Remember Second Life, home of the overly well-endowed and depraved? What started out as a noble idea quickly got co-opted by scumbags and destroyed a great idea. Regardless, the site, blemished as it was, carried on and tried to safeguard the remaining visitors. It’s still with us and looks a lot more family-friendly than it had been.
Founded by Philip Rosedale in 2003, Second Life has become a well-known and pioneering 3D virtual world. It advertises itself as offering users the opportunity to enhance their real lives by immersing themselves in diverse virtual environments and communities. Claiming over 73 million accounts created and approximately 750,000 monthly active users, Second Life says it has evolved into a secure space for self-expression. The virtual world boasts a thriving economy, with thousands of creators worldwide profiting from the sale of virtual items and services. More recently, Second Life has announced plans for a mobile application and a partnership with Motown Records to bring music to the metaverse.
Everyone knows Marc Zuckerberg invented VR—as well as XR, AR, MR, and all the other Rs—and you also know he invented the metaverse (sorry, Mr. Stephenson, gotta face facts). And it stands to logic that if Zuckerberg invented the metaverse, then he also must have invented Second Life.
OK, with that settled, lets’ look forward to Second Life’s 21st birthday party, when all the inhabitants, wearing their Meta Quest 5 headsets (which also display anything the Vision Pro copycat headset is showing), are celebrating with virtual birthday carrot cake and virtual maca vanilla ice cream, while some of the already-over 21-year-olds are sipping virtual bourbon. All the participants are, of course, in their dingy apartments, mom’s basement (you’re 28, when are you going to get a job?), or at Starbucks.
However, the folks at Linden Lab, developer of Second Life, will be headset-less, drinking real Cook’s Brut sparkling wine (sold as champagne when the French aren’t looking), and eating real flourless chocolate cake and gelato from La Copa Loca Gelato on 22nd Street in San Francisco.
One of the younger, and less well-informed members, asked in a sotto voce, Does this mean we’re eligible for the draft now?