UNLVirtual
Fall 2011 Vol. 2 Issue 1
UNIVERSAL NEWSLETTER FOR VIRTUAL & DIGITAL MEDIA
this issue Oprah’s Network Premieres Life 2.0
Welcome To New and Returning JMS Grads
P.1-2 Fall 2011 Workshops P.2
SL on Tablet
Tablet: A Second Medium for Second Life By Zeenath Haniff
Be in the know. JMS Director: Dr. Dan Stout daniel.stout@unlv.edu 702-895-5937
JMS Assistant Director: Dr. Paul Traudt paul.traudt@unlv.edu 702-895-3647
It seems these days that you haven’t made it until you are iPad-compatible. So Second Life plans to unleash a lighter version of its virtual world specifically for use on tablets. Citing that the iPad cannot run the application in its current form, Second Life’s new CEO Rodvik Humble is
working with Linden Labs to make the MMORPG more tablet- and userfriendly. Other major changes include a simplified registration process from 10 to only three steps, improved navigation, premium sandboxes and more extensive customer service support.
Oprah’s Network Premieres Life 2.0 By Zeenath Haniff
Graduate Coordinator: Dr. Gregory Borchard gregory.borchard @unlv.edu 702-895-4868
Open lab hours: GUA 1126 Mon.3:00-5:00 p.m. Fri. 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
Directed by Jason Pringarn-Koff, Life 2.0 is a documentary about three Second Life users whose “first” lives are entangled with the lives of their virtual alter egos. Premiered exclusively on Oprah’s OWN , Variety called it a “chilling window into the psychology of the Internetobsessed.” Avatar Asri Falcone designed a virtual fashion line, sold high-end real estate and made a six-figure salary. Issues of copyright ownership put her out of business when her products were stolen.
Life 2.0 Continued on pg. 2
UNLV College of Urban Affairs . Virtual & Digital Media . | Pg. 1
Greenspun College of Urban Affairs
Thoughts or Questions?
Upcoming Events Learn about virtual and digital media from resident expert, Dr. Lawrence Mullen.
Feel free to share your virtual or digital experiences and research findings. Need to find out more about virtual reality or e-newspapers? Ask us! Submit articles and questions to the Virtual & Digital Media office via email: haniffz@ unlv.nevada.edu.
Contact Info UNLV College of Urban Affairs Virtual & Digital Media 4505 Maryland Pkwy Box 455007 Las Vegas, Nevada 89154-5007 Lawrence Mullen, Ph.D. Director Phone: 702-895-4491 Email: lawrence.mullen@ unlv.edu Zeenath Haniff Research Assistant Phone 702-895-0035 Email: haniffz@ unlv.nevada.edu
Fall 2011 Workshops The Virtual and Digital Media office will be conducting three workshops this semester. They will be held on Mondays at 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. in GUA 1125. Monday, September 19, 2011 One. BASIC INTRODUCTION TO SECOND LIFE Find out all about the virtual environment that is Second Life and how it all works. Participants will get a Second Life account and begin exploring the virtual environment during the workshop. Monday, October 17, 2011 Two. TEACHING VIRTUAL CLASSES WITHIN SECOND LIFE Second Life offers a new world for educators to interact with their students through multiple communication platforms and 3D graphics, unlike traditional distance education. Holding a lecture has never been so easy or more fun! Monday, November 14, 2011 Three. RESEARCH IN SECOND LIFE Curious about a virtual research topic? This emergent field of study encompasses various topics from cyber crimes to iReporting in virtual reality. Life 2.0 Continued from pg. 1
An anonymous web designer admits that in his virtual world, he is an 11-year-old female avatar named Ayya Aabye. He shields his identity throughout the documentary until he realizes his beloved avatar had trapped him in an unhealthy addiction. Avatar couple “Bluntly” and “Amie” meet and fall in love...virtually. But in reality, both Second Life users are married to others. While she resides in New York with her husband, he lives in Calgary with his wife but the two escalate their cyber-sex to a real world relationship and complicate their actual marriages. Psychologically twisted and candidly revealing, the film brings to light the true consequences of living virtually through real-life interviews with the four individuals, contrasting with their Second Life interactions. Life 2.0 enjoys recognition as the 2010 Best Documentary Feature of the Philadelphia Film Festival, and as an official selection at both Sundance Film Festival and SXSW Film Festival in 2010. UNLV College of Urban Affairs . Virtual & Digital Media . | Pg. 2