Trite, Cliched & Done...Everyone Knows Already

So, a RL relationship in Britain goes kaput due to SL. Okaaay...So of course (naturally, because after all SL's a cesspool of sex and deviant behavior, right?) this leads to a Daily Mail article about the usual lurid crap we're used to hearing. And in a game of "I see your 3-breasted woman picture, and I'll raise you some antlers", the BBCNews cranked out their own report. We've been there and done that. We get it. SL has got some pervy qualities to it, but when you and your editors are bored of sensationalist drivel, why don't you try these topics on for size?

1. The current OS debacle and how it compares to the RL real estate crisis
2. Are people turning to virtual worlds for entertainment as their RL budgets tighten?
3. The use of SL to present models of RL architectural and other projects ("Original Sim" by Sam Lubell, New York Times Magazine, Holiday 2008)
4. The creative use of SL for artists--both visual and performing ("Portrait of an Artist as Avatar" by Sara Corbett, New York Times Magazine, 3/5/09)
5. Ways educators are using SL for long-distance learning and other opportunities ("Towson U. study breaks on Second Life" by Stephen Kiehl, Baltimore Sun, 4/7/09); ("A Whole New World of Studying" by Lucy Tobin, The Guardian, 4/21/09)
6. Does SL help with socialization or are personalities even more heightened?
7. SL as a way to cross cultural boundaries and learn from one another
8. Themed communities and how they help to bring history to life
9. How RL museums can learn from the interactive exhibits inworld

and #10? If you are going to discuss relationships and sex in SL, why not talk about why virtual relationships and friendships are formed in the first place? And why not talk about them in the positive? [UPDATE: Finally. A positive one: "A Geek Love Story" by Jessica Bennett, Newsweek, 4/14/09] There are plenty of RL relationships who aren't screwed up by SL and find it as a alternate way to have fun as a couple. Oh that's right, sorry...no antlers and "Total Recall" women involved. At least the Guardian more or less tried to write a more straightforward account.

If anything, you read these and watch TV reports and it's usually a reporter who creates a new account and comes in to check it out and wow...they're not keying in "Arts & Culture" for their search. They immediately end up in some scuzzy club or the free orgy room! Hey M and LL, something to think about for all of those new residents you seem to be so interested in: You can lead a horse to content, but you can't make it drink.

SLNN Article: AVIX Bought Out BY JT Financial

My most recent SLNN article:

JT Financial Buys Out AVIX Stock Exchange

SLNN Article: Mind the Box Acquisition

Here is my latest SLNN article:

BNT Acquires Mind the Box

Eladrienne Laval, SLNN Reporter...

I don't know if I've ever really talked about what it is like to be a reporter in SL before. I am still the finance reporter for slnn.com. This means that I talk to my editor Marvel and come up with ideas or she'll contact me if she has something. I request an interview, preferring "face to face" interviews, as I can also take the photo to accompany the article at the same time. I always ask at the beginning if it is OK for them to be on the record--esp. if I'm interviewing them via IM--as I will copy the conversation into a notecard that I use to edit the story later. It is technically against TOS to copy and release private IM transcripts, so I always ask that to have their permission.

What do I wear? My beat, like in RL, is conservative. Every time I have interviewed the gentlemen in these articles, they have been in their business best so I am too. I have a gray/cream business suit that I wear, as well as a pinstriped, gray-blue conservative dress and pumps. Sure, it might seem silly, but they are taking it seriously by their dress. I should look the part too. I'll admit that I showed up to my most recent interview in formal Victorian dress. He had little time and sent the tp. I had to go immediately and had no time at all to change, and I was on deadline. Luckily, I've interviewed him before, so he found it funny. I try to be fair in my stories, just to tell it like it is. The guys could probably also tell you that I'm rather no-nonsense with them too, and direct in my questioning. No tiptoeing as I'm not scared to go for the jugular.

I really enjoy my job here in SL and find it exciting. If you'd like to read my articles up to now, here are the links:
6/20/07: "Virtual banker buys Second Life new site for about $10,000 U.S."

4/26/07: "Flurry of activity as registration opens for SLCC"

4/19/07: "German TV Star Brings Show to SL"

4/3/07: "Strauss Calls Letter Baseless"

4/3/07: "Drama and Dissension Over the Almighty Dollar"

3/22/07: "Virtual ComEx to Relaunch"

3/18/07: "Shaun Altman Resigns from WSE"