Keynote presentation at the 2010 Second Life Community Convention. For video and more details, see http://bit.ly/9Pw6PA.

1. Pioneers in Virtual Worlds and why your time is always now. John Lester Strategic Planning and Market Development for Online Communities, Virtual Worlds and Social Media Second Life Community Convention Boston, 2010

2. This presentation is Well, not really. But there is some adult language and violence.

3. John Lester Pathfinder Lester

5. What have I been doing since leaving Linden Lab?

15. Now you know my perspective. Enough about me.

16. Let's talk about you. Yes, you. The Pioneers.

24. A valuable lesson from Tuco

28. A valuable lesson from Frith

32. Hope or Despair. Both are a choice. No, not that kind of hope. Try again.

33. Hope or Despair. Both are a choice. No, that's delusional hope. Pretty funny. Try again.

34. Hope or Despair. Both are a choice. Perfect. Optimism + critical planning. That's the kind of Hope I'm talking about. The kind worth choosing.

37. But what about the future of Second Life and Virtual Worlds? No, I'm afraid I'll need a bit more convincing. And some inspiration would be nice.

38. Second Life is not dead If "SecondLie" didn't truly care about Second Life, he'd be tweeting about something else. Attention means you care. And parody is thoughtful attention. Watch the Colbert Report and you'll see what I mean.

39. It would be silly to pretend that these are not Challenging Times Time will tell. Meanwhile, focus on things you can control.

40. Virtual Worlds are not dead Airplanes do not exist because we are clever. They exist because we have always yearned to fly .

41. Virtual Worlds are inevitable Our minds yearn for the freedom to shape and share dreams . And so Virtual Worlds will always be. In some shape or form.

42. Here's the Secret “ If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea.” - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

44. Answer: They apply Everywhere Linden Lab's customers may be smarter than anyone. Edison invented motion pictures , but brilliant directors invented what became cinema . Do you watch movies because they move , or because they move you ? Use the tools of today, but plan beyond them. Or build new ones. Mind the storms, but focus on reaching your goal.

45. You have goals, right? When the going gets tough, we tend to focus on tactics. It is deadly to focus on your tactical goals without being clear on your strategic goals. Write them down before you go home. Seriously. "Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat." -Sun Tzu

46. Everyone Here is a Pioneer You're already a Pioneer, an explorer of unknown opportunities in strange new worlds. You wouldn't be here today if you weren't.

47. The time for Pioneers is always now. In Second Life. In Virtual Worlds. In Life.

48. Just be cunning, and full of tricks. And your dreams will fly.

49. Thank you Twitter: Pathfinder Email: [email_address] SL: Pathfinder Lester Blog: http://becunningandfulloftricks.com Slides: http://bit.ly/SLCC2010_John_Lester