If you're like me, you're not attending the inauguration next week in DC. Maybe it's the money, maybe it's the millions of people, maybe it's work, maybe it's the traveling, but for whatever reason, you're not going. If that's the case, I've got a proposition for you. Next Tuesday you can spend an entire day dancing, partying and celebrating with progressives and liberals without even leaving your house. Oh, and did I mention that it's FREE?
It's called Second Life, a virtual online world. Some of your friends and neighbors at DailyKos and throughout the blogosphere have been using it as a virtual meeting place and playground for the last couple years. Last summer we held a virtual bloggers' convention in conjunction with Netroots Nation, known as Netroots Nation in Second Life, and it was a smashing success.
But we're not stopping there. Next Tuesday we're having an all-day party to celebrate the inauguration. You, too, can join us for drinking, dancing, jubilation and merriment as we celebrate the inauguration of President Obama. Join me below the fold for details.
Basics:
Second Life is a powerful and versatile software package that allows you to create a virtual version of yourself (known as an "avatar") and then participate in all sorts of fun--and sometimes educational--activities throughout Second Life. Once you're "in world" you'll have the opportunity to meet and interact with people from all over the world. You can be as creative as you want with your avatar's look (my SL avatar is tall, skinny, well-dressed and good-looking; my RL self is...none of those things), even masquerade as an animal or a "tiny". Once you've created an avatar, the world is your oyster. Join the Cafe Wellstone community for dancing, music, comedy shows, movies, stimulating discussions, and the occasional fart joke.
What We're Doing:
Last summer, the Cafe Wellstone community sponsored a virtual cognate to the Netroots Nation Convention, known as Netroots Nation in Second Life. Streaming video and audio from the real-life convention was available in-world, and Second Life avatars were given an unprecedented opportunity to interact with the real-life convention from the privacy of their own homes. The event was wildly successful in its mission of bridging the gap between real life and Second Life.
Now it's time for a huge party. All day on January 20th, Second Lifers from the progressive blogosphere will gather to watch and listen to the inauguration, chat, dance, party and celebrate the momentous occasion of President Obama's inauguration.
How to Participate:
First you'll need to create a Second Life account. If you're an existing Second Life user, you can skip this step and go directly to Step 2! Visit and click on "Get Started." You'll be taken to the registration page. Here you'll select a basic starting appearance for your avatar, select your avatar's name, and set up your account. Once you've jumped through those hoops, download and install the Second Life software. PLEASE NOTE that Second Life requires a fairly powerful computer to run successfully. Visit this page for system requirements and bear in mind that these are minimums. Once you download and install the software, log in. Once you're logged in, you'll want to "teleport" your avatar to the location of the event you wish to attend. You may wish to bookmark this diary for future reference, as I will include teleport URLs here (known as SLurls).
If you're new to Second Life, it is highly recommended that you start by visiting the orientation area we built for NNinSL. Click on this link, and your web browser will take you to a service called SLurl, which will communicate with Second Life to teleport you to the NNinSL orientation area. Here you'll find a set of step-by-step instructions for customizing your avatar, finding and conversing with SL friends, and even a Help Desk for assistance when you get stuck! We'll also load you up with as much free clothing and as many free goodies as we can!
Once you've gone through the orientation steps, consult the schedule below and teleport to the event you wish to attend. The schedule for Tuesday includes a live stream of the inauguration activities, live music from some of Second Life's best musicians, and three virtual inaugural balls!
Oh, but that's not all! (Wait, there's more! It's better than a ShamWOW!) After the inauguration festivities, you can come back and join us for more fun and merriment nearly every day!. Visit the Cafe Wellstone schedule for times and locations of all sorts of fun things. On Wednesdays we inhabit the best little roadhouse in SL, the Lonely Yak, for dancing and music presented by Jane2 McMahon and Rocky Torok. On Friday it's Dancing Liberally, hosted by General J.C. Christian (yes, that General J.C. Christian!). On Sundays we watch old movies and plot the Marxist/Lennonist takeover of the world at the Red Zeppelin.
PLEASE JOIN US!