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So today the always-perceptive but often-acerbic Prokofy Neva posted a request on his blog to be taken off the Second Life Herald masthead, perhaps because of an article that strikes me as being, um … I’ll have to say “wildly offensive” about a Second Life abortion clinic (I’ll save you the trouble of reading it: it basically says “Look, neat! Virtual abortions!” I *think* the tone is supposed to be kidding).
Anyway, Prokofy advocates for more Second Life newspapers, saying “I hope some hard-hitting reporters will blog more, and maybe make a paper. We definitely need one — more than one! — in our still very much closed society of SL.”
Standing by a few of the newspaper and magazine vendors in the Cookie sim
Well, and that makes me wonder. Is there a place for newspapers and magazines about Second Life? After all, the typical resi is on the Internet a lot, as far as I can tell. If I were pressed to nominate a top periodical for Second Life, I’d seriously think about naming something like New World Notes. Yes, it’s a blog, but it has headlines, reporters, articles … and between that and resources like the Second Links news page and Mal Burns’ daily tweetfest newstravaganza and Reuters and others, is there even a need for something that thinks of itself as a newspaper or a magazine?
What about a print magazine that got mailed to your home or that you could buy on the newsstand. Would that be interesting? Or would it be outdated before the ink was even wet? Or would it be just unnecessarily frustrating not to be able to click on it?
Of course we already have newspapers and magazines: the Herald and The Metaverse Messenger [edited to fix a funny spelling mistake š ], among others. Do you read them? Do you wish there were something else in the field that you could read?
And you know, I’m kind of tempted to create something like this myself (I know, here we go again), the easy way: maybe I could start a new section of Second Links and find a volunteer editor each for Second Life news, community, fashion, economy, and entertainment and have a sort of daily table of contents of the previous day’s blog best blog posts on those subjects. Or maybe there’s no need for that and we’re all set with just the blogs. Or just the blogs plus the periodicals we already have. What do you think?
^^^\ Kate /^^^
The Winged Girl Blog 
(Pssst, you said “Meetaverse” Messenger.. not “Metaverse”…) š Hehe.
Anyway, yeah I saw that article on the Herald yesterday, and I could barely read it or look at it or anything! I even considered taking the Herald off my feed list. Ugh. What a weird article. I mean, they can cover it, I don’t mind, but I was way confused about its tone and its *point*.
I feel like even with NWN and the Herald and Second Life News Network there’s still *something* missing. A news/opinion site that follows the format of an online newspaper might be cool, if it were to look and function like http://www.newsvine.com that would actually be really awesome.
With all the things going on in this virtual world, you can’t afford to wait to report the news, so I think print might not be the best idea, for news anyway. There might be some things that could be put into print, perhaps a little art magazine/book filled with cool screenshots of art in-world, or something… hmmm. That would be fun. Or really cool builds…
I love the way the PDF version of the fashion magazine from Second Style looks and functions. I think there’s room for more sites like that, with a blog to keep you interested between issues, and well designed/executed PDF magazines.
And about your last idea, of having an editor for each section of the Links site, that could be pretty cool. Kind of a “here’s the most interesting things that happened today so you don’t have to scour all the sites yourself”. Hehe.
You get me so excited with all your great ideas… and then I post huge long comments… š
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SLang Life tried the atomic-magazine approach. I don’t think they had an actual business plan, and since it seems that the most valuable asset of a magazine like that would be its mailing list (and SLang Life’s registration system required you to link your avatar identity to atomic-world mailing info, though they denied plans to sell the data), I don’t see myself subscribing any time soon š
I’m surprised by the assertion that there’s news going unreported. My Google Reader pulls 65 feeds, mostly digital worlds industry news, inworld news and personal blogs, and my LiveJournal friendslist pulls some 35 more. I really can’t imagine what I’m not hearing about, or what could possibly keep any news or viewpoints from going unreported.
If you have access to SL, you have the tools and skills to blog, and to link with everyone else in the medium – and if you *are* blogging, Malburns is going to find you and send your links to *everyone* else! š
Personally, I don’t get and don’t like the PDF magazines – in part because the content and advertising is so good. I see an ad for an interesting store – what can I do about it? Maybe try to remember the name? Give me a website, where I can click on the ad, get the creator’s blog, get a SLURL, and actually get to the store!
They seem like a tricycle, like a sort of halfway technology for people who aren’t really comfortable online, and like the comfortable familiarity of static content and “pages.” And gods, all those visual-litter inworld news boxes! Bleech!
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All good points. I’m wondering if maybe the concern isn’t so much that there’s news that isn’t getting out as that it isn’t being reported on by people who dig into all the important questions about it, or that it’s not easy to find it all to read it in one place without sifting through a lot that isn’t important news, or that the form in which it’s written or delivered isn’t appropriate. But I’m just guessing at all this. I’ll be interested to hear about what people might need that they’re not finding out there already.
^^^\ Kate /^^^
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SL’ang Life was an interesting print project … that failed. The problem with creating a printed periodical is that there are so many niches in such a small active userbase.
I have an idea for an in-world periodical and am working toward making it a reality, but it’s really a matter of having the time and resources (and talent) to make it possible.
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Well, I miss one, albeit now mainly defunct publication, SL Insider, which then moved to Massively. Not a brilliant move IMNSHO, but that is beside the point.
What I think we need are more journalists that have an eye and a mind to go with it. Sure, I’m partial to Tateru Nino, but I find her asking the interesting questions. Same with Eloise Pasteur, whom I haven’t seen active lately, unfortunately.
Anyway, I think the peoploids of SL mainly need more Tats. Yup, definitely more Tats.
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I take you to mean “more Tats” as in “more Taterus”, because surely we have enough tattoos! š
I feel the same sort of disappointment at the move to Massively, and maybe that supports the idea that there’s a meaningful difference between a blog and a publication. I’m not sure what it is…maybe the layout of one story at a time, or all the ads and non-Second Life content around it…any thoughts?
^^^\ Kate /^^^
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I enjoy reading Prok’s blog. I usually agree with what he has to say, I would just phrase it in a little less volatile manner than he does. I used to read the Herald but stopped a very long time ago, because I began to find their articles to be offensive or celebrations of activities in SL that I didn’t think were constructive or healthy. I went back there yesterday after reading Prok’s blog and couldn’t believe what I saw. Its a million times worse than when I stopped reading it. I am embarrassed to be in the same species as someone who would write something like that abortion article.
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When I read that Herald article I thought “they can’t be serious!” and as I read further down it seemed more and more to me that they weren’t.
Isn’t the clinic part of a parody of a shopping mall? Aren’t all the shops in the “mall” parodies as well? That’s the impression I got when I read the article and the comments.
I felt that the crators had their tongues firmly in their cheeks and were poking fun/criticism/abuse at the whole concept of recreating RL as accurately possible in SL. Shops that sell sun-glasses and have counters with fake cash registers on them.
The clinic was just the most tastless and extreme attention getter they could think of. Reductio ad absurdum?
After all, there is a STATUE of an avatar in mid abortion with blood spraying everywhere and a basket of prim foetuses underneath the table.
Gross? Totally!
Serious? Hardly.
It’s designed to be really offensive to make a point – that’s all.
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That’s interesting, hon; I think that must be right, that they were thinking along those lines. But…the point doesn’t seem to be that important (“look, tasteless parodies!”), and the article (and the parody) really *are* very offensive, so I don’t think that makes me feel any more genial toward the Herald for printing the article.
After all, they’re making fun of abortion, which might be the single most divisive issue in America, although I don’t know much about how it is in other parts of the world (maybe Australians aren’t as worked up about it?). I can’t imagine many Pro Lifers would be too excited by the exhibit (except maybe for a minority who think the way to win converts is to try to gross people out), and similarly I don’t think many Pro Choicers would find it very endearing. Actually, it’s pretty amazing that someone could come up with something that would be so offensive to both groups at the same time!
Short version: I think just because the display is intended as humor doesn’t excuse it from being horrific and tasteless. The same goes for the article about it.
At the same time, I really was wondering “What were they thinking?” and I was interested to read what I think is a very likely answer in your comment.
^^^\ Kate /^^^
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I feel I should give a little shout out for the newspapers of SL, as I happen to work in Second Life News Network (www.slnn.com). Yes, I think there is a need for newspapers that cover SL, and that’s because they do something important that blogs don’t do: They bring together different writers that write about different topics.
The equally good and bad thing about a blog, is that it represents one person’s view on the (virtual) world. Which means that no matter how funny, clever or intelligent this person is, it will mainly deal with her topics of interest. A good newspaper covers a wide array of topics.
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Just to play devil’s advocate (and I don’t have the outfit, but maybe I could borrow one from my friend Lanna š ), there *are* blogs where there are multiple people blogging, like New World Notes. Still, that’s certainly the exception rather than the rule, and off the top of my head, that’s the only blog I can think of that has purposely brought together people to cover different beats (events, fashion, etc.).
^^^\ Kate /^^^
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Maybe I succeeded too well in leaving my personal opinion of both that build and the article out of my reply? Please don’t be in any doubt that I found it appallingly tasteless and horrific and there is no way I would ever go near the sim.
I believe that the group who made it are either griefers, or alleged griefers, who regularly make tasteless and horrific builds on their sim. So I guess it is typical of much of their work. As for the Herald, well, the article is typical of much of their work too.
I find a lot of things in SL are horrific and tastless – like that build, or the fully working guillotine we found for sale that emits a huge spray of blood as it chops an avatar’s head off and drops a prim head into a basket. But since some other people I was with weren’t appalled like I was, it just showed me that my opinions aren’t universal. Things that creep me out don’t have the same effect on others (and even vice versa).
But I think it is not so much “After all, they’re making fun of abortion” but they are making fun of abortion BECAUSE it is the single most divisive issue in America.
I suspect that this build was built by teenagers trying to create drama to gain attention (as teenagers do). Pages of outrage and drama is what I believe the sim (and article) was created to generate and I is why I tried to keep as much of it out of my reply as possible. As a forum moderator once told me: Do not feed the Trolls!
And to reply to your comment: …”although I don’t know much about how it is in other parts of the world (maybe Australians aren’t as worked up about it?)”… No, Australians aren’t nearly as worked up about the right to abortion as America is. It’s not a subject that is talked about a lot but we aren’t nearly as much in the grip of the “religious right” as America is and our political landscape is quite different to yours.
Last year when the (then) Federal Health Minister – who is a staunch Catholic – tried to restrict access to abortions in line with his religious beliefs there was such an outcry about keeping religious ideals out of government and whether he was even suitable to be health minister with his beliefs that he was forced into a hasty retreat (and his party lost the next election too – but for many, many other reasons though).
So to summarise – this was designed simply to create outrage and drama. To create what the griefers seem to call “lulz”. Ignoring them – or at least not reacting to them – seems to be the best way to make them go away.
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Thanks for those insights and comments, hon. And it was wonderful to see you in person (however briefly)!
^^^\ Kate /^^^
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