Layne Hansen

So as much time as I spend in Second Life and as much money as I spend there, I decided why not apply for a real life job there as well. Although I figure there are a LOT of applicants and only a few jobs so the chance of being offered a position is probably slim to none. In either case, I fit the description for the job opening in question and so had to give it a shot. I have a lot of good ideas for Second Life and as a resident there are a lot of things I’d like to see happen in-world. Perhaps being a resident for the last 4 years gives me an advantage.

The fact that they offer telecommuting is even more exciting since I’ve been telecommuting for the last 5 years or so and already feel sure that I have the self-control and enthusiasm to be productive working at home.  But then again, this makes the job openings at Linden Lab that much more attractive to the rest of the world. Funny but one of the most exciting possibilities is actually interviewing in-world. Virtual Interviewing for the rest of corporate America may seem far-fetched but to me it seems extremely realistic. Having interviewed many people in the past, I would have preferred to interview virtually. At least virtually there would be less discrimination. Of course the real meet would always be the last step before hiring unless of course the job was strictly telecommuting. After all, why would an employer ever need to “see” you if you met all the criteria and were able to communicate effectively both in written word and verbally?

My motto has always been, you won’t know if you don’t try. So I sent in my resume and cover letter and now I’m sitting back waiting to see if I’ll be contacted.

While I’ve been working hard to build a business presence in Second Life, I find myself longing for the play time that I used to spend in world. Even when I’m on a mission, searching for presentation platforms, business clothes, etc. it’s hard not to buy things like my guard dog for the conference center when I totally don’t need, or the fairy outfit or mermaid AO. Maybe because when I joined Second Life over 3 years ago it was merely for fun although I have to admit that I was also in it to make money. I spent countless hours designing Second Life clothing and importing my Real Life paintings in world to sell for Second Life homes. I built bars complete with bar stools, cabinets with doors that open, and much more misc. furniture items. But even that was more like play.

Today I am integrating all the latest and greatest communication gadgets into a professional workspace / conference center on a PG Sim, and I still find myself wandering next door to check out the cool tattoo’s or out on my occasional Second Life shopping spree for new clothing which is just as addictive as real shopping but much less expensive. For me, I love photographing (continue reading…)

While I have been a Citizen of Second Life for a few years now, I’m new to OpenSim. What is OpenSim?  Quoting directly from their homepage, “OpenSimulator is a 3D Application Server. It can be used to create a virtual environment (or world) which can be accessed through a variety of clients, on multiple protocols. OpenSimulator allows you to develop your environment using the technologies you feel work best - we’ve designed the software to be easily extendable through loadable modules to build completely custom configurations. OpenSimulator is released under a BSD License, making it both open source, and commercially friendly to embed in products.”

My other half, Wiz Augustus has recently set up a server running OpenSim. We plan to start building there and becoming actively involved in the OpenSim community in order to be there when OpenSim emerges from infancy and when and if Second Life opens up the grid to OpenSim. Who knows, if I stop requesting programming from Wiz, maybe he’ll have time to contribute to the OpenSim code.