Remembering Digital Utopianism

Digital Utopianism was the leading-edge philosophy in Second Life when I arrived in January of 2008. I think the movement's peak came in June of that same year when a two day Future of Religion Conference was held in the Extropia Sim:

The Future of Religions/Religions of the Future is a two-day conference examining how two of the 21st Century's driving forces, religion and technology, will continue to re-shape each other and, in the process, re-cast our understanding of "humanity" in the Third Millennium.

For a brief shining moment, many of us felt that virtual worlds were going to take humanity into a new and better place based upon the social equality of pseudonymous avatar identity and the freedom to transcend the limitations of physics. Some were even tipping the balance and making their virtual identities primary in terms of time, attention, relationships and vocations. Two and a half years later that movement is virtually gone with many of its chief proponents disappeared from the face of the virtual world.

In retrospect, I think that the failure of the movement to create a sustainable means for independent avatar existence was not due to faulty vision, but because it saw too far into the possible future. Perhaps someday technology will be able to provide the all-encompassing vehicle required to transport us into the better future envisioned by avatars like Sophrosyne Stenvaag. Or maybe not. In any case, I was waxing a bit nostalgic and thought I'd share my thoughts.

For Michael, Farrah, Sophrosyne and Me

It's time to close the book on my life. Not to burn it, not to desecrate it, not to forswear it, but to set it lovingly away on the shelf. I'm done. I've done everything I've cared to do, and done it over and over until the life went out of it. Sophrosyne Stenvaag

In a week that saw the deaths of two of popular culture's most iconic celebrities, Sophrosyne Stenvaag, Second Life's most notable advocate for Digital People, bid farewell yesterday in a post on her blog. Soph was an "avatar's avatar" who viewed herself as a completely separate individual from the atomic world counterpart who her shared her brain. She was an exemplar of a virtual life well lived, with a loving family, an active virtual community and a business that hosted cutting-edge events including a conference on religion, and salons that brought in quite a few leading authors.

I've known Soph for almost the entire year and a half of my own digital existence. Although we didn't hang out very frequently, when we did get together we always had great conversations about the nature of virtual life and the challenges of trying to live it with authenticity. She is one of the rare individuals I know who both walk their talk and talk their walk. I suspect that her idealism played a part in the choice to formally leave virtual life. She was not one to half-ass anything she chose to engage in. (Fortunately, I am, so I'm not going anywhere for the moment.)

The departure this year of so many active Second Life avatars underscores the difficulty, and perhaps impossibility, of sustaining two full lives. While the average Second Life participant spends around twelve hours a week inworld, active residents can spend thirty, forty or even more hours each week embedded in virtual form. Assuming one has a job or is in school, this leaves little time for offline relationships and pursuits. Something eventually has to give. And for Soph, this now means setting aside her cherished and well-used digital persona, at least for now.

Sex, Love, Art and Slavery

Rheta and Codie at Bloggers Ball and Slave Auction

Oh, what a weekend! Where to start? Okay...

Rheta Shan contributes land to start new Visual Arts Center
About a month ago, Rheta Shan, winner of Dusan Writer's UI Design Contest, posted an offer to donate her mainland plots for charitable or artistic use. Since I had been romancing the idea of creating an open source stage set area for those creating comics, machinima or other image-capture projects in Second Life, I emailed her right away. After a bit of email correspondence, we finally had a nice GTalk chat and she was kind enough to offer the land for my project. I'll post more on the project over the next couple of weeks, but for now I just want to send Rheta a big thank you.

Artist's Way group begins
On Sunday morning, I attended the first weekly meeting of Sophrosyne's The Artists's Way group. We'll be supporting each other as we go through the exercises in the book and work to enhance our creative life within Second Life.

I break my bank on slave purchase
I had no plans to buy or be sold when I arrived at the Second Life Bloggers Ball and Slave Auction later that afternoon. By the time I left, Zoe had purchased me as a slave, and I was the proud owner (for 24 cumulative hours) of the Number One Couple in Second Life: Codie and Gabby!

I first met Codie while I was still an obscure newbie in Second Life. I believe I had a question about her MachinimaCam and sent an IM out of the blue. We got to chatting and before you knew it we were talking about video, polyamoury and the joys and perils of virtual relationships. Over the months we chatted here and there and crossed paths quite a few times, including the recent mass migration from Twitter to Plurk. Over the months, I've come to realize that Codie is one of the authentic Lights within Second Life and models loving, emotionally-close and red-hot relationships for the rest of us, along with her extended family including main girl Gabby.

I don't know Gabby very well, outside of following her Plurks and keeping an eye on her blog. But our brief conversations have always been lovely and I'm REALLY looking forward to getting to know her better.

So what plans have I for my 24 hours of total power???? And what does Zoe have up her gun-toting sleeve for poor innocent Botgirl? Stay tuned.