My recent MediaPost column on the adult-underground contributions to Second Life prompted some thoughtful feedback, on the record, off the record, as well as via public comments and email. Surprisingly, it also spawned complements and an interview request from a journalist at the AvaStar newspaper in Second Life. A newspaper? That physical, centuries-old, dead-tree, dying artifact flourishing in an intangible, virtual world? That seems an oxymoron, but it’s true. I suppose the term newspaper stands for more than the physical product; or, the virtual world is trying to underscore its veracity by emphasizing its ability to mimic anything, especially the utmost physical.
I told the journalist I had nothing more to add, and declined to speculate beyond my conservative observations and conclusion that the underworld is likely to continue nurturing and influencing new media and technology platforms, including virtual worlds. However, I did advise him to review and quote some of the articulate comments I received, like this one, from Toli Cefail:
Being “underground†forces these industries to think way outside the box and with necessity being the mother of invention, keeping an eye on what they come up with isn’t a bad idea.