About four months ago I joined the 3-D virtual reality online world SECOND LIFE. (http://secondlife.com/). I spent many summer nights up until the wee hours exploring the spectacular cities, towns, islands and communities there. This was the "next big thing", right? I had better try to stay hip.
I created my own avatar, dressed him up, went shopping, participated in a few community events, attended an online seminar, tried to build some virtual world property and generally had a pretty good time. My avatar even had virtual sex! Participating in the Second Life world was engaging, but I am a predictable old dog. Eventually my Second Life time came to be spent in the most banal of pursuits: meeting men.

I know that I'm supposed to use Second LIfe to broaden my horizons: create things, meet people, join communities and online events to get the full experience. But honestly speaking, all it has done for me is increase my mixi pals by a few people. Has anyone else used SL? I'd love to hear from any JguyUSguy members who do.

I've heard of it, but never tried it.

I think the quality of the experience depends upon the people you meet and get to know. Perhaps without the real life visual elements, the other participants come across as 'one dimensional' (yes, a pun was intended).

Perhaps our extreme reliance upon the spoken word, causes us to forget that we are essentially sensual creatures. Denying ourselves sound, touch, & taste is perhaps too much of a hurdle to overcome. I can understand how the intellectual aspect might seduce one into experimenting with such a concept, but perhaps its limitations are too severe for most people to overcome. Hence the loss of interest, or the devolution into a self-selecting dating system.

From the lyrics of "You Only Live Twice", the 007 movie whose location was Japan:

quote:

You Only Live Twice or so it seems,
One life for yourself and one for your dreams.
You drift through the years and life seems tame,
Till one dream appears and love is its name.

Is that what Second Life players are after?

Just like the above flick, "Second Life" is a total flop in Japan. A J-commentator on 2-channel even said it should be bundled with "I am Legend", i.e. SL is an empty place...

I wouldn't mind spending my 'second' life alone with Will Smith and his dog on a desert island or a deserted Manhattan.

You only live twice!

KF

KF, could that be because the largest block of SL users is English speaking and they adhere to conversational norms which are so different from Japanese?

I wonder if it is something far more institutional?

Dare I say this?.....SL is really just a glorified chat room. (Albeit is is now also audio equipped)
At the heart of all chat rooms is the necessity for "small talk". Most Japanese would probably agree that small talk among strangers is institutionally rare in a Japanese context and so wouldn't it also be the same in a virtual world? Most Japanese would dislike an environment which places a premium on that skill, wouldn't they?

It seems to me that free floating and nebulous conversational environments in which all the participants are equal and one cannot quickly determine one's rank or role are contrary to the schema of most Japanese.

Dunno....maybe it is not even that complicated. Maybe it is just a flop.

Interesting that all of us who are responding are non-users of SL. Probably not what osakarob was expecting.

quote:

Most Japanese would probably agree that small talk among strangers is institutionally rare in a Japanese context and so wouldn't it also be the same in a virtual world? Most Japanese would dislike an environment which places a premium on that skill, wouldn't they?

I don't know if it's rank or role that makes anonymous communication less interesting for Japanese, but I think you're right to assume that it won't appeal to folks here. KF mentioned 2-channel, where Japanese do communicate anonymously all the time. Then you have JguyUSguy, where thousands of members are Japanese and yet the forums are used almost exclusively by non-J members.

We've discussed this before, somewhere. It seems that Japanese "kindness" applies only when your real life identity is known. When you're anonymous its more like anything goes. So, you see contributors on 2-channel demanding that other contributors "Die!" Of course the same two people would behave differently if they were in an office together.

My guess is that if Japanese invaded the virtual world of Second Life they would behave quite differently from how they'd behave in the physical world where reputation, rules and a sense of shame control people's darker sides.

Google search: 死ね 2ch
...finds 5,770,000 pages!
Try it! --> http://tinyurl.com/39j8qs

Wooops, sorry to post so many times.

Just spoke with my partner about Second Life and Japan, and he made these comments:

• It requires too high computer specs
• Dentsu does too much advertising on it
• I tried it and didn't know where to go or what I wanted to do
• I struggle enough in my real life. Why would I want to add unnecessary complexity to it by adding a virtual layer to it?

I told him that many Westerners believe as I do that Japanese aren't so great about building community anonymously (citing our own online community as an example) and he pointed at Mixi's success as a counterexample. Maybe the difference that makes a difference is that built into Mixi is a strong development of personal identity. Probably, for Japan, the level of identity building online correlates with the level of civilized behavior. I don't know how this may apply to Second Life.

Wow! So much to think about. Thanks for your helpful insight Taddy. (And thank Jguy) I definately agree with him on a few points. The computing power (graphics cards, etc) required to have a comfortable SL experience is beyond what many people have on their PCs.

quote:

I tried it and didn't know where to go or what I wanted to do
I struggle enough in my real life. Why would I want to add unnecessary complexity to it by adding a virtual layer to it?

This seems to be at the heart of my own frustration. A lot of talented people have put significant time and money into making a gorgeous virtual world computer graphic experience, but the layman still has little need to communicate this way. Why indeed would anyone want to add unnecessary complexity and a learning curve for a new technology to his life.
Most of us would do that if there was some clear purpose. For me, I can't yet find that in Second Life.

I wonder if Mixi is an appropriate comparison? While it is true that on mixi we write up our profiles, join communities and post content like diaries, etc., there is not a real time "interaction" element to it, is there?

Perhaps this is a weak comparison, but:
Mixi is like the JguyUSguy forums, whereas Second Life is closer to the audio/video chatroom.

I would love to learn more about the sociological/phychological/community aspects of these new technologies. Can anyone suggest a good introductory book or primer?

quote:

Perhaps this is a weak comparison, but:
Mixi is like the JguyUSguy forums, whereas Second Life is closer to the audio/video chatroom.

Sure, I suppose that division makes sense. I drifted off into a more general speculation about Japanese culture, anonymity, and online communities. I think JguyUSguy fails to get much J discussion because there's so much English here and also because members aren't asked to reveal much about themselves.

Osakarob:

quote:

While it is true that on mixi we write up our profiles, join communities and post content like diaries, etc., there is not a real time "interaction" element to it, is there?

Listen to the radio here. Callers with fancy 'radio names' are constantly on air to tell us about trivial 'episodes' in their daily lives, but there is no real 'interaction'.

All Jpeople seem to want is the illusion of belonging to a real, not virtual, community of their choosing to compensate for their inability to interact with others openly and freely in everyday life.

We look for a fantasy, virtual world to escape from reality, whereas they need a parallel world rooted in reality, not a virtual one, to feel alive. That is what they find in Mixi or 2-channel.

Do you know Niko Niko Douga? It's free, like YouTube, but every clip is covered with streaming strands of comments from viewers, some quite funny, nasty or plain stupid.

Yet again, there is this need to feel together even though it is through avatars. Niko Niko Douga has a huge following. The first 4 million subscribers have instant access to all clips, from 4.000.001 on, viewing is restricted from 2 am to 7pm. Without a premium membership, it is almost impossible to watch what you want real time. Many clips are fascinating, but would never be allowed on YouTube.

KF

quote:

All people seem to want is the illusion of belonging to a real, not virtual, community of their choosing to compensate for their inability to interact with others openly and freely in everyday life.

That is what they find in Mixi or 2-channel.

I bristled at this remark when I first read it KF. Mostly because mixi and sites like JguyUsguy are woven into my daily routine now.

However, I let it roll around in my head for a few days while I monitored my own internet behavior and have come to the conclusion that it is fairly accurate.

I'm not thrilled with the notion that my online life probably rivals that of my real life now, but as I have said to several people in my own defense, "Real life ain't all it's cracked up to be."

Isn't a lot of social interaction destructive? Over the years, I have been responsible for my share of errors and social faux paus (sp?)
My social life in gay communities like 2 chome was often linked to alcohol. We all know where that mix can lead!

Now, whether it is playing around in Second Life or chatting in the Jguy chat room or reading mixi diary entries, I can go to bed knowing that I didn't harm anyone or screw anything up too badly. (I couldn't always be sure of that in "real life")

Sometimes it seems like virtual worlds are perfectly designed for the damaged, the maimed,
the socially maligned.

On the other hand, an online community is like an oasis. It provides such comfort to those who frequent it, doesn't it?

Thanks to the joys of mixi, gay.com, Jguy, (and hopefully SL), I have met so many great people. Many of them I only see once or twice a year in person, but those meetings are so much more memorable and enjoyable to me than the years and years I spent in supposedly socially convivial bars and clubs.

I don't think I would want to be a lonely 21 year old gay boy starting out in his gay sex life sitting in front of a computer staring at avatars in Second LIfe. Nothing beats real contact. But, for a crumbling ol' fossil, these virtual worlds are a gift from electronic heaven! I like having this "illusion of belonging to a real community."