Before computers there were various taping systems for music. One major innovation was eight track cartriges. Soon after, compact cassettes came out. Experts said that the quality was too low and that they would never will take off. Now we have surpassed the CD.

I remember in the old days of Altair 2000 I used to talk about computer publishing and creating computer games. My friends from Cal Tech laughed at me because of the cost of memory and storage.

Years later, when my step daughter began to work for a company that was creating internet applications (this was still in the DOS days) I suggested to her that they begin to develop a niche for small single-interest groups (in this particular case I suggested folklorists) my step daughter's boss said that such narrow interest groups were too small to be of interest to their company. Too bad the company was not Yahoo.

Then digital cameras came about (I was an early adopter) and my photography friends said that the quality was too low and the stuff to expensive to amount to anything. How much film did you buy last year?

The point--it's not the techology, s*****--it's the application. In historical reenactments Second Life, in whatever format will, become an important element in entertainment and education. So, we need to learn, be aware of trend and be ready to exploit it for our needs. Most important is knowing what is necessary to know in order to re-create a realistic experience. Will this eliminate real museums? No, but it might cut down on the dross. And is that bad?        

-----Original Message-----
>From: Jennifer Rae Atkins <[log in to unmask]>
>Sent: Mar 2, 2008 1:41 PM
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: [MUSEUM-L] Second Life and "living history"
>
>My husband Ted, a freelance illustrator, runs a successful Second Life  
>business selling Victorian and Old West men's clothing. Yes, virtual  
>vintage clothing for avatars. This hobby brings him $100–300 a month  
>(a real-money figure increasing every month). He loves making Second  
>Life recreations of historic buildings, such as a Scollay Square  
>(Boston) subway station or the Union League in Philadelphia. I too  
>have noticed that many of Second Life's environments are pretty devoid  
>of visitors most times, but Ted frequents areas intended for  
>historical role-play, places with names like Deadwood, Antiquity,  
>Caledon, and even New Mexico. These places hold special events that  
>draw in the avatars and often get lively in the evenings with people  
>acting out various historical situations.
>
>While most museums, as far as I know, are experimenting only with  
>creating virtual environments in Second Life, I think there's a lot of  
>potential for creating experiences that would allow visitors, through  
>their avatars, to play with living in another time (ironically and  
>somewhat mind-bendingly, since we're talking about using very 21st- 
>century technology to do it). Historic societies and history museums  
>could create environments that replicate, say, a Spanish Colonial New  
>Mexican hacienda or a 19th-century tenement and allow users and  
>visitors to roleplay, perhaps with trained museum volunteers' avatars,  
>life in other eras and places.
>
>Last month, an Illinois library system opened in Second Life "The Land  
>of Lincoln," an immersive educational experience complete with an  
>inaugural ball at which you could dance with Abe. (Read about it here: http://www.mysuburbanlife.com/northriverside/state_news/x377415250.) 
>  I think this may be the direction to go in terms of creating a  
>Second Life presence for museums: let people explore virtually, from  
>anywhere in the world, environments and ways of life that are not  
>practical to recreate in real life.
>
>The article Randy linked us to is nearly a year old, and Second Life  
>is still new. It has a lot of flaws for sure, but the jury's still out  
>on its usefulness to museums.
>
>Jennifer Rae Atkins
>Andrew Merriell & Associates Interpretive Planning & Design
>7198 Old Santa Fe Trail | Santa Fe, NM 87505
>v 505.982.3950 | f 505.820.6674 | www.merriell.com
>
>
>On Mar 2, 2008, at 11:04 AM, Gayle wrote:
>
>> I have never heard of Second Life anywhere but here.
>> After much commotion on list, I decided to at least
>> take a peak and see what all the squawking was about.
>>
>> I'm 55  I've got a 34-year old daughter and a 30-year
>> old son.  When I was Scout Leader for the 34-year
>> old's Girl Scout Troop, we took the kids to the now
>> defunct (maybe that says something in itself) Marine
>> Land that was out here in California.  We four Scout
>> Leaders nobly wanted to give our girls exposure to
>> some culture and an opportunity to learn something
>> about marine life.  Two memories stick out.  First,
>> all four the leaders an one of the Scouts was crapped
>> on by a seagull--that's what the girls remember.
>> Secondly, the girls couldn't have cared less about
>> MarineLand because there were video games available,
>> and all they wanted to do is play Ms. PacMan.  That's
>> what the leaders remember.  Nobody really remembers
>> the experience of Marine Land but for those two
>> details, and the experience was largely for naught.
>>
>> My second child, being 4 years younger than the first,
>> grew up incredibly addicted to video games (thanks to
>> my dear sister who bought him one over my objections).
>> Two weekends ago, I was there in NoCal spending the
>> weekend with him in celebration of my granddaughter's
>> 2nd birthday.  Because of bad knees, I slept
>> downstairs on the couch.  I woke up a couple of times
>> to see my 30-year old son, father of two, going nuts
>> on video games on X-Box with a headset and graphics
>> that beat the heck out of what you might find in Iraq.
>> It was crazy.
>>
>> We spent time before I went home at Jack London
>> Square.  Time in nature.  In large measure, my son,
>> his 30-year old wife, and their eldest child were
>> ready to say been there, done that within about 5
>> minutes.  Ok, it was nice, but it wasn't as exciting
>> as a video game.
>>
>> So what does this have to do with Second Life?  Second
>> Life is going to appeal to kids in the age range of my
>> kids (the 30-something crowd) and younger.  These kids
>> grew up with video games and, if they had a choice of
>> going to a museum or playing with an alternate reality
>> on a video game, they would take the video just about
>> any time.  They want constant stimulation--lights,
>> bells, whistles.   I'm sorry, you're not going to be
>> able to stimulate them as effectively (and
>> cost-effectively) on an alt-reality medium.  Yes, you
>> may make a presence, and the founders of Second Life
>> richer, but you won't do anything to grow your base,
>> and you certainly won't bring in a clientele that will
>> sustain your museum.
>>
>> It's my belief that, if you move your presence to the
>> fantasy world, you will doom the reality of your
>> museum.  If Second Life wants to sponsor your
>> presence, at no cost to you, and to provide you with
>> techie to help you sustain a presence--great.  Maybe
>> you'll reach somebody, and it wont cost you.  But
>> technology is expensive and technologists who can make
>> technology work effectively are even more so--I work
>> in IT so I've got a little background on this one.
>>
>> I would chance to guess that those are promoting
>> Second Life here are the same folks who are stimulated
>> by it.  Unless you do quality market testing before
>> making some sort of an investment, youre just throwing
>> away your donors money, quite frankly.  Those apt to
>> sustain you through their contributions won't visit
>> the site, and if the I Want It Know, Fast and Dazzling
>> Crowd can see you for free on an Alt Reality Site,
>> they're not going to go to your museum.  It will be
>> been there, done that
>>
>> Now if you personally want to invest your dollars and
>> go play there, go for it.  Just raise your right hand
>> and admit "I am the Ultimate Video Game Jockey, and
>> I'm Proud of It!"
>>
>> Them's my 2 cents on the matter.  Now, if you can make
>> a Nintendo WII version (like the one done about the
>> aquarium that was recently released), you MAY be able
>> to improve your visitation.  That's a get-active kind
>> of game that may inspire folks to move their butts and
>> their hands into their pocketbooks to visit and/or
>> purchase.  In fact, I truly believe most aquariums and
>> zoos should make that Nintendo WII game avaiable for
>> sale at their institutions.
>>
>> I bought a new Mac at the end of the year.  it's
>> awesome with incredible graphics and such.  But
>> there's so much more to see and learn online than
>> simply playing video games!
>>
>> =========================================================
>> Important Subscriber Information:
>>
>> The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ 
>>  . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands  
>> by sending a one line e-mail message to  
>> [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read  
>> "help" (without the quotes).
>>
>> If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail  
>> message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message  
>> should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).
>>
>>
>
>=========================================================
>Important Subscriber Information:
>
>The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).
>
>If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).
>

=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).