plt;pgt;amp;lt;pamp;gt;amp;amp;lt;pamp;amp;gt;amp;amp;amp;lt;pamp;amp;amp;gt;Koinup: Your amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href=amp;amp;amp;amp;quot;http://www.koinup.com/amp;amp;amp;amp;quot;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Virtual Lifeamp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/aamp;amp;amp;amp;gt;amp;amp;amp;lt;/pamp;amp;amp;gt;amp;amp;lt;/pamp;amp;gt;amp;lt;/pamp;gt;lt;/pgt;/p Here's the latest cool challenge from NWN partner Koinup: Create beautiful SL screenshots using the various settings of WindLight, with no after-image touch-ups with Photoshop or other software. Instead, in the Windlight, No Postprocessing Contest,... SLHamlet Contests NWN Partner News and Announcements

Here's the results to last week's survey on SL business performance, and they track with the Lindens' official economic stats; more than half the respondents say their earnings have suffered a downturn in recent months. Deepest impacted were the Donna... SLHamlet Economics of SL Survey

For an evil demigod, it must be the ultimate indignity: Dread Cthulu, the Great Immortal One, the primordial incarnation of unspeakable horror, is now an adorable test tube baby you can raise inside your bouffant Second Life hairdo. Worse still,... SLHamlet Non-profit/social applications of SL SL Fashion

Last week I wondered if Burning Life was still relevant in Second Life's post-Burning Man era; recently I noticed that GavinLeigh Wake created an unofficial blog devoted to the upcoming temporary arts festival in SL. Right now it's mostly a... SLHamlet Burning Life 2007 Web Resource

Please take these two surveys if you haven't already. I should be compiling and reporting the results in the next few days! SLHamlet NWN Site Info/Projects

As it turns out, Second Life culture is not a uniquely odd society with no real world analogues. Instead, it's useful to compare SL to the Tokugawa/Edo period of Japan, which ushered that country into the modern era, preparing it... SLHamlet Deep Thoughts Mixed Reality Mondays Mixed Reality Profile Research and academia Social Structures, Social Upheaval

Now here's an image that makes me smile: Bettina Tizzy at Stubb's, Twittering a post-talk after-action report over a plate of ribs and several Lone Star beers. You can help make that possible, because Ms. Tizzy, metaverse art maven supreme... SLHamlet Architecture Art projects in SL Mixed Reality Mondays

Friday's post, "Is The Second Life Experience Fundamentally Gen X-Centric?", has garnered a very interesting, thought-provoking Comment thread, including several educators with first-hand experience trying (with much difficulty) to interest their Millenial students in Second Life. Most of them seem... SLHamlet Education in SL Mixed Reality Mondays

Leading OpenSim developer Adam Frisby (Adam Zaius in SL) is presenting the open source world at the Virtual Worlds Expo in September (where I'm also appearing), and he's looking for high resolution images of OpenSim builds. Selected builds win "6... SLHamlet Mixed Reality Mondays Open Sim

"Whether they're designing eco-homes or a new mass transit system," reads the subhead to the cover story of the latest issue of Small Biz, BusinessWeek's spin-off magazine devoted to small business and start-ups, "entrepreneurs are finding virtual worlds provide them... SLHamlet Mixed Reality Mondays Real World Applications of SL

Survey: what's the state of your SL business? ... Is Second Life fundamentally a Gen X experience? ... The concurrency plateau ends-- but does that matter? ... An artist turns avatar screenshots into digital paintings-- revealing the personality within... What's... SLHamlet Weekly Recap

As of the last hour, a five month plateau period has finally, decisively ended. In late March, Second Life's peak concurrency reached 66,429, a record number of Residents in-world. Up until then, this peak was growing at an average of... SLHamlet DEMOGRAPHICS

This is ideal weekend viewing: "X Genesis", created by Joga Kidd, an accomplished machinima maker, apparently a trailer to a feature-length production set for a June 2009 premiere. Gloriously shot and edited, with incandescent visual effects throughout, it's the story... SLHamlet SL Machinima

What if you considered cheating in Second Life as wrong, and that it constituted "whatever my real life partner would be hurt by"-- but still engaged in sexual and romantic acts that easily fit within that definition? Why would you... SLHamlet Sex and Romance SL blogger link

"Generation X" generally refers to people born between 1961 to 1981-- i.e., between the ages of 27 and 47 now. That happens to represents the vast majority of Residents in Second Life. According to the most recently available Linden stats,... SLHamlet Deep Thoughts DEMOGRAPHICS SL blogger link

"It's possible," I recently mused to a technology journalist, "that Second Life may become an immersive Photoshop, and even if its user base remains smaller than many other virtual worlds, it'll go on to become a content creation platform that... SLHamlet Art projects in SL New World Tableau

September 3 and 4, I'll be appearing on a panel and signing books at the Virtual Worlds Expo in Los Angeles, which will also feature dozens of metaverse developers and media involved in one way or another with Second Life... SLHamlet NWN Media Appearances NWN Site Info/Projects Web Resource

The anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks is fast approaching, and Delinda Dyrssen, owner of the New York, NYC sim is seeking volunteers to record the names of that day's victims to an audio stream that will be broadcast... SLHamlet Non-profit/social applications of SL SL blogger link

Charlanna Beresford’s weekly round-up of upcoming SL events… Hair, hair and more hair! If you love shopping for hair, then you’ll be as happy as a kitten with a ball of yarn for the opening of the 3rd Annual SL... Lanna Events

Online Surveys & Market Research To judge by the Lindens' official economic stats, the second quarter of 2008 saw a slight decrease in total SL-based businesses with a positive monthly Linden Dollar flow-- i.e. entrepreneurs bringing in more L$ revenue... SLHamlet Economics of SL Survey