Social Sim

I've moved

2007-03-01T17:08:00.000+00:00

onwards and upwards, the thoughts of this blogger are now located at socialsim.wordpress.comalert your local authorities.Thanks Vincent!

Social Sim Research Lab library catalogue updated

2006-11-03T12:36:00.000+00:00

My Second Life home, the Social Simulation Research Lab, houses a Library with links to over 100 cyber research references (articles, homepages, resources, research institutions, journals). You can access them by clicking on the books on the shelves, which will take you to links on the interweb. I've updated the catalogue with new articles, reference materials and homepages using suggestions made

Observer does SL

2006-11-01T12:35:00.000+00:00

A really great diary-like article in The Observer by Tim Adams last Sunday about one journalist's experience in the virtual world Second Life has an excellent explanation of the success of this metaverse (applicable to all metaverses, really):The simple genius of Second Life is that it combines elements of Big Brother culture with the spirit of eBay. It plays to the contemporary urge to project

The 1% rule, or how many people actually participate in UGC

2006-10-20T09:54:00.000+00:00

Finally! A lead on the numbers of content creators (rather than content consumers)in this thing we call social cyberspace! Charles' summertime article from The Guardian has just come to my attention, and so I share it with you in response to countless requests for information on how many people actually contribute UGC to community sites and how many simply lurk.It's an emerging rule of thumb that

Social class in SL

2006-10-19T09:35:00.000+00:00

Tony Walsh has an interesting analysis of a recent decision by Linden Lab, makers of the virtual world Second Life, to add another stratifying dimension in the social of its space:Once upon a time, all residents of Second Life were ostensibly equal, but 3 years after the virtual world was launched, the population was split based into "Verified" and "Unverified" social classes. Classification is

Event: My So-Called Second Life

2006-10-19T09:15:00.000+00:00

Via Kathryn, here's announcement of a London-based event next week called "My So-Called Second Life". It's been organised by NMK, and thus is going to focus on information relevant to new media professionals, from designers to advertisers.Blurb:With MMORPGs (massively mulltiplayer online role playing games) rapidly gaining traction in the media world, will we soon be talking about the latest "

AoIR 7 notes: Uses of Creativity: Creative Content and the Creative Citizen

2006-10-13T11:37:00.000+00:00

QUT Creative Industries John Hartley gave the first Keynote at this year's AoIR 7.0 conference, focused on UGC.Briefly:Self-expression, self-expression, self-expression.yadda yadda yadda.It'll sort us all out.Look, I (heart) UGC. But. I am (well, more) realistic about the possibilities of the internet to ensure a Creative Right For All. The Internet is not a digital utopia. It does not solve all

AoIR 7 notes: impact of Web 2.0 on social activism

2006-10-13T10:44:00.000+00:00

I found the Association of Internet Researchers conferences in Brisbane a bit sparse this year. I don't want to suggest it was because few Yanks managed to make the trek (a shorter flight but more jet lag?! what a crazy world), but their emphasis on quantiative, action-outcome research does offer a few more concrete talking points than theoretical essay analyses of internet phenomenon which

Event: The Long Tail in SL

2006-10-11T10:31:00.000+00:00

This just in from James:I'm proud to announce that I'll be interviewing Chris Anderson, acclaimed Editor-in-Chief of Wired Magazine, and author of the profoundly influential New York Times bestseller The Long Tail: The New Economics of Culture and Commerce. He'll be appearing in-world in avatar form to chat with me and a live audience about the book, then signing copies of the virtual edition (

Special edition of JCMC - call for papers

2006-10-11T09:56:00.000+00:00

I've been in Australia for the Association of Internet Researchers conference, and while my notes will be up soon, I discovered this in a trawl for any research that's been done on the diffusion of plug-ins and/or other social phenomena on MySpace. It's all call for papers for a special social network edition of the Journal of Computer Mediated Communication (JCMC), and abstracts are due 28

Yahoo! Answers hits Europe

2006-09-04T11:35:00.000+00:00

Announcement of the Euro version of Yahoo! Answers from the grauniad today. Ask Jeeves, but clever. This is my favourite bit:Questioners impressed with an answer can rate that person as an expert in a particular field. If other people also obtain good answers from this individual, it creates a league table of the best "answerers" in categories such as food and drink, or beauty and style. Some

Two thumbs up for the BlogHUD

2006-08-18T12:12:00.000+00:00

As the population of SL has exploded at a rate of 15% per month, so have the incredible number of things to see and do. I never got a handle on most of the places when I joined in 2005, and now a year on I feel like every time I go into the world I'm faced with the same paralysis I get when staring at the ridiculous number of shampoo products available on the pharmacy shelf. I just don't know

Linden Bears

2006-08-18T11:45:00.000+00:00

I feel like I've been living under a virtual rock for the year and a bit I've been in Second Life. Every time I enter this brave new world, I discover new things I'd never known before. Yesterday evening, in a Skype call with Lys Ware, I discovered Linden Bears.These little fellas are artifacts of the rite of passage for anyone ascending to the Linden core. Apparently, each new Linden must create

Data collection update - we've broken the 3K mark!

2006-08-17T14:59:00.000+00:00

I'm VERY pleased with how the Residents of Second Life have respondent to my call for participation in the SL Social Network survey (location correct as of today, but the Social Science Research Lab will be moving shortly. I will update as events transpire). To date, I have over 3,000 avatars in the Second Life social network. Thanks very much to everyone who's contributed so far! If I contact

New Woman magazine looking for ladies in Second Life

2006-08-16T20:38:00.000+00:00

This just in:New Woman Magazine is looking for ladies who live in Second Life. From the blurb:Has being on Second Life changed your real life? If you are between 20 - 35, female, live in the UK and hooked on Second Life - we want to hear from you. Maybe you met your real life partner through Second Life, or you've realised your ultimate dream in Second Life which has now spilled over into your

SL shutting forum doors

2006-08-15T08:29:00.000+00:00

What a decision - Linden Lab are shutting down the most direct pipeline between Second Life Residents and the top brass, and are snipping the communication cords between members of SL communities. Adios the forums.Robin /Linden/Harper's announcement does come as a surprise. The rationale, as she presents it, is thus:Near Term ChangesIn about a month we’ll be shutting down the following forums: “

Virtual identity stress

2006-08-14T17:20:00.000+00:00

I'm intrigued by the ever-expanding interest in Second Life. I gave a talk at Interesource with Jo Twist last week and it seems that our gushing prosthelitizing may have met with a positive response.And then, I read about SL at TrustedReviews via Toby:How about these for interesting statistics – the percentages are research findings, the hard numbers are factored up to the working population as a

Social networks and community life in the age of the Internet

2006-07-17T12:20:00.000+00:00

Via Smart Mobs comes news of a forthcoming article by Keith Hampton entitled, "e-Neighbors: Neighborhoods in the Network Society" . Here's the abstract:This study examines in detail the specific contexts where Internet use affords local interactions and facilitates community involvement at the neighborhood level. Studies of Internet and community have found that information and communication

Social Network Research ethics

2006-06-30T14:39:00.000+00:00

Further to my post addressing some of the concerns some participants have voiced, here's a link to a literature review document I have written about social network research ethics which covers some of the most recent thinking on the subject by leaders in the SNA field. Please note, this is for information ONLY. If anyone wishes to quote anything in the document, please contact me for permission.

Avatar-based marketing event in Second Life (Future Salon)

2006-06-22T08:28:00.000+00:00

I wrote about it before on the Guardian gamesblog based upon an article (and podcast) from Harvard Business Review, and now there will be a talk on avatar-based marketing in Second Life. I, fortunately? unfortunately?, will be at a Flaming Lips/Massive Attack gig in Hyde Park so will miss it so if anyone's planning to attend please do let me know how it went. Similarly if there will be any posts

Addressing concerns with this research

2006-06-20T14:59:00.000+00:00

As some people may know, I've started the second wave of data collection towards the generation of a Second Life Social Network. I've been contacting people via IM, asking whether they would consider participating in the research. In response to emails and forum postings regarding the survey, I posted this up on the official Second Life forum thread where my research resides. I hope it will be of

Computer Culture Reader: Abstract

2006-06-15T16:21:00.000+00:00

I've been invited to submit a chapter for the book Computer Culture Reader, to be published by Cambridge Scholars Press in 2007. Here's an exerpt from the submitted abstract, based upon one population from my MSc research.TITLE: ONLINE ROLES, OFFLINE SELVES: IMPLICATIONS OF INTERNET CULTURE ON WOMEN’S OFFLINE IDENTITY DEVELOPMENTAUTHORS: Aleks Krotoski, University of SurreyDr. Evanthia Lyons,

TV tonight: Does Happiness Live In Cyberspace?

2006-06-07T10:04:00.000+00:00

Tonight's final episode of the BBC 2 series The Happiness Formula examines whether people can find happiness online. I am called upon to side with the Yes camp (demonstrating my evidence by taking presenter Mark Easton through 3D virtual world Second Life), while Robert Putnam takes the apparent opposing view. Here's the article that covers what'll be covered.Snip:Aleks Krotoski, a video games

I am Cartman

2006-06-01T17:41:00.000+00:00

I feel strangely good about this.Which South Park kid are you most like?CartmanYou are just plain evil and heartless. Though you're sly, and you come up with brilliant schemes, you're pretty dumb and close minded. Other people hate you... screw them!Click Here to Take This QuizBrought to you by YouThink.com quizzes and personality tests.