Of helping people find a new life through Second Life ;)

Just read a friend's blog entry on virtual worlds:

"I read from Digital sth sth, abt this virtual world called Second Life. Essentially, you can be who you are not in real life. You can do anything you want, like make art and open an art museum and sell and earn real money. It does sound great. It probably is. Like if you want to design stuff but in Singapore, hard to sell your own designed things, you could do it online. It's where you choose to be who you want (eg male/female..) and do whatever you want, make your dreams true or something.

But I dunno.. there was just sth in it that didn't make me give full approval. It's just that the whole virtual world.. it seems a bit artificial, and unreal. You don't experience pain and suffering, things go too well and too fast, while in reality, problems crop up, difficulties are faced, conflicts arise, and you slowly persevere and overcome them, and grow in character while in virtual world, it just doesn't seem to have that kind of real challenges. It might seem like a second life.. but I do wonder if it truly gives e deepest satisfaction in e soul."

Thought about it, and to be honest, I think her perspective of virtual worlds is a bit incomplete... (sorry ha... just my opinion...)

I think in the next few years, Second Life (SL) and other virtual worlds that come up will grow mainly because it offers good opportunities to make a fast buck - legal or illegal. Reminds me of a Gold Rush / Dotcom.Boom / etc. Some things don't change that much. ;)

And I think it's good if we Christians can get actively engaged in these virtual worlds. Because they're simply the 3D equivalent of social networking websites. In fact, I predict that SL and other virtual worlds will transform into marketplaces, even live drama theatres (all done by avatars acting...), and even musicals... (think Phantom of the Opera 2.0...)

And not to mention the entrepreneurial opportunities there.

Personally, I think one problem that we Christians have is that we tend to be too isolationist and not proactive in eagerly harnessing the latest communications tech and media to win friends. Fact is, yes, people ignore the real world while immersed in the virtual world. They already are doing that now anyway, what with RSS, Web 2.0, podcasting, narrowcasting, customizable portals, etc.

So why don't WE bring the real world to them? Not just the bad things, but also the good things e.g. music, drama, poetry, humour, etc... SL's filled with a lot of cybercrap - e.g. cybersex and so on. Why don't we go in and be salt in the place? Set up an act there or something... or do the online version of street evangelism... it can be done one. Very easy... or do something more beneficial for society... highlight the plight of the people in Darfur... some people are already doing that! Putting up a gigantic 3D signboard saying, "REMEMBER DARFUR IN THE REAL WORLD" in the middle of Second Life, for everyone to see!

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Just some ideas that I have for Second Life (I joined it last year, when I was doing research for a term paper on virtual worlds) - and how we can bring the aroma and joy of Christ into Second Life and other virtual worlds (VWs)... because, in the end, the people using the VWs are real mah. (unless they're bots.)

(e.g. World of Warcraft... yes, it's possible to live out godly lives even in World of Warcraft... e.g. instead of selfishly grabbing the first special item that you see, why not bless your teammates with it? I think they'll be very surprised - just like in real life! [I did something like that before - it was so cool, and hee, my teammates did me a good turn in return.])

Well, the ideas:
- We could set up a drama troupe... or a mime troupe... or a capella group there... or play really good music in a public forum, attract people to come and listen... virtual busking, you see! :)

[Yes, it's technically feasible and quite simple I think to do such things in Second Life.]

- Set up an art gallery there

- Be social activists there... raise up relevant issues...

- Social entrepreneurship - all proceeds go directly to charity! :) Yes, in SL, virtual cash is convertible into REAL ca$h.

- Have a church there... haha, can set up encouragement boards...

Personally, I'm quite excited about the growth of Second Life... mainly because it's got over 5 million PEOPLE... imagine! 5 million people that we are ABLE to reach out to... :) ok, I'm starting with one or two... but heh, we all gotta start somewhere mah.

Hmm, also because I think God gave me this passion to reach people for Christ through media... so hee, want to explore more of this potential area...

But well, I think that's all talk... i must start somewhere... the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few! Lord, here I am, send me! :D

Amen!