The ACS Relay for Life in Second Life is in full swing this weekend. Looks like they’ve raised $2,000 so far, well on their way to the $5,000 goal. The silent auction closes today at 11am Pacific time, with the awards and closing ceremonies following at 11:30am Pacific.
I took a walk around the track this morning (well okay, I admit I actually flew most of the way – is that considered cheating??) and I’m pretty impressed with the way this event is being realized in virtual space.
Last month I stated the belief that it was more important to translate a sense of community and shared goals than an exact physical replica of a Relay but it seems like the event organizers have done a good job of realizing both aspects. Residents have set up kiosks around the track, creating many compelling ways to donate L$ as avatars walk/fly around the track. They've also placed virtual candles called “luminaria” around the track which avatars can "light" by donating L$. Here are a few pics I took this morning while flying the track:
Donation instructions
Auction area
Memorial candles
Resident kiosk
Lighting luminaria
More pics are posted at the Future Salon blog.
If you can’t make it into Second Life today to donate via avatar, you can donate through the official event site.
> Looks like they’ve raised $2,000 so far
As of 12:30 PM PDT today we'd hit $3,500US in virtual currency for the American Cancer Society. Tallies aren't in yet for the online credit card donations, which will be combined towards the goal of $5,000. I've been at it all night and all day, so I'm pretty well exhausted now. Will check back in later. Hopefully some others who participated in the Relay will leave thoughts here too.
> More pics are posted at the Future Salon blog
Yep, a number of pics there. Hopefully some more coverage will pop up on the radar as well. One neat thing is that SLer Trimda Hedges streamed the whole thing live online in audio and video, and was recording significant portions for a machinima document. Don't know when that will be available, but it'll be a really neat thing that I hope will make the rounds.
Posted by: Jerry Paffendorf | Aug 28, 2005 at 17:04
I wonder how this kind of activity fits into the "everything is based on greed" models of virtual world design :-)
Posted by: galiel | Aug 28, 2005 at 18:31
Oh nice coverage. I've been following Jerry's closely... pictures and all, so pretty! LOL galiel, you make a good point. That's part of what makes SL so different, I guess... I don't have great experience with online worlds (apart from SL) but when I was new to SL and landed on the shores from the Orientation Island, I was flocked with people wanting to help me out. It made such a difference and I'm thankful for that, because it led me to the present day.
Betsy, nice to see you inworld again! :) It's important to document all this... and there'll be more unfolding, hope to see Trimda's coverage too.
Posted by: Torley Wong/Torley Torgeson | Aug 28, 2005 at 23:38
OK, the American Cancer Society's Randal Moss just announced the final Relay #s:
The SL Relay raised $5,411!! $4,700 of that was in Linden dollars. w00t! Fundraising goal surpassed. And again, yea, the American Cancer Society really did just raise that much money in a virtual world currency.
Now the ACS also has some pretty interesting data about how people donate in virtual world micro-payments vs. offline Relays and traditional online donations. And BTW for those interested in seeing more pics from the Relay, Bino Arbuckle has a few Relay albums up on Snapzilla that are well worth checking out.
Posted by: SNOOPYbrown Zamboni | Aug 29, 2005 at 13:50
Congrats on reaching the goal! I think the way it was set it up with so many interesting opportunities to donate with micropayments in-world undoubtedly contributed to the event's success. The virtual luminarias (or is the plural of luminaria just...luminaria?) were a stroke of brilliance. I know I got a little carried away myself, wanting to light all of them. The memorial candles were quite touching as well. The only thing I looked for but couldn't find was a similar area to honor survivors. Maybe I missed it? In any case, great job and hope you guys got some well deserved rest.
Posted by: Betsy Book | Aug 29, 2005 at 16:54
I really enjoyed the Relay for Life and while walking around the event on Saturday, I was especially touched by how all of the different groups creatively expressed their relationships to the cause.
Posted by: Jeska "Linden" | Aug 29, 2005 at 21:06
Flying is part of a healthy Second Lifestyle. It most certainly isn't cheating! :)
Posted by: Torley Wong/Torley Torgeson | Sep 01, 2005 at 14:22