Nexeus Fatale

I’ve returned from Chicago and somewhat conscious from the awesome SLCC in Chicago this year! I have never had this much fun and excitement organizing, performing, hosting, and enjoying a convention such as this one! The SLCC is a labor of love and community for me, and I’ve been very happy to be a part of the process in making it a reality. While the conference is young it is growing and feedback is HIGHLY recommended, Randal Moss has created a post where you can provide feedback about the convention, your own thoughts, and even suggestions!

There were so many great moments from this year’s convention, from the opening remarks of Phillip Linden being honest and apologizing to the community for the troubles that were abound, to the announcement of the Open Source winners in the Social Track, to the discussion about Sex in Virtual Worlds, to the premiere of new machinima, to a great, freaky and fun masquerade, to a kick ass volunteer party and open bar in Kitty O’Sheas! This was a great convention and a great time to meet new and interesting people!

I wish I could say each moment that took me by surprise, but I can’t pick just one, so much was going on it was almost impossible to keep up with it. There were people who’ve I’ve met in Second Life and not in person until the SLCC (and vice versa). I will say that a lot of friendships has been renewed and formed and there will be plenty more to come. I would highly encourage people to share their memories on Flickr through the Second Life Community Convention group by posting your pictures and commenting on the already posted pictures. Now to get ready for 2008!

The Second Life Community Convention ‘07 begins today! There is much excitement and me running around like a madman! I will do my best to keep everyone up to speed with what is going on through twitter (http://www.twitter.com/nexeus). For those who are still on their way to Chicago may realize that crazy stuff has happened, the weather has gone entirely insane in the past two days, it seems there were possible tornadoes, tons of flooding, and crazy ass thunderstorms well into the night! Be safe and feel free to say hi and hug me if I see ya!

File this in the day late column!! The Second Life Community Convention had sold out yesterday (possibly sometime while I was in the air!) For those who wanted to do a last minute register, sorry, BUT, you can still catch all of the action inside of Second Life as there will be piped audio in Second Life in various locations along with in world events planned while it is going on in Chicago!

Next weekend, about this time, the Masquerade would be in full swing at the Second Life Community Convention in Chicago. So far there would have been two amazing days of music from live musicians, DJ’s, great panels from everything on the education, social, business and machinima aspects of Second Life, and more than likely plenty of hookups! Earlier this year I mentioned that Virtualive.tv, another project I help organize, feels a lot like a virtual Woodstock, the combination of music and today’s technology rolled into one unifying event. The Second Life Community Convention feels a lot like the next E3, and as much as I hate that comparison I feel that it fits.

Virtual Worlds, Second Life in particular, is changing the social landscape in the same way that e-mail and instant messaging has. While there is a lot of press about Second Life (both good and bad), it is the same sort of press that the Internet, as a whole receives. Whether Second Life is Web 3.0, or the next evolution of the Internet or the new Matrix is yet to be seen. Most importantly, it is a very evolutionary step in today’s technology. The difference about this step is that rather being ran by huge corporations, Second Life is built on the backbone of individuals, not that of corporate mega-dollars (actually one can make the argument that large corporations entering into Second Life actually help community members more than Linden Lab.) Like the Net, Second Life makes anything possible without asking for permission, it brings like minds, people, and develops communities, micro-communities, and groups together in a way unlike before. For the first time, major corporations are sitting in the same room with techs who are sitting in the same room with people who have learned professional graphic, coding, and development skills on their own. There is not one place where the playing field is very level and that people join together to work (or not) in a very passionate, meaningful way.

The Second Life Community Convention is about putting all of these people in one room and enjoying time together in a real space, much of the same way that it is done in a virtual space. Every year I come from this convention in awe and excitement at what has been achieved, and for the past two years have been blessed to be a part of a great team of individuals who put blood, effort, and so much energy into making this exciting. It is going to be a fun, exciting time, and I intend to enjoy every single moment of it.

Now with that said, let me a final pitch! There is still time to register for the convention or participate in the virtual side of it in Second Life, visit http://slcc2007.wordpress.com. If you come to the convention in Chicago, don’t be a stranger, say hi, hell even ask for a hug and lets share a drink together!

With about four weeks to go for the SLCC is things are getting a wee bit chaotic. At this moment a few updates went out through the official blog that:

1. The conference rate at the hotel is no longer available. It’s sold out!
2. If you have registered for the SLCC, great, if you have registered and not payed for the SLCC, do so immediately. Spaces for the conference is getting very, very narrow!
3. There’s also news that sponsorships for this year’s conference is CLOSED! If you want to sponsor, 2008 is very open!