About Me Part II

My Real education about business in second Life began in January 2009. I had just started my Spring semester with Boise State University and decided to take a course called Teaching and Learning in a Virtual World. I was one semester away from my Graduate Degree with a Masters in Educational Technology and Instructional Design. ( Currently as of this writing I have the last semester to do.) The Virtual World we were most concerned with, of course was Second Life (2L). Earlier on, I had experimented a little bit with 2L after seeing an article about it in the Wall Street Journal. I experimented with it a little bit but very quickly discarded it at the time because I felt it was just another Internet time waster. ( As so many things can be on the Internet.)

Once my class began at Boise State, I was immersed in many different aspects of 2L, from building objects, ( called Prims - short for primitives) to engaging in all sorts of online teaching activities. It did not take me very long to realize the teaching potential behind 2L for one very specific reason, just about everyone wants to teach you something in 2L, all you have to do is ask. People are extremely helpful in this environment and just about all inhibitions are off because of the fact that in this virtual world you are only known by your alias. People that are afraid to actually teach or speak publicly in real life ( refered to from now on as RL) are now more than willing to do so in 2L. So, the opportunity to learn something here is wide open.

I believe that 2L is in its infancy as far as business and educational services and experiences are concerned. I personally think in the very near future people will be easily swayed by the idea and ther potential of 2L. The reason for this is because of its stickieness. Once you are involved in some of the more dynamic aspects of 2L, especially social communities, it is very easy to feel as though you are actually a part of something. In business, this is a very important aspect that should not be ignored. As more people become aware of the ease and effectiveness of this type of environment they may become aware of you and how you attend to business there.

To be continued