Not all those who wander are Lost
Right after releasing Western Rider featured in my last post, Salt & Pepper released another outfit, simply called Burlesque. It really does speak for itself.
Credits:
Photo Location: BodyShots Gentlemans Lounge
The store Salt & Pepper released a new outfit recently called Western Rider at the Teegle Dog & Pony Show. This obviously resulted in a slew of photos on social media of people wearing it, usually on horseback.
While that’s all very well and good, I felt like trying a different take on it. I got an idea when at a Western theme party not long ago I heard the song lyrics “Save a horse, ride a cowboy”. It made me think; any woman can be a “cowgirl” she just needs the right kind of ride….
While that might have been fun, I like to keep my blog PG rated, so I veered away from that train of thought,instead I thought “Why ride a horse when you can ride a Centaur?”
Imagine if Centaurs weren’t the graceful beings we see them portrayed as in stories and Second Life community. What if they were as Wild as the old West? Could they be tamed, made civilized? Intriguing questions that may lead to an interesting story in the future.
I want to say a big thankyou to Tori Landau for playing the part of the Centaur in the photos and suggesting the idea of Wild.
Rider Credits:
Centaur Credits:
Avatars posed using the Jinx Passenger System for Centaur.
Location: Copper Canyon created by Camilla Runo, now sadly closed.
I’m breaking from my norm today and including some Real Life in my post. Last weekend I was at a Steampunk Festival, a real one, near where I live. It was the first time there’s been one near me, so it’s the first one I’ve attended too, it was amazing.
People went to so much effort with their costumes and some fun entertainment. I only attended for one afternoon but there was events running the whole weekend, so next year I’ll be attending more.
Event Website: Isle of Wight Steampunk Festival
In Second Life meanwhile the steampunk themed Engine Room event had opened the day before. So inspired from the Festival I went on a shopping spree and put together this outfit to put myself virtually into the header photo of the actual event.
Outfit Credits:
Engine Room Items from:http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Syndicate/172/189/28
Other items:
I’ve been a little slack lately in my blogging, but it’s not that I’ve not been doing anything. My blog is after all to tell the tale of my Second Life, I’ve just not written it down. But I did take pictures, so rather than have them just sit on my laptop, I thought I’d do a recap of what random stuff I’ve been up to recently.
Firstly I went to an event at Belliseria Bureau of Bureaucracy (BBB) that I’d never heard of until my friend Tori invited me along to thier Western themed event.
We also went out to Muddy’s Music cafe another time, picked randoly off the Destination Guide. I’d never been there and it had been a long time since Tori had too. However you won’t see either of our avatars in the photos. We thought it’d be fun to have an “Alts Night Out” and take some secondary avatars out for the evening.
Last night I went to a Petites Party at Centauria, home of the Second Life Centaur community. However since it was an impromptu decision, I was the only “biggie” present, but it was good fun for an hour.
There were a few other places I visited, but nobody wants to see photos of shops! I’ve a few ideas floating around for future posts, so hopefully I’ll get those done soon and there won’t be such huge gaps in between me writing here.
On Friday night I got a message from Gogo (Gorgeous Aurelia) on Discord saying “You’re tagged!” followed by a link to her entry for a Blogger Challenge. She challenged me and several others to complete this challenge, so here I go:
“I am participating in the Got Blog! Bloggers Challenge, you can find more information on this at https://sasyscarborough.com/2024/08/09/got-blog-bloggers-challenge/.”
Like Gogo, I now challenge Daniel Voyager, Isabelle Cheren, Melyna Foxclaw and Inara Pey to complete this thought provoking exercise. Four fellow Bloggers I have great respect for, I know some are very busy, but it would be interesting to read the answers.
When did you start your Second Life Blog?
2019
Why did you start Blogging in Second Life?
I wanted to tell the story of my Second Life. It grew to include explorations, roleplay stories and occasional musings on virtual worlds.
Do you feel the Blogging community in Second Life has changed since you started Blogging, and if so, in what ways?
I found people were using Flickr as a blogging platform, which is for digital photography or digital art and no-one liked that being pointed out to them. Granted the work some people do to their SL photos with image editors does elevate some of them to art. Sticking a credits list on a photo though doesn’t make you a blogger, it makes you a diligent photographer in the same way writers should state sources. Blog is after all a shortening of “web-log” :
“Informational website consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts).” Wikipedia
Do you think that Bloggers have a positive impact on Second Life culture and community, and if so, do you have any stories about that?
Definitely. Anything that promotes our virtual playground of Second Life is positive.
Are you approachable as a Blogger by content creators that may have interest in you as a Blogger for their Brand/Store?
I feel I am approachable, but it never happens (so maybe I’m not?) and I stopped applying to stores a long time ago. Sadly your worthiness as a blogger is often judged on the number of Followers you have on Flickr, Instagram or other social media. My blog isn’t about shopping, so it doesn’t bother me a great deal. Invitations or recommendations of places to explore are certainly welcome though.
Do you have any tips or tricks that help you with the Blogging process that you would like to share?
If you’re at a large shopping event and see something you like, don’t buy it right away. Screenshot the item/booth with gyazo, then open the World Map,copy the location SLURL and paste it into the Notes section of the screenshot and move on. When you’re done you’ll have a galley you can browse through to choose which items you might go back for, with the exact location of where they were in the notes. This also helps with preventing impulsive purchases that you regret later!
Have you yourself ever benefited from another Blogger’s post, such as learning a new skill for Blogging, or Second Life functions that you may not have known about?
Isabelle Cheren was an influence on me early on in my blogging journey. We did a collaboration once that is still a fond memory.
What kind of Blogs appeal to you as a reader, and what would you like to see more of in the Second Life Blogging world?
Stories. I like good stories or at least creative descriptions. A storyline that spans a series of posts and images shows imagination and creativity.
Do you Blog content that you yourself would wear/use always, or do you blog content that is expected of you to blog due to commitments to stores/events?
Usually I feature items that I do use. Since my blog is mostly about places, items featured may not be new anyway. The exception to this is Fantasy Faire, (a Relay for Life charity event) when I will feature as much of the Creators content as I possibly can in the 3-week long event.
I have no commitments to stores, so I don’t have any blogging obligations.
Do you feel that imposed time limits, and a set amount of content featured changes the way you blog content, and does it feel less authentically you?
Definitely. One of the things I love about blogging for Fantasy Faire is that they have no requirements other than Quality.
Once you start throwing in “x items in each post,x posts over the event ” it’s not fun, it’s a task. Even other RFL events have started doing this, so I don’t apply even though I may have blogged that event previously.
Do you use Social Media, and/or other platforms outside of your Blog/Website to promote the content you have shared?
I went through a stage of having an account on every social platform, but that didn’t last long, they didn’t interest me.
I use Flickr for creating albums of blog snapshots. I have Twitter, but prefer Bluesky and Primfeed, but I’m not very active unless I’m sharing blog posts.
Do you pay for any aspect of your blogging other than the clothing or items in your images, such as Website Hosting, Photoshop etc?
Domain names & Web Hosting
WordPress Jetpack services (providing backup and security for my site)
Flickr Pro (but cancelling)
Gyazo Pro
Do you think that Stores/Content Creators should have a Website/Blog for their Brand?
I think this depends on the scale of the store. Creating items to sell in Second Life is no longer as simple as it used to be, the amount of time creators spend making stuff is considerable today. Maintaining a website is also time consuming, so it depends if they have time for both. I would say that if they don’t have a site, a Flickr account (or now possibly Primfeed) for promoting their content is a minimum.
Do you have any suggestions for Content Creators/Stores to consider, when it comes to their Bloggers, and Bloggers that they may want to have Blog for them?
Remember that bloggers aren’t employees, they’re giving up their free time to promote your products because they like them.
Do you have any advice that you can give other Bloggers that may be new to the experience, or even advice/wisdom that you want to share with the Blogging community as a whole, new or old
Event & Store blogging is basically providing them with free advertising. The “free” items they’ve given you to blog haven’t actually cost them anything except the L$ of a single sale, which when converted to currency won’t even buy you a cup of tea or coffee. For which you must spend some hours intigrating them into an attractive post. So remember blogging is meant to be fun, choose carefully who you want to work with. Don’t put yourself in a position where you’re blogging stuff you don’t like to meet a stipulated quota. That’s not fun.
Do you have suggestions for which Blogging Platform to use, and why you chose it over others?
I would definitely recommend WordPress over other platforms, preferably self-hosted on a Domain if you can afford it. You may find if you set up your site on wordpress.com then start paying for features, you’re just as well paying a dedicated hosting provider. Fortunately WordPress sites are easily moved. However you choose to use it, the WordPres networking features of liking, following and commenting is one of the platforms greatest strengths, because it’s so widely used.
I would discourage using WIX. If you buy a domain through them, that’s all you get. You don’t get domain email accounts without paying extra which are then outsourced to Google Workspace anyway. Domain email comes as standard with any other host. You also can’t move a WIX website to another hosting provider if you wanted to. You could transfer the domain address, but you’d have to build a new website from scratch. Also the ToS got updated to allow them to scrape your content to train an AI.
What do you enjoy and are most passionate about when it comes to Blogging
Exploring and photographing locations new to me, perhaps making up a story to go with it. Along with the fun of putting together an outfit that suits the location.
Well that’s my attempt at this challenge and it certainly was that! I’m sure some of my comments may not go down well, or seem opinionated, but that’s what they are, my opinions.
For some years now the once-ubiquitous image hosting service Flickr seems to have been gradually trying to squeeze Second Life content out.
With changes to policies relating to free accounts ability to have private photos and no longer able to include links to Second Life Marketplace or Store locations, it being seen as Commercial Use.
While not being able to have many images marked as Private is an inconvenience, not being able to include store links without a Pro left many SL Flickr “bloggers” (Flickr is an image hosting service not a blogging platform) stranded.
Timeline of changes:
That last point is a big issue because a lot of SL content is of an adult nature so many images of the virtual world don’t meet the requirements of Flickr’s “Safe” rating. It resulted in a bit of an exodus of SL residents from the platform.
The intention was apparently to make Flickr an archive of safe content “forever” and aimed at photographers rather than images from platforms like Second Life. Of late Flickr seems to have been enforcing the rules rather indiscriminately, resulting in at least one large inworld store setting their entire image catalogue to Moderate to prevent any issues. This of course inconviences their customers, who now need a Flickr account to view the images.
On 17th of May I heard about a proposed alternative to Flickr especially for Second Life residents. The name for this new site: Primfeed.com
It’s creator, Luke Rowley (also the founder of easyblogger), says that the platform will offer:
Also unique to the platform is that it will be linked to your avatar:
“Your account on Primfeed will be linked to a Second Life avatar, and you will have only one account per avatar, to prevent imposter, and fake accounts.”
In the list of features above, Luke says there will be a tag for AI generated content, however in a later X Post (Tweet) he suggested AI generated/enhanced product ADs will be banned.
Those could be seen as two separate issues, but I see them as one, they’re aspects of the same issue. If it’s going to be a Second Life focused platform that’s what it should be, no AI content. AI generated content has its place, such as a fun header of this post or specific audiences and markets, but on a Second Life specific image gallery isn’t it.
I believe in this time of an obsession with AI everywhere, the initial stance on AI content on the platform will have a dramatic effect on its overall success. Saying “No” from the outset may provoke some negative feedback to start with, but I believe in the long run it will lead to a more SL-Relevant content collection.
The site is currently still under development and looks very promising so far and comments on social media certainly seem to reflect that opinion. Many people, including myself, are very excited about this project and waiting eagerly for its launch at the end of June.
There is a preview video of what the site may look like at this link on X (which totally refused to Embed here.)
If you’re interested and want to make a suggestion or offer ideas, you can use this form.
Update 10th August 2024: The platform launched with allowing AI content so long as it was tagged as such. I guess this is a reasonable compromise, because trying to keep the content out altogether would be a moderation nightmare. At launch it wasn’t possible to filter this content, but it has now been added. You can opt to show “AI Content” and “Render Content” as well as obviously Maturity ratings in your settings. Lots of other improvements have been made in the short time the platform has been running and it’s quite an impressive achievement. Signing up with your Second Life avatar account makes it very easy to get set up quickly. If you have at some point changed your avatar name, you may find that your registered account shows the original name (mine showed AvaDelaney Resident), you can fix that by clicking a board inworld to update it.
Currently content on the site isn’t visible without a Second Life account, I can see this as both good and bad. Good in that the platform is kept SL focused, but possibly bad because it can’t be used to attract new Residents. However since that is not the point of the site, it’s not much of a downside. Given the actions of Flickr mentioned above, primfeed does seem now, with it’s updates, to be the much needed alternative platform.
The Fairelanders of Fantasy Faire gather to explore other realms in Second Life. I shall definitely be attending!
Unfortunately the time was moved by 4 hours to 5pmSLT instead of 1pm so I won’t be able to attend.
Group Join Link : secondlife:///app/group/f2188696-a522-50e1-d790-475934558c30/about
The Fairelands have faded back into the Mists for another year, but the Company of Faire Folk will be continuing to ride out … or walk, fly, amble, swim, or otherwise navigate as you prefer. This year, we are planning a series of off-season Tours, giving the Company of Faire Folk a chance to meet […]
The Company of Faire Folk welcome you
This is the first time I’ve written something like this and it really is a challenge, so please bear with me.
This is my 4th year as a Faire Chronicler and I’m proud to be such, but this year is very different. I previously have done this because it’s a great cause to support, obviously I’d known people who had Cancer, but previously not lost someone close to it. My Aunt passed shortly before this year’s Faire and she is missed. She was not geographically close to me, so seeing her in person was pretty rare, but I knew she’d be there on the end of the phone. I probably took that for granted because I didn’t speak to her often either. This may bring up the question of “how were you close then?”, the answer is that she had a great impact on my childhood. My family would visit theirs and many happy summers were spent with my cousins when I was growing up. I could always talk to her, usually back then to complain about my mum, as youngsters and teens are prone to doing.
Obviously later we talked about more adult topics, but it was those summer years that formed a trust bond you think will never be broken, but her cancer did that far too soon. She was a shrewd business woman that passed that know-how onto my cousins, who have become successful in their own right because of it.
So I Relay in her memory, in the hopes that fewer aunts and mothers are lost to the dreadful disease of Cancer. I’d never cried for her loss until I wrote this, I’m not good at showing my emotions, but putting these thoughts on virtual paper has allowed me to let them out. The thought of her not being there at our family gatherings makes my screen go blurry.
I was uncertain what I might use as an image for this post, if any at all, but then I remembered one of her wishes; she wanted people to dress in bright colours at her funeral and her favourite colour was Blue, so I searched the Faire for something suitable.
Credits:
This post was featured on Second Life Community Blog on 7th May 2024
So this year we have a very quaint looking village for our Quest location. It looks far too safe, it must have a dark secret, surely? After all our Quest is called “The Seven Layers of Joy”, which to me isn’t dissimilar from “Nine Circles of Hell”, perhaps the Unweaver can’t count. I’ll play along and dress suitably for the setting and wait until something unpleasant happens..off to see the Bard Queen!
I wrote the above early last week,but then I got carried away with the Quest and forgot to take pictures as I went along!
As it turns out, the layers refer to those of a big cake, so whether it is Hell or not depends if you hate baking or happen to be on a gluten-free diet!
Fortunately since then the Quest Express HUD has been released. For a 5000L$ donation this will let you skip as much or as little as you want of the Quest. Since the Faire is now into Extra Time granted by the Lindens, it’s just in time for you to whiz around and grab all those prizes!
You can grab the Expresss HUD HERE at Fairelands Junction.
I suggest you enable the “auto-accept inventory” option in your viewer before going to the end, to save to having to accept around 139 inventory offers. You’ll likely have to relog twice however for all of them to arrive, due to them all arriving so quickly.
Credits:
I saw this complete outfit costume from Fallen Gods and knew that its perfect home was in Ogham Grove.
Credit:
