Podcasting has just /got/ Second Life. Adam Curry the so-called PodFather has a castle and my two favorite podcasts Fox and the City and Keith and the Girl [note: both are for mature audiences with a ‘robust’ sense of humour]. Second Life is rushing like a fire storm through the podsphere.
At face value this is not in the slightest interesting: one fringe group (podcasters) start to grock grok a fringe activity (being in Second Life). But..
..what does strike me as interesting is the level to which one might track the SL meme through the podsphere. I know that people have done similar work looking at the communications networks and power relations within the blogshpere and this seems to me to be an excelent way to study the way ideas pass through podcasts – what’s more if Linden set up a Surname such as ‘podfan’ or ‘podcast’ then there might be some interesting data about how self identifying members of this group permeate the SL social structure. Not that I’m suggesting that we track people without their knowledge of course.
C’mon there’s got to be a research project in there somewhere.
More generally it’s fascinating to hear what people outside the games / intellectual clique that typically bang on about SL actually say about it. One has to note of course that by definition a podcaster is someone that is already a DIY media producer but with podcasting one is hearing the interplay of a wide range of sensibilities with the, sometimes utopian, vision of Second Life.
If you're going to nick our suddenly-fashionable terms, it's grok.
Posted by: Endie | May 10, 2006 at 11:55
Buzzword compliant? Check
Second Life related? Check
Pseudo-intellectual, naval-gazing babble? Check
Looks like we've got the makings of a perfect TN post.
Posted by: | May 10, 2006 at 16:20
i pwn
Posted by: ren | May 10, 2006 at 17:33
Actually, the post lacks one essential element: a WoW reference. So here you are. My fave WoWcast is The Instance: http://www.myextralife.com/wow/
Any other WoW related or even other MMO related podcasts anyone wants to let TN readers know about?
Posted by: ren | May 10, 2006 at 17:36
hey Ren, you've left out the leading SL podcast (on which I'm a regular guest, of course): SecondCast.
Also, John Swords and I are starting up an OOC podcast on all things metaversal, at The Metaverse Sessions. Upcoming guests already taped and being edited:
Jerry Paffendorf
Reuben Steiger
Sibley Verbeck
Robert Scoble and son
Doug Englebart
Posted by: Mark Wallace | May 11, 2006 at 17:08
Did Linden Labs pay for this advertisement?
There is absolutely no content to this "article" nor anything worth discussing. This reads like a press release from Linden Labs.
As an added bonus, we also got to read yet another overuse of the word "meme."
Come on folks. Terra Nova used to be better than this.
Posted by: Michael Hartman | May 13, 2006 at 10:34
Mark > hey Ren, you've left out the leading SL podcast (on which I'm a regular guest, of course): SecondCast.
Mark - good call, yes I meant to ask about people's fave VW related Podcasts. Just so the hivemind could complie a list.
Posted by: ren | May 13, 2006 at 11:56
Michael > Did Linden Labs pay for this advertisement?
I wish.
Thought there is still time.
Posted by: ren reynolds | May 13, 2006 at 11:58
Thanks for compiling this list, Ren!
Other good MMO-themed podcasts include EQ2-Daily, WoW Radio, and Game/On on MMORPG.COM.
When I was playing Everquest II regularly as part of the course on virtual worlds, I was particularly impressed by EQ2-Daily. The show is hosted by three guys who used to play games together in college. They've since moved on to careers and marriages, but they use the podcast (and the game) as a way of keeping in touch with each other. They do a great job of nurturing fan community without taking themselves too seriously.
On a different topic, it seems like you can't catch a break from the critics. Last week, you were chastised for discussing political issues. This week, you're busted for mentioning Second Life and using the word "meme." What's next? A discussion of anti-war memes circulated by Second Life residents?
Ren, when will you learn that games have absolutely nothing to do with politics, culture, and ideology? Can we just talk about games, please? You know... ideologically neutral games such as Full Spectrum Warrior, The Sims 2, Hitman, Gears of War, Kuma/War, America's Army, Playboy: The Mansion, Left Behind: Eternal Forces, Desperate Housewives, Uber Soldier, and Tycoon City: New York.
Thanks.
Posted by: Aaron Delwiche | May 14, 2006 at 13:03