June 9, 2008 by Konner McDonnell
Posted in
In my eight months on Second Life, I’ve never met a Linden. Why would I need to? I rarely have technical issues that can’t be resolved by rebooting and I haven’t attended RL conferences. The closest I’ve come is in December 2007, when I submitted an AR concerning a stalker.
Apparently, meeting a Linden is a very big deal. When a Linden showed up at a sim I visiting in late December, four people I was iming within that sim all wrote the equivalent of, “OMG A Linden!” My response to each: “Someone’s probably having a technical issue.” This hardly stifled the onslaught of speculation. Who was in trouble? What were they doing here? One person, to my amusement, was very upset that the Linden in question did not respond back in public chat when they said “hi.” Were they “e-dissed?”
I clearly remember the first time I was surprised to see someone in public. Frequenting the WSE at the time, I was with standing with a group on the ‘trading floor,’ when Delicious Demar appeared. This was a very big deal. When Demar appeared next to then-CEO Kristjan Flanagan,of the now-rolled back Kristjan Flanagan Enterprises (KFE), investors and ‘virtual analysts’ stopped in their tracks. Public chat turned to a unified acknowledgment of Demar’s presence. Again, my IMs became speculations of what brought Demar to the trading floor. My response: “She’s an advisor in KFE.” Rational explanation or not, I was nonetheless awed. The same would happen later to a lesser extent, with Casper Trebuchet.
Months later, when SL CAPEX reopened, Nobody Fugazi arrived. I’d never met Fugazi and didn’t place the name. As per usual, someone I was IMing was ‘star struck.’ The funny thing about this is that the person making such a big deal of Nobody Fugazi’s presence was, in fact, a reputable CEO.
Last week, I experienced the ‘virtual celebrity effect’ twice. Once at Greenies, during a Jax Streeter concert. When Streeter named off names of people in the audience, it had a dumbfounding effect on concertgoers. The latter is a traditional response to a celebrity acknowledging a fan, but with a virtual twist. On the second occasion, I was visiting a friend I’d not seen since two weeks after creating Second Life. Showing her what I’d been up to with Y2P, she realized that one of my fellow writers was none other than Sarah Nerd. Her reaction prompted me to ask Sarah if she had time to say hello- Sarah was happy to oblige.
I’ve never understood the celebrity effect very well. Breaching RL a bit, I’ll say that I was raised in a tradition of egalitarianism. Of course, this hasn’t stopped me from being ‘caught up’ in the ‘buzz’ created by some well-known figure’s arrival. Sign of my immersion in SL Culture? I have no idea.
While I fully recognize that not everyone in SL -or everyone that reads this website- has had a ‘brush with greatness’ or perceived it as such, what interests me the most is that some very prominent individuals in SL look to other prominent individuals as Lindens in their own right.
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Virtual Fame
Great Comments Konner...I remember you at the Greenies Gig....Was fun..cya at another show soon I hope:), Jax Streeter
I am always surpirsed...
... if anyone I don't know recognizes me inworld. It hasn't happened all that often - SL is a big place. But occasionally people have heard my name, particularly in the financial world, I guess.
I was looking through old pics the other day (all named Snapshot, of course!), and I have a bunch from about day 3 in SL, taken at the Angry Ant, which Sarah Nerd ran. I met her a couple of times back then, and I was a bit starstruck - like you say Konner, the room just turned to face her when she popped in, and wanted to be noticed. [EDIT: that was a dangling participle. meaning that the people in the room wanted to be noticed by her...]
Since then, I guess I have met a few well known residents, a bunch of Lindens, designers, land barons, financial bigwigs. some wore it well, others were a bit arrogant about it, which is a real turn off.
What I have never been able to figure is the self-proclaimed celebrities - that state in their profile that they won the 2007 Miss SLut contest and work as a supermodel. And then usually proceed to say that they don't answer IM's. Ermmm. Yeah. ok.
I am a practical person - I figure if I get my name out there some, I am more likely to keep my sims full. It's good motivation to keep on the straight and narrow too - in the land biz, reputation is important.
Anyway - I'll stop now. Don't want to hijack the thread.
*wink*
dd
Meh
"Anyway - I'll stop now. Don't want to hijack the thread."
Passive aggressive really doesn't suit you, but it's cute, I guess.
Now if you really want to hijack a thread, go to the SNE post and check out the anonymous/VSTEX conversation. I'm starting to wonder if the anonymous lane shouldn't be 12 posts in a thread or less. Now on to more pleasant reading. Like Sickness unto Death. o.O
Meeting a Linden is fun
Meeting Lindens is fun, especially when one of the Lindens who blogs comes out to remove a temp rezzer on your land and you're all like "WTF are you doing here, where's the minions?"
Robin Linden was funny because when I met her inworld I had no idea who she was, just that she had an office hour and I wanted to whine, I'm good at that. Then someone told me that she used to be vice president of marketing at Maxis when they were doing sim city and I was all "oooh". I like Robin me, even if she doesn't believe me.
I still find it funny when I meet people inworld from the forums or blogs, don't know why. Then of course there was Sarah Nerd, just rawwwwwwr!
Avatar Heroes
I've never got excited over seeing a Linden, I was nervous th first time I talked to John Zdanowski. But even when I met Anshe Chung in RL it was not a big deal. We are all just regular people, some just more popular then others. Most of the people I met at the SLCC, I had heard there name before, but didn't even realize how much they had done in SL, to after I go home and looked up their SL name. Everyone I met seemed like regular people that just wanted to party.
Bart Heart
I deal with this a lot.
I deal with this a lot. It's hard for me not to considering the time I spend in sl. I can't help but get star struck when I see residents who are well known, or who's sl careers I'm amazed by. At last years SLCC I got it big time. I was really excited when I met Prok, because I see her as an internet icon. I was so excited when I met Philip. I said "You don't know how excited I am to meet you, Second Life is such a huge part of my life" to which he responded " Yea its a big part of my life too" lol! In world I remember being excited the first time Dimitrio Lewis tp'd me to a party and Flipperpa was there. Flipper is responsible for lots of big things in sl including the creation of the SLCC and slboutique now onrez. But I was very excited to be seeing someone who's such a big name in sl. We just spend so much time and put so much of our hearts in sl, it's hard not to bring in some of those first life feelings and behaviors like being star struck.
LOL! That's funny. I
LOL! That's funny. I remember having a star crush when I finally met Sarah Nerd. The name is everywhere. Delicious was fun to meet, just as elegant and insightful as I expected. And you know you're somebody when you've met Nobody lol. My favorite recognition of myself is "you're that Wickster guy!".
It's funny, sometimes I find myself more nervous meeting SL Celebs than RL ones. Perhaps it's because I've worked with RL Celebs more and they don't just *appear* in the place you are hanging out. Great article Konner.
Has anyone ever met Anshe Chung?
Thanks Ash :)
I know it's going to sound vain, but I've had a couple 'OMG it's Konner' moments recently that prompted me to really think about what makes for a virtual celebrity. It was a mixture of extreme honor and great concern, because um, despite whatever you take from the 'big words' or the 'arrogant perception,' I'm just a volunteer writer following his heart *shrug.* In the end, I think the concept of 'virtual celebrity' is mere exposure.
Bart, I agree, but I hasten to add that I have no intention of going to an SLCC. If I did, I can think of one person I might have a 'celebrity' reaction to. The people I'd take issue with probably wouldn't be there. In the end, I'd eventually find myself at the bar with Shaun. Heh. Sorry Shaun, couldn't resist.
Nobody - Couldn't make it up if I tried ;)
Aww come on Konner, if you
Aww come on Konner, if you went to the SLCC you wouldn't have at least one drink with me??
Tell you what
Read the article I just wrote. If you still want to have a drink with me, it's a deal. All you'd have to do is get me to the SLCC. GLWT.
Celebrities do not exist,
Celebrities do not exist, they are just temporary idol illusions, they come and go.
But i understand some people practice idolworship ;)
Andy Grant.
Hah? Me?
I'm Nobody. Ask Prok. :-)
Second Life Consultant
Nobody is a celeb?
I met him at Midas many months before Midas crashed, and ever since then we write the occasional IM back and forth. Sure, he contributes to this blog, but I never saw him as celeb and that I'm supposed to be awestruck...
-- Peter Stindberg
Heh.
I don't want celebrity. What I want is a world that makes sense. I thought SL might have been it, but then I experienced it... :-D
Second Life Consultant