Lauren Lamonica

The Founder and former CEO of Linden Lab, Philip Rosedale, recently posted a blog entry in which he expressed his intentions to revisit and improve the interactive map of Second Life, a virtual world with millions of users. Since the development of a new homepage with an interactive map was the first project I’d ever managed, I thought I’d recall how we arrived at its conception.

The main goal of the site at the time was to get visitors to download a free 30-day trial of Second Life, and the main objective of the project was to “move the needle” by increasing our trial/visit rate on the site, which hovered at around 4%, I believe. Our strategy for attracting the early adopters who would grow the community was to explain that Second Life had limitless possibilities and that “yes you, Site Visitor, can shape this world into anything you want.”

But the homepage had a few problems: First, hardly anyone knew what “virtual reality” was in 2004. Images on Secondlife.com often depicted games like Tringo, people dancing in a club, and the occasional furry. So, the average site visitor immediately assumed Second Life was a 3D game or something like the Sims. Second, most site visitors didn’t understand that the images they were seeing depicted 3D models that were “user-created” with SL’s tools, and were not made by Linden Lab. Third, we wanted to show exponential growth in content within Second Life without requiring that our one and only designer constantly snap and upload pictures in-world. Finally, it seemed that if we could convey that Second Life was a place and not a game, we would have a much easier time explaining the rest

So, in designing a new site, there were a few parameters to set:

1. Show different scenarios (dancing, a game) simultaneously so that a visitor to the site doesn’t bounce because they’re not interested in the first scenario they see.
2. Show that Second Life is user-created.
3. Show constant growth and activity in Second Life.
4. Show Second Life as a place and not a game.

At the time, there were two trends that were taking over, on the web and in SL, respectively: Google’s new slick AJAX map and Snapzilla, a website created by Second Life users to share photos; a Flickr for Second Life. Leveraging these trends, we formed an idea that seemed within our solution space: a contextual screenshot gallery that would be automatically updated by residents of Second Life via posting Snapshots from in-world to the web—in the form of a map.

The first roll out of the map did not see an increase in the trial/visit rate, but it did provide a clearer vision of Second Life as a place, and represented Second Life via the web. This was essential in improving the user experience and mass adoption of Second Life.

Over the course of a year, the homepage and the map changed several times, becoming connected and disconnected at times. But the map evolved regardless. The first phase was the creation of the map and its use on the homepage. The second phase involved a adding check box on the Snapshot feature which allowed users to “publish image to the web,” and the third was the invention of the SLURL, or Second Life URL, which gave those without Second Life installed the ability to visit a location in Second Life on a web-based map, and then the opportunity to join and start their journey at that location

Philip’s new map is much smoother and has more detail, but as Philip points out “the practical challenge of rendering things far away [within Second Life] combined with the weaknesses of the existing web and in-world maps have made this more an aspiration than a reality.” How valuable is the vision of “space” in Second Life if point-to-point teleporting is more efficient than flying from one place to another as the world slowly renders around you?

I hope to see improvements both in the web-based an in-world maps. In the meantime I noticed that two of the features which we had created to make the map more relevant are now missing, as far as I can tell:

1. How I can automatically post a photo from within Second Life to the web, and have it show up like it does on an Earth map in Flickr? The checkbox I pushed that said “publish to web” is no longer there.
2. How can I input an image of my house in place of the default “Welcome to Second Life” graphic upon visiting a SLURL? For example, I’d like to send someone a SLURL of my home location, with an image of my house in place.

Now that the map actually functions in the way we’d always hoped—I won’t be satisfied until I can also search it for items, businesses, and residents, as I search web-based maps in my real life.

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I had an idea and wanted to get feedback about it. Many of my friends have recently become unemployed. These are San Francisco professionals with experience in marketing, web development, graphic design, writing and music creation (and those are just my friends). While we’re out of work, why not use this time for Ad hoc Education, cheap social outings, and make some deals with retailers, restaurants and coffee shops (with free wifi) to network and teach others our skills?

Main objectives of this program:

1. Networking
2. Job and skill training
3. Stimulating the economy by throwing local vendor some business
4. Filling a gap in employment history with an official agenda
5. Giving back, even when you have nothing to give

NETWORKING: You may have just lost your job, but your previous employer may still be in need of a web developer. Your web developer friend may know someone who needs a project manager. Etc. Also, when we get back on our feet, we’ll remember who was with us in the trenches.

JOB AND SKILL TRAINING: I’m in grad school at SF State working on my MBA part-time. I could share my acquired knowledge and hundreds of dollars in textbooks with those looking to learn about project management theory, flowcharting, basic web design, and UX design. I’d like to learn: backend web design, SQL, and PHP. I’d like to find a model for some figure drawing sessions, someone to teach me how to play the guitar, and learn how to make a killer osso buco.

STIMULATING THE ECONOMY: I live on Union St. in Cow Hollow and all I see is "70% off" in every store window. I haven’t been out for a coffee in weeks as I’ve been drinking green tea at home, to save money. Well, what if this "club" had a discount card for certain shops, coffee shops, and hosted discounted lunches for meetings? These businesses are suffering too, and could use the bump.

EMPLOYMENT GAP: What did you do while you were unemployed? Did you finally get to watch the last season of 90210? (That’s a confession) Did you volunteer? What if you were a part of this Ad hoc Educational Coalition, which gave you the opportunity to teach as well as learn? That’s a pretty good story.

GIVING BACK: You finally have the time to do it.

While you consider this idea, check out one of my favorite new blogs, Unemploymentality , and join the group Depression 2.0! on Facebook. If you decide not to jump of the Golden Gate Bridge, please leave a comment for encouragement…

Lunch at Mike’s

Originally uploaded by lauren.lamonica

Japanese food for Monday lunch. Awesome. Thank you!

So I didn’t make my goal time of 3:40 (got a 3:53 - and could have been a 3:50), but it’s now pretty apparent that shaving 20 minutes off my San Francisco Marathon time will NOT come from just changing my course and adding speedwork. I think it’s going to take a few more marathons, better preparation for new course types and weather, better diet before the race, and a few more races in general. For myself and anyone who wants to hear it, here are some California International Marathon (CIM) tips:

1. If you’re not used to running in the "cold," which to me is anything less than 60 degrees, wear a hat, gloves, and a long-sleeved shirt—all made from a material that will not absorb moisture. You need to be warm, but once sweat gets into your clothes, it gets cold and miserable. Running in cold weather seems to expend as much energy as running in hot weather. Just the prep is different.
2. Just because a course is flat doesn’t mean it won’t be tough in other ways. In fact, I found the lack of range required for my leg muscles caused my hamstrings to get a lot tighter, a lot earlier than usual.
3. Be realistic about your pace and race goals. Even if you hear the course will be "25 minutes faster," it’s best to assume you’ll finish 10 minutes faster than you would on a hilly course like that of the SF Marathon.
4. OH YEAH! If you’re planning to run a lot faster…YOU ALSO NEED TO EAT A LOT MORE…both along the course and beforehand. I only carried 3 GU packets and had to find 2 more along the course, as well as bananas, oranges and hippie bars. You’ll need more glucose if you’re pushing harder aerobically. Also, I should have eaten a much larger breakfast, which requires getting up at least 2 hours before the race to begin eating…and digesting. And THAT food should be rich in protein, something you can’t replenish along the race.

In the end, the race was educational although not the most fun race. There were high school cheerleaders in every town along the way, lots of suburbanites waking up early with their kids, and some very serious pace team leaders.

Another cool tip: A bit disappointed and definitely hitting a wall at around mile 20, I found a partner in crime (Eric from Modesto) who was also getting burnt out, stretching alongside the road. We were both hurting bad. We ran the last 6 miles together, walking for 30 seconds at each mile. We pretended we were doing a casual Sunday jog and asked each other questions about school, family, etc. When you’re super sore and no longer pushing for top aerobic activity (meaning: you can have a conversation), finding a "jogging partner" in the last few miles is a great way to take your mind off the pain and motivate.

Hope this gets linked to somewhere. I was looking for CIM info prior to the race and couldn’t find much. Feel free to message me or comment with your CIM story!

Got inspired today and decided to sign up for the California International Marathon, which takes place in Sacramento on December 7th. This gives me 3 months to train.

I have run two San Francisco Marathons; the first in 4:00:58 and the second in 3:59:50 or something. I’ve learned that I’ll have to train harder and faster if I’m going to shed time and *possibly* qualify for the Boston Marathon. I’ll need to go from a 9:22 marathon miles to a 8:22 marathon mile, which is no small feat.

My gear:

1. A killer Garmin GPS sports watch, in the picture above, to track my pace. The watch was $350 and includes a heartbeat tracker and software that logs your workouts. I haven’t figured out all it has to offer, but it has an excellent built-in, see-it-as-you-go electronic tutorial…which is good because the handbook is completely useless
2. My fourth pair of Mizuno Wave Nirvana running shoes in orange
3. “2x the caffeine” Espresso Love Gu in…gross
4. A downhill “top 5 Boston Qualifier” course choice
5. Oh yeah…Roxette’s “Joyride” now on my iPod. Hello. You fool. I love you. C’mon join the joyriiiiiide…

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