1. Digital Ethnography in
Virtual Worlds
Caleb Kilian

2. Definition and Stages
• Ethnography: Systematic study of immersive human societies embedded in the Internet,
mainly on Second Life, including such proficiencies as collaborative principles, communication &
interaction, cultural studies, discourse analysis, storing and retrieving content, writing research.
• Stages:
• Data collection: a process of recording an event and gathering pertinent information.
Following are some suggestions for collecting data.
• Content analysis: a search for conceptual themes or patterns of meaning both scientific and
emerging. Content analysis also entails writing data summaries, clustering data to form
relationships, condensing information to the most significant meanings, and writing stories
(Huberman & Miles, 1994, p. 429).
• Comparative analysis: a process of interrelating findings or explanations in one class
session or several class sessions to form [suppositions] propositional insights. Interrelation
consists of both internal analysis (within your own study) and external analysis (comparisons
with other cases and the related literature).

3. Real Life
• Forth Year Undergrad
Student at ASU
Kilian2013
• Digital Culture Major
• Focused in movement
and dance based sound
manipulation. Caleb
Kilian

4. Previous Works
• Motion and Music
• Demonstrated the interaction between technology
and movement
• Stress
• A piece that shows the physical movements of
emotion and how these emotions can be
demonstrated sonically.

5. Transformation

6. First
Impressions
I will be the First to admit that I
was not thrilled to be taking
part in a virtual world, “second
life” kind of atmosphere. Before
this class, I have had no
experience with Sim
environments and had only
heard the horror stories of
these environments.

7. A New Look
After participating in Dr. Mary Stokrocki’s
Virtual Ethnography class, I quickly came to
appreciate the artistic freedom that was
encouraged. Second Life gives artists a creative
way to develop and market there work
without going through the barriers that real
life requires. As Bonafide Aries said in our
interview, “there is more instant gratification
and critique in SL and less time between
creation and public display.” (Aries) I feel that
this allows the artist to get a better feel for
how people react to his or her work and can
push their future works even further. It was
this notion that lead to me to discover all the
avenues that SL gave for artistic expression

8. Research Questions
• What promoted you to paint and primarily
paint about Jazz?
• What inspires you to paint?
• What advantages does Second Life offer
that you can’t find in the real word?

9. Nat’s Jazz Club
I choose Nat’s Jazz Club as my
spot to spend most of my time.
The atmosphere was so fun and
relaxing and it had everything that
I was looking for. Jazz, dancing,
wonderful art, it was all here. Nat’s
is where I found the avatar that I
wanted to interview and was the
place that I played my first piano. It
was a great learning ground to
learn how to use SL and and also
discover some great new art.
I love Nat’s!

10. Interview with Bonafide Aries
[17:07] Bonafide Aries: also there is more
instant gratification and critique in SL.. Bonafide Aries is a digital painter in SL
[17:07] Bonafide Aries: there is less time who’s primary content focuses around
between creation and public dispay
[17:07] Bonafide Aries: the nasty part of being jazz and the musical concepts that are
in artists is . for some artists, marketing supported throughout the genre. The
[17:08] Kilian2013: So most of this work is
specific to SL and isn't available in RL most interesting conversation that we
[17:08] Bonafide Aries: I am fascinated with had in our interview was when I asked
marketing from the stand point of human
motivators him what inspired him to make these
[17:09] Bonafide Aries: most of it is yes.... I do pieces? We started to talk about
have some available through a site called Fine
Arts America. where digital prints can be Thelonius Monk, a legendary jazz
rendered and printed as acrylic on canvas, or pianist, and he said, “He plays around
as printed posters or greeting cards
[17:10] Kilian2013: That is so cool. the melody, kind of the way I like to put
[17:11] Kilian2013: So you said before that you things in negative space.” This idea just
like to listen to Jazz when you are creating. Is
there any other method that inspires you to blew me away. Such a simple idea and
create like you do??? yet so complex of an idea. Negative
[17:12] Bonafide Aries: Stories.. a lot of my
earlier works were based on myths, fables, tall space is the area of a piece where
tales, or just funky questions nothing is going on. The parts
[17:12] Bonafide Aries: Like . what was it like
when time began .. not creation but time.. supporting the melody in music can be
[17:12] Bonafide Aries: I did seven paintings on thought of in the same way. Thelonius
that question and called it the chronos series
[17:13] Bonafide Aries: the postulation that is .. Monk used this space as the
If the life and all was going so good.. it had to centerpiece for his music and with the
really piss folks off when chronos started TIME
[17:13] Bonafide Aries: then came deadlines, same idea Bona does the same in his art
and lateness work. Collaboration between the arts is
[17:14] Bonafide Aries: good songs ended
[17:14] Bonafide Aries: people started rushing something I strive to have in my art and
[17:14] Bonafide Aries: had to piss of a lot of I have never thought of music and
folks
[17:14] Kilian2013: I have never thought of painting in this since. It has given me a
that..... there is so much truth in that new way of looking at my art form.
[17:14] Bonafide Aries: that is one of the
chronos pieces
[17:15] Bonafide Aries: the spark was that I did

11. Chat Analysis
In studying Bona’s interview, I saw no real patterns in
his speech or anything that I thought was worth
analysis. This was before I was able to speak to my
father about this project and Bona’s pieces. My father is
a professional Jazz bass player and I have been blessed
enough to live in that artistic community my whole life.
It was my dad who told me, “ don’t look at the pattens
within his speech, look at the way in which he speaks.”
The Jazz community’s speech behavior is like non I
have ever seen. They use phrases like “brother,” “ya
dig,” and my favorite “ya got to groove.” I quickly Saxman
realized that Bona was no different. His speech
indicates both artist and musician. To the right are
some words that Bona used in his chat that, I felt,
showed the true artistry within his speech. All of these
• Melody
words can be used in both music and painting. Artists, • Blow counter
whether it’s music, painting, or any other art form,
have a language that goes with it. People can observe • Weave
these speech patterns from the outside of that art
community but, I feel, that you can not truly • Negative Space
understand these art communities until you emerse Interview Location: Bona (Bona’s Art Gallery)
yourself within them. Even I, who has been in the music
community his whole life, had trouble truly
understanding Bona’s language because I do not live in
a painters world.

12. Chat Samples [17:11] Kilian2013: So you said before that you like to listen to Jazz when you
are creating. Is there any other method that inspires you to create like you
do???
[17:12] Bonafide Aries: Stories.. a lot of my earlier works were based on
[16:59] Bonafide Aries: Specifially the works of thelonius monk myths, fables, tall tales, or just funky questions
[16:59] Bonafide Aries: I like his math [17:12] Bonafide Aries: Like . what was it like when time began .. not creation
[16:59] Kilian2013: O man I agree. definitely an artist I grew up listening to. but time.. [17:12] Bonafide Aries: I did seven paintings on that question and
[16:59] Bonafide Aries: He plays around the melody . kind of the way I like to called it the chronos series
put things in negative space [17:13] Bonafide Aries: the postulation that is .. If the life and all was going so
[17:00] Kilian2013: negitive space? can you elaborate a little more??? good.. it had to really piss folks off when chronos started TIME
[17:00] Bonafide Aries: I'm not much on smoothe jazz. I like straight ahead bop [17:13] Bonafide Aries: then came deadlines, and lateness
.. closest I get to smoothe for any duration is Miles [17:14] Bonafide Aries: good songs ended
[17:02] Bonafide Aries: sorry about that.. got called away [17:14] Bonafide Aries: people started rushing
[17:02] Kilian2013: quite alright [17:14] Bonafide Aries: had to piss of a lot of folks
[17:02] Bonafide Aries: NEgative space is that area of a visual piece where [17:14] Kilian2013: I have never thought of that..... there is so much truth in
Nothing goes on that
[17:02] Bonafide Aries: its not a focal point [17:14] Bonafide Aries: that is one of the chronos pieces
[17:03] Bonafide Aries: its background [17:15] Bonafide Aries: the spark was that I did this in the begining as pure sl
[17:03] Kilian2013: Awww ok that makes more sense. photography
[17:03] Bonafide Aries: and effectively it helps frame the central object or [17:15] Bonafide Aries: I sculpted the horn looking shape
message of a work [17:15] Bonafide Aries: and then set it in motion with a script
[17:03] Bonafide Aries: like music [17:15] Bonafide Aries: But I had to wait to get the shots I really really wanted
[17:04] Bonafide Aries: you can harmonize with it, Blow counter to it [17:15] Bonafide Aries: so time kept bugging me
[17:04] Bonafide Aries: weave with it [17:16] Bonafide Aries: thus
[17:05] Kilian2013: Ok.... I think I can get that. [17:16] Bonafide Aries: Chronos
[17:05] Kilian2013: I can see the collaboration between the music and piece
much better now
[17:05] Kilian2013: Now what are the advantages for you as an artist to use
second life. [17:06] Bonafide Aries: I can paint digitally
[17:06] Bonafide Aries: my skills with canvas have not caught up yet
[17:06] Bonafide Aries: canvas is less forgiving
[17:07] Bonafide Aries: also there is more instant gratification and critique in
SL..
[17:07] Bonafide Aries: there is less time between creation and public dispay
[17:07] Bonafide Aries: the nasty part of being in artists is . for some artists,
marketing [17:08] Kilian2013: So most of this work is specific to SL and isn't
available in RL
[17:08] Bonafide Aries: I am fascinated with marketing from the stand point of
human motivators

13. Comparative Analysis Because we, as students, have been conditioned to create and
Joe Sanchez of School of Information at the University of
Texas at Austin wrote an article named, “Second Life: An do every piece of work by the standards of others, we cut
Interactive Qualitative Analysis. In this article he talks ourselves short of our own creativity. We constantly question
about his studies with students inside of the Second Life the purpose of the work that we are doing rather than to enjoy
realm. He created a secluded island that only the students what is right in front of us. I constantly caught myself asking, “is
had access to and they did there work there, with no this what Mary would want” rather than to sit back and enjoy
interaction with the rest of Second Life. Sanchez talks the beautiful piece of art that is right in front of my eyes. That
about the struggles and frustrations the students had with same struggle within Second Life is also it’s greatest gift.
the environment wanted to know if Second Life had any Sanchez’s class, along with myself, stated that they constantly
place in the teaching world. Unfortunately “students did asked what is the purpose of doing this? The gift of Second Life
not understand the purpose of their Second Life activity. is that the same question can asked when looking at the work in
They had a difficult time relating the activity of building in front of you. What was their purpose?
Second Life to the course material, “Why are we doing this
in a world lit class” they asked. Students failed to make
connections between Second life activities and their
traditional course work.”(Sanchez p.2) Our class
experienced many of these same problems. We were
unsure of some things whether the assignment was unclear
or we as students second guessed the content, I continually
found myself wondering am I doing this correctly. In most
cases students will blame these problems directly at the on
the professor, but in these classes I can not say that I
would agree with that. Second Life gives you the creativity
and freedom that any artist longs for in a space. They want
place that they can make whatever it is that they want to Bill Evans
make. Sanchez’s “students felt the Second Life environment
perpetuated a sense of creativity.” (Sanchez p.3)

14. Conclusion
When I started this course I was unsure whether I was going to be able to take
anything back to help my own art form. I didn’t see how interacting with avatars
could really help in my real world endeavors. Surprisingly enough, I am able to
take a lot back. Second Life is not just a SIM game that a bunch of people can get
on and take through some cool looking character but instead it is way for people
to express themselves fully to people from all over the world. People coming
together to dance and look at beautiful pieces of art, play music, or just be plan
silly and ride jet skis through a courtyard.
People are free to express who they are or
who they would like to be. I for one will
forever be changed because of the interview
with Bonafide Aries. He has helped me see
new and innovative ways to see cohesion
between art forms. Second Life is a true world
of art and I feel that every artist should come
and see what Second Life has to offer.
“I say, play your own way. Don’t play what the public wants. You play what you want and let the
public pick up on what you’re doing? even if it does take them fifteen, twenty years.” (Thelonious
Monk)

15. References
Stokrocki, M. (1997). Qualitative forms of research methods. In S. D. La
Pierre, & E. Zimmerman (Eds.). Research methods and methodologies for art education (pp. 33-
56). Reston, VA: NAEA.
Sweeny, Bob. (Ed.). (2010). Empowering the disenfranchised: Explorations in building sites and
futures in Second Life. Digital Visual Culture: Intersections and Interactions in 21st century art education.
Reston, VA: National Art Education Association. Cutting edge research and community outreach which
is an ASU priority. NAEA Visual Culture Blog: http://naea.typepad.com/dvc/
Sanchez, J. (2007). Second Life: An Interactive Qualitative Analysis. In C. Crawford et al. (Eds.),
Proceedings of Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education International Conference
2007 (pp. 1240-1243). Chesapeake, VA: AACE