Monday, July 6, 2009
The world of SecondLife...
So, I tried SecondLife for the first time a few days ago. I thought "Hey, this could be fun, navigating around in a new little virtual world." Wow, was I surprised to find that it was more difficult that I had thought it would be. I could still get around and figure it out, but it was not very user friendly. I found it hard to navigate around using the map, to change your appearance, and to do some of the other things you can do (i.e., sitting down). Maybe I should take Nancy's advice and try SmallWorlds first...
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Indeed! The videos and such you such of SecondLife don't necessarily hint out how much more is involved. There's a lot more "computer stuff" than "Sim 2" stuff. A lot of potential there!
ReplyDeleteI had similar struggles the first few times I logged on to Second Life. It's challenging enough to a newbie that you need to have either serious motivation or a helping hand to get through set up and on to interactions that feel worth the effort.
ReplyDeleteI thought I posted a reply here yesterday, but apparently not. Oops.
ReplyDeleteFWIW, I found it challenging on first try, too. It wasn't too motivating, either, since I was spending a lot of time in isolation (isn't it supposed to be social?) just trying to get my bearings and figure out what to do in case I found someone to interact with (which wasn't seeming all that likely initially, either).
Crystal, I completely agree with you, as I had a similar experience. I was very inspired when I joined the IS program and an online orientation was hosted in SL. It propelled me to do something with the character I had created months before then. I went through the tutorials, flew myself around, and then tried to navigate to the island where the orientation was being held. No dice. It was EXTREMELY frustrating to me. And while playing dress up is always fun, I can do that by playing Sorority Life on Facebook (my newest guilty pleasure that I like to call research for this class!)
ReplyDeleteI consider myself above average when it comes to using technology, and I'm sure there was only a small setting I needed to change, or button I needed to press. When I find things that are not intuitive, I become frustrated easily and devote my attention elsewhere.