Second Life: The Future of Social Media

I couldn't figure out how to embed this, but here is my Social Media Project! Get excited.



http://prezi.com/sbtigeot2sft/

Second Life, meet First Life. First Life, meet Second Life.

As if our first lives weren't enough. Now Second Life is here to make everything a little more interesting. 

This newly expanding "virtual reality" has become the new hot topic within the social media. After watching the TED talk of Philip Rosedale, the creator of Second Life, I found myself more confused than ever about my feelings toward this controversial virtual world.

Regardless of my mixed emotions, I reluctantly created an avatar on Friday afternoon. Her name is Uhleeuh Lionheart. Looking back, it sounds a little silly, but are avatar's names supposed to be functional/ordinary? The jury is still out on that one...Anyway, a picture of her is still on the way; I have to figure out how to get her clothes back on first.

"A second life? Is that a joke? One life is enough for me thanks." - My friend Laura 

Jyri Engeström...A Social Media Hottie

I mean come on, everyone was thinking it. I need to get myself over to Finland to find me a social media entrepreneur with luscious blonde locks like Jyri's, and hopefully create a Finnish family just as beautiful. 

After I was able to pick my jaw up off the floor and actually concentrate on Jyri's message about the ever-evolving social media and its role in our generation, I realized something pretty profound...I had absolutely no idea what he was talking about. His presentation was thorough, but a little difficult to understand. 

However, within his extensive explanation of social media was a theme that was at least familiar, the concept of "social objects." As the creator of Jaiku, an advanced micro-blogging service (I still haven't figured out the name by the way, is it Finnish?), Engeström obviously knows a thing or two about creating a successful social object, which he defines as what interests the population about a particular site, and what criteria one needs to be to survive. Social objects should be simple, clear, clever, and relevant to the site and its purpose as well as expressive and operative for the user. Easy enough, right?

Its no surprise that Engeström is so successful; his understanding of his field is astounding and enlightening, even if I could only manage to translate a small amount of his points. With the help of Engeström, I have a better understanding of social objects and their role in the social media. 

"The Real Time Era is here...Now what?"- Jyri Engeström's talk