Some final thoughts

We're coming down to the home stretch here.

About seven months ago, I logged into Second Life for the first time. Everything confused me; how could I move? Is this a game, or what? Why would anyone waste their time with such a clunky, unforgiving interface? And most of all, who are all these avatars in animal costumes?

I was, for lack of a better phrase, totally freaked out. I mean, this wasn't just an application I was installing on a whim; this was my thesis! My culminating, capstone achievement to herald the completion of my undergraduate career; my magnum opus; my last crusade. And here I was, stumbling around like an idiot through a virtual world I figured I'd be able to cruise around in like a pro.

Throughout my exploration of Second Life, I framed my observations around a simple question: Why would anyone want to use this program? It sounds kind of hackneyed at first, but that question is the quintessential concept behind the uses and gratifications model of research. I began to look for different groups of users, based on blogs, news stories, books — whatever I could find. I began to see that Second Life is used for more than just marketing: People go there to meet each other and socialize, to engage in teaching and learning, and to create and share.

I haven't really touched on my actual written thesis much in this blog, but I think that now — as I'm bringing this project to an end — is a good time to mention how these two elements congeal.

This blog isn't really what you could call formal research. I didn't log each and every location I went to, I didn't write down the exact hours I was in Second Life, and I certainly didn't mention some of the more boring or bizarre, R-rated things I came across. To document my exploration of Second Life in such a scientific way would have required an immense time commitment, but more importantly, I believe it would have destroyed the thrill and authentic sense of discovery that I found just by taking my time and exploring at my own pace.

Instead, this blog is an authentic journal of one user's impressions and reactions to a groundbreaking new experience. It's a little rough around the edges, but it's funny and interesting whenever possible. If anything, this blog shows exactly how and why I became interested in Second Life more as the project went on. My doubts are exposed, my disdain clear to see. Then again, I also chronicled the fun journeys and exciting potential I began to see all throughout the metaverse.

When I finish revising my thesis today, this blog will be reproduced and included as an appendix. Besides wanting to create a permanent record of my findings, I also think that it's hard to appreciate the joys and the disappointments of Second Life without having a human voice to fall back on.

And to everyone who has been reading my blog — friends, colleagues, advisers — I want to say thanks for the feedback and positive responses you've given me. I can say without a doubt that if my blog hadn't been a success, I wouldn't have written nearly as good of a thesis. Second Life is, after all, an inherently social avenue; it's meant to be shared and enjoyed with others. Nothing in the metaverse would count for anything if nobody was there to experience it.

So, once again, thanks.

Finally, a brief epilogue in the story of Whymog Troglodite:

After months of wandering as a digital vagrant, my avatar has managed to convince his benefactor that perhaps it's time he invested in some real estate of his own. Once this thesis is complete, I suppose I'll get to work on building a home of my own in the world of Second Life.