I agree that Second Life is an interesting concept.  I believe that the
museums that can best uses Second Life applications right now are larger
institutions that have the resources to devote to this new technology.
Second Life does present some interesting and new forms of engagement
for museums to explore.  
Who knows how Second Life will be used even a year from now, or if will
even be around.  Perhaps some new 3-D environment will emerge, you never
know with technology.  Regardless the possibilities it presents should
be explored by those museums that have the interest and resources.  By
the looks of the number of posts that this topic generated it's a
discussion many are interested in.
As a side-note there is a great example of what can be done with a
museum on Second Life with the van Gogh museum.  I'm not sure if it's
officially affiliated with the van Gogh museum in Amsterdam or not.
What makes it so engaging is the fact that it really makes use the
Second Life technology. Visitors can walk into various van Gogh
paintings and explore them.  I've heard from several non-museum going
people that they've been to the Second Life van Gogh museum and just
loved it.  So right there is an example of Second Life reaching an
audience that the physical museum didn't.

Erin O'Malley
UTA
Exhibit Designer


-----Original Message-----
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Jennifer Rae Atkins
Sent: Sunday, March 02, 2008 6:53 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [MUSEUM-L] Second Life and Information Protection

Some clarifications: Second Life isn't a website. It's a software  
application. There's no way to keep databases of information there and  
users don't have access to personal information about other users.  
There are lots of corporations and advertisers with Second Life  
presences, but there are also areas that are restricted to family- 
friendly content, and there's a version of SL for teens. Even if you  
rent land, you control sponsorship of it. And if you sell anything,  
you get to keep the proceeds. (SL itself is free to use.)

I don't intend to be a big ol' Second Life proponent-like I said, the  
jury's still out, and I haven't visited it myself in over a year. It's  
definitely not for everyone or every museum.

This may be of interest. A group of science-related museums and other  
organizations (including NASA, NOAA, The Tech Museum, the  
Exploratorium, and several universities) has developed a dedicated  
science continent on Second Life. Definitely something to keep an eye  
on: http://www.scilands.org/

Jennifer

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 3:34 PM, Gayle wrote:

> One more thing to consider.  How secure are your data
> against hackers who get through Second Life (or,
> rather how secure is it) so that your donors and
> members' data are protected?  What indemnification do
> you have from the site if someone gets through there,
> finds the inevitable holes, and snags info in your
> databases?  Big museums probably have IT folk that can
> put sufficient (or close to sufficient) protections in
> place, but what of the little museums who rely on some
> already taxed sole to do this because they have some
> skills?
>
> It's just something to consider.  Information
> Protection (IP) is a big topic in big businesses, and
> there are constant reminders to protect one's
> equipment.  Holes in your data protection could prove
> quite costly all the way around.  This isn't a task
> for a hobbyist; you really do need computer staff when
> you start playing around with third-party sites
>
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