I love the idea of Second Life. I always thought it was creative. There are real or should I say virtual businesses in Second Life that charge you for products and services while charging you real money in the real world for those virtual products and services. Ingenious. It almost reminds me of a Hollywood movie, or should I say people’s view of a movie – whatever they see is real. For instance an action star is really a tough guy in real life or that actor who always plays the President of the United States is real presidential material. The point I am making is the make believe world of movies and television is real to millions of people in the world. Why can’t an online world be treated as real or thought of as real?  Hollywood makes hundreds of millions of dollars a year on escapism.  The Internet just figured out a way to get into the semi-reality entertainment business and its not even a video war game. CNN can probably get some real insight into virtual people.

I have been following Second Life since it began. I had my misgivings, because we already have children sitting in front of televisions watching bizarre reality programs (that are not really about reality), insanely weird cartoons, video games of all kinds, online games, chat rooms, online games where you only be viewed as an avatar, etc.. The point I am making is that I did not want to promote more escapism.

I gave it some thought and realized that movies and television are escapism. Second Life is a kind of escapism but one where people can literally be someone else and MAKE MONEY. For instance there are real estate brokers making money. There are regular people/avatars reselling parcels of land (server space). The IRS is trying to find some way of taxing people. Hey the minute the IRS got involved Second Life became a legitimate world. I think it is now 270 Linden dollars equals 1 real U.S. dollar.

Second Life is a different form of communication. Prior to the Internet most people escaped the drudgery of the world through television and movies. Second Life is another form of escapism but one that enables corporate America to participate in.  For the average person Second Life is like a chat room on steroids.  On this point of communication and interaction I am sure we will need to watch our P’s and Q’s because who knows who is actually on the other side of the avatar. But getting back to news.

With agencies like Reuters(NAS:RTRSY) and CNN entering Second Life it may actually lead to either more useful information/news or more of the same useless banter on television and in the newspapers in the real world.

It is possible that Second Life may become a home for alternative news agencies; that is not the mainstream groups like CNN. The great thing about the Internet for news is that it gives alternative news agencies a chance to broadcast their version of the world. Of course there are the extremists and whack jobs but frankly, if you are inclined to listen to the crazies you will read only news from crazies, which can be found on street corners and secret meeting locations today.

CNN can use Second Life to report on real stories in the real world or virtual stories in the virtual world. What I think will likely occur is CNN driving the virtual people to real stories. Of course this will probably happen in the beginning. Then like most things in the news business they will report on the virtual comings and goings of the avatars in Second Life. Heck, CNN may be able to actually charge avatars for the virtual stories about virtual events. I am not being facetious.

Lately, the legitimate news media has been getting footage from regular people and their camera cell phones. There is a growing dependence on citizen reporters. Hence, it makes sense that CNN would ask the virtual citizens of Second Life to submit their own reports; simply brilliant. Maybe a cellular handset vendor will be able to manufacture a virtual cell phone camera and sell the handset to avatars. With this virtual cell phone camera the citizen avatar journalists can roam the streets of a Second Life city looking for a story. I am not joking.

Second Life is a bit of a weird experience but frankly it may enable greater freedom for those cannot find a voice in the so-called real world.

Right now what we hear today are the opinions of the mainstream news media, aka self absorbed, self righteous left wing and right wing crazies. Both extreme sides not willing to listen to each other and frankly both more focused on their interpretation of events and not reporting the events.

The Internet can afford us average folks to hear the opinions of real people or citizen journalists. These opinions can be live news feeds about events that the so-called mainstream news media won’t spend a second looking at because they can’t charge enough advertising fees for them. Why should I listen to an anchor on a network news program? Is it because she is considered America’s sweetheart or because he is America’s most experienced newsman? Come on, get real. The news media is either trying to sell papers or sell commercial time. Their job is to get you interested in watching their programs. Based on some of the things that have gone on in the real world with real journalists, the news media already knows how to make up fake (virtual) stories. Why should I let the so-called legitimate media try to tell me what to think? I am more than happy to hear other sides of a story or maybe a story about a part of the country I don’t live in.

Second Life may become a new distribution outlet for news media agencies. Second Life may actually force the so-called mainstream news media to do a better job at reporting the news than they are today.

First Published: 11/26/2007