Facebook has stood firm declaring all users need to be their real life personae, and not Second Life avatars, or else they will delete your FB account... so perhaps AvatarsUnited.com is a fresh start on a social network new media site for avatars.
I do hate the buy-coins scam section though. LL needs to remove that from the equation of the site to have it gain any future credibility.
I have started the non-group "What the Hell are We Doing Here" on the site. You are welcome to join it.
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Linden Lab acquires Avatars United
Via Massively:
In a move that will no doubt perplex, flummox and befuddle many media commentators and technology columnists who erroneously believed that Second Life was a Web 2.0 social networking tool, Linden Lab has acquired social networking site, Avatars United (and developers of same, Enemy Unknown AB). This also has the side-effect of shooting down any semblance of Wallace Linden's identity piece last week being an overture of a conversation, instead making it look like the usual introduction to a Linden Lab fait accompli.
We've written about Avatars United on a couple of previous occasions, but never really had much call to get involved ourselves.
3 comments:
this reminded me of my ignored MYRL-Immersive Entertainment Platform...
I am not really sure what the fuss is all about over the coins on AU. Facebook has tons of similar perks that require you to purchase coins or points etc.
I haven't seen anything on Facebook that allows customization of your page backgrounds or themes at all although Plurk allows it.
Still, if you are not handy with CSS, not a designer, troubleshooter etc, there are many sites that create and sell Plurk Themes and no one rants and raves about that.
I would prefer that you could toss Linden Dollars out instead of filling out offers or buying coins and perhaps that will happen.
No one complains that we purchase creations in SL, so if you happen to create a theme or a background or an application for AU, I don't see anything wrong with that sort of exchange of goods and services. I would add that buying coins and filling out offers in order to get them is not really in keeping with the promise of anonymity on AU and certainly should be an incentive to supplant the coin system with one that accepts L$.
AU is very new and there is a lot for Linden Lab to do in incorporating it wisely. I see a lot of potential there for growing community and commerce. I have already experienced that to a delightful degree.
My friends list in SL is much larger than my list on AU yet many of the people I have friended on AU are people that USED to be on my SL list but left in order to tidy up. I am sure that we have all received such messages from friends in SL such as "Hey, I am cleaning up my friends list and just keeping people on that I do biz with etc on a regular basis. Nothing at all personal". There is nothing wrong with that. I can understand that completely. The nice thing about AU is that you can keep as many friends as you like without worrying that your in-world list is becoming unmanageable.
Thanks to AU, I have reunited many of the people that were on my list from way back when and received messages like "Hey, I remember you! You sold me my first land or you helped me do this or that or you bought my products and left some nice feedback". Many of the people I have reunited with have messaged me in SL and dropped by for a visit. We chatted and they gave me some of their products and I gave them some of mine. We shared stories about business successes or failures over the years, caught up on personal stuff and mulled over a few predictions. It was a lot of fun and great to talk to people that had a positive outlook on the future of virtual worlds, products and services.
I know AU has a lot of quirks and eccentricities but I think it will get MUCH better.
I feel the same way as you do about this whole AU movement. Geezus, if people can't find enough in-world to build their social networks then they just don't get Second Life.
I had a FB account under my avatar for almost a year without being hassled, but finally I got sick of everyone sending me invtations to play Mafia Wars. Geesh.
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