Nothing to Do? No Friends? Make Your Second Life Great Again.

Are you bored in Second Life? 

You've shopped the sales, built a wardrobe to rival the Kardashians and found the perfect hair and skin. You look fabulous! But now you're standing alone in your skybox, with no idea what to do next. 

It happens to all of us. Whether you're new to the grid or a long time resident, everyone finds themselves in a rut from time to time. After encountering countless residents looking for something to do, I decided to come up with a list of tips for breathing a little life back in to your Second Life. 

Find a Job

Having a job in SL is the most effective way to get out, meet some people and kick your social life into gear... and it's fun! I've met some of my best friends while working. There are countless host/hostess jobs, role play positions, openings for dancers, club managers, personal assistants, the list goes on.

Make sure you shop around and find an employer who works with your in-world schedule. Keep in mind, the majority of business owners don't consider Second Life to be just a game. Honor your commitments and respect that they've likely invested real world money into their venture. 

You can find job listings by browsing the classifieds, visiting the employment forums and on social media sites. 

Host an Event

I've used the events listings to club hop, enter contests, join discussions and explore.  Hosting events makes it easy to find people who are online the same time you are and share a common interest. 

I've found that many residents don't realize that you don't need to own land to hold an event. You can have a basic account or be new to SL. This excerpt from the official Second Life event rules explains that an event can even be held on "public" land:

You may currently post up to 15 events per day (including event edits). In addition, your friends will now be able to post events on a parcel that you own. However, you must set that parcel to show up in Find Places as a Hangout. If your parcel is not set up as a Hangout, the parcel will not be available to your friends, but will continue to be subject to other availability rules.

To further clarify, you may post an event on a parcel if:

• You personally own the parcel and it is at least 512 square meters in size.
• The parcel is owned by a group that you are an owner of, or that you have the 'host events' ability for, and is at least 512 square meters.
• The parcel is in a private island that you are on the access list of, and is at least 512 square meters.
• The parcel belongs to Governor Linden and is set to show in Search Places as a Hangout.
• The parcel belongs to a friend, it is set to show in Search Places as a Hangout, and is at least 512 square meters.

An event is defined as a special group activity that is led by a host on land owned either by the host or by a group the host belongs to. Examples include discussions, group meetings, hosted dances, classes, tours, and competitions. 

I've hosted discussions on varying topics from SL relationships to how to survive a Mars colony. Whether you're an intellectual or just looking for some folks to share celebrity gossip with over coffee, creating your own event is a great way to find other people who share your interests and time zone.

Learn a New Skill

Have you always wanted to learn another language? Ready to tackle Blender, but not sure where to start? 

Our virtual world can be a resource to learn fresh, new skills. A quick search of the classifieds finds free English lessons, DJ classes, even classes on public health.

Builder's Brewery offers ongoing classes in creating almost everything on the grid. Mesh, basic prim manipulation, scripting, textures, you name it. You can visit their in-world location here.

Look on YouTube for how-to videos by some of our long time residents. For business advice, Black Dragon settings and creating SL content for social media, I head for Meela Vanderbuilt or Strawberry Singh. There is an abundance of long time residents with great advice on all things Second Life. 

Play a Game

I'm not talking about the gaming sims, where you can lose your $L balance in a matter of minutes. We have board games, like Simopoly and Greedy, SL versions of popular first life games. You can find sims with public access to most of the popular ones. There are usually a few people in and out, looking for someone to compete with. 

I'm personally addicted to Bubble Pop. I need a 12 step program.

My favorite driving game, GTFO, uses a HUD to create a freight delivery system. Use your own vehicle to explore the mainland and Blake Sea picking up and delivering imaginary parcels, while discovering new and unique places around the map via roads, waterways and air.

Participate in Groups

Enjoy chatting with other residents about common interests? 

We all belong to in-world groups for our favorite stores and sales, but there are other groups for everything under the sun in SL. Do you have first life hobbies? Is there something you've always wanted to try, but can't because of physical limitations? Explore those interests virtually. Learn to fly an airplane. Gallop into the sunset on your fancy Irish Cobb. Groups for aviation, role play, driving groups or equestrian competitions can be found by using the in-world search. 

Seriously, there is a group for anything you can think of.

Some are more active than others and most are free to join. Be sure to take a moment to read through their rules, you don't want to step on any toes.

I speak from experience. 

There's no reason to be bored in Second Life. I think we get in the habit of doing the same thing, each time we log on and forget how expansive our world is. Hopefully, this will give you some new ideas. 

What do you do when you feel like you're in a virtual rut? Share your ideas in the comments below!

We'll talk again soon, keep living your best Second Life!

Twitter in Flames and the SL Social Media Struggle

 

As a Second Life resident and wannabe influencer, I struggle with social media for the virtual world. In first life, I had a fairly successful blog with a large following, but the same rules for success don't apply in SL. 

It's not enough to post to the most popular platforms, you have to figure out if there's a Second Life community there as well, otherwise you're just screaming into the void.

My struggles grew a couple of months ago when my Facebook and Instagram accounts were locked due to advertising an adult venue. I got flagged for the equivalent of human trafficking.

Seriously.

I could have argued my case, but not before sending them a photo I.D. to verify my identity, which wouldn't have matched my display name, obviously. So I let my Facebook die and, in the meantime, created a new Instagram, using the same email address, phone number, etc. 

The adult venue that caused this clusterfuck had already been closed when my accounts got dinged. 

After moving (a couple of times) and licking my wounds, I made the decision to go back to what I know best. I began restructuring this space, making an action plan and trying to get my virtual life together. 

I decided to create a new Facebook account

After discovering TikTok and finding other residents there, I was reminded about profile link sites like Koji, Linktree and others. These sites enable you to set up a profile page with all your social media links, allowing you to give access to all your profiles on platforms like Instagram which only allow one link per profile. 

Simple right? Not for me. I have to make everything complicated. 

I had created a Koji account last year and it was linked to my old accounts. I'm pretty computer savvy, but I couldn't figure out how to change the settings to my new profile pages. I contacted their customer service and explained, and their response was to send me right back to the editing page I'd been to. 

Koji uses your email and phone number to find your accounts for those two particular sites and once it's linked, it's done.

*bangs head on desk*

It was during this time that Elon Musk took over Twitter. Now, according to what I've read from various sources, there will be an $8 charge for a blue checkmark. Previously, the check meant your account had been verified. Now, it just means you paid for a checkmark with no verification. However, if you don't buy the checkmark, your posts won't be searchable via hashtag and will basically float off into the abyss, or posted on MySpace, I don't really know for sure. I just know that my personal relationship with the current economy can't justify $8 a month just to use Twitter. 

Maybe I'm the exception, but it is what it is.

I really wish Linden Labs could create an inworld social media app. 

Anyway, here we are. All (well, most) of my social media is now linked to tabs at the top of this page (yay!)  

I've always felt there was a real lack of advertising opportunities available for Second Life business. There are plenty of ad boards, but ugh. No one looks at them, if they even rezz before people leave the area. There has to be a better way. 

If you have a business and are looking for an alternative to ad boards, I have two spots available in the sidebar. You can get more information by clicking the "advertising" tab at the top of the page.

In the meantime, I'm still out here struggling. We all are. 

I need to go find the ibuprofen. Ya'll have an amazing day and keep living your best Second Life!