Meeting of the Minds

It was about a week later that I met a very nice person on Playboy Island. He and I discussed SL and all its wonders that it had to hold. He told me that he was looking into why islands were so sticky. And for those none, web tech savvy people, sticky means keeping people in one place. So why do people stay on an island, and continue to come back? Well I had been wondering about things like that since I stepped into SL. I told him that I had been doing my own research project and that I would be happy to let him know my findings to date. We all are looking for something here in SL. It may be a good time, someone to talk to, romance, flat out Sex, or start a business. I was looking at my experience at this point as a little experiment. What makes an Avatar attractive to other Avatars? Well, it could be many different things. Before Playboy, I had met many people and they all were nice, but no one had asked to be on Oona’s friend list. That was fine with me up to this point. But Oona was looking for some friends to call her own. SL can be lonely if you have no one to send IMs to or go dancing with. But now that Oona had a new tag over hear head..that seem to intrigue people..men mostly. So I did a little experiment with this. Some time I would wear the Playboy VIP and sometimes I would wear the Blarney Stoned label. And the difference was amazing. No one even wanted to talk to Oona when she had her Blarney Stoned tag on but when she had the Playboy VIP on, oh the IMs came flying in. She was Ms. popular. The IMs were not rude, just all men and I could tell what they were thinking. Oona often got and still gets, “you are so beautiful”. She never got that with her Blarney Stoned tag. Oh, the other thing I found was the men that IMed Oona, were intelligent, in their 30s and 40s and were gentlemen. I think If I had a different tag on, I would get young unintelligent men looking for one thing only, sex. So I think my findings are that the tag your Av wears attracts certain kind of people. Its not rocket science. We are till human under this animation we call an Avatar. If we all wore a tag in RL that said, my name is an I am into XYZ we would attracted like people. Every one is afraid of rejection, the tags help soften the blow. So I have put on here my finding for all to see. This is as of 7/6/07. You you’re at all interested in these types of things, keep your eyes peeled for more. You can also email Oona with any comments or questions you may have on this subject. I only ask that you keep it professional people. Oona is NOT looking for a relationship of any kind, other than business. THANK YOU! (Oona.babenco@gmail.com)
Findings as of 7/6/07:
I think the biggest thing that keeps an Avatar on one island is interests. I know this sounds silly and remedial, but this is in simplest terms. People come to SL to find a home. They want to meet people with the same interests and do activities that are around that. I think that people are looking for a way to be themselves without the stigma of what they look like RL. They want people to go straight to their ideas and thoughts, what ever they may be. Most Avatars that I bump into are looking for someone to talk to. Yes, you find some that want more. I have been doing an experiment with the “groups” titles people wear. I think that these are huge. It’s like a name tag in RL that says…”Hello my name is and I love XY&Z, come talk to me”. If I wear my Playboy tag, I get one kind of Male Avatar. I get more IMs etc…lol. But if I wear my Blarney Stoned tag, people ask me if I am from Ireland and try to speak Gaelic with me. It’s not really what Oona looks like, Ok well maybe it is a little, it’s what is over her head that people are paying attention to most. So I have no idea if you already know all this or if this even helps you. But it was great meeting you and I hope to talk more with you about this subject. Have a great day!