On 30 November 2006 Philip Rosedale spoke to The Long Now Foundation about Second Life. As a talk given by the CEO of the growing virtual world it is an interesting to hear his overview of what has and is happening, but more than that it is fascinating to watch him. During this talk Philip is simultaneously demoing the grid – and if you have even tried to talk to even a small group while navigating SL you understand how difficult juggling SL and RL can be. Amazingly, Mr. Rosedale comes across as the zen master of inner peace.
During this talk he mentions the issue of community contribution in early days of SL and today. When it first launched 30-40% of the population was generating content. At that time it was believed that the percentage of contributers would diminish over time and that there would be a shift toward greater consumerism as the world began to fill out. This is, in fact, not that case at all. The percentage of contributors today is still at 30%. What does this say about the nature of contribution in an environment like this? Phillip adds his own thoughts about this and some anecdotal stories from conversations with other residents. In a world where people are able to shape the things around them – they do, and it changes how they view the things that surround them in their “real lives.”
