Double Entendre

“Akismet has caught 156 spam for you since you first installed it.”

The really unfortunate thing is, that there is much more spam to come. 

Taking the time to dig up blogs to read takes time away from the metaverse, so I have been guilty of being a selfish blogger. This week I took advantage of the WordPress tag surfer feature to explore other Second Life blogs. I saw a lot of predictions for the new year, which were a lot of fun. I’m usually bored with predictions, but Second Lifers make them a helluva lot of fun. What interested me most were the questions we are asking about our Second Lives and the venue we choose to live them in.

Tao is one of my favorites for asking questions. He doesn’t seem to be one who thinks he has all of the answers. He wants to invite discussion, making most of his blog entries a lot of fun to read. The recent question that got my attention is this one: Is 2008 the year of privacy? This particular post and question refers to the collection of private computer data by governments, but a more recent post: Thinking about Plaxo Pulse, Scoble and Privacy, takes the question in-world and to the internet social networks.

I would still like to see a follow up to the forum Tao attended exploring the question: “What do avatars want from real life companies?”

Harper Ganesvoort of Around the Grid with Harper asks: How many relationships?, covering the topic of people who have committed real life relationships with one person and an in-world romantic relationship with another. She picks up the conversation from Karasu, two blogging partners (Kara and Zasu) who have continued this topic over several posts. Be sure to follow the articles, comments and links which are all relevant.

Noelhani of Horrotica, is instrospective, asking: ”what can I do to keep my enthusiasm for being creative, up and my spirits high?”. Oh, how I can identify with that question. The machinima video is kick-ass. Everything I know really is wrong.

More about real life commercial presence in Second Life, Ambling in Second Life asks: How Clever is Clever Zebra?. This is an in-depth business profile on the new company Clever Zebra and it’s approach to enticing corporations into Second Life by offering builds and tools for no cost. Clever Zebra would gain its profits from customizations. Interesting concept.

My own question is introspective and invites me to define my Second Life.

Too bad nobody actually reads this blog - there is a lot of good conversation and information in those links!

You can’t really tell by what you see here, but I am in experienced blogger. I’ve kept a real life journal type blog, of a particular niche for 18 months now. It has been nurtured, promoted, linked to and quoted. A Google page rank of 5 (wtf-ever that really means) and a small, but consistent number of hits per day. The real life blog has a specific niche that is well respected by others of the same genre. The blog is as successful as it can be. It is far from Huffpo, but I never intended to be that ambitious. I just wanted to have fun with it. I did have fun with it - now, I’m bored to tears with it.

I found Second Life through a fellow blogger (amongst other sources) and signed up. It’s obvious that I became fascinated and addicted. I am really thinking of just letting the other blog sit in innernets limbo land while I pursue this one and enjoy my Second Life. Blogging is really just an ego trip, a way to feed the inherent human need to be noticed and heard in small way. I don’t care too much if anyone even reads what I write; I just want to be able to write. People generally respond to that.

I haven’t revealed the Double Entendre to anyone that I know, nor have I given anyone I’ve met in Second Life my real life identity. It isn’t that hard to find out if anyone truly wanted to find it, but I enjoy the feeling that my second lives are far removed from reality. I like writing this way, without the eyes of family or co-workers gazing at my words. All of this leads up to this point: the Double Entendre will continue and evolve the way that blogs and Second Lives do.

Lady Mandylia and I will have two distinct voices on the blog from this point forward. Mandylia is a specific character who has a specific role in Second Life on the Avilion sims. I want to further the integrity of that character by keeping her the medieval, elf, druid that she is. I know it is strange, but it actually feels weird to take Mandylia out of Avilion and her usual activities on Spirit Mountain and the Brahma Ashram. Her character is much nobler, than I. She is a visualization of a better, more mystical and spiritual self. She is also an opportunity to live out a story. A culmination of favorite characters already written and the ones I have held in my imagination for so many years.

I, on the other hand, was only created because it seemed so strange to go to a live rock music performance as a druid elf. I am the voice of the One Responsible for Our Existence and enjoying the freedom of just being. I am much quieter than Mandylia, who has a lengthy friends list and a schedule of activities. Slipping into the account of Melynn Dreamscape is a little like a cell phone being turned off. No one is really demanding my attention, which can be lonely - and blissful. I like being alone, but I love company. Duplicitous in nature, I am. A double entendre.

The mechanics of the blog will evolve too. I decided on this no cost, push-button easy WordPress account instead of the self hosted blog that I already have. It has limitations that I am finding a little frustrating, but that may be because I am just unaccustomed to them. The great part is having the blog instantly accessible through keyword searches and Google searches. It took me at least a couple of months to get that going on my own. I may move this blog to a host of its own at some point, but for now, I am going to enjoy just posting pictures and writing without taking the time to web master.

Welcome to my ego.  It ain’t much, but it’s mine.