Congressional Democrats’ agenda gets SL stage
Tue Jan 2, 2007 9:01am PST
By Adam Reuters
I am beginning to see that Second Life and other programs like it can serve as useful tools in our society. Perhaps if we look back at the origins of these programs, the original intent may have been teleconferencing and worldwide communication for businesses, universities, etc. Upon being applied to civilian life, it is proving to be an incredibly effective tool in allowing anyone and everyone to contribute or to be heard in forums that they normally wouldn’t have a voice in. In this case it may be contributing to or at least watching or listening to Congressional debates. Allowing people to discuss and debate political issues, potentially with members of Congress would be an absolutely incredible development.

Artists struggle but don’t starve in Second Life
Mon Apr 16, 2007 1:04pm PDT
By Rubina Reuters
In Fall quarter of this year I was taking an computer art class at Santa Clara that required us to visit the San Jose Museum of Art to look at an exhibit that used different forms of digital media as its basis. Many of these pieces were interactive and the user was involved in manipulating or navigating through the art piece. This really reminded me of the art that is described in this article. Online art galleries are becoming more and more common in the Second Life world as artists are posting their work online and even selling their products. Instead of manipulating or navigating the art piece itself, users are now able navigate a gallery. This brings to mind the question of whether or not we can call Second Life in itself a piece of navigable art. Much like the art pieces that I saw in the San Jose Museum of Art, Second Life allows you to navigate a world generated/painted by other people, so really where is the difference?

Study on Second Life and the pursuit of happiness
Tue Dec 12, 2006 2:12am PST
By Adam Reuters
This article describes a study done on people who participate in Second Life and the impact that SL had on them in the real world. The study surveyed 246 individuals who participated in Second Life, looking at their social well-being before and after SL interactions over the course of one year. It was found that people who initially in the real world had difficulty forging social relationships were helped by interacting in SL. By this I mean the bonds they formed in SL were almost “therapeutic” in that it made them feel better about themselves in real life. This example of SL interactions crossing the virtual/real world boundary is unique in that it points out some of the positive things that can emerge from virtual interactions.