Wed Sept 28, 4:30PM SL/PST Inside the Avatar’s Studio: Architecting the Future

This week, Kevin Feenan and our guest Terry Beaubois (aka Tab Scott) will discuss the challenges of architecting the future and its potential for effecting social dissonance.

Simultaneous live broadcast at http://metaversetv.com/live/
SLURL: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Rockcliffe%20Library/243/12/32

Frank Lloyd Wright was once quoted as saying “A doctor can bury his mistakes but an architect can only advise his client to plant vines”. If God is truly in the details, as suggested by Ludwig Mies, then the next generation of avatars involved with virtual business, government, and education are going to have their work cut out for them. The balancing act between architecting the future, while at the same time having a wide variety of ‘horticultural tools’ to draw the eye away from a lack of attention to detail, has the potential to lead to social dissonance.

About Terry Beaubois

Terry (aka Tab Scott) is the Director of the Creative Research Lab in the College of Arts & Architecture, at Montana State University

Terry Beaubois (SL: Tab Scott) is an architect with over 35 years of professional practice. He is also a University teacher and researcher. Starting out in Second life in 2005, Terry designed a “Digital Collaboration for Architects” class in the College of Arts & Architecture at Montana State University. The success of the class gained international notoriety when Popular Science magazine wrote “…..a version of Beaubois’ classroom could become the standard for distance learning.” (Sept, 2006).

Recently, Terry has demonstrated a new After School Partnership technology for use by MSU Dept. of Education and Montana K-12 schools, for Homework help, Math-Science, Mentoring, and Book Clubs. One part of the demo featured an educator from the Northern Cheyenne Tribal area in Montana talking to pre-service teacher instructors at MSU-Bozeman.

Learn more about the REHAU-Montana ecoSMART House Project: http://montanaecosmart.com/

His Creative Research Lab was selected by the Montana Governor’s office as the lead agency for statewide education grants. Terry is a Montana Ambassador representing “Business-Government-Education” efforts in the state. He is also a member of The Triple Helix Association, an international organization headquartered in Turin, Italy, which promotes the study of the interactions between the academic, industrial and institutional (governmental) systems as means to foster technological innovation and economic growth.

On October 27, 2011, Terry will be appearing in SL at the in-world Second Life event called “Virtual Learning or Learning in Virtual?” – an international midnight-to-noon
conference exploring the promises and pitfalls of virtual space in the context of learning and education. Tab Scott will be conducting a workshop and be on a panel at the conference. Conference hosts are: Kim Holmberg, Isto Huvila and Olle Sköld and the host institution is Department of Information Studies, School of Business and Economics, Åbo Akademi University, ÅBO, Finland.

Upcoming Show

October 19: Draxtor Despres (Bernard Drax) and Daniel Moshel will speak about the movie Login2Life.

Wed Sept 7, 4:30 PM SL/PST Inside The Avatar’s Studio with Doug Thompson/Dusan Writer: The Art of the Story

In Conversation with Doug Thompson (Dusan Writer): The Art of the Story

Wednesday, September 7 – 4:30 PM SL/PST (7:30 PM EST)
Simultaneous live broadcast at http://metaversetv.com/live/

Host: Kevin Feenan (Phelan Corrimal), CEO of Rockcliffe University

Rockcliffe Rotunda (Second Life), Rockcliffe University Consortium
SLURL: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Rockcliffe%20Library/243/12/32

One of the most prolific writers on the subject of the metaverse, Doug Thompson has had a hand in a lot of the aspects that make virtual worlds tic including storytelling, transmedia, mobile media, social media, web development, advertising and more. Through his company Remedy Communications, Doug has helped to bring new perspectives to the virtual frontier.

This week Kevin and Dusan explore the role of narratives, how technology both enables social change, and the challenges still left to come.

About Doug Thompson

Doug Thompson (Dusan Writer) has over 20 years of brand strategy, market research, advertising, and digital media experience. He is CEO of Remedy Communications, a founding partner at Startled Cat (a studio for immersive storytelling) and has presented at conferences throughout North America on virtual worlds and the impact of technology on business and culture.

His work in virtual worlds has spanned the creation of community (Metanomics), blogging (Dusan Writer’s Metaverse), health (the creation of virtual environments for nursing and war veterans) and storytelling.

Currently, Dusan is working on projects that bridge mobile, virtual and social media; an initiative that is exploring the role of technology in improving the cognitive function of children; the use of robotic wheel chairs connected to Second Life; and the launch of immersive storytelling projects that build intergenerational community.

Upcoming Shows

September 28: Terry Beaubois (aka Tab Scott) Director of the Creative Research Lab in the College of Arts & Architecture, at Montana State University

October 19: Draxtor Despres and Daniel Moshel will speak about the movie Login2Life.

Wed July 27, 5PM SL/PST Inside the Avatar’s Studio with Dick Dillon/Coughran Mayo: NGOs

In Conversation with Dick Dillon/Coughran Mayo: NG(ut-Ohs)

July 27 – 5:00 PM SL/PST (8:00 PM EST)

Simultaneous live broadcast at http://metaversetv.com/live/

Host: Kevin Feenan (SL: Phelan Corrimal), President of Rockcliffe University Consortium

Rockcliffe Rotunda (Second Life), Rockcliffe University Consortium
SLURL: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Rockcliffe%20Library/243/12/29

If there is to be a brave new virtual world, non-governmental organizationals (NGOs) and non-profits are going to have the hardest time living in it. NGOs and non-profits typically focus on individual services which are very selective and individualistic. While virtual environments provide the opportunity to expand social networking, they also profit a potentially difficult environment to engage in services which are focused in the physical world.

This week Kevin and Dick Dillon discuss the challenges and benefits on leveraging virtual environments for social outreach within a non-profit environment.

Dick Dillon (SL: Coughran Mayo)
Senior VP, Planning and Development (non profit mental health)
http://www.pfh.org

PFH is a comprehensive behavioral health non-profit organization established in 1979 providing substance abuse treatment/prevention and mental health services throughout Missouri.

Wed July 6, 4:30PM SL/PST Inside the Avatar’s Studio with Chestnet Rau: Social Artistry

In Conversation with Chestnet Rau: Social Artistry

Wednesday, July 6 – 4:30 PM SL/PST (7:30 PM EST)
Simultaneous live broadcast at http://metaversetv.com/live/

Host: Kevin Feenan (Phelan Corrimal), CEO of Rockcliffe University

Rockcliffe Rotunda (Second Life), Rockcliffe University Consortium
SLURL: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Rockcliffe%20Library/243/12/32

Virtual environments allow us to push the envelope of understanding who we are at multiple levels. Such self-examination can be an exercise of fear in action where we want to reach out with one hand while pushing away with another. Establishing a balance between the two is a mix of social artistry and grace.

This week Kevin and Chestnut Rau (http://slofdreams.blogspot.com/) discuss various social perspectives on social artistry and how the development of relationships push the boundaries of understanding ourselves and the world around us.

Chestnut rezzed into Second Life on June 16, 2007 and had little experience in virtual worlds or gaming at the time. Like many newcomers she was utterly amazed by what she saw and quickly developed interests in innovative virtual art, the vibrant live music scene, and photographing the wonders of the virtual world.

In 2009 and 2010, Chestnut was the events writer for the popular blog New World Notes. In that capacity she sought out and wrote about the most interesting and innovative events that were happening in Second Life every week. More recently, Chestnut has concentrated her creative efforts on her personal blog where she makes observations about living a virtual life, highlights fun places to visit and shares RL and SL photographs.

Chestnut recently joined musician and art patron Zachh Cale and Amase Levasseur, the curator of the amazing art sim Originalia, to work on a new project called Art Screamers. They will be inviting some of Second Life’s top artist to create innovative installations using the resources of a full sim. They are in the planning stages of the project and look forward to opening Art Screamers to the public at the end of July.

Wed Jun 1 – 4:30PM SL/PST Inside the Avatar’s Studio with CranialTap’s CEO, Dave Levinson: Patently Different

Wednesday, June 1 – 4:30 PM SL/PST (7:30 PM EST)
Simultaneous live broadcast at http://metaversetv.com/live/

Host: Kevin Feenan (Phelan Corrimal), CEO of Rockcliffe University

Rockcliffe Rotunda (Second Life), Rockcliffe University Consortium
SLURL: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Rockcliffe%20Library/243/12/32

Filmed Live by Metaverse Television: www.metaversetv.com/live

In Conversation with Dave Levinson: Patently Different

June 1 – 4:30 PM SL/PST (7:30 PM EST)

Kevin and Dave (Dave Surface in SL) will be discussing how value is extracted from virtual worlds through the reduction of cost and risk, where the greatest potential for patentable opportunities lie – be it hardware, software, networking, or process innovation – and what the implications may be for a virtual society.

Dave is the CEO of Cranial Tap, Inc. and is a veteran online entertainment and video game professional with twenty years of experience producing compelling interactive products with Sega of Japan, Time Warner Cable, Lockheed Martin, America Online, Intel, General Electric and others.. He is responsible for the launch of nearly one hundred consumer products including video games, VoIP dashboards, social/community networks, switched circuit phone applications, user interfaces, interactive television and virtual world environments.

Formed in 2006, Cranial Tap provides virtual world design and technology solution services to businesses, organizations and academia around the world. Today, the company focuses upon the development of Learning and Training environments. Cranial Tap clients include AOL, 1-800-Flowers, Cognizant, Northern Virginia Community College, WeatherBug, Corbis, University of Virginia, NIC USA, CyberWatch / National Science Foundation, Michigan State University and others.

Dave is a published author, artist, inventor and entrepreneur. He claims six filed patents related to virtual world field, one of which was awarded in December of 2008. He is also inventor of the successful AOL Super Buddy characters used by millions around the world. Dave attended Seminole State College and University of Central Florida.

Facebook Group: Rockcliffe University http://www.facebook.com/urockcliffe
Twitter: URockcliffe http://twitter.com/urockcliffe

SL M.U.S.I.C. 4 Day Event! April 22 – 25

MUSIC UNITES SECONDLIFE IN CONCERT – April 22 – 25 from 5:00AM – 9:00PM SL/PST.

SHARE THE M.U.S.I.C. – “Music Unites SecondLife in Concert” – showcases live music in SL and allows the reported ( in LL survey) 75% of SL who aren’t aware of the vibrant and wonderfully diverse live music community a chance to participate at some of our most beautiful and reputable locations. Around 80 Second Life musicians performing ALL styles of music including covers and original music are part of this 4 day event. SHARE THE MUSIC – invite a friend to join you!

We have MetaverseTV, one of SL’s most reputable television production groups, filming intermittently throughout all days. This event includes Rockcliffe University, Catastrophic Planning and Management Institute, Metaverse TV , Calas Galadon, Dragon Moon, RFYR; DNA Art and Music Fusion, Relay for LIfe, Bits and Bobs, Military Officers Association of SL , United States Military Veterans and more, among its sponsors.

There will be RL scouts and producers who will be listening and wandering thru and we will also have a forum led by Lou Tones with agroup to discuss trends and practices and developments in Live Music in SL and other virtual arenas. This is a serious and broad event which seeks to promote the idea of “community” through music.

April 22 AM Club Horizon

April 22 PM – Calas Galadon
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Calas%20Galadhon/142/230/23

12:00 Funkyfreddy Republic
12:30 Tempiobreil
2:00 Gabriel Nyoki
3:00 TerryLynn Melody
4:00 Chapman Zane
5:00 Voodo Shilton
6:00 Champagne Raine
7:00 Eyesncharg Bluebird
8:00 Dale Katscher
9:00 Javajoe Macintyre

April 23 Rockcliffe University
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Rockcliffe%20Library/254/1/402
Drew McDunnough: Master of Ceremonies

9:00AM TwinGhost Ronas
9:30AM Newbawn Easterwood
10:00AM LoveSongs Writer
10:30AM Zed Essex
11:00AM Taunter Goodnight
11:30AM Clairede Dirval
12:00PM Music Oxygen
12:30PM EricSteffensen Mistwalker
1:00PM Karter Stonecutter & Damian Carbenell
2:00PM Lyndon Heart
2:30PM Satyriasis Sheryffe
3:00PM Gina Gracemount
4:00PM Andreus Gustasfson
4:30PM Hazie Moonwall
5:00PM JAMBA Losangeles
5:30PM CraigGore Redfield
6:00PM Jackson Oxberger
6:30PM ReggieSunset Rookswood
7:00PM Accousticenergy Nitely
8:00PM Jammin Nitely
8:30PM Stratus Mactavish
9:00PM Tamara Sands
9:30PM BartAlan Barbasz

April 24 Rockcliffe University
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Rockcliffe%20Library/254/1/402

8:00AM Moses Rae
8:30AM Zizo Galicia
9:00AM Bucky Moonwall
10:00AM Elvera Lerner
10:30AM Orangelife Holmer
11:00AM Gavin Zane
11:30AM Red Hot Chili Pipers
12:00PM-1PM RB Hamelin
1:00PM-2PM Shannon Oherlihy
2:00PM Bara Jonson
2:30PM Russel Eponym
3:00PM Jammin Nitely
3:30PM Stevenjaimz Hunniton
4:00PM Montian Gilruth

April 25 Patriot Island
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Patriot%20Island/18/183/26

9:00AM Stella Eros
10:00AM Hazideon Zarco
11:00AM Zizo Galicia
12:00PM Dee Timeless
1:00PM Wendy Curtis
2:00PM Strum Diesel
3:00PM Saintless Larina
4:00PM Noma Falta
5:00PM Frets Nirvana
6:00PM Christopher125 Quan
7:00PM Maximillon Kleene
8:00PM Avantgarde Frequency
9:00PM Samm Qendra
10:00PM Stella Silvansky

Wed April 20 – 4:30 PM SL/PST: Inside The Avatar Studio with Pooky Amsterdam: All the World’s a Stage

Wednesday, April 20 – 4:30 PM SL/PST (7:30 PM EST)
Simultaneous live broadcast at http://metaversetv.com/live/

Host: Kevin Feenan (Phelan Corrimal), CEO of Rockcliffe University

Rockcliffe Rotunda (Second Life), Rockcliffe University Consortium
SLURL: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Rockcliffe%20Library/243/12/32

Filmed Live by Metaverse Television: www.metaversetv.com/live

Kevin and Pooky will be discussing the implications for new media on the social construction of reality and their influence on virtual worlds.

Amongst other topics, they will examine how creative outlets for “media focused development” can influence the nature of how we perceive the world around us.

Pooky Amsterdam believes this is the Golden Age of the Internet, and its goal is live TV and entertainment original production of the. Realtime animation, also known as Machinima, is filmed in 3D virtual Worlds with avatars representing the great genre of the future.

Pooky is the co-host, producer and writer for “The 1st Question”, “Treet.Tv‘s weekly Quiz Show To The Stars and also hosts “The Dating Casino”, a weekly show that explores romantic relationships. Between both these shows she had over 140 shows on the Internet, since May of 2008.

Web Site: http://www.pookymedia.com/ & http://www.pookymediafilms.com/

Facebook Group: Rockcliffe University http://bit.ly/facebookRUC
Twitter: URockcliffe http://twitter.com/urockcliffe

Wed Mar 16 – 3:00 PM SL/PST Inside The Avatar Studio with Digistar: Mobile Wars

Wednesday, March 16 at 3:00 PM SL/PST (6:00 PM EST/11:00 PM CET/10:00 PM GMT)
Simultaneous live broadcast at http://metaversetv.com/live/

Host: Kevin Feenan (Phelan Corrimal), CEO of Rockcliffe University

Rockcliffe Rotunda (Second Life), Rockcliffe University Consortium
SLURL: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Rockcliffe%20Library/243/12/32

Filmed Live by Metaverse Television: www.metaversetv.com/live

This month, Kevin will be speaking with guest Tim Gorree (aka Digistar Brouwer) who has been with Nokia since 1999 in various professional positions. Previously a Communications Officer for Nokia Online Services, he brought Nokia into Second Life during the second half of 2006. Tim is the chief evangelist for Virtual Worlds enterprise usage within Nokia.

Nokia’s presence in Second Life will soon hit 5 years and is happy to announce that they will continue to stay in Second Life.

Tim is currently analyzing the opportunities and implications of Nokia’s partnership with Microsoft and is deeply impressed with the work that Microsoft has done with the Kinect and how it can be used to create gestures and animation.

For more information about Microsoft Kinect, Craig Mundie, Chief Research and Strategy Officer at Microsoft, recently spoke about the creation of very realistic avatar in a You Tube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_puIRBjMd4

It will be very interesting to see how this will play out in the future. The role of virtual worlds on mobile phones is yet to be explored and many are getting excited about the emerging opportunities in this area. For the first time, it will be possible to develop applications for Nokia phones using the standard WP7 developer tools and publish their apps in the Windows Marketplace.

Facebook Group: Rockcliffe University http://bit.ly/facebookRUC
Twitter: URockcliffe http://twitter.com/urockcliffe

Monday March 7, 12PM SL/PST Metanomics: Veteran-Civilian Dialogues

Who’s Listening? Spirituality in the Age of the Machine

Please join us to watch the show at Rockcliffe University, a Metanomics Event Partner where it will be streamed live from the Studio.

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Rockcliffe%20I/150/220/69 or watch it in direct on the Metanomics’ website http://www.metanomics.net/show/

Doug Thompson (Dusan Writer) guest hosts the Metanomics program at 12pm PST. His guests will be Larry Winters, Scott Thompson and Rev. Robert Chase of Intersections International.

This program, which shares news of Dialogue sessions which took place in Second Life has been planned for weeks, but it may be best represented by the New York Times reporter who sat in on a recent NYC session and described it in the February 8th New York Edition:

“Dozens of strangers formed a circle around Scott Schumacher, a veteran of the war in Afghanistan, who sat in the center of the room and began to speak matter-of-factly about the most painful experiences of his life. He mentioned a memorial that he had just seen outside, listing the names of friends who were killed in Afghanistan. “Hell, my name should be up there,” he said brusquely to the group, “because I didn’t come home.”

“The setting was a workshop exploring war and its psychological aftermath, held on Friday evening at the headquarters of Intersections International, a social justice nonprofit group, on Fifth Avenue in Midtown. The three-hour session was intended to strengthen relationships between members of the armed services who have returned home and civilians.

“The project was developed by two men, both psychotherapists: Lawrence J. Winters, a Vietnam veteran and an author; and Scott Thompson, a staff member at Intersections International and a former Army chaplain. The dialogue on Friday was the 20th in a series that began two and a half years ago: there have been similar events in Seattle, Indianapolis and on the Internet, via the virtual world Second Life. They are free and open to the public, but reservations are required. In the coming months, Mr. Winters and Mr. Thompson said, they hope to find partners who can use the model in other communities.

“The goal,” Mr. Winters said, “is to create a space for a story to be told, to try to counter isolation.””

The Intersection of Civilian’s Pain and Veteran’s Silence | Intersections International http://www.intersectionsinternational.org/blog/2011/02/01/intersection-civilian-s-pain-and-veteran-s-silence

http://www.intersectionsinternational.org/about-us

Facebook Group: Rockcliffe University http://bit.ly/facebookRUC
Twitter: URockcliffe http://twitter.com/urockcliffe

Monday Feb 28, 12PM SL/PST Metanomics: Cont’d, Cyborg to Borg with Michael Chorost

Are We Of One Mind?: Robert Bloomfield welcomes Michael Chorost once again

Please join us to watch the show at Rockcliffe University, a Metanomics Event Partner, SLURL: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Rockcliffe%20I/150/220/69. Also available live on the Metanomics’ website http://www.metanomics.net/show/

The discussion during Michael’s last visit centered on his book, Re-Built and his experience of receiving a cochlear implant. As a science writer, he knew how the implant worked, yet it was a fascinating journey to share his experience of stepping up to Cyborg status, utilizing lines of code and an implanted physical device to regain the ability to hear. His new book, World Wide Mind has just been released and further explores the integration of humans and machine coupled with the connective potential of the internet. It’s been widely praised in reviews including The New York Times, Wired Magazine, New Scientist, and The L-Magazine. All agree that the science is dazzling, and the interwoven account of his personal journey to become a more complete human, emotionally speaks to how this merge with technology might affect us all.

“World Wide Mind is a rare pleasure indeed: a smart book about the future of technology that is really about the complexities of the human heart and the universal yearning to be transformed by connection. By combining cutting-edge neuroscience, keen insight into the social potential of networks, and touchingly candid personal anecdotes, Chorost has written one of the most memorable and thought-provoking books of the year.” —Steve Silberman, contributing editor, Wired Magazine

Join us for what promises to be a most intriquing conversation.

Facebook Group: Rockcliffe University http://bit.ly/facebookRUC
Twitter: URockcliffe http://twitter.com/urockcliffe