SL Bloggers - Your Thoughts

[Medhue Simoni]

Yesterday, LL posted a blog asking SL Bloggers to submit articles. Immediately, I thought, this is great that LL is trying to pull in the community to leverage what we all have to offer. Now, admitedly, I'm not a blogger. The forums and discussions are more what I'm into, not that blogs can't do the same thing. Plus, I just have always felt that blogs outside the SL/LL website were just never the way to go. I've always felt LL should allow us all to have our own blogs right here in the SL website.

Again, I see how LL is trying to think up ways to get every1 involved, and that's definitely the way to go. Maybe tho, it is impossible for any person to even imagine the needs of the community, and bringing ideas up in a discussion first, would be a more productive way of understanding all the hurdles. What LL has proposed sounds like quite a bit of work everytime just to pick a blog article. IMHO, this is not how you utilize software by creating more manual jobs.

Although, each of us having our own SL blogs, maybe in our profiles, would require coding time and server space, the end result is no manual labor at all. The system would just always have the most popular, most recent blog posted by any1. I guess you could have some editor check it, but I don't really feel that is necessary, most of the time.

As far as some of the other requirements, like not being published elsewhere, I don't quite understand this. In a world where the content creators are kings, trying to enslave an individuals article sounds a big overreaching.

I will also say to those that think they should get paid, LL promoting you should be more than enough payment. If you can't figure out how to turn that into tangable goods, you need to get more serious about what you do.

Since LL closed the blog, I will post it here and please comment on your thoughts of the blog or on my thoughts.

http://community.secondlife.com/t5/Inworld/Calling-All-Bloggers/bc-p/1373587#M2818

[Knowl Paine]

I like the idea as LL has presented it.

Isn't Feed already a sort of Inworld Blog?

I agree that promotion from LL should be enough, also asking for money is off base.

[Amethyst Jetaime]

I look at the blogs to see what the LINDENS have to say.  If I want to read other peoples blogs I know how to look them up.  In fact, I'd rather do that because you get their true thoughts, not and edited version.

I took a look at the guidelines but they are too restrictive and don't see any reason to want to participate.  They may edit the content - editing for grammar is OK, but it probably means sanitize it,  remove anything that they find the least negative about LL or edit it so much that it doesn't resemble anything you wrote.  Plus you can't publish it anywhere else.

I also have severe reservations that this is going to turn out like everything else they do.  Their 'favorites' will get in and reap any benefits and everyone else is just wasting time, just like any other time they've allowed non Lindens to post an entry.  I wouldn't be surprised if they already have chosen who they want and this post is just a screen so they can say it was open to everyone because of the complaints they get about it.

Lets face it their blogs are terrible.  Its pretty bad when most of the posts are from months ago except the Pic of the day which most don't even care about.  If they want an active blog they should post more things themselves, or hire residents and give them fair compensation in either lindens or tier breaks.  Why shouldn't they? They are going to use this to promote SL you can be sure of that. They already said that you can't use it to market anything or be "too self promotional" and I bet they edit out anything that is the least promotional (unless of course your a vamp or breeder creator)

I do however like your idea of internal blogs.

[Thinkerer Melville]

I like the idea of using feeds  as personal blogs.  I don't know the length limits, but one could  use multiple posts to say a lot.   With the snapshot capability, people could post about things they are interested in an include pictures.   Speaking as a regular blogger, I will rely on my own promotion rather than that of LL.

TKR

[Yohan Roux]

Seems they may want just positive stories for an add campaign, not sure they should ask us, think lots of us have tales they wont like, I take every opportunity to promote my company so everything I would write would be self promotion.

Could describe a battle, I have been at many, the battles of Sparta against Arcadia were epic, I played "Lagos" an arcadian one of the arcadian kings body guards, Sparta was the biggest army in sl, over 300 strong, so when they raided they could only bring 50 or so, so bought the 50 on form, but Arcadia had a good king and queen and attracted all the nomadic fighters, they had the best, two wolves, illyium, and many more but Sparta had their champions to, they fought as the Spartan army did, in ranks, they out numbered us so we used stealth and tricks, the king led like all kings of old, from the front and died with us, while the Spartan king stood at the back with his general's in front of him, we fought hard and often lost, the numbers against us were great but we worked in teams with hit and run and killed more of them that they us, arcadia became one of the most respected armies in sl, they were great days.

 

About lagos, Lagos was a mountain man, a loner, he earnt his living by selling his sword, the arcadian king and queen offered him a home so he became thier sword.

[Perrie Juran]

---

Medhue Simoni wrote:

Again, I see how LL is trying to think up ways to get every1 involved

, and that's definitely the way to go. Maybe tho, it is impossible for any person to even imagine the needs of the community, and bringing ideas up in a discussion first, would be a more productive way of understanding all the hurdles. What LL has proposed sounds like quite a bit of work everytime just to pick a blog article. IMHO, this is not how you utilize software by creating more manual jobs.

---

First and foremost we have told them repeatedly that the first ingredient to getting every one involved is to treat us with dignity, respect, courtesy and honesty.  But they have continued to ignore all the business acumen that has been available to them here.  So at this point I'd be reluctant to volunteer it.

 

---

Amethyst Jetaime wrote:

I look at the blogs to see what the LINDENS have to say.  If I want to read other peoples blogs I know how to look them up.  In fact, I'd rather do that because you get their true thoughts, not and edited version.

---

What they should be doing is posting 'teasers' in those other blogs and forums and telling people to come here to find out the juicy details.  (oops, i just gave advice I wasn't going to do.  /me sighs)

 

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Knowl Paine wrote:

I agree that promotion from LL should be enough, also asking for money is off base.

---

Reading the post it sounds like they are wanting others to write advertising copy for them and for that I would want compensation.  It does not sound like they are asking for unbiased journalism.

 

Virtual Worlds are built primarily on social interaction.  When a request comes from a 'bot,' i.e., "Linden Lab," not an individual, i.e., Torley or Rodvik or whomever, it is a turn off. 

[Orca Flotta]

I posted this in NWN as well:

 

When I read the post I immediately thought SHOW STOPPER!

No Pay and heavy censorship don't go down well with me. Apart from that my goofy English skills won't secure me a "job" as guest blogger for the lab anyway.

We all know what they want and expect: some fanbois and -gurlz shouting HOO! and screaming in glee about all the friggin wonders you can find in SL. They do this expecting to achieve a quasi legitimate unbiased journalistic credibility without really having to deal with exactly that.

Write a blog for LL:
Mention lag, mention borked sim crossings, mention banlines, fugly builds, deserted sims, griefer attacks, bad content, mention the sim deathwatch, mention anything about the not so good sides of SL and its inhabitants and you'll see what they understand as editing.

I surely hope this new initiative will backfire on the lab!

[Jennifer Boyle]

My thought is, "If LL really wanted my input, this would be on my dashboard," and IT IS NOT!  The last thing there is the December 23 post from Rodvik.

More Linden opacity, I'd say.

We need transparency.

[161488303349]

i think to that will be moslty puff pieces. if so then that be quite a wasted opportunity i think

one that could be useful is someone like nalates urriah who chronicles whats happening on the technical side of sl on her blog in a very easy to read and straightforward way. i read all the time

someone like dusan writer as well, he is an excellent blogger and writes with heaps of intelligence. he not written anything on his blog for ages so not sure what happened to him. but if linden got him then i would read all the time

tateru nino as well. she is sharp as a tack

ordinal malaprop have a whole style of her own. not blogs much anymore tho. but when she do they real gems

gweneth llewellyn as well. she ramble sometimes even more than me. but nothing that a good editing cant fix. she have an enquiring mind, always posing questions and looking for answers

prad prathivi as well, he can be really funny and witty when he gets going. not blog much either these days tho

maybe daniel voyager for the travelogues. he a bouncy peppy kinda guy

same like torley linden. be good to see him back on the front pages as well

+

the thing with all these names above is they smart, clever and intelligent ppl and they write very well. each in their way and that a good thing.  like they not churn out puff copy.

they not afraid to criticise linden and give equal praise when is deserved. when they do criticise tho they do it with grace and poise. that the secret to that i think. is not a whinefest when they do

so if linden wants bloggers then can maybe get these guys and others like them. and pay them bc they worth it. they would get more ppl to this website than anyone

[Porky Gorky]

Surely the only SL blogger worth mentioning is Prok. If you want unbiased and constructive opinions delivered with zero drama then that's the place to go.  :smileywink:

[161488303349]

umm!

i actual like prokofy. is a bit brutal sometimes but still he have an inimitable style. like the other names i mention prokofy passionate about sl. probably more than anyone. but nah! not for linden blogs anyways. doubt whether prokofy would want to do it. maybe but cant see it

[Porky Gorky]

Yes, I take nothing away from her passion and commitment to SL and to her blog. And as much as I dislke her due to a bit of a forum fued we had many years ago,  I still read her blog whenever there is an update. so she is doing something right.

Sarcasm aside, she does deserve a place along side those other bloggers you mentioned.

[161488303349]

on my list of top 10 sl bloggers then prokofy certainly be on it, yes, easy along with them other names

[Phil Deakins]

---

Porky Gorky wrote:

Surely the only SL blogger worth mentioning is Prok. If you want unbiased and constructive opinions delivered with zero drama then that's the place to go.  :smileywink:

---

Not really. In fact not at all. But it depends whether or not you want anything resembling truth. If you do, don't rely on that particular blog.

[Porky Gorky]

Those comments you quoted Phil were me being sarcastic.

I still think her blog should be included, if not just for the entertainment value and the arguing in the comments section.

[Orca Flotta]

Prok is a miserable capitalistic ultra-reactionary spin doctor. I disagree with her completely, and heartily hate every word she spits out.

In other words: she's one of SL's most memorable and opinionated bloggers. Definately belongs into the top 10 group!

A MUST READ!

[Phil Deakins]

Sorry, Porky. I didn't realise that :smileysad:

[theconfidant]

I have preference to FORUM CONFIDENTIAL.  They write the headlines and let you write the truth via letters to the editors about SL forum life.   

[Perrie Juran]

---

Porky Gorky wrote:

Yes, I take nothing away from her passion and commitment to SL and to her blog. And as much as I dislke her due to a bit of a forum fued we had many years ago,  I still read her blog whenever there is an update. so she is doing something right.

Sarcasm aside, she does deserve a place along side those other bloggers you mentioned.

---

I enjoy reading Prok also.  Sometimes his/hers (I'm still not sure which) assessments are spot on, other times I disagree strongly. 

But getting back to LL's request, LL is unclear about what they are wanting.  All bloggers editorialize to some extent.  I could be wrong but my guess would be that LL would only want 'fanboi' pieces to post there.  Would LL be willing to allow counter points to be posted?  Balanced views? 

As I stated above, if it is just fanboi pieces they want then all they are seeking is free advertising copy.

[Prokofy Neva]

Medhue, you don't realize that in the real world of real publications and blogging online, a world I've worked in for as long as the Internet has existed, publications take ownership of your work. You supply "a work for hire" and they get the copyright. And that's only fair, as they *pay you* or if they don't they give you visibility that you lack on your blogspot.

I can't think of a single real-life web site with paid content where the editors grant you copyright so that you can copy and publish the same thing they just paid you for, somewhere else.

Indeed, when my work is copied all over the world, sometimes without credit to me, the most the owners of sites can do is complain that i should be credited, if that's their rule visible on their site as a condition of re-publication, and if there is a fee involved, they pocket it, not me.

That's because running publications costs money, and there isn't enough to allow the precious snowflakes the ability to keep undermining the unique value of a piece by reprinting it for pay elsewhere. This is standard throughout the publishing industry and I don't know where you're getting the idea it isn't.

As for being paid, well, blogging is dirt cheap. $50 a post is a treasure; try $5 a post. The Internet has driven the cost of content to zero because programmers made it that way. It's their fault. Not editors' fault. This is war. You no doubt supported the anti-SOPA campaign. Ok, well, then you made the Internet free for piracy and rip-offs of content and driving it to cost $0. You should have supported it then.

It's great to be paid, but it's also very standard these days all over the place, from Huffington Post to various niche foreign policy sites NOT to pay. That's why Huffington bloggers "went on strike" when they were sold to AOL and didn't get a penny. And I support that by not commenting for a long time on Huffington so as not to add to the traffic. But it's a harsh reality of our times on the Internet -- no pay, and see your work eviscerated.

There's always your own blog. And that's exactly where I go.

secondthoughts.typepad.com  -- see my article on this subject for further thoughts

[Prokofy Neva]

Oh, sure, actually I'd be glad to blog for the Lindens for free! Because I get that it would be a huge boon for me for my own personal blog and even my inworld business to get my brand out there.

But excuse me while I first earn a living writing content for other people who will pay me a pittance and/or strip my name of the content, because that is life in the big city LOL.

And in my spare time, sure I will blog on my SL blog and even write for the Lindens.

My only question to LL is: what's the word count? They failed to supply the word count limit. 500 words maybe?

I don't think we can expect to get paid for something like this because the editors are doing you a favour, unfortunately, real life works that way. They have gadzillion traffic; I have little by comparison. They don't have to pay me simply because content is devauled and they can find takers for $0. And you get the recognition.

I doubt the Lindens would publish me or want to be linked to my controversial blog, but I will try a few pieces -- like I said, when I'm done earning a living first.

 

[Prokofy Neva]

I think truth is actually my brand. But I can understand if traffic infusers don't like my truths.

[Prokofy Neva]

It will be fanboi stuff.

But that's ok. It's their game. Write on your own blog about your own game.

The Lindens have a problem: they can't get refreshed content on their blog. Rodvik hasn't written for ages, none of them have. They are too busy just running the platform and doing their thing. It's hard. And expensive. They can't justify hiring another Hamlet again or having Wallace Lindens, er, "curate the conversation" or whatever it was that...Wallace did.

They have to use/exploit the resident fanbase, and that's ok. It's a great idea. The Linden who has to edit the stuff will have enough work but at least it will be passionate.

[June Stormcrow]

Thanks for the laugh. Almost made me spit out my coffee. Prok's blog is a great read for exactly those reasons. But, I find train wrecks inspiring, so my opinion may be biased here.

[GothGirl Demonia]

The biggest site if you want to advertise is called www.mmorpg.com and it deals with anythign from RPG based title games to Second Life & Sandbox based games which I consider Second Life to be a mixture of some of these things.

Blogs on the Second Life service, Would be good if used properly, but would also give stores the ability to False Advertise, and other illegal things as well as make it possible to repeat grief other residents/Troll with the blogs by listing them on Google before Linden Lab can remove them for example you search (Bob The Avatars Name) and you see a lot of stuff posted about them before LL removed the blog because its on the google cache.

 

Although Currently while I don't use Second Life as much as I once did and still Enjoy SL only with friends and hanging around with people I know, Second Life itself has a a very bad reputation for things like.

1. CopyBotting

2. Griefers/ IP harvesting Systems (CDS) (RED ZONE)

3. Lack of Age Verification/Security.

4. No ability to protect peoples content.

5. Griefers/Hacking, No security to keep them out and deal with them.

Second Life can be advertised as a Troll based RPG, because I have had griefers attack sims for the Lulz claiming it was me and the people believed it causing More Grief and Drama, and then you have the Griefer CopyBot groups throught some of the SL RPG Games like GOR, and Bloodlines two specific groups handing out ripped content in 2009, and 2010 left and right nothing done about it when reported maybe there wasn't enough evidence so they got away with it, and yes it upsets me bad to see that people I know are loosing their work to such people.

I may not support full Copyright Laws, as in my opinions maybe different than what they are, but to go and rip off entire stores, and grief others just for no reason at all like I see all the random Sandbox spamming, and such is just a bit too much for me.

Linden Lab...

Lets do something about a lot of this griefing, and deal with the Owners who are supporting Griefing, and Drama, I really don't care a big Estate Company or not, if you have people on your simulators CopyBotting, and Griefing constantly then it should be dealt with.  I remember in 2010 I reported to an Estate Company that this person was doing this stuff, and they said something in response, we just rent the land contact Linden Lab  So I did that, but really the person is still there that I know of, and they are allowing him to continue to steal stuff from people. I was a member of the group for almost an entire year, and we never had this type of stuff at least not this bad until this Gorean guy showed up too.

I deal with as much griefing as possible when I see it, but sometimes it becomes too much for a Normal User/Player to deal with everything that happens grid wide, sometimes things are not seen, and there is just too much for any resident themselves to handle.

Another Way I would Advertise Second Life, or Blog About SL is like this.

Second Life is a Stand Alone service, Linden Lab provides service, which is use at your own risk.  For example. Linden Lab can't control griefing, they do nothing about rumors spread by other players because they have been around since 2006, and they have the right to grief other residents because they own 12 RP simulators so they have the right to spread false rumors they can't prove. While I have covered my own behind by spending a month collecting evidence against their staff which I currently have it has been a real pain dealing with the rumors this group spread, and all because of one person who played there and didn't like an opinion, so they decided to grief or have their friends do it just to get me banned from the simulators more than likely this is really the only reasonable explaination as they asked if I was banned from all of the sims before this griefing started and said they thought I was.

Second Life was made for a good purpose, and has good intetions I will always see it for that the fact you can build or create almost anything currently Second Life still holds that record for content creation and such as you can make almost any RPG in SL, however as the years grow older this game needs new huds designed to work with the actual game so people can create their own SL based MMORPG's simple themselves, and rules for RP etc, but the real question is if every gamer out there wants to spend hours of their time in a Service like this given the fact that there is so much Drama, and Griefers, when they could be on World OF Warcraft, or a game like APB having fun and enjoying it rather than paying for land which can cost more than your average MMORPG montly cost, and having to deal with this type of stuff.