts of the video (I believe from Brett’s comments) emphasise Second life in other ways, some offering a “considerable amount” of Second Life footage, and a “directors cut” that does not really show the virtual world, but acts as a teaser.
The ad (as seen here) was entered into the 2021 Telly Awards for artistic achievement in video advertising, where it received the following adjudicated awards:
The video is regarded as a “concept ad” and has not as yet been widely deployed as a part of any advertising or other campaign. However, there are plans to discretely test some of the edits (including the “director’s cut”).
You can list to Brett’s comment on the ad below:
Personal Viewpoint
From a purely personal perspective, I think the advert as shown works pretty well; the images are well-matched to the narration, and the overall impact is the idea of liberation and freedom of expression. The intercuts of changing avatar appearances particularly underscores this, as do more subtle elements (take the still used as the banner image for this article, for example – the person / avatar flying away from the bright “Hive” sign, alluding to escaping humdrum, unified thinking and moving to new horizons). There is also a good sense of mystery to the ad that present the encouragement to go find out more about what it means
However, I have to caveat this by saying the phrase “if you’re travelling beyond this life” perhaps doesn’t sit as well as it might, given that terms like “beyond this life” are often using in reference to people passing on. This and other phrasing in the video might push uninitiated ears towards thinking the add is about some kind of cult or similar, rather than promoting a digital world; perhaps “beyond this world” might have been a better choice of words.
I’d be curious to learn how well the ad (and variations thereof) sit with assorted audiences, and maybe we’ll find out in time. For now, however, here’s the ad as shown during Lab Gab.
On Monday, June 21st Lab Gab and Strawberry Linden hosted a special Meet the Lindens show as a part of the SL18B celebrations.
This is the first of two summaries of the show, and focuses on the discussion with board member and Executive Chairman Brad Oberwager (Oberwolf Linden).
A second summary will follow, focusing on the Leadership team, and a link to it will be added to this summary when available .
Note that this is a summary, not a full transcript, and items have been grouped by topic, so may not be presented chronologically when compared to the video.
A Little Background
Brad Oberwager is one of the three investors who acquired Linden Lab in 2020, alongside of J. Randall (Randy) Waterfield and Raj Date. Since the acquisition closed, he has been very hands-on at Linden Lab, working alongside members of the management team, and he has also brought-in long-time business associate Cammy Bergren as the company’s Chief of Staff.
His biography, as supplied by the Lab reads as follows:
Brad Oberwager has spent his entire career in technology and consumer focused companies as an entrepreneur and board member.
Currently, he sits on the board of two public companies, Asure Software (NASDAQ: ASUR) and Better World (NASDAQ: BWACU). He is the chairman of two companies he founded, Jyve and Sundia and is also on the board of TEGSCO (aka AutoReturn). He owned Bare Snacks, acquired by PepsiCo in 2018.
Brad was Vice-chair of YPO International, a global organization of 25,000 CEOs.
Brad received his BS from Georgetown University, his MBA from the Wharton School and lives in San Francisco.
He describes himself as a “very, very good friend” of Philip Rosedale – they go to Burning Man together, and he met Philip via Philip’s wife, whom Brad regards as his closest friend.
Their two families live 3 blocks away from one another, and they see one another socially around once a week, generally on a Friday. As such, he regards Philip as an unofficial advisor when it comes to decisions around Second Life.
Had enormous respect and liking for Ebbe Altberg, and admired Ebbe’s leadership and desire to be inclusive across the board and lead from the front.
Saw him as a fiercely loyal and incredibly open character, a gifted mentor and engaging leader.
Believes that Ebbe’s approach to Linden Lab and leadership has helped shaped the company, and will continue to do so, as Ebbe’s philosophy and ethos have become a part of the company and the platform.
Venture capitalists tend to pump money into a company, build it up with the aim of generating very large returns, and are prepared to write the company off if it fails to realise their goal.
Private equity firms tend to buy a company with the aim of turning it around / trimming it down in order to sell it on for reasonable return.
Purchase by another company – which tends to see the absorption of the purchased entity in terms of culture, products and even brand.
Purchase by private investors – who are often involved for a wide variety of reasons, and while financial return tends to be one of them, it is not necessarily the central driver for their involvement.
For him, what was interesting about Second Life is the extension it offers to people’s lives and the freedoms it gives creativity and socially. He also admits that in being involved in LL / SL from a business perspective is the first time he’s understands the expression “it’s not just work, it’s fun” – he is enjoying being a part of SL / LL, which he regards as a passion as much as an investment.
Technically, Linden Research is now owned by a LLC (limited liability company) formed by Brad Oberwager and Randy Waterfield.
Randy Waterfield brings a huge amount of financial experience to LL that will be good for Second Life and Tilia.
Brad has the entrepreneurial skillset that is important to the practical growth of Second Life and Tilia.
Company direction really comes down to two elements: business and product.
The business elements relates to corporate management, marketing, forging partnerships, and the outward facing decisions. These are the remit of the management team as a whole.
Product decisions lie with the Leadership Team Office of Second Life – Grumpity, Patch and Brett – supported by the senior management (the Chief of Staff, Brad himself, the CFO, etc.).
He personally plays a role in both overall business direction and on product direction.
However, firmly believes that the real decision makers are the residents – simply because nothing works if the resident users don’t agree with it and end up cease or scale back using SL.
As such, has sought to feedback from residents at the heart of both the product and the business decision-making process.
Not necessarily feedback through forum comments or Jiras or long e-mails (although all have their place), but rather in terms of how users will benefit and whether they become more passionate and engaged and so help grow the platform by encouraging others to get involved either directly or indirectly.
Does go in-world, and actually has at least two accounts – his Oberwolf Linden account, which is uses for “business”, and alt accounts which he uses to engage directly in the platform in a variety of ways.
In order to understand the on-boarding process, he went through it entirely on his own, refusing Lab assistance in order to understand the process and its pain-points and what needs to be addressed if the platform is to grow its user base.
Is proud of the fact he was able to work out how to apply a wolf tattoo to his alt and dress it with long hair, etc.
When “undercover” with an alt, he is always in character, and has stated he will *not* break character (i.e. reveal who he is) when engaging on the platform through an alt.
Wants the community to be part of this – what are the communal goals for the platform, how can the synergy be developed such that users are a part of the drive to improve and grow the user base.
Uses the analogy of a party – an environment where people are having so much fun, they do not want it end, but rather have more people turn up, and taking actions that will encourage them to come along and engage.
Does not see change for change sake, but rather changes as a process of natural evolution that, again, grows interest in and engagement with the platform. But change will come over time.
Sees the shift to AWS very much a part of this approach: it was not made for purely financial reasons, it was made to allow SL to move into the future and continue to be grown and continue to be of value to users.
Currently feels the greatest way users can help shape Second Life is through feedback on and input into overall new user engagement and growing the user base, as this is the real driver for the long-term success of Second Life.
Supports the idea of the “four pillars” of decision making at the Lab:
What is going to bring in new users?
What is going to make existing users happier?
What is going to lead to more engagement among users as a whole?
What is going to offer the Lab’s personnel happier.
Tilia / Tilia Pay is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Linden Lab.
It is not in competition with Second Life – that is a misguided notion – but actually compliments Second Life.
SL is unique in that creators sell directly to users – it does not actually pass through Linden Lab’s own books, and allows in-world tokens to be directly converted to fiat money.
Both of these aspects require proper regulation in the United States and internationally (in the US, a company needs to be formally accredited as a money transmitter or money transfer service). This is what Tilia was set-up to be.
In effect, Tilia is to Second Life what PayPal was originally to e-bay. Without Paypal, e-bay would not be able to operate without itself going through all the requirements to become an MSB / money transmitter, and this would have been the case for LL.
Just as PayPal has grown beyond e-bay to become used by other platforms as a means of money payment / transfer, etc., so Tilia has the potential to become a money transmitter for other companies, thus allowing it to generate income and also help Second Life.
Currently ilia has two third-party customers: Sansar (operated by Wookey Technologies) and the virtual real estate game Upland.
Recognises that a change in ownership of LL can lead to fear, anxiety and potentially anger. Anger is something that is more difficult to deal with, an so would rather people do not get to that stage; anxiety is a more immediate response, and one that can be more directly dealt with.
Given that there is and has been anxiety among users, wants to stress he is devoted to reducing the anxiety and avoiding anger, and moving people towards a sense of joy, and understand this is not going to be achieved by him simply issuing directives and taking a top-down approach, but rather through engagement and through observing and listening and seeing how users respond.
Logos representative only and should not be seen as an endorsement / preference / recommendation
Updates from the week ending Sunday, June 20th
This summary is generally published every Monday, and is a list of SL viewer / client releases (official and TPV) made during the previous week. When reading it, please note:
It is based on my Current Viewer Releases Page, a list of all Second Life viewers and clients that are in popular use (and of which I am aware), and which are recognised as adhering to the TPV Policy. This page includes comprehensive links to download pages, blog notes, release notes, etc., as well as links to any / all reviews of specific viewers / clients made within this blog.
By its nature, this summary presented here will always be in arrears, please refer to the Current Viewer Release Page for more up-to-date information.
Note that for purposes of length, TPV test viewers, preview / beta viewers / nightly builds are generally not recorded in these summaries.
Official LL Viewers
Release viewer: Love Me Render (LMR) 5, version 6.4.19.560171, dated May 27th, promoted June 7th – No change.
Release channel cohorts:
Project UI RC viewer updated to version 6.4.20.560520 on June 14th.
Each year the Second Life Birthday events attracts resident exhibitors from across Second Life and its multiple communities, giving them the opportunity to promote their work and their activities to the virtual world at large, and SL18B in no exception. One of the communities that, through individual and cross-supportive exhibitions, always offers much to see is the Second Life arts community, and in this article I’ve tried to highlight as many of those that I’m aware are participating in this year’s event. If I have missed yours, then I extend my apologies.
Be sure to have Advanced lighting Model (ALM) active in your viewer (Preferences → Graphics → check Advanced Lighting Model) and that you are set to use Shared Environments (World → Environment → check Use Shared Environment).
Amaze
The Ablyss – an immersive art experience by Manx Wharton and Zinnia Zauber that invites visitors to experience “the seen and the unseen”
My Surreal Dreams: sculptures and poetry – Marea2007 Praga’s surrealist look at dreams and states of mind created in a place without rules.
The Archetype of Emergence – Vanessa Jane (l), SL18B Stunning; Inside Art – Ginger Lorakeet (r), SL18B Amaze
Astonish
The Secrets of Moyaland – discover the Forest of Monsters, the underground Secret Services and the hilltop Manufacturing Secrets, all from the mind of French artist Patrick Moya (Moya Janus in SL).
Using the title of the 1926 novel of self, perception and identity by Luigi Pirandello, Vita offs a labyrinth-like wall through her photography that presents the many facets of her involvement in Second Life – creation, design, role-play, sailing, horse-riding, fashion, art, exploration, so so on. Through these images, we can explore all that makes this virtual platform both a single place and a multitude of places without actually existing as a place; somewhere we can be both a single person or a multitude of identifies whilst remaining no-one at all.
One, No-One and One Hundred Thousand – Vita Treas, SL18B Captivate
What Are You Hiding? – Pixels Sideways – an immersive, interactive environment featuring streaming media and ALM, in which kiosks ask you the question, What Are You Hiding? Click those to which you want to reply. A teleport will carry people to the Skyview for a view out over SL18B, and also to the Underworld.
Weymann Gallery – the Second Life photography of Luther Weymann celebrating the work of the Moles / Linden Department of Public Works.
The Stickleys – iSkye Silverweb’s house of (prim) stick people, a getting-back-to-basics installation celebrating the humble prim.
Electrify
UASL’s Lucid Dreaming – an immersive environment by the United Artists of Second Life (UASL), an artist group in SL that creates and exhibits art.
STÖMOL – in 2020, Huckleberry Hax released STÖMOL, a feature-length science fiction film created entirely in Second Life (you can catch my review here). A runner-up in the 2020 Supernova Digital Motion Art Festival, the film is celebrated within this installation.
The Lost Refuge – a collaboration between Silas Merlin and Solas Enchantment. Stand amongst the statues upon the 5 giant pillars that guard the elements and seek the book of lore, then use it to find five stones that house the gifts and a hidden world beneath you.
Commune Utopia Rainbow Bridge and Underwater Art Garden – and arts and music community, Commune Utopia celebrates the inclusivity and diversity of Second Life at 18 years. Cross the rainbow bridge and dive into the underwater art garden.
Happy Art Maze by Yoko Ayukawa – explore the maze of painting by Yoko.
House of Cards by Johannes Huntsman – representing the chance that life plays which determines how our world and life will turn out. Sometimes we exist surreal, sometimes abstract, other times realistic.
Inside the Box by Krystali Rabeni – who are we? Where are we?
Sparkle
Sinful Retreat: Dive into Art
Chuck Clip’s Sinful Retreat fell region has become an expressive centre for promoting all forms of artistic expression. With a focus on 2D art from both the physical and digital domains and 3D art, Sinful Retreat also offers a centre for performance art as well. For SL18B Chuck has brought together a highly expressive journey into art that features the works of 34 artists active in Second Life, a rich mix of “d and 3D works from many of the most recognised artists using the platform and an equal number whose names may not be so familiar, but whose work in no less engaging.
Dive into Art – Sinful Retreat, SL18B Sparkle
Alongside the visual art, Dive Into Art offers a peek into the art of the written word – poetry and prose – that also has a place within Second Life. More than an exhibition, Dive Into Art is itself a chapter of the story of art in Second Life, as demonstrated by the panels opposite the main entrance that start you on your journey.
The Hidden Worlds of Turin – a photographic journey through the the Italian city of Turin, and the third in a series going back to SL17B by Rubin Mayo.
Often Lost and Forgotten – Rusalka Writer’s photographic journey to Second Life destinations down the years.
Down the Rabbit Hole – Tempest Rosca-Huntsman’s delightful 3D take on the famous Alice stories by Lewis Carroll.
The Dirty Grind – drop in and learn about the independent artists community that mixes virtual and performance arts and music.
CioTToLiNa Xue’s Robot Garden – even robots like to celebrate SL18B, as Ciottolina’s little garden diorama (landscaped with the help of Terrygold) reveals.
Under the Wave – one of two installations by London Junkers.
Down the Rabbit Hole – Tempest Rosca, SL18B Sparkle
Stunning
The Archetype of Emergence – Vanessa Jane is more widely known as a 2D artist. However, as SL18B she presents a 3D work challenging visitors to ask: “What’s swimming in your unconscious ready to emerge and take flight?”
Stunning Tenshu – one of two installations by London Junkers.
Worlds Within Worlds – the physical world photography of Caro Fayray celebrating humankind and nature.
Linden Lab board member and management Executive Chair, Brad Oberwager (Oberwolf Linden) will be joining the Lab Gab Leadership Team special for SL18B
The SL18B Meet the Lindens events kick-off on Monday, June 21st with an initial Lab Gab Special that was initially billed as being the Leadership Team of Grumpity, Brett and Patch Linden.
In initially covering the series – which will run through each day of the week until Friday, June 25th, I lamented that we didn’t appear to be hearing from either board member and Executive Chair Brad Oberwager (Oberwolf Linden) or from the Chief of Staff (and herself a skilled CEO) Cammy Bergren.
Well, it’s time for me to eat my hat, as early on Monday Junes 21st, Linden Lab updated their original announcement on the Meet the Lindens schedule to indicate the Monday session – streaming 14:00 SLT – will include Oberwolf Linden.
This means the updated line-up of Meet the Lindens events is as follows:
Day (Times SLT)
Lindens
Monday 21st June
(14:00-16:00)
Lab Gab SL18B Special with the Leadership Team (Grumpity, Brett, and Patch Linden) together with Executive Chair Brad Oberwager (Oberwolf Linden).
Grumpity Linden, Vice President of Second Life Product, who will be discussing several Second Life initiatives including recent efforts focusing on growth, a stronger, more balanced economy, movement towards better community cohesion.
Brett Linden, Vice President of Marketing, who will be talking about recent user acquisition and retention efforts for Second Life including advertising, public relations, content strategy, and social media.
Sunrise as seen from the Tianhe core module of China’s Tinagong space station ahead of the arrival of Shenzhou-12. Credit: China National Space Administration / China State Media
Shenzhou-12, China’s first crewed mission to orbit in almost 5 years, lifted-off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China at 01:22 UTC on the morning of Thursday, June 17th, heading towards the Tianhe core module of the country’s new space station.
Carried aloft by a Long March 2F booster, the mission comprises three taikonauts Nie Haisheng (mission commander) and Liu Boming, both of whom have previously flown in space, and rookie Tang Hongbo. Together, they will spend three months at the space station, putting it through a series of commissioning tests and operations.
The Long March 2F carrying Shenzhou-12 mission lifts-off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre, June 17th (UTC), 2021. Credit: China Stat Media
Following launch, the Shenzhou vehicle performed a rapid chase-and-catch with the Tianhe module, docking with it some 6 hours 32 minutes later. In doing so, it became the second vehicle to dock with the module, the first being the Tianzhou-2 resupply vehicle which delivered essential supplies and equipment to the fledgling space station at the end of May 2021.
Overall, Shenzhou-12 is the the third of eleven flights China has planned between now and the end of 2022 in order to complete the Tinagong station, the first having been the Tinahe module itself. These launches will include two science modules and additional Shenzhou crew and Tianzhou resupply missions.
The Shenzhou-12 crew aboard Tianhe. Form left to right: Tang Hongbo, mission commander Nie Haisheng and Liu Boming. Credit: China State Media
The flight of Shenzhou-12 also marked the first time China has used the chase-and-catch approach to orbital rendezvous. It is a technique both Russia and the United States have started to employ in order to more quickly deliver cosmonauts and astronauts to the International Space Station; for China, it meant reducing a typical two-day rendezvous time seen with the earlier Tiangong orbital laboratories to just the 6+ hours seen in this flight.
Prior to launch, the crew were treated to a parade and celebration by members of the People’s Liberation Army and their families (there is no real civil / military distinction in China’s human spaceflight operations), whilst their arrival and boarding the Tinahe marked the first time since May 2000 that two orbiting space stations have been simultaneously inhabited – back then it was the ISS and Russia’s soon-to-be-decommissioned Mir. Now it is the ISS and the nascent Tiangong station.
Ahead of the launch and during an international conference on space development, China joined with Russia in formally announcing the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS), intended to serve as ” a comprehensive scientific experiment base built on the lunar surface and on [sic] the lunar orbit”, inviting international partners to join them.
ILRS is seen as something of a competitor to the American-led Artemis programme, and during the presentation representatives of Russia’s Roscosmos and the China National Space Administration (CNSA) indicated that ILRS will (like Artemis) combine a Moon-orbiting space station with a surface base in the lunar south polar region.
First announced in March 2021, after Russia rejected US overtures to be a part of Artemis, the ILRS looks set to undergo a rapid cycle of development. China and Russia anticipate working together between 2021 and 2025 to select the preferred location for the lunar base, with actual deployment and construction to commence in 2026 and continue through until 2036. During the construction phase, the two countries plan to place a station into cislunar space which will act as a waystation between their orbital facilities in Earth orbit and the lunar base (China will use their Tiangong station at the “earth end” for flights to / from the Moon, and Russia will use its recently-announced new space station, which it intends to have operational by 2030).
An artist’s impression of the Russia-China ILRS, showing the main pressurised facilities in the foreground, solar power facilities to the right and communications arrays in the background. Credit: Roscosmos / CNSA
According to both countries, the focus of ILRS will be to “carry out multi-disciplinary and multi-objective scientific research activities including exploration and utilisation, and lunar-based observation.” They further indicated that the European Space Agency (ESA), Thailand, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have all declared an interest in joining the project.
And if that weren’t enough, China has also announced it intends to develop the means to establish a long-term / permanent human presence on Mars.
Speaking at the same event at which the ILRS was officially confirmed, Wang Xiaojing, president of the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT), unveiled an ambitious programme that would see China extend is robotic exploration of Mars before moving to more extended automated missions using chemical rockets to deliver ISRU (in-situ resource utilisation) missions for the production of air, water and fuel through locally-available resources. From there, Wan indicated the country would start delivering payload missions to Mars aimed at supporting a human presence.
For actual crewed missions, Wan said China would use nuclear-powered “ferries” operating between Earth and Mars, dramatically reducing flight times. Built in Earth orbit, these would eventually become “cyclers”, with two or possibly three craft looping between the two planets, with crews and their equipment launching from Earth to join one for the trip to Mars, and then at the end of their mission hitching a ride home on another of the ferries as it swings around Mars.
No time frames for when all this might happen were given, and China has a huge mountain to climb in terms of technology development – ISRU system, life support systems, operating human missions in deep space (and with suitable solar / cosmic radiation protection). It also has to develop the planned nuclear thermal engines the “ferries” would use and gain experience in operating them and ensuring they don’t add radiation exposure risks to crews . All of this, coupled with the ILRS plans, likely means China will not be in a position to undertake any kind of human mission to Mars before the 2040s, even if Wan’s presentation turns into a programme.
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 