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Listed below are comments made by VWestland between Wednesday, 22nd April 2009 and Wednesday, 22nd April 2009.

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Can Second Life regulate virtual sex? 2:56pm on 22 Apr 2009 Second Life has hardly "gone very quiet of late." While you continue to focus your attention on the 1st wave of media hype-driven failed Fortune 500 advertising experiments of three years ago, thousands colleges, businesses of all sizes and government agencies have established a successful ongoing presence in Second Life.

It's unfortunate that you and Mr. Neate did not attend last month's Virtual Journalism Summit, presented by The Edward R. Murrow College of Communication, in partnership with the McCormick Foundation. (1) I had the privilege of sitting in the front row of Washington State University's virtual campus and listen to Helen Thomas, former White House bureau chief and Bob Scheiffer, CBS News' chief &Washington correspondent discuss the history and future of journalism. Sitting around me in this virtual space were avatars representing the essences of current and future thought leaders from around the globe.

Today is Earth Day and all this week many of these same "geeks" and "socially awkward" (Do you REALLY think of Helen Thomas as socially awkward!?) individuals will be gathering in Second Life to learn about and discuss topics like alternative energy, smart grids and the role of social values in creating sustainable societies.

Participants in this weeks events will be taking tours of energy technology and applications, such as the Green Ideation Quest (2), that would be both financially and logistically impossible for a majority to attend in the physical world. Some of the discussions will almost certainly use various 3D idea-mapping and collaboration tools by ThinkBalm (3). These next-generation 3D applications are the type of leading edge tools and solutions being created and sold for real $$ every day in Second Life.

A number of companies, including my own, were featured in Business Week last year, for our work using Second Life as a "Virtual Prototyping" tool. This is just one of the applications made possible by Second Life, that companies are discovering can them save significant $$$, while enhancing collaboration and team productivity (4).

Since the first Bulletin Board Systems (BBS) were established, "adult" content providers and patrons have used online venues to explore their sexuality and conduct commerce. The 2D Internet's single most profitable industry niche is classified by most Internet users as "porn." This does not prevent individuals or companies from using the Internet for education, commerce, social networking or any of the thousands of other uses it enables.

Despite what you say, Second Life has not "...always been an "anything goes" environment." Individuals and companies have always had the ability to manage their exposure to undesired content, by making use of either PG or private locations. The goal of Linden Lab is to significantly improve the user experience for everyone, through virtual "zoning." The only people who will be affected by the new zoning are those who are selling adult content-oriented wares.

It's important to note, that neither Facebook nor Twitter, whose rapid growth you cite as having happened while Second Life went "from hot to not," are making any money; Zero, Zilch, Nada! (5) As Virtual Words continue to become more mainstream, Second Life is in a terrific position to capitalize on this growth. The details of SL's current growth can be seen in their 1st Quarter 2009 report (6).

I invite you to join me for a more complete tour of Second Life than you may have had. I would be glad to introduce you to some of the most intelligent, socially gifted and creative individuals you will find anywhere and show you some of the amazing ways they are using Second Life to make a positive difference in the world. Perhaps, after you have had a chance to do some additional investigative journalism, you can write a follow-up piece (retraction) that more fairly represents the truth about Second Life.

Respectfully,

Valiant Westland

(1) Virtual Journalism Summit - http://communication.wsu.edu/virtualjournalism/
(2) Green Ideation Quest - http://hyvebox.de/secondlife/
(3) ThinkBalm - http://thinkbalm.com/
(4) Business Week Prototyping in SL - http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_68/s0808041522849_page_2.htm
(5) Facebook/Twitter Profit Picture Remains Murky - http://www.publish.com/c/a/Online-Media/Facebook-Twitter-Profit-Picture-Remains-Murky/
(6) Second Life 2009/Q1 Report - https://blogs.secondlife.com/community/features/blog/2009/04/16/the-second-life-economy--first-quarter-2009-in-detail

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