Creepy or Cool?

Many of us have heard of Second Life...if you haven't, this article explains it fairly well. It's like playing The Sims, only instead of interacting with fictional characters, you're connecting with real people (identities ultimately unknown) who are represented through avatars. The imagined community it creates is truly amazing in terms of social software because you can virtually interact with anyone the same way you do in "real" (or your "first??!?") life. Communication changes when you can see the individuals with whom you interact, and I wonder to what extent a program like this can replace face-to-face...

Nonetheless, the whole concept of having a second life is still far to disturbing for me to handle and it will likely be a very long while before I venture into the world with "Avatar Jess." The fact that there are prostitutes and drug dealers in the Second Life world as well, also makes me wonder. If you could have a second life, is that the one you'd imagine for yourself? I wonder how you would fit into Second Life if you were truly yourself? Would the interactions you have with individuals be similar to the ones you have in the fleshy world? Maybe one day I'll cave, join facebook, myspace, and second life all in one fell swoop.