Location: Info Island II
by Meredith Gleason, Guest Writer

Note from Iggy O: Meredith was one of my first-year writing students who completed an assignment to explore a few of Second Life’s regions.  Like Amy Mueller, whose column ran earlier this summer, Meredith had some difficulties in SL at first but, as this column shows, she found good content and had fun.

Still quite skeptical of the Second Life experience and the people in-world, I decided I would start at a fairly basic place when beginning my own personal guide: Info Island II. The map showed no people were currently on the island so I hurried to teleport there and begin my explorations where no strangers would bother me as I took my time poking around. I landed in the midst of Bradley University, with a library, student art center, book shop, and science center.

I began with the student art building, looking at all of the digital paintings that various Avatars had submitted. Some was very traditional, some was modern art, and some of it was on the roof or on the floor. It is incredible to me to imagine creating a work of art in Second Life, as I can barely move around without bumping into objects and the making of a basic outfit is a huge accomplishment to me.

My favorite part of this island is also found in the student art center, where there is a vanity of sorts with various perfumes and lipstick. Here, my Avatar sat on the stool and I was facing myself in the mirror, a nice change from the usual rear-view that I get. A list of actions popped up and I enjoyed making my Avatar practice facial gestures and taking pictures of her sticking out her tongue, waving, blowing kisses, and even feeling embarrassment! Next was “Ye Olde Book Shoppe,” which was quite small compared to Richmond’s bookstore, but was full to bursting with books.

Next, I went to the library and was amazed with the art found there, as well as the architecture. How people design these buildings in-world is beyond me – they all seem so intricate and well planned. The spiral stair-cases and huge many-paned windows add to the effect of the architecture and no building is alike. In the area of Bradley University, the parks, statues, and campus-feel all add to the illusion that it is a university. Since it is Info Island, it is only appropriate that a university would be there with all kinds of information. For me, it served as even more training on how to maneuver through second life and get used to it.

Be sure to check the “In a Strange Land” Archive for old posts

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