Ethnography Results: Week 5

(03/10/11)
Goal:

For this week,me and Jaideep felt like exploring new Second Life locations and meet new people.

I had found previously this place called Newbie Island and noticed a lot of new users started their Second Life experience at this location. We decided to go there this week.

Methods of Study:

• Teleport to Newbie Island
• Observe people and their actions.
• Try to initiate conversation with people and judge their tone.
• See who is willing to initiate conversation first.

Locations and Communities:

I logged into Second Life(SL) on Sunday, and noticed quite  a few people at Newbie Island. It was very easy to notice who had recently signed up to Second Life because of the way avatars were dressed. When you first sign up for Second Life, you're given default clothes and a limited set of clothing options. More experienced  players will usually wear fancy type clothes or elaborate costumes. I also could pinpoint who was new to SL by  looking at the way avatars would act. Experienced users can perform elaborate movements like dance, skate, ride on horses, bicycles, etc.. . I noticed this one user whom I am sure was new to SL because he was learning how to fly. That is one of the very first things one learns how to do on SL to get around in the world.

Screenshot-Newbie Island:

Figure 1

Figure 2

 

One thing I am curious to find out is why sometimes when you find groups of avatars in a certain place, you'll find one or two people just standing there doing nothing and just observing the scenery. I understand doing this in real life, however doing this in SL seems like a waste of time to me. Perhaps I may be wrong and they are temporarily away from their computers. When I have tried to initiate conversation with some of these people, I usually don't get answered.  In all fairness, I have been getting into the habit of sitting in certain areas and look around when no one wants to converse with me.

At Newbie Island, I went to a place where there was a somewhat large gathering of avatars. It was quite a scenery. Some people were dancing, some people were conversing, and others were just sitting next to the area. One avatar in particular intrigued me very much. He was shooting his guns randomly towards other avatars, but nothing would happen. This meant you cannot "die" in SL from a gunshot. I decided to ask him why he was doing that. All he told me was: "I am deranged..." . I also asked him if he ever ran out of bullets. He told me that in SL bullets are unlimited.
Later on during my SL session, I met a group of avatars who were taking turns shooting a target which happened to be another avatar who apparently was enjoying getting shot by others.

I met a female avatar who was wearing an Indian type sari. She was near a group of a avatars, and she was giving me a bit of information on why she joined SL. I believe she said that it was originally for a class project. Lo and behold! She transformed into a robot. I was really confused to say the least. Other avatars were also transforming their appearance. I asked her what she had done. That's when she explained to me that she had simply applied a saved folder she had to her avatar to "morph" her appearance. I thought that was a pretty neat trick, and useful for camouflage.

After wondering a bit around the place, a female avatar started talking to me. The area in question is shown in Figure 2. Our conversation lasted quite some time once she was sure I was not some random person trying to mess around with her. She started by explaining how she had two avatars, and that the one I was currently talking to was associated with her oldest account. She has been on SL since 2008 and logs on her account religiously everyday except when she is feeling under the weather. I was curious to know what she did in  real life, and she told me she was a professional working in the Finance area. She explained how SL was a great place to network and meet many people from various walks of life. I was skeptical because I had a hard time envisionning professionals using SL. Apparently I was wrong. One very interesting thing about her is that she has meet SL players in real life(RL). She explained to me what it felt like, and that's when I started realizing the usefulness of Second Life. The people I make friends with in SL may look the exact opposite of what I expected in real life. Most likely, if I were to meet some SL users, in real life first, I may never have approached them due to my biases. SL is a useful application because it levels the playing field for eveyone. Though you get to create your own persona, your character will eventually show once you start conversing with others.

I am usually a reserved person, and not talkative. I have noticed at times that it shows when I talk to people on SL. I'm usually very careful in the way I respond to others in SL, and they sometimes notice I take a while before responding. 

Experience:

I really enjoyed this week. An experienced SL user started talking to me, and once that person felt comfortable enough to continue conversing with me, I was able to learn a lot about their experience in SL and gain useful tools and tips.