Talk in Second Life

Ten or fifteen years from now, virtual worlds will be as prevalent as web pages are today. I remember fifteen years ago when I had just set up my first web page and was trying to explain to my friends that this was going to be really big. Suffice it to say, I wasn't very convincing. "The other day I found a web page that you can use to order a pizza to be delivered!" "You know, we already have a technology to do that -- it's called a phone." Likewise, I don't have an especially clear picture of how virtual worlds will be put to use in the years to come. Right now, by far the leading presence in the game is Second Life, which remains clearly marked by the signs of geekdom which tend to characterize early incarnations of technological advances -- for example, you have to choose ...