3D social

There are many social arenas or if you wish, social networks, connecting people on Internet. Besides the well known, "social network labeled", like Facebook and MY Space - You have all the different games, special interest sites and you have virtual worlds.

This post is about Second Life - is it a Virtual world, garbage dump or maybe a beginning 3D Social Network?

Here is one Image from creating and testing.



Area closed down now.


When I tested Second Life, a while back, I did the test mostly as a developer. Testing out creation & object design, scripting, and integration with other sites. Those parts worked well.

As I experienced, Linden Labs(creators of Second Life) had simply made it to easy to create elements in the environment("The world"), or user interface if you wish. The lack of Quality Control made it, in many ways, a large garbage dump. Some people, some places connecting, but not the large masses. This garbage feeling is a bit like the feeling you get with many of the Facebook applications.

The only parts that could remind of social arenas or network where the different clubs. If you looked at the stats it was the porn- clubs which got the most visits. I see now that Linden Labs have started to work on the controls rather than the content of the arena("The world" or user interface). Looks a bit Wii:



There are galleries, music, photos, videos and areas that might interest people see & visit, but it is simply to far between the quality items which people can relate to in a broad scale.

To make this work as a real social arena or network it will have to be less garbage. Maybe mostly contain things that is closer to the things people like to share with friends. Things people share on other sites.

All of these online social arenas is historically connected to the, text-based, IRC and MUDs. Tools to let people meet, interact and chat. In the MUDs Quality Control was essential. No point in making an environment huge, if it contains and lot of uninteresting garbage which few would see the point of. Lets say, "stuff" that 95% of the people, 95% of the time, wouldn't be interested in. Unless you are going for a niece among people or in peoples time spent on this.

But, I guess we soon will see some use of 3D engines to generate small scaled social networks.



Another thing is the technical difficulties that a 3D world have, today the Second Life still feels a bit like this:



Maybe that will change.

PS! By the way rumors say that there is Barack Obama and John McCain areas on SL:)