I pray the solstice in its might
To turn the earth from dark toward light
Will turn me with it toward the bright
Of breaking dawn that follows night.

My soul is the burst of joy
that blooms in me
when out the curtained kitchen window
I see the pink morning glory
blooming on the lattice
next to the scruffy old cat
the color of evening,
lazing on the porch railing
in the strong mid-morning sun.

The soulflower loves the sun
and turns toward it,
every petal yearning for its touch,
but a soulflower can bloom in shadow,
and yes, even in darkness too,
for its sun is not in the sky
but deep in the heart
where inextinguishable joy prevails.

But what will it mean for those of us who are …  [sshhhhhh!] … on the pseudonymous side of reality? Will we use it at our peril? I think so. For pseudonymous avatars, the  Timeline presents an intriguing question: What exactly is our “life”? And how will we present it in the Timeline?

Carefully, for starters. Avatars are, of course, undercover on Facebook (unless openly attached to their Real Life scribes). For now, fb wants only real people in its land. And so many of us subatomic pixelated beings are surviving by just keeping our heads down.

Btw, although Facebook’s new Timeline won’t be available to the general public til the end of the month, you can experience it now by signing up as a Facebook developer here. (Or just enter the word “developer” in the Search box on your fb page.) Follow the instructions from Charlie White at Mashable here. Or watch video instruction here. You don’t have to really make an app to sign up as an fb developer; just go through the signup motions.

Warning to undercover avies: Signing up as a Facebook developer means becoming “verified.” This means you will have to give either a mobile phone number (that they will verify) or a credit card. There is no way around this, and it is sometimes a problematic process. Troubleshoot here, or submit a fb ticket if problems persist.

So, how will I present Bay’s “life” in her fb Timeline? Or will I do it at all? I have so many pics of Bay in Second Life that I would love to put up in a Facebook Timeline. Just to remember all the wonderful events of her life.

BUT . . . will this just be a red flag to Facebook to … gulp … purge me? My sense is it would. I think I will use the Timeline extremely carefully, and minimally, especially at first.

It’s a shame. I think of so many other ways that this Timeline could be used, other than for real people. You could present a “Timeline” of a poem or a story that you are writing. Or of a piece of music. Or a character you’re developing in a book you’re writing. My imagination takes off. But of course Facebook doesn’t want fiction. It wants real people, real events, and … reality.

I have used scrapblog to develop stories sometimes, but it is clumsy for what I have to do, and storytelling is not its real intent. Facebook’s Timeline is exactly what I want:  nonlinear, easy, interactive. But it’s for real people only. Sadly, no avatars need apply.

Here are a couple of fb’s vids about the new Timeline and its cousin, the “Ticker.” Coming soon to a Facebook pages near you.

(1) Why is it when a difficult situation  arises in First Life, people leave Second Life? We’re talking a biggie here, like a health crisis, death of a loved one, dissolution of a longterm relationship, loss of a job.

(2) Why is it when we only know someone in the virtual form, we so rarely scratch the surface to really get to know that person–what gets them up in the morning, how they spend their time, and oh so very especially: what troubles them and bothers their sleep? I’m not talking about barging into the avie’s First Life–just really getting to know them as they are.

I’m so tired. But I had to get the questions out. If you ask them, answers come. Maybe even from you. Does anyone know?

Using a mac is always challenging in a program that’s built for windows. And viewer 2 … well, viewer 2 is just plain challenging to use on any platform. Especially if  you’re still trying to learn where things are in viewer 2 — like me, LOL.

So today I’m going to share 2 things I learned by trial and error today.

(1) How to find Local Mode on Viewer 2 (commonly called The Ruler)

Builders often like to line up what they’re building on a grid so that measurements can be exact, and placement of, for example, a beam one one side of a house will be at exactly the same relative location on the other side.

This used to be very easy to find in viewer 1.23: In the edit menu build window, just below the icons of the build shapes, there was a small drop-down bar called “Ruler” or “Grid,” depending on the version. In any case, it was very easy to select “Local” or in later versions, the grid would appear in your building as soon as you picked that “Ruler” dropdown.

But in Viewer 2? Not so easy. It stumped three experienced builders, til we finally figured it out:

1. Get in Edit mode (that’s important)

2. Choose Build, Options, Grid Options.

3. In the Grid Options menu, select “Local” from the drop-down bar.

4. You’re done. There’s your “ruler.”

(2) How to link multiple objects at the same time.

Trick question! This is not really a viewer 2 issue or a mac issue, but because I thought it was, and so spent so long figuring it out, I thought I would include it here.

The key is to get in edit mode first. That’s the step I always forget. Then it’s pretty easy. Here are instructions, using viewer 2.

1. Get in Edit Mode

2. Choose Building, Options, then toggle:  Select by Surrounding, and Select Only My Objects.

3. Then you’ll be able to draw a little yellow box around all the objects you want to select (it’s easiest if you do this from above looking down). Each selected object will be outlined in white.

4. From the dropdown Build menu, select “Link.”

5. You’re done. Your objects are all linked. Btw, the last item selected will be your root prim, and your object will take it’s name. If you want the name of the linked object to be something different, just rename it in the General tab of the Build window.

I’m sending prayers and good wishes to KirstenLee and Dawny. Thank you for everything.

Last tracks of KirstensViewer (pic by KirstenLee)

I thought of this story when I saw that Google over the past several years has induced ordinary people to build a world for them–Google Earth. This is the virtual globe that Google first offered as a free software download in 2005, which it still is today (although business-oriented versions Google Earth Pro and Google Earth Enterprise cost some serious money).

Google Earth–like any other social network these days–has been busy harvesting its customers as product. Dangling the lure of free software, Google Earth has enticed people with time on their hands, and an unfulfilled creative urge, to start building houses, parks, trees, water features, bridges, buildings, castles, and every kind of world landmark–all modeled in exquisite texture, size, and scale to match real world counterparts. Your grocery store clerk is probably spending his evenings modeling a 3D masterpiece for Google Earth. Right under our noses, Google is populating its virtual world–and getting us to do it!

Linden Lab’s got nothing on Google . . .

When I first began hanging out in Second Life years ago, I marveled at Linden Lab’s ability to somehow convince a bunch of hugely talented people to spend untold hours building a world that Linden would profit from. More amazing, Linden actually noodled these same people into paying for the opportunity to do so! Even now that I’m a serious Second Lifer, I still marvel over Linden’s ability to crowdsource the building of a world.

But I’ve got to say, the Lindens have got nothing on Google. Not only is Google crowdsourcing the building of a world, they’ve got people building it to spec! Google has actually succeeded in getting people to make a 3D model of any building or structure in their neighborhood (using, you guessed it, the free Google programs Sketchup or Building Maker) and then submit the model to Google for approval. Being Google, they have also issued a 13-point set of guidelines for approval, diagrams of the submission process, modeling tutorials (beginning and advanced), a youtube channel (150 videos), a help forum,  a blog, and of course a community.

Google Earth model of the Golden Gate Bridge

Running the Google gauntlet . . .

Once your 3D model successfully runs the gauntlet of Google’s 13-point acceptance criteria (completely revamped a month ago), your building/structure gets inserted into Google Earth, and you get the bragging rights about being the builder of a new world. Also, your name, webpage, and description appears alongside your 3D model in Google’s free online repository, the 3D Warehouse, where other 3D builders share, store, and collaborate their work. You might even get featured in the Gallery under the “Newest” and “Hottest.”

Down the red carpet at the Kodak Theater, home of the Academy Awards, via Google Earth

Google Earth snuck up on me

I’ve got to admit, Google Earth kind of snuck up on me. They’re already up to version 6! I knew the worker bees were busy building Google Earth–I just didn’t realize those bees were us–and I certainly didn’t realize how enormous the thing had become. Desktop, web, mobile, iPhone, iPad, iPod touch apps, plug-ins … 50 languages … 600 MILLION users, according to Google Earth’s official vid! It used to be there were only a few places where 3D could go; now it’s almost everywhere … well, maybe there’s still some 2D places left in Google Earth in the middle of Antarctica or somewhere.

Take a look at Google’s showcase for the hot spots–you’ll find Mars, the Moon, the Sky, and the Ocean. Yikes! And check out Google Earth’s home page teaser: “New! Rome in 3D. Explore the Colosseum, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, the Vatican and more.” Google’s even got the jump on time travel, which Google Earth quaintly calls Historical Imagery: “Travel back in time with Google Earth.” Google is thorough, if nothing else.

Why would anyone build a world for Google?

All of this begs the question: Why would anyone want to spend their time building a world for Google? Jump around Google Earth’s various promo pages, and you’ll find the answer: carefully crafted Google-speak appealing to the virtual superhero in you (an eerie echo of the mushroom alien ads in the Bradbury story …”Boys! Raise Giant Mushrooms in Your Basement!” ):

• “New! Learn how to create and add 3D models to Google Earth for all the world to see!” (from the Google Earth home page)
• “Now! Fly anywhere to see satellite imagery, 3D buildings, 3D trees, terrain, Street View, planets–and much more.” (from the Google Earth Products Overview page)
• “Hold the world in the palm of your hand … fly to far corners of the planet with just the swipe of a finger.” (from the iTunes app page)
• “… explore your childhood home, visit distant lands or scope out your next vacation spot …” (from Google Earth and Maps Team blog introducing Google Earth 6)
• The Heroes of Google Earth, a showcase of the people who have “used Google Earth as a tool to help them change the world.”

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not totally opposed to Google Earth. That would be a little like opposing the tides or the wind at this point. Besides, there are some truly cool and funny ways to use Google Sketchup. See this video for inspiration (and a laugh).

My main problem with Google Earth and its offspring …

My main problem with Google Earth and its offspring is that I keep hearing the echo of those propagating mushroom aliens from the Ray Bradbury story. Here’s why.

In order to use Google Earth at all, you have to first accept Google’s privacy policies, which we all know are pretty scary. (Brief summary: “We may use the information we collect to: (1) Provide, maintain, protect, and improve our services (including advertising services) and develop new services; and (2) protect the rights or property of Google or our users.”) No doubt about who Google is protecting with its privacy policies. Hint: It ain’t you, babe.

But even worse, to use Google Earth at all, you have to allow Google to automatically update “any Google software on your computer” in the background. And if you happen to forget this tiny requirement, the popup box when you try to run Google Earth will halt the program and issue this terse reminder: “… To continue using Google Earth, you must accept the new Google privacy policies and allow Google Software Update to run in the background on your computer.”

Eep! I don’t allow any company to run its software “in the background” on my computer, since most politely allow a manual download. Updates break things. Always. I don’t like being a guinea pig tester for new software. And, besides, Google is the last outfit I want sniffing around in my background. It’s not by coincidence that they are located next to an airfield used by the military and have key federal contracts. Who knows what they’re doing, why, when, how or . . . did I mention what??? What exactly is it Google wants to do in my computer’s background?

Now it’s true you can run Google Earth as a plug-in in your browser or an app on your phone without Google Software Update running in the background. But if you want to use the fancy desktop version of Google Earth, it comes with Google’s Goon Squad.

If we build it, they will come …

Google Sketchup has virtual shelves full of “dynamic components” to help you build your 3D models. And on one of those shelves is … drum roll here … People (aka avatars). There are only three people offered so far from Sketchup (although contributors have added others here). But two of them have names already–Sang and Nancy. And you know what happens once you name something. And no, they don’t walk, and they don’t talk … yet.

But they will. Animation is coming to Google Earth. In fact, it’s already here, in the spore stage (oops! Freudian slip intended). The Sketchup blog devoted a whole post yesterday to the Shaderlight rendering and animation tool made by “our friends across the pond.” Animation doesn’t mean exactly the same thing in Sketchup as it does in Second Life; it’s more perspective that moves in Sketchup, rather than people. So far …

But hey, it takes awhile to get things moving. First you have to build them. And it takes awhile to build a whole Second Earth. (OMG! Did that name actually slip off my tongue???) Take a look at this vid on Tiger Glen Garden to see the state of animation already in Sketchup. Even I have to say it’s beautiful.

Oh yes, the avatars will come. If we build it, they will come. They might even be us.

Google Earth will become Earth’s alt

My prediction is that Google Earth will become Earth’s alt. Everyone will have an avatar there within a year or so. Your postman will deliver your mail there. Why bother with a real-world route? Who gets snail mail anymore anyway? Your avatar will do your errands at the bank, school, grocery store, and dry cleaners. Free up tons of time for you to …  wander around Google Earth? Not worry about disease or war or bioterrorism? The real world will exist mostly for deliveries. And Second Life? Just a quaint playground in an historical walled garden, perhaps part of Google’s “Historical Imagery” accessible through the Google Earth Time Travel Service.

Taking realism to the next level

It’s important to keep in mind that Google Earth is not a Second anything. It’s our Real Life, or Google’s replica of it anyway. The Google Earth and Maps Team said it best on its blog when Google Earth 6 was released in November: “We’re taking realism in the virtual globe to the next level.” Taking realism to the next level??? Eep … again.

Isn’t there something a little creepy about Google putting its name as an adjective in front of the word Earth? Every time I look at the Google Earth URL (www.google.com/earth), I get chills up my spine. It’s almost as if “earth” is a domain of Google. And pretty soon Google will probably shorten the name Google Earth to just Earth. It won’t need the Google modifier anymore. It’ll just be understood that the Earth belongs to Google.

Believe it or not, these folks at Zeega are recruiting someone who can “hear story ideas.” I don’t believe I have ever seen that in a job description before. I was struck to see an employer articulate the process so concisely. This listening process is exactly what I try to do when I write poems and stories and make videos.

Attracting story ideas is the idea behind almost everything I do. It’s why I construct virtual poem parks in Second Life, why I built my little (virtual) blogging studio down by the koi pond at my (virtual) home (feel free to visit!), why I construct moody landscapes like this wintry one in Farley Crabgrass’s beautiful video A Second Life Winter’s Night, why I built the little interactive flower path in front of the Elf Circle library that gives out lines of a poem when you walk on it (visit it here), why I log into Second Life to do most of my writing, why I write this blog–why I have a second life at all. It’s all a virtual story stakeout!

Story ideas are such shy and skittish things, like wild birds, or butterflies, or deer. You have to sit still in the places that they frequent, have patience, and eventually the ideas will come. Build it . . . and they will come.

Anyway, back to the job offer that appeared in my very own gmail box this morning. To Bay Sweetwater:

“We are thrilled to announce a new job opening for Zeega’s Director of Projects + Community Partnerships. Zeega, winner of the 2011 Knight News Challenge, is an open source platform for creating interactive documentaries and inventing new forms of storytelling. You would join a core team of futurists in the fields of journalism, documentary arts, interactive design and social entrepreneurship.

“Zeega is being developed at the metaLAB (at) Harvard, a new experimental research, design and development group for innovation in the arts, media and humanities at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society. Zeega is housed within the independent 501(c)3 non-profit Media And Place (MAP) Productions, the ultimate employer for this position.”

Harvard! That’s where I first got involved in Second Life. It was during the historic CyberOne law course, taught by Charles and Rebecca Nesson through the Harvard Extension and the Berkman Center. I was participating as part of the “At Large” community, a group of students stretched out around the (real) world. CyberOne was Harvard’s experiment in opening a few law classes to anyone, anywhere in the world, without prerequisites. Classes were held both at the bricks-and-mortar Harvard Law School, and at the virtual Harvard Law School in Second Life.

My avatar, with Bruiser II, at Austin Hall in SL during CyberOne

One of the assignments was to create an avatar and explore Second Life. Once I did, I never looked back. I found a whole new life. I still hang out in the Berkman Island sandbox in Second Life, always hoping Harvard will offer another virtual course. They are rebuilding Berkman’s main building, so hopefully virtual Harvard will rise again soon.

But back to the job announcement. Job requirements include the expected “communicate, collaborate, create,” but there’s also another showstopper:

“Inventing new forms of storytelling that creatively combine text messaging, interactive audio, tablet browsing, awesome maps, online data feeds, physical objects, networked receipt printers, portable projectors, print media and tons of things we haven’t even begun to consider.”

Wow. They had me at “new forms of storytelling,” but to go on about the “tons of things we haven’t even begun to consider” piqued my interest even more. The very reason I’ve built my whole (second) life is to find new ways to tell stories. This job fits me like a glove.

Except for one little thing: I think the candidate has to be atomic. As in, biological. At least I think so, since the job announcement says candidates have to work in Cambridge Mass. And, well, sadly, all I have are pixels. But, hey, Zeega, they’re really awesome pixels!

But wait, I just had a brainstorm. This job is mixed up  with the Berkman Center for Internet & Society. Hmmm, the Internet  . . .  as in web, metaspace . . . virtual space. I could work on the Internet! Except the job says no telecommuting. This is curious. Now I’m not one to criticize Harvard . . . well, maybe just needle a little bit: OMG! Kicked Outta Harvard Because of My Boots). But why is it that the jobs I see with the Berkman Center for Internet & Technology never involve working over the Internet? Why do they  always want their candidates to be in Cambridge? I mean, for heaven’s sake, the Internet is all over the place these days. Even in other worlds!

I could easily work from Berkman Island in Second Life! I could walk from the Berkman sandbox, over the (virtual) Charles River, to whatever (virtual) digs replace the old Austin Hall replica. We could all brainstorm there. We could even [dramatic pause] . . . build our stories in Second Life! Build our poems, our videos, our dreams. . . practice hands-on building those illusive story ideas out in the sandbox!

Second Life is perfect for stalking story ideas and giving them virtual form. I do it all the time. I can sit for hours at my paint-spattered writing desk, or my floating bookpile, or the sunstreaked woodland glens . . . and just wait. The ideas always come. P.S. It helps that four dayscapes pass in SL to every one in a real world day. Four mornings, four afternoons, four nights, four skies full of stars; stories have four times as many chances to appear!

Ah well . . . they say I’m just a dreamer. But as another dreamer once said: “I’m not the only one.” Check out Robbie Dingo’s masterful video Watch the World, and you’ll get the picture. Robbie dedicated his video to ” the many weird and very wonderful strangers from around the globe I have met, but have never really met.” These weird and very wonderful strangers live all over the Internet, and that’s where we need to be if we’re going to hear their stories.

They say I'm just a dreamer.

On of my Poem Parks: Wordsworth's "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud"

by Bay Sweetwater

Can a rose who blooms beyond the reach of summer sunbeam,
Awakening to feel the chill and loneliness of thorns,
Missing fragile whisper of companionable petals,
Hold dear the amaranthine dream wherein its flower was born?