Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Spidey sense

I was thinking....  Recently I have been reading a lot of posts in group chats, asking or discussing whether a certain product/ x or y vendor or group is in Inworldz yet. After reading the discussion in one the  other day, I gave it some thought because something bothered me. I  now know what it is. I'm afraid... My fear is that InWorldz will become more like SL. Not that SL doesn't have things to offer.

It reminds me of when I lived in the Netherlands. I was a member of an large expat women' s group. A lot of the other Americans in the group who had  moved to NL brought everything with them and set up  house just like home  in larger than average sized Dutch houses. When visiting them it seemed to me that I could have been in any suburban US neighborhood. Their kids attended international schools,  where all classes were given in English, they themselves made little effort to learn  Dutch and they shopped for US goods or  had them imported monthly at obscene  markups. In our monthly gatherings, they spent a great deal of time talking and complaining  about how they missed x product/service etc, and about arranging English language play dates for their kids. I could understand that some folks were only stationed there for a year or so, and didn't want to disrupt the children' s education, educating them in English, especially if they were older. But most were there for the duration and  they had brought their  American  lifestyle bubble  with them and were living happily within  it.  That confused me. 

Why move to a new place full of promise and opportunity and make it just like home?  I taught myself survival level Dutch and found a college kid to tutor me, joined the library, took  a pottery class in Dutch (the language of clay is universal ) I shopped at the local stores and made attempts to get to know my neighbors. I wanted to learn as much about my new home as possible. It was clear that I did not fit with those women. I didn't last more than 1/2 a year. I eventually found an English language social group closer to home made up of folks who embraced  living in a new land and made an some effort to assimilate. They didn't abandon their culture,  just the opposite. Most were contributing members of the society and their homes were  a charming mix of cultures as were their families. I enjoyed being an active member of that group for over  4 years, before moving back to the US.
I don't want InWorldz to seem  a less expensive autonomous colony of SL. Speaking only for myself, I want InWorldz to become  InWorldz, A unique virtual experience in and of itself. Growing and developing on its own, with the creative talents of its active residents, not copied from  SL. I have Second Life  already, I can go there whenever I want to. I am still a resident, a non tier paying one, but still a resident. I want this InWorldz experience  to be different. My question is how to make to this happen?  IDK, maybe it is just me and my spidey sense...

I'm taking my time with Mooville, I don't know where I am going with it yet. I can tell you  that I am going to enjoy the journey

4 comments:

  1. Well said. Part of being somewhere is experiencing the things it has to offer. No one is going to like everything.
    That's half the fun of exploring.

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  2. A very insightful, thoughtful blog, Bebe. It made me rethink a few things. Thank you!!!

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  3. Wonderful blog bebe and I think many are concerned about this as well.

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  4. Interesting thought indeed. I think that when a number of people move to another country whether they like to admit it or not they like to have "Home" with them. A place where things feel familiar to them. Thus the homes with the American furnishings and feel to them. Given time they may or may not come out of that bubble. It's really up to them.

    Likewise the desire for residents from SL to have familiar "Brand names" when they arrive here. That sense of familiarity to them. I imagine that the end result maybe a conglomeration of IW and SL in feel over time. Some SL products, some IW products, some being a mixture of the two. I imagine that it's hard for some to leave all that is familiar and enter a world where things are different. Given time those who seek just the familiar will experience (perhaps through friends) the unfamiliar and learn to like it. It just takes time.

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