Most of the people I mention Second Life to, have one of two responses.

Either they get a vague notion of something they remember hearing about on the news a few years back, or more often people just look at me with a confused expression. It is pretty rare to find another user of Second Life in the day-to-day interactions with real life people. But then, with a user database containing multi-millions of predominantly western users and around 60,000 people logged in at any given time, where are these users in their real life worlds?

First of all, for those who are not aware, Second Life is arguably the largest recognised 3D virtual community. There are many now, but it is hard to argue that Linden Labs, the company which founded Second Life, isn't the juggernaut on the playing field. In Second Life, you create a 3D avatar to represent yourself as you explore, shop, play and socialise in a completely 3D virtual environment. Second Life reached the zenith of its media recognition in 2007 when anyone who was worth their journalistic salt, was creating a cartoon avatar and delivering some form of real report about a virtual world. I jumped back into Second Life during this time, as my first experience, in 2004 was far from satisfactory. In those early days, the graphics were simplistic beyond mention and the interface was a horrendous hassle. This does not begin to mention the sizable amount of continual glitches and demands for network speeds that just weren't really available. So how did the 3D virtual space shape up after my 3 year hiatus?

The network demands got higher, but luckily so have broadband speeds. In most populated areas, it is easy enough to get a solid internet provider with suitable offerings. The graphics, while still cartoony and clunky in many ways, have dramatically improved. The user interface, while still cumbersome and unintuitive, is better than it once was. But for my experience, the most amazing change has been in what the population has contributed over the years. As each new advance of technology or capability was released into the virtual world by it's Linden creators, it has been the public residents of this cartoon world that have squeezed every creative drop out of what was possible. Sometimes beautiful, sometimes garish, sometimes outright baffling, it has been the people who came to the world that are making it in their own image. And this is the part that keeps me coming back.

Admittedly, during my several year experience in Second Life, I too have been trapped in the seductive temptation to fore-go the "real world" in favor of a less stressful fantasy creation. I've spent more than one too many nights up late and procrastinating. Yet not all of my time in virtual worlds has been wasted in leisure distractions. There are business opportunities to be had in Second Life and the other virtual worlds being created. Most of these business opportunities would amount to little more than a hobby interest really. However, to classify them as a hobby across the board is doing an injustice to the growing number of people who have been making a solid, and even sometimes million dollar, living off of their "in world" virtual businesses. My own effort is still just a hobby, but I do see the potential.

When speaking to people about virtual worlds, after the initial confusion passes, the next question is generally, "So what do you do?" In the answer to this question, lies both the downfall and the immense potential of Second Life and other virtual spaces. Simply put, what there is to do is completely up to you. This in not a game in its standard concept. There are no points scoring systems; there are no objectives which must be completed and there is no over-arcing storyline to follow. Much like in real life, the options of what there is to do in Second Life is limited only by the environment and your own skills. As for me, I explore other people's creations and do a small bit of creating. Of the friends I have in Second Life, there are shoppers, party goers, DJ's, creators, chatters and more. It seems that there are as many reasons to be in Second Life as there are people in it. However, the lack of immediate direction and goal-based objectives seems to leave a lot of people wondering just where to go next.

While Linden Labs' Second Life world is, by many measures, the largest and most active of these virtual worlds, it is not the only one. More and more there are additional options for this cartoon interaction between real people. IMVU and Gaia are two slimmed down and much less featured  options. In the realm of complete 3D universes, there has also been the open source development of OS Grid and Open Life. Another player, Blue Mars, entered the fray recently by trying to grab the high-end graphics market. Each has there ups, downs, benefits and draw-backs. Over a coming series of articles, I'll continue to explore Second Life and its alternatives. After all, it is what I like to do, explore. In the mean time, I'll keep looking for the flesh and bone counterparts of the cartoon residents.