SECOND LIFE MAKER INCUBATOR PROJECT (SL MINC-PRO) — “Pet Project” (start date Summer 2023–estimated completion Summer 2024)
This project was a brainchild of a spark I had during Lab Gab’s “Mole Day” during the SL20B Events. Amid the back-and-forth chatter between the Moles, Strawberry Linden, Patch Linden, and the audience, I suddenly flashed back to the old SL Certification project when Patch asked the viewers to submit ideas for what they believed was needed. The project took place around 2011 when a small group tried to put down a set of objectives/skills for various topics. The idea was a bit of genius, but the carry-through turned out to be over-the-top complicated, and of course, it died. The bones of it still sit in the Second Life Wiki. The closest to boots-on-the-ground business incubation (that I personally witnessed) would be the old SOMA school of fashion. They would take people and, using a syllabus organized through a HUD with self-directed tutorials and inworld courses, grow them from a budding designer to starting their shops–they also provided a mall right there on the campus to help students get a start with layout and marketing.
With mesh having impacted the grid and the inworld tools being pushed aside (for the most part), it is harder for those who want to get up and running as a creator to find their way. Even if there is no official “incubator” per se, a set of instructions–or a breadcrumb trail–of topics put in an order that makes the most sense would be (in my opinion) extremely useful. Even if a full tutorial wasn’t supplied, those interested in learning to create and/or start a business could seek out the particular topics on Youtube or with inworld tutorials/courses. These lists would give them the proper scaffolding to build upon to lessen gaps in knowledge or getting in over their heads and giving up.
I know all of this from experience. My own creation knowledge inworld has enormous gaps in it. When I backtrack to fill in those gaps, I usually find myself in courses that are too menial, and I’m bored–but when I jump ahead, I often find myself lost. If, as a 15-year-old resident of Second Life, I have experienced this, I can only assume others are “in the same virtual boat.” Therefore, this activity is as much (or more) for me as it is for others, but I hope that eventually, I will release the lists and that they will be helpful.
I am an instructional designer. Finding gaps and doing analysis to find what needs to be learned to fill those gaps–that’s what I do. It is hard to believe that it has taken me this long to do something like this. But it is time for me to jump into the fray–because the Lindens and Moles have enough to do. Therefore, with this–I become the first MINC.
Currently, the website is locked down until I get more of the KSAs fleshed out. As I start to pull in experts to double-check and fill in gaps in the lists, the site will be more and more open. I’m aiming for an official “launch” date announcement in time for Second Life’s 21st birthday in late June 2024.
Caledon Catgirl Brigade Exhibit for Second Life 20th Birthday — Story/Scripting/Design/Construction, “CCB Felidae Expedition 2: Search for the Perpetual Hydroponics” (Summer 2023)
Aether Chrononauts Tiny Steps RFL Team Campsite — Design/Construction Team Lead, “Curse of Pine Island Adventure” (Summer 2023)
Aether Chrononauts Tiny Steps RFL Team Campsite — Design/construction Caledon portion, “The 100 Acre Woods” (Summer 2021)
Woolston-Steen Exhibits for the Second Life Birthday Celebration (Summer 2019 and 2020)
Fighting Fire Chickens Campsites (Summer 2019 “Gratitude Park” and 2020 “Ancient Games”)
Jaguarland
University of South Alabama’s Virtual Campus in Second Life
Jaguarland II closed its doors in May 2014. Between the two stints in Second Life, USA had a virtual campus for 4 years.
Teal Life Foundation
The Teal Life Foundation or TLF arrived on the Second Life grid in the autumn of 2013 (November). TLF was a non-profit organization that strove to help women who were diagnosed with ovarian cancer get the support and care they needed. The Second Life headquarters were located in the aetheric sector of Caledon Steam SkyCity. After TLF was dissolved in 2016, the location in Second Life remained as “Crystal’s Teal Sanctuary,” a memorial for TLF’s founder and an area that visitors could come to relax and meditate, or learn more about ovarian cancer support and work of the American Cancer Society in Second Life. The location was closed in 2018.
Aether Education and Travel
Blavatsky Memorial Library at Adocentyn
Virtually Educated 