Introduction to Second Life, Part 1 session for SLA (Special Libraries Association) members. Provides an overview of virtual worlds, reasons for participating in virtual worlds, and specifics about getting started in Second Life.

1. Introduction to Second Life, Part 1
SLA/Click University
03 December 2009
Scott Brown
Member, SLA VW Council
Social Information Group
Cindy Hill
Chair, SLA VW Council
Hill Information Consulting Group
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2. Agenda
 SLA Virtual Worlds Council
 Upcoming SLA virtual events
 Overview of virtual worlds and Second Life
 How to get started in Second Life
 Information for Part 2 – let’s meet in-world!
 Resources & more detail in the slide set
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3. SLA Virtual Worlds Council
 Appointed by President Gloria Zamora
 Created to recommend short and long-term direction for
SLA’s presence as an association in virtual worlds
 Develop and promote opportunities for members to learn
more about virtual worlds
 Learn more at
http://sla-divisions.typepad.com/sla_in_second_life/
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4. Upcoming SLA Events in SL
 Library Buzz sessions
 Check for upcoming events in 2010:
http://wiki.sla.org/display/SLASECONDLIFE/Upcoming+Events
 SLA Leadership Summit Highlights
 Feb 2, 4 and 10, 2010: Anne Caputo and Janice
Lachance
 Possible SLA Annual Conference sessions in
June
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5. Why virtual worlds?
 Long-standing interest
 “Snow Crash” by Neal Stephenson
 Tron
 Interactive, social environment
 “Next web”?
 New and emerging technologies
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6. Why virtual worlds?
http://www.kzero.co.uk/blog/?page_id=2092
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7. Webkinz
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8. Club Penguin
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9. 10

10. Habbo
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11. Twinity
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12. HiPiHi
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13. Multiverse
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14. Multiverse
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15. Protosphere
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16. Wonderland
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17. Quick Survey
 Do you have an avatar – in any world?
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18. What is Second Life?
 Internet-based 3D virtual environment created by Linden
Labs
 Users have avatars (called “Residents” within the
universe) and can explore, learn, socialize, conduct
business, participate in individual and group activities
 Linden Labs only provides the infrastructure; the entire
contents are created and owned by its residents
 Second Life is not a game – unlike some virtual worlds
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19. Environment
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20. Simulation
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21. Government agencies
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22. Simulation
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23. Connect remote employees
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24. Simulation
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25. Thomson Reuters
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26. Active learning
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27. 15 27

28. Modeling
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29. Play with scale
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30. US Federal government in virtual
worlds
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31. Why virtual worlds?
 Virtual worlds hold great potential for learning and for
organizations – and it’s starting to emerge
◦ Education, collaboration, eco-responsibility, global reach
 These environments are:
◦ Generally non-threatening
◦ Great ways to enhance and encourage knowledge
sharing, collaboration
◦ Very dynamic and engaging – “just like being there”
◦ High-touch
 Conversations can be more open and honest
 Community can develop at a rapid rate
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32. Quick Survey
 Have you spent time in Second Life?
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33. How does Second Life work?
 Download Second Life's software package onto
your computer
◦ Currently clients for Windows, Mac OSX, Linux & Solaris x86
◦ Launch SL software and log in there – not on
secondlife.com
 Create your avatar
◦ http://join.secondlife.com
 Must have a broadband Internet connection of
some sort
◦ Cable, DSL, etc. - Dialup will not work
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34. How does Second Life work?
 Must have a fairly powerful computer and
connection
◦ Windows XP 2000, XP, or Vista
◦ 800MHz Pentium III or Athlon, or better; 256MB memory or better; nVidia
GeForce 2, GeForce 4mx, or better video card ATI Radeon 8500, 9250, or
better
◦ For Mac, Mac OS X 10.3.9 or better; 1 GHz G4 or better; 512MB memory
or better
◦ Linux system requirements also available on Second Life site
These are MINIMUM requirements; RECOMMEND even
more power than this
See http://secondlife.com/corporate/sysreqs.php for full
requirements
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35. Once you’re in…
 Communicate by instant messaging
 Voice available; you will need a headset
 Move through Second Life by using your arrow
keys, fly and teleport to different locations
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36. True-to-life Avatars
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37. “Furry” Avatars
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38. 37

39. SLA campus
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40. Janice & Gloria in Second Life!
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41. Library Buzz sessions
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42. Quick Survey
 If you have a Second Life avatar, what is your
Second Life name?
 If you don’t – what would you choose for a first
name?
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43. Getting ready to meet in-world
 Download the software at secondlife.com
 Create your avatar
◦ http://join.secondlife.com
◦ Create your basic look: gender, skin color
◦ Choose a name
◦ You get to choose your first name
◦ Choose your last name from a pre-determined list
◦ May register one avatar per email for no charge
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44. Getting ready to meet in-world
 Register for ClickU’s Part 2 session
◦ This is how we’ll send you information on meeting in-
world
 Get in-world and play around – a lot – before the
session
◦ Launch SL software and log in there – not on secondlife.com
◦ Second Life takes getting used
◦ Walk by using arrow keys on keyboard
◦ Fly by clicking on “Fly” button (click again to stop flying)
◦ Teleport by searching for places and clicking “Teleport” button
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45. Second Life, Part 2 session
Remember to get your avatar before registering!
Last one of the year!
 Second Life: an introduction, part 2: Registration –
Thursday, December 10, 2009, 8am PT
http://www.sla.org/content/learn/members/webinars/webinarreg/secondlife1110.cfm
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46. Upcoming SLA Events in SL
 Library Buzz sessions
 Check for upcoming events in 2010:
http://wiki.sla.org/display/SLASECONDLIFE/Upcoming+Events
 SLA Leadership Summit Highlights
 Feb 2, 4 and 10, 2010: Anne Caputo and Janice
Lachance
 Possible SLA Annual Conference sessions in
June
7

47. Thank you!
Cindy Hill (aka Sydney Delphin) Scott Brown (aka Steven Source)
Chair, SLA VW Council Member, SLA VW Council
Hill Information Consulting Social Information Group
Group
scott_r_brown@comcast.net
cindyvhill@yahoo.com 45

48. Resources: SLA in Second Life
 SLA Second Life wiki
 http://wiki.sla.org/display/SLASECONDLIFE/Home
 SLA in Second Life blog
 http://sla-divisions.typepad.com/sla_in_second_life
 SLA in Second Life: Google Calendar
 http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=slasecondlifecalendar%40gmail.com
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49. Resources: Second Life
 Second Life system requirements
 http://secondlife.com/support/sysreqs.php
 "The Mission of Linden Lab" by Philip Linden
 http://blog.secondlife.com/2006/11/06/the-mission-of-linden-lab/
 Build your own SLURL (Second Life URL)
 http://slurl.com/build.php
 “Second Life for Business: Ten Techniques”,
FUMSI, October 2008
 http://web.fumsi.com/go/article/use/3326
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50. Resources: Islands in SL
 Cybrary City II (SLA area in SL)
 http://slurl.com/secondlife/Cybrary%20City%20II/59/100/22/
 Alliance Virtual Library: Info Island
 http://slurl.com/secondlife/Info%20Island/128/128/33/
 ALA Island
 http://slurl.com/secondlife/ALA%20Island/127/102/29/
 Virtual Ability
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51. Resources: Groups, listservs,
newsletters, etc.
 The Immersive Internet: Make Tactical
Moves Today For Strategic Advantage
Tomorrow - ThinkBalm
 http://thinkbalm.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/thinkbalm-
immersive-internet-report-nov-20084.pdf
 Virtual Worlds News
 http://www.virtualworldsnews.com/
 Clever Zebra: events, news, etc.
 http://cleverzebra.com/list
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52. Walking around
• Use the arrow keys to move your avatar
• Pressing Ctrl-R (Cmd-R on a Mac) toggles
running instead of walking
• Pressing Shift-Left Arrow or Shift-Right Arrow
moves the avatar from side to side
• You can also enable the Movement Controls
using View → Movement Controls to help move
your avatar.
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53. Flying
Press the Fly button to start flying and Stop
Flying to land
Use the “E” key to go higher & the “C” key to
move lower and the arrow keys to adjust
direction. You can also use “Page up” and
“Page Down”
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54. Sitting
Select the object you'd like to sit on and right-
click it (On Mac, select Cmd-click)
If the object can be sat upon, Sit will appear in
the pie menu
To stand, click “Stand up”
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55. Mini-map
The Mini-Map is a small panel that shows
your present location and where other
avatars are currently located, if they are
close by.
the World Map Dialog
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56. Searching for places and other things
The search button on the bottom of your viewer
opens the Search Dialog
You can search for:
Classifieds – things for sale
Events – training, concerts, shows public meetings, etc
Showcase - highlights some of the best in-world
locations and resident creations
Land sales – real estate for sale or rent
Places – land whose owner allows searchable listings
People – avatars with public listing (a profile option)
Groups – groups that allow their listing in Search
the World Map Dialog
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57. Making friends
In Second Life, your friends are avatars you have
connected with and agreed to friendship.
To add someone as your friend, Right-Click their
avatar and select Add Friend. If they agree, they
are added to your contacts list as Friends.
the World Map Dialog
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58. Friends
Friends are added to the Contact Lists “Friends”
the World Map Dialog
tab on the Communicate Dialog
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59. Friends
Friends are added to the Contact Lists “Friends”
the World Map Dialog
tab on the Communicate Dialog
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60. Communicating: Local Chat
Local chat is an “open channel” to everyone within
a 20 meter radius of your present location.
You can “shout” in local chat to reach avatars
within a 100 meter radius.
To say something in chat type your chat in the
text box provided in the Local Chat tab or
Send the chat by pressing Return
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61. Profiles
Your profile contains information about your
avatar.
To open your profile either:
Right-click your avatar and select Profile or
Select Edit → Profile from the menu
To open another avatar's profile simply right-click
their avatar and select Profile
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62. Example profile
2nd Life – About your avatar
Web – Favorite web sites
Interests – Topics in SL the interest
you
Picks – Favorite places in SL
Classified – Things you have for sale
1st Life – your real life profile
My Notes – private notes you want
to record about this avatar – these
are notes linked to any avatar's
profile but only accessible by you
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63. Image credits
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