I am not going to rant about Linden's last raising of the OpenSpace prices. Because this time, it's not about running the biz wisely nor respecting the customers. It's about friends leaving second life or retreating because they cannot afford (or don't want to pay too much for) virtual land anymore. This time it's personal.
Because, that chunk of data, that grayscale image that renders into 3D mesh with ground texture, is a very personal thing.
Many newcomers into second life ask how to get land. And the answer is always the same:
You don't need land yet. You can live happily for months, even years as a nomad, exploring the grid, crashing at friend's place when needed, finding secluded spots on good-looking sims…
But eventually, you'll need land. You'll want to start a shop, or a club, or just want to have your own spot to do whatever you do. A place to call home. Place where you don't worry if you saved your last project or just left it to stay around. Place where you control the music stream, quiet spot to change the clothes or sort the inventory. Place for which you choose all the furniture or maybe which you have completely built.
Land is one's second extension into pixel-world, avatar being the first. Just as with the avatar, we build and represent ourselves with our use of the virtual land. It cannot move, but it stays there when we're logout. It's the place your friends drop by to feel you and leave the message when you're not around. It's a manifestation of our dreams and ideas. That's what this world is all about, remember?
And human mind is a very tricky mechanism. It connects the ideas. It connects people with events and events with images. So that piece of beach on the image above, right under the hill, means something to me in my sweet little heart. Because of one morning. Because of who I spent that morning with. It doesn't matter that piece of land is covered with prims now, it's there. It flashes occasionally while I am rezzing slow, like in the moment that picture is taken. It makes me smile, it makes my thoughts stray for a second. Then gray prims rezz all over it, hiding it back in safety. And that happens with prims as well. Like a freebie prim tree a friend of mine rezz wherever her home is. Trust me, sitting under that tree is a different experience.
Yes, I will agree that virtual land is just server space. But, this is not about server space. It's about what we are doing with that server space.
Leave a Reply