July 6, 2007 by Nobody Fugazi
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I read Eolus Project Opens in Second Life Tomorrow, and was intrigued. I believe I heard of Eolus before when I was writing for WorldChanging.com, or something like it, but I still haven't put my finger on it.
The link to EOLUS Makes Leap To 3D Internet On Second Life was interesting, and worth reading - but I could not find a direct link to Eolus itself on the [w:internet]. Considering so many companies are linked to Eolus, I was somewhat surprised by that. And the name nagged me, too1.
I went to the opening (Eolus SLurl) - the simulator needed to be restarted since Even Eolus McMillan couldn't get in. Before and after this happened, I buzzed around the place and poked around - Jaynine Scaborough was playing for the opening, and she was as good as always (though there seemed to be trouble with the stream through the SL client for some).
In buzzing around, I noted that there is a clothing store there (!), Eros Designs, probably so that people who get to the island don't look like complete newbies2. The corporate areas were, from what I saw, spacious and, by virtue of being empty, even more spacious. It would seem that the island is more of a meeting area than anything else. The build was nice and the terraforming was also nice - the original art worth seeing when you need something to do. But for all intents and purposes, the island sits there quite prettily. Waiting.
I saw one IBMer and one person from Xerox, and after the sim reboot it seemed mainly to be a few event hoppers mixed in with people who were interested, and who may have even been interesting. There was one apparent clique of corporate folks (easy to spot2), but altogether...
Well, maybe Eolus has the bag of wind closed for now. If it opens the bag, I'm interested, but I typically don't celebrate much that is closed.
1The name, Eolus, is derived from [w:Aeolus], the Greek ruler of the winds from [w:Odyssey]. He kept the winds in a bag, as the story goes, so that unleashed they were able to propel the ship of [w:Odysseus] back to Ithaca. The entire story of Odysseus lends context to this, and I have always wondered whether the bag would have been needed had the winds not been in the bag in the first place. In the context of making the world a better place, this is not a great metaphor.
2Instead, they may be well dressed newbies. Most corporate newbies get the free skins and shapes and a few clothing choices without realizing that they look like clones of those other corporate newbies. Over there. There is another entry right there.
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Aleister Kronos
presents his perspective.
Eolus - is it justy a bag of wind?
Much as I understand your skepticism about Eolus, I would contend that a launch event (particularly one that is mobbed by the Things To Do group!) is unlikely to give the best impression - or impart the most information. To get a better handle I would strongly suggest a chat with Eolus McMillan - who can hopefully answer some of your concerns (and probably raise new ones!).
Al K.
I tried that.
But you see - a launch event is also not the best time to talk to Eolus McMillan, either. And really, even if he said that they would cure cancer - well, what's so special about that? Nothing. Curing cancer, well - that would be something.
Frankly, I shouldn't have to speak to anyone. The place should speak for itself. It doesn't.
As far as skepticism - don't color my pragmatism. Either they do something or they don't. The metaverse is full of starry eyed people who think that they will make a difference. Yes, there is potential at Eolus, but that potential isn't really news until it is realized. That's just Second Life - I've seen it in the real world as well, and creating a bubble of hype creates expectations that no one can live up to. The best intentions are worthless without action.
We can boil it down to two words.
Show Us.
If you have nothing to show us, well...