ME AND MY AVATAR LILITH HEART

Living with, or perhaps it would be more accurate to say living through an avatar, in a virtual world like Second life can be a fascinating and revealing experience. One of the things I've noticed over the years is that Lilith Heart, my Second Life avatar, is an all round better person than the real life me. The real life me is a little more cranky, more cynical, less trusting, less patient.

The strange phenomena I am speaking about is that Lilith brings out the better parts of me. Lilith is very patient, Lilith is trusting, Lilith is easy going and rather transparent, possibly too transparent, she shares her thoughts and ideas easily ..... Must try to cut back on that ! I'm starting to think I maybe shouldn't be so open. I may encourage Lilith to be a little more reserved :-)

For some reason this medium, the virtual world Second Life causes me to manifest a better version of myself through Lilith. In fact over the years I have come to love Lilith, my avatar persona, and try to be more like her.

It truly is an unusual situation. Even though I am Lilith I often find myself referring to Lilith in the third person, as if she has a life of her own. I will often say to myself .... 'What has Lilith got to do today ? ' Lilith has her own diary to keep track of events, meeting, correspondence, and general to do list.

The way I am starting to see it now, maintaining and living through an avatar, is a future experience that soon everybody will have. Avatars are our virtual agents, our virtual representatives. Everyone now has email and it's quite possible that in the near future the virtual barrier will be broken and everyone will maintain avatars for different purposes from MMO gaming to virtual businesses, remote working/learning and all kinds of digital doings.

The experience of sharing virtual space with other human beings has a powerful magic, the fact that behind every avatar is a real person provides unlimited possibilities.  It's a remarkable thing to be able to share space and time with someone who can be on the other side of the world.

Working and playing in Second Life over the past 7 years I have met countless people from every corner of the world. And Lilith has grown from a simple explorer of virtual worlds to a fully fleshed out individual that has her own life above and beyond my own RL duties and responsibilities.

All of the above does sound rather crazy now I am re-reading it but true none the less. I'm sure thousands of other people are developing similar relationships with their avatars.

I love Lilith, I have learnt more than I could ever imagine from her. Working and experiencing a virtual life through her, is making me a better person.

Buy Virtual Art Now - You can Live in it !

LILITH HEART BACK FROM BAN-CATION !!

Well goodness me ...... I was suspended from Second Life, my account was on hold for 24 hours.

For those who don't know me, I have been in SL since 2006 running a garden centre with Dolly Heart. I'm also one of the caretakers of CCA ( Content Creators Association ). Dolly and I love making plants and trees for Second Life and have always done our best to try to help make Second Life more beautiful.

I've always been one of Second Life's biggest advocates and fans. So having my account suspended and being sent on a 24 hour ban-cation was a puzzling experience.

When I tried to log in Friday night I almost had conniptions when I saw my account was on hold and I couldn't log in. There was just a message telling me to file a support ticket.

I filed a support ticket asking why this was happening as I had not received any emails from Linden Lab informing me about the hold on my account. I still don't know why my account was suspended for 24 hours.

Have I been a bad girl ?
What could I have done ?

I also telephoned support, which didn't go quite as expected but was a strangely calming experience .... I suspect Jedi mind tricks !  "these are not the droids you are looking for" kind of stuff

I got through to a soft spoken gentleman who is obviously a Supreme Master of the word NO.
No he didn't know why my account was on hold, No he didn't know how long the hold would last, No he couldn't put me in contact with the Admin department, No he couldn't talk to the admin department for me.

But he said no in such a calming and tranquil way, I thought if this chap doesn't know what is going on nobody does. So I accepted the suspension with a philosophical frame of mind.

I have been wondering if evil LillithHeart, my Second Life Impersonator has been on the rampage again abusing people and perhaps I was accidentally ARd by people involved in an incident thinking it was me and not noticing the spelling difference in the names. See my previous blog post about evil LillithHeart here...  http://dollyandlilithheart.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/second-life-stalkers-and-psychos.html

Actually, it was an interesting experience having my account suspended. It's the first time I have been prevented from logging in to Second Life in 7 years (barring grid issues). It was interesting because it really focused my attention on how much Second Life .... the world, the people, are part of my real life experience. And being forcibly disconnected from it, not being able to log in as Lilith was jarring but also liberating. I couldn't do anything so Lilith had a day off !! Woooohoooo. First proper day off Lilith's had in 7 years. When I logged in this morning Lilith looked quite refreshed and energised from the short ban-cation :-)

I really, really would like to know what happened. Why was my account put on hold ? If I have done something wrong, please Linden Lab let me know, as I very much value my Second Life experience. It's not a Second Life for me, it's an integral and vital part of my first life.

If there are any Lindens 'in the know' reading this please contact me. When you get in the office Monday please email me, IM me, call me ......
Call me .... Call me the moment you get there :-)

SECOND LIFE STALKERS AND PSYCHOS

I have just read Fleep's passionate article ....  Personal Perspective: The End of the Second Life Community Convention and there is a little section of the article, talking about the infighting amongst some Second life residents which encouraged me to talk about a difficult issue .... Avatar stalking

Here's the clip from Fleep's article :
"Last year’s shenanigans put us in an extremely difficult position – we were forced to deal with people’s personal vendettas against each other (!), threats of harm against other attendees (!!), vandalizing of sponsors’ booths (!!!), and even threats of lawsuits (!!!!).  At some point you have to ask yourself, is it really worth this much grief?"

Also, in light of the current ongoing discussions about avatar privacy and Cloud Party, I thought this would be a timely post in regards to why lots of content creators want to maintain their privacy and not connect their avatar identities and brands to their real world details and Facebook accounts and also to put some experiences and thoughts on record.

Fake Evil LillithHeart Runs Amok At Virtual Jazz Club

A concerned Second life Club owner friend of mine - Nanceee Sinatra - contacted me weekend before last to tell me about an unpleasant incident which took place at her club - Franks Jazz Club.

Some crazy person was impersonating me. They had registered the name LillithHeart resident (two ls and no space) and at 1 day old went to the jazz club and pretended to me, talked about the Heart Garden Centre, threatened to ban people from from my store, used very foul language and generally upset and abused the members of the jazz club.

Second Life Profiles 

Psychotic LillithHeart Impersonator And The Real Lilith Heart

Here are some brief extracts of the public chat Nanceee sent me recording the incident.

Please note this is the 1 day old, FAKE crazy LillithHeart speaking :
During the first incident:
[10:10] Joanne Swansong: so please be kind and wear a formal dress
[10:10] LillithHeart: if I get kick from here, I kick the whole staff from all my shops
[10:10] Joanne Swansong: and i will ask you to pass on IM thank you very much
[10:11] LillithHeart: they won't be aable to buy my trees, palm trees etc
[10:11] Now playing: Michael Buble - What A Wonderful World
[10:11] LillithHeart: I own one of the largest garden center in SL
[10:12] LillithHeart: let me bann the all in advance. Prehemptive war

The next day:
[11:50] LillithHeart: hey you!
[11:51] LillithHeart: are you there, f**king idiot?
[11:51] Cheri: Do I know you?
[11:52] LillithHeart: open your mouth
[11:52] Cheri: And that is certainly a way to get me to answer
[11:52] LillithHeart: I sh*t diarrhea inside

This person is clearly psychotic and evil. They don't JUST have a similar name to me, they are actually pretending to BE me. They clearly have destructive intentions, trying to damage my good name and reputation. This is defamation of character.

The truth is, as Lilith I have been stalked, harassed, threatened in various ways over the years. Since the beginning of  2007 I've intermittently received abusive and threatening emails ..... telling me to stop creating and leave SL, threatening me and my family. I am not alone in this experience. Speak to any successful SL creator and many will give you examples of similar experiences

VIRTUAL AGENTS / VIRTUAL BRANDS
Avatars are our representatives in these shared virtual spaces. They represent our business and Brand. Lilith Heart is not a pretend game character, she is the public virtual representative of a real business and a real person, who just happens to work in a virtual world.

AVATAR PRIVACY / AVATAR RIGHTS
I am very happy for Linden Lab, Cloud Party or whichever virtual world company to have my real world details on file. This is important stuff, because of IP issues and accountability. I have never agreed with anonymous 'No Payment Info Accounts' for creators. It's a recipe for IP crime, confusion and distress. We all need to be accountable for our actions. In fact, I am not comfortable with the idea of truly anonymous accounts in user generated content, virtual worlds.

Avatar privacy is important. Let's not be naive, there truly are some crazy, destructive and dangerous people inhabiting virtual worlds. Avatars should have rights ..... The right not to be abused, not to be harassed and threatened, the right to privacy. The right to live and work in a civilised, respectful environment.

WAKEY,WAKEY GOVERNOR LINDEN
Linden Lab's original intention for Second life is something I have always greatly admired. That Second life would  'Enhance the Human Condition'. And the Second Life TOS does reflect this idea. All the rights we need as Avatars are expressed in the TOS, we just need Governor Linden to fully wake up and remember his original grand intentions and defend the world and the residents from the negative.

Edmund Burke said .....'all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing'. 

MY REAL SECOND LIFE IS FULL OF GOOD THINGS
My overwhelming experience of Second life is that it is full of smart, caring and interesting people who are brave pioneers of this new medium, a new place in which human beings gather, work, love and play. My good experiences FAR outweigh the negative. In fact there seems to be some strange karma like effect in place. The more these negative people attack me, the more positive energy and positive people seem to come my way.

Second life is absolutely amazing and I love it.

My family, friends and peers are often amazed, bemused and intrigued by my Second life stories and learnings. It's a strange, new and unusual phenomenon, living and working in a virtual world. After all these years, Second life is still ahead of the curve and we are still breaking new ground. We and the avatars that represent us need and deserve rights similar to our real world counterparts. And one of the first rights we need to have fully recognised for a tranquil and civilised virtual existence is privacy.

If we the inhabitants of the new virtual frontier don't take avatar identity and rights seriously, who will ?

I HEART TUKSO OKEY - FEBRUARY CONTEST / CONCERT / GIFTS

Dolly and I are teaming up with the wonderfully talented Tukso Okey for a little collateral activity in appreciation of Tukso Okey fans and Heart Botanical friends and customers.

We've created a special Tukso Lover's Tree with cuddle log and swing. Grab one quick as this 99L$ version will only be for sale for the month of February.

You will find this special cherry blossom tree on Heart 1 

TP Now to Tukso's Lovers Tree

On February 26th @ 2pm SLT, we'll be hosting a Tukso party/concert performance at The Villa Bar on Heart 2 to announce winners of an on-going contest. Dolly and I will be giving away gifts and Tukso will be giving away complimentary concerts. We really hope you can join us.

TUKSO OKEY ~

A headliner in Second Life (5+ years performance experience), and a performer with vast NYC stage experience (CBGB's, Kenny's Castaways, Knitting Factory, Red Lion, China Club, and hundreds more). Seasoned multi-instrument musician (drums, keyboard, guitar, bass, percussion, harmonica, vocals ~ *ALL PLAYED LIVE as one-man band during concerts). Genres include funk, blues, jazz, soul, psychedelic, rock on original music created on the spot in front thrilled and delighted audiences.

Click HERE to visit Tukso's Blog for more information 

For details of the contest running through February or if you have any questions or need further information please contact Padula Bing inworld

PINK CHERRY BLOSSOM WATER GARDEN

 A quarter sim (100m) magical water garden with pink cherry blossoms in full bloom, waterlilies, wild tulips, stepping stones and summer pavilion. Do some Secondlife magic - rez a beautiful environment in an instant !

The screenshots below are pure, untouched Secondlife environmental snapshots as seen in viewer 3, with shadows and reflections for the water. Secondlife can easily compete with the latest 3D games graphically.

Does your Secondlife life look like this ?  If not, why not ?

Click here to visit the Cherry Water garden in Secondlife

Please click pics to see large versions

 

Swing included with couples animations 

SECONDLIFE MAKES US SMARTER

There’s often talk of the learning curve being a negative aspect of Secondlife.

When in actual fact the perceived learning curve can be seen as a good thing and should be embraced. Saying Secondlife is difficult is like saying Life is difficult. Just like real life … Secondlife is a challenge. It’s a healthy challenge and no more complex than any current 3D game or MMO.

“In order to keep your brain making new connections and keeping them active, you need to keep moving on to another challenging activity as soon as you reach the point of mastery in the one you are engaging in. You want to be in a constant state of slight discomfort, struggling to barely achieve whatever it is you are trying to do,”

Above quote from Andrea Kurzewski’s Blog about Fluid intelligence
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/2011/03/07/you-can-increase-your-intelligence-5-ways-to-maximize-your-cognitive-potential/


"You want to be in a constant state of slight discomfort, struggling to barely achieve whatever it is you are trying to do"   That sounds like Secondlife to me  :-)   I say that with affection and humour. I do love Secondlife.

Secondlife presents us with never ending opportunities to keep growing as human beings. It’s a true multimodal environment involving networking, creativity, problem solving, collaborative work and social play. Exactly the things we need as adults to stop us becoming fossils of our own younger, vibrant selves.

The Flynn effect, which measures crytalline and fluid intelligence proposes the idea that complex and stimulating environments increases brain matter to cope with new information/activities and Secondlife fits that description 100%.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flynn_effect

One of Andrea Kurzewski’s suggestions to increase brain matter is to seek Novelty and I’m sure this is a major attribute of active residents of Secondlife – Seeking novelty and new experiences. Secondlife is, without doubt, the ultimate virtual playground for adults and a gymnasium for the brain.

Andrea Kurzewski states that there are five primary elements involved in increasing your fluid intelligence, or cognitive ability
These five primary principles are:
1. Seek Novelty
2. Challenge Yourself
3. Think Creatively
4. Do Things The Hard Way
5. Network

Using Secondlife invokes all 5 principle activities.

Secondlife is certainly a novelty, you can challenge yourself and others on a daily basis. You HAVE to think creatively and more often than not you have to do things the hard way before you find an easy way and all the while networking, instant messaging and connecting, role playing, biz meeting, flirting and chatting with people from around the world. PLUS the fun and novelty of experimenting with avatar appearance and identity and the ultimate magical control over your environment .... We can materialise/rez a fairy forest, a tropical beach house, a volcano ….. anything you can imagine is possible in Secondlife. And if it doesn’t exist you can build it !

USING SECONDLIFE MAKES US SMARTER

Here’s a marvellous TED video that re-enforces several of the above points about games and virtual worlds and how coping with these new, complex environments has a stimulating effect on our brains.




So … if you really want to give your brain a work out, become smarter and increase your grey matter and improve your networking and problem solving skills take a good look at Secondlife.
http://www.secondlife.com/

When people say that Secondlife is difficult I would say ….. nothing truly worthwhile is easy.

ANCIENT WILD PINK CHERRY BLOSSOM TREES WITH GNARLY ROOTS

Bluebells have started popping up in my RL garden and it made be think of Springtime. So I thought, why wait, we can have Springtime anytime in SL !

So ....... Dolly and I made some ancient pink cherry blossom trees in full bloom., with grassy mound, old gnarly roots and a cluster of pink tulips.

Available in pack on 4 and 12. Packs also include Harmony Pink Meadow Tulips and Yellow Daisies
Click Here to see the Cherry Blossom Trees inworld - TP NOW