MY THESIS IS FINISHED!!!!!!!

I've just finished my Master's Thesis in Communication Studies. The thesis is titled:

THE SEXUAL REVOLUTION WILL BE DIGITIZED: PERFORMATIVITY AND QUEER THEORY IN SECOND LIFE.


It's a masterpiece and will rock your socks off.

Shoot me a line and I'll email it to you!

Heteronormative Patriarchal Hegemony

Sweet Jesus I sound smart throwing out those big words!

Partnering: Why is there only space for one partner in your profile? What societal standards are we upholding by only being allowed one partner? Shouldn't I (or you more importantly) be allowed a stable of wives and husbands? They've gotten rid of gambling in SL, what other true virtual freedoms are they withholding from us?

THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX!

Second Life is the New World

I was at a communication conference in Chicago and someone was talking about the colonization of new virtual worlds.....Was it like traditional colonization? One of the most glaring absences when "colonizing" a virtual world (like Second Life) is the lack of indigenous people to oppress. Clearly one of the most brutal aspects of colonization. It's just not there in virtual worlds. However, what about the victimization of those that come after the first colonizers?

The United States of America is a story of colonization to be certain and then there's the racism that follows. " We were here first, you need to go back where you came from. Yes, I know I've only been here a few years but still, it was before you...." Irish, African Americans, Jewish, Mexican, and the list goes on ad infinitum.

How much does this happen in Second Life? Does it mirror any existing societies? Why was the rating system done away with? My points were just starting to validate my existence! Supposedly eliminated to reduce the database load, the rating system was done away with in April of 2007. What was done away with the rating system? A hierarchy of judgment perhaps? "I've got 417 on appearance and you've got 4". I'm glad it's gone but what about the "born on" date? What purpose does this serve other than telling that a person is a noob or maybe an alt? Thoughts? Opinions? Scathing insults? I'm open for all comers....

Oh, and I've been around longer than you. NOOB!

Rape in Second Life??

Yes, if you're up on things you might have read this old article on Wired magazine about rape in SL. After months of looking at this article and waiting for something else to show up I think that (in the traditional sense) it's not possible. I've been caged by people (all in fun and not sexually btw) in SL and seen people restricted in one sense or the other but teleporting away fixes this instantly. Furthermore, we could surmise that the "rape" in question would be committed textually. This does NOT include consensual rape areas either. Furthermore, I was reading an old journal article from 1998 in the British Journal of Guidance and Counselling by Robeson & Robeson entitled Intimacy and Computer Communication that in one online network a man role playing as a woman for quite some time participated in numerous romantic relationships and was finally discovered. One of his "victims" said"the experiment was 'mind rape' pure and simple".

What do you think? Is that level of gender deception rape? If not, what would you call it?

Ah, who am I kidding. Nobody's reading this drivel!

Virtual Diaspora?

How many people have I talked to that have migrated to Second Life from other virtual communities that weren't fulfilling their needs? Mucho.

The term diaspora (in Ancient Greek, διασπορά – "a scattering or sowing of seeds") refers to any people or ethnic population who are forced or induced to leave their traditional homelands, the dispersal of such people, and the ensuing developments in their culture. - Wikipedia

As with all things emerging into the virtual, many traditionally offline theories and areas of study can be applied to analyze the pixelated as well. Many people I have talked to have come to SL from Star Wars Galaxies because SWG was too limited. How great are the differences? How does the new life and acclimation process fit in? What were the specific limitations? Is SL good enough for them? Will they move on again?

Second Life Thesis

Georgetown Thesis on Second Life
Someone's beaten me to it! But not really. Fellow Master's student (and now graduate) from Georgetown has written his thesis on Queering SL. Very good stuff! I am also putting my thesis together to be finished early next year on sexual relationships in SL and how identity and gender are factors. Although a friend of mine says identity cannot be pinned down so easily in SL..... hmmmm......We'll see. It does seem a tad to broad but I'm giving it a shot. Furthermore, I've gotten the Ph.D. bug a tad too close to the deadlines. Now I'll have to wait a year to apply and who knows what will be going on in a year....

No More Messing Around!

So here's the deal: I've been instructed to stop sitting on my 2.0 ass and get to blogging. No more random pictures from the cell phone of bizarre things going on in the Bay Area. Well, maybe that won't quit but certainly more of an academic musing to flow from this site. What's vaguely bizarre is that I'm writing this to nobody in particular. Perhaps one day it will be different. As of now, I will begin to say what I'm doing more often.

Chicago National Communications Association Conference -
Login for love: Intimacy in the Metaverse of Second Life - My paper written at San Francisco State University was named one of the top papers here in the Human Communication and Technology Division. Happy to be recognized for something I truly feel passionate about. This paper has mushroom clouded into more ideas than I can contain and this will be an area for those ideas to be inked for future consumption. Currently working on my master's thesis at SFSU which, of course, is on Second Life. Relationships in SL and how identity and gender play into them. Sorry I can't talk too much, I've bitten off a tad more than I can chew....