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MacArthur Foundation to push the possibilities of Second Life
Posted to: * Better World Island * by Haney Armstrong (CCAL30) (1784), Mon, 25 Jun 2007 15:46:24 PDT
Edited: Mon, 25 Jun 2007 16:49:36 PDT
Feedback score: 0
Tags: bwi secondlife
Comments: 4 by 3 members
Viewed: 128 times by 25 members
On June 22, about 200 people packed a sim to hear MacArthur Foundation President, Jonathan Fanton, and Founder and CEO of Linden Lab (makers of Second Life), Philip Rosedale launch MacArthur's experiment to use a virtual world to help create a better real world.
The discussion came across as quite groundbreaking with these two from quite different backgrounds recognizing the potential of working together and introducing a major philanthropic effort in a expanding virtual platform. It was especially encouraging to hear Philip referencing Pierre Omidyar and Muhammad Yunus in describing how SL is transparent environment that empowers individuals.
On the same day The MacArthur Foundation announced an award of $550,000 to the USC Center for Public Diplomacy to begin a year-long exploration of the role of philanthropy in virtual worlds.
From the The MacArthur website:
“We hope that residents of virtual worlds understand that the presence of MacArthur and other foundations is about more than giving away money,” said Fanton. “We can help create a global network of individuals, groups and organizations committed to building more just virtual and real worlds. We hope MacArthur will be seen as a trusted source of information and ideas, one that is eager to support debate and discussion about the complex issues in our world.”
Specific activities MacArthur is planning include –
• Conversations in virtual worlds about pressing issues and how a foundation can help address community needs;
• Virtual world simulcasts of face-to-face conversations on issues that impact real and virtual worlds, such as migration, education, and global and civic engagement; and
• Over time, MacArthur funding for philanthropy-related projects in virtual worlds, awarded on a competitive basis.
The New York Times coverage is here.
Editorial:
Despite the great success of Relay for Life, the population of Second Life may be still too small for most efforts to efficiently raise funds or recruit from the existing population.
Non-profits efforts might get the most benefit from SL by using it to create virtual conferences and ongoing meetings so that people around the world who are already involved in a effort can connect, exchange information and work on real-world tasks together.
For example, this morning about 25 people from around the world - primarily speaking French along with some English and Spanish - met at the Camp Darfur exhibit in Better World Island to organize anti-genocide efforts.
Jonathan Fanton suggested the possibility of supporting the use of SL to lobby the US to join the International Criminal Court. This might be a great test case to see how SL could be used as an organizing tool - connecting international members with those in the US and connecting organizers within all 50 states to coordinate their efforts to recruit members in the real world and activate them to put pressure on their representatives.
By Haney Armstrong (CCAL30) (1784), Tue, 26 Jun 2007 13:00:00 PDT
Comment feedback score: 0
Thanks Lenore - accessibility to broadband - and to SL - is a major issue especially for many people in developing countries. I don't think that means that those who have access shouldn't use the tool, but it's important to remember.
I'm excited about the possibilities of SL. And while my opinions are my own and not intended to represent Omidyar Network, I should clarify that ON is an investor in Linden Lab. And as a former employee at Linden, I hold stock options in the company.
topBy Haney Armstrong (CCAL30) (1784), Fri, 29 Jun 2007 14:06:02 PDT
Edited: Fri, 29 Jun 2007 14:27:57 PDT
Tags: macarthur second-life secondlife
Comment feedback score: 15 (* * * * * * * * * *)
Here's a recap and page of resources from the "MacArthur Foundation Enters Second Life" meeting last week - transcripts, video, photos, etc.
I went through the transcript and pulled out some key concepts that made the most meaning for me.
- ROSEDALE: is Philip Rosedale, the CEO of Linden Lab, the company that created Second Life.
- FANTON: is MacArthur Foundation President, Jonathan Fanton.
The idea that SL makes it possible to quickly build trust
FANTON: When you first started Second Life, did the notion of the public good effect any of your design? Do virtual worlds like Second Life help groups get together, discuss issues, and advance collective vision of the public good? Talk to us a little bit about those issues and activities.
ROSEDALE: Well, you know, I think that when we started, I know I, and a lot of us working on the technology, were very focused on the technology of creating a sort of a virtual world. But as we got it working in around 2003, people really started coming into it, we started to see the effect that being in this kind of very, very empowered, enabled, communicative environment had an effect on people. It made them close very rapidly, and it made them work together in certain ways.
So the idea of how Second Life would be something of a public good I think emerged, along with a lot of other things, as we watched it kind of take form there in 2003, 2004, and then we all became very excited that fundamentally what we were doing was a mission that was something for the good of people, and that as people got into the virtual world, they would be improved by it in a number of ways. So it kind of grew, and I think Mitch Kapor and Pierre Omidyar and some of the investors that came in, came in and continued to get excited as that opportunity of public good became more apparent.
That the transparency of SL maximizes the idea that “People are Basically Good”
YOWELL: Here’s a question for both of you from the Teen Grid. How can Linden Lab and residents, especially teen grid residents, work together to make sure this power is used morally, apart from cooperation with MacArthur? And that’s for either Jonathan or Philip.
ROSEDALE: I bet Jonathan has perspective on this that’s probably quite unique from mine. I think what I would say is that we have a deep belief that with the high degree of transparency that exists in the virtual world, I believe that the virtual world is different in an important way, in that it is typically more transparent, more accessible, more communicative, it’s easier to see what’s going on, easier to travel within it than the real world. It is therefore more transparent than the world that we all live physically in today, and I believe, you know Pierre Omidyar, when he started eBay, he made the famous statement that he believed that eBay would work because people were basically good, that the majority of stuff that happened on eBay would be good and legitimate attempts by people to sell things to other people.
I think the same thing can be said here, that with the additional transparency we have, we won’t need to do anything, from a central perspective, to make people good and just in their actions here. I think they will be, the only think I hope I’ll be able to look back and say we did, was that we simply enabled, using the technology, a very, very, very transparent environment, and that that transparency was beneficial.
MacArthur’s hopes to have civil rights groups operate in SL
FANTON: MacArthur supports about 1,000 local civil society groups all over the world: Action Health in Nigeria, working on sexuality education, Resources Himalaya in Nepal, working on protecting some of the most beautiful landscape in the world, the Nizhny Novgorod Committee Against Torture in Russia working against police abuse, or Fundar in Mexico, helping to strengthen the system of human rights ombudsmen. I’m hoping the MacArthur can encourage many of the civil rights organizations that it supports to operate in Second Life and other virtual worlds as well, so that there will be a civil society in virtual worlds that mirrors the civil society in the physical world.
More on SL as an empowering environment
ROSEDALE: …So the most common type of content, if you will, in Second Life, is an individual building something that they are giving or showing or selling to the people in Second Life. It’s not a company. We’re just at the very beginning of that phase where larger organizations are starting to see Second Life as being of value, and I think, when they come, they’ll add a lot to Second Life, as they come. But I think profoundly, at its core, Second Life is an empowering platform, an open environment, for individuals. Historically and statistically, it’s much more individuals and that corporate ownership of Second Life is probably in the low, single digit percentages, in terms of looking at the land.
SL as a reputation system, microfinance, network of trust
ROSEDALE: … I think Second Life is already demonstrating an ability to let people build systems for reputation and trust that are effective, fast, and lightweight, and can go beyond what can be done in the real world. It’s a rich topic, I see somebody in the audience saying say more about that. It’s a really rich topic, and one where I think technology will, in the virtual environment, empower us. If you look at things like Grameen and how microlending is enabled in the real world by a network of trust, I think that the virtual world allows that sort of network to be potentially expanded in ways broader and faster than it is in the real world.
By Evonne Heyning (CCAL30) (2442), Mon, 16 Jul 2007 01:05:01 PDT
Edited: Tue, 17 Jul 2007 08:31:58 PDT
Tags: creative lindenlab macfound macfoundsl philiplinden
Comment feedback score: 0
Oh, here's pics from the event:
A fascinating session! Not sure why Philip Linden carries a flute (the pied piper of the metaverse perhaps?) but there was a fascinating dialogue here on the responsibilities of creative space.
http://www.flickr.com/search/?w= 37996610752%40N01&q=macfound sl&m=text
By Lenore Cowen (CCAL30) (898), Mon, 25 Jun 2007 17:15:30 PDT
Tags: insightful perspective
Comment feedback score: 0
This is very cool-- I hope if McArthur is serious that they take at least one-lesson of o-net to heart-- that is, if they ever do grants in a virtual world, to use a technology platform that's accessible even to those with substandard machines and internet connections-- anyone in a third-world internet cafe has the bandwidth to use o.net-- correct me if I'm wrong, but this is not yet true of SL.
But perhaps this is a needless fret on my part, because perhaps the bandwidth and the "last mile" will so catch up in the next few years that we will laugh worldwide at what once was considered resource intensive!! :-)