As neologisms go, and like any SL resident I'm used to more than a few, Skoolaborate is one that feels ugly, but represents a wonderful new project. I'm adding their RSS to my feedreader right now.

The aim of the project is to have schools from around the world have their own space, allocated by time zone, and with a time zone specific co-ordinator, collaborate on range of projects to promote global citizenship and information about cultures and the like, and to make it available to other students from other time zones and cultures. The time zone specific co-ordinator will let the schools work at good times for them, whilst they'll be able to use the other areas to see how people their age see their own cultures.

Sadly it's a teen-grid project so most of us won't be able to visit it, but it is an interesting project nevertheless, and another cracking example of the sorts of things SL will enable us to do more easily than anything else I've seen to date.

A very talented UK teen student, Katharine Berry, has used AJAX to bring SL to Firefox and Safari. Right now, you can IM your friends, chat to others based on location, teleport, receive inventory notes, all without any graphic elements. There are a lot of caveats still with her approach, but if there is enough interest, she is willing to work on them as well as add more functionalities.

Katharine had first developed this project for the teen grid only, but after a few emails to the Second Life Education mailing List, residents from the main grid noted that it also works on their accounts. Try it out yourself (the link is on Katharine's blog) and let us know what you think!

This post has arrived to us via Katharine Berry's blog.

Through process of elimination, teens discovered that if they built a rocket that launched them far enough into the air, they would penetrate the wall of the Main Grid. This has since been repaired, but for a time, it actually worked. On a recent visit, I was loaded into the rocket for my inaugural mission, but alas, it failed. There's always next time!

Teen Gridders don't have many options as far as programs go. They don't have the money to invest in Maya. Their economy is ruled by very few who earn as much as 40-50 USD per day. They do know how to manipulate prims, though, and that is why sculpties make them mad as hell.

In the picture above, Jay Clostermann is showing Machinima Guru a picture of the protest sign (since I can't teleport), made by Ryou Debs, that is currently on display in Andretti. Instead of carefully building something through primwork, there will be people using objects made by others. They fear that primming will be abandoned for this new art and their little spending money will dwindle, along with the creativity of the residents.

What do YOU think about sculpties? Do you think they will affect your prim business in the long run?

Read on to find out what the sign says ...

I've previously mentioned how depressed the economy is on the Teen Grid. They create content for essentially peanuts. Their lindens cost the same as ours, but they can purchase three times the amount of items. Some innovative teens are working to change that, though.

Digital Refinery, the brainchild of Reallife Orca, is a teen-run content company with some of the finest content creators on the grid. They realized that Main Grid content companies had clients that weren't able to target their main market. Designers such as Ryan Dayton, Nikolai Althouse, and Brooke Barmy will be working with clients to show off their work.

Now that it's summer, concurrency will more than double, to a whopping 500 residents on at a time. Hopefully this will call attention to the Teen Grid and bring in more residents. If you are a Main Grid content company interested in putting your work on TG, please contact them. As long as none of them turn 18, I think Digital Refinery has a bright future!

File this one under dream jobs for Machinimists, folks! Global Kids is looking for an Online Leadership Program Associate specializing in video.

While the Machinima teaching I do is in-world, they are actually looking for someone to help with their real life intern program in New York at the Museum of the Moving Image. Named the Virtual Video Project, they meet twice a week. The program works with teams throughout the year to make films to call awareness to issues such as body image and child soldiers.

The specialist would bring their expertise in techniques for storyboarding, editing, and filming. If you're interested in the position, they even put their application materials online. The only question I have is where are these jobs in Texas? I'm so jealous!

The teens haven't had many options for Machinima tools. Most of the tools have been brought over from the Main Grid. One of the earlier options, the Alt-Zoom camera, had a steep learning curve. Even after being explained by Eric Linden, many teens were unable to grasp the concept of it. I know all about this from my work on the Main Grid.

Global Kids, in collaboration with Filming Path creator Geuis Dassin, recently brought over the Filming Path Camera HUD at a reduced price from the Main Grid. Cost, however, still appeared to be a prohibiting factor in their purchase of the tool. I am pleased to announce that Geuis recently made the tool FREE for the teens!

This is a big step in the right direction for Machinima on the Teen Grid. With the Joystick Flycam still in beta, not to mention the required USB adapter and joystick, the FP HUD will offer them a free, easy alternative for dolly shots. Thank you for your generous contribution, Geuis!

Welcome to the seventh episode of On the Inside, Second Life Insider's Official Podcast! This episode features our interview with Brooke Barmy and Mercury Metropolitan of the Teen Grid! Saeya Nyanda co-hosts with me, and we talk about what it's like on the TG, age verification, SL Views, and SLCC. As always, feel free to leave your questions and comments!

And, as promised, here's a photo of Brooke and his vendor:


Get the podcast:
[iTunes] Subscribe to On the Inside directly in iTunes (MP3)
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Since there aren't many teens on the Teen Grid, most of them will have recurring roles in the tales of my work there. One of the teens previously mentioned, Kit Axon, turned 18 on the day that I arrived. A frantic Wicked Loudon, a triple threat known for his skins, hair, and Machinima, was eager to continue filming his video memorial to her, so our conversation was cut short. I somehow stumbled upon his Machinima a few days later and, reader be warned, it still makes me cry every time.

It may seem like any other Machinima to the naked eye, but I'm going to provide the necessary insight for you to see what made me emotional. Kit Axon, a resident of the Teen Grid from November 8th, 2005 to March 31st, 2007, was a beloved resident, a social butterfly, and pose maker. She left behind her best friend, Lucky Figtree, whom still has over two years before she arrives on the Main Grid. Together they cried on Skype, as her time was slipping away. If she were to lose connection, she'd be gone forever.

In his film, Wicked captured some of his favorite moments with Kit, which also give us another peek at what islands look like on the Teen Grid. They can be seen water skiing, dancing, hugging, and crying together throughout various parts of the grid. I'm even in a few fade shots in my tiny cow avatar! The part that REALLY gets me is at the very end. I don't want to spoil it for you, but have your tissues ready. If you are as touched by Wicked's Machinima as I was, leave a comment on his YouTube page!

Oh, Machinima, how I've missed thee! Some people say that you can never have too much of a good thing, but they were wrong. After working on The Grid Review, I haven't been able to open up an editing program and dig into Machinima for about two months.

The Teen Grid, however, inspired me. Most of the content on the islands is teen created. For example, for the one year birthday of Global Kids, they held a contest where you could win 1000L for designing the best birthday cake. Ryan Dayton actually made a surprising amount of the content, so I definitely look forward to seeing what he can do on the Main Grid.

Until I can get some of the teens to create their own Machinima or find those that already have, I can only offer you my look at the three islands owned by Global Kids. The main island is in the middle and there are islands for gaming and Machinima on either side of it. If you are a teen that has made Machinima, please send Machinima Guru a link on the Teen Grid!

I had a bit of a surreal moment on my first day of visiting the Teen Grid. I was flying around when I spotted Kit Axon, a teen I recognized from her pictures on Snapzilla. She was gathered with a group of friends and they were all in a somber mood. Kit turned 18 that day, which should have been a celebration, but instead, meant that she would be torn away from all of her friends. She stayed logged on to TG for as long as she could, but knew it was time to let go after saying her tearful goodbyes. Once she logged off, there would be no going back.

Several hours later, I was messaged by Kit on the Main Grid. The area she'd first ended up in was not only Mature, but left her standing next to a naked statue. This was a bit of a shock for her, as transferring could be compared to having tea parties all of your life and ending up at a strip club. I tried my best to show her the wonders of the grid, from Baku to ETD. I think that she'll survive the transition just fine, but what about the others that arrived before her and will arrive after her? The Main Grid is a scary enough place for new adults.

Are you a former Teen Gridder? Leave a comment or IM me in-world about what your experience was like. In the future, I'd like to feature new transfers so that readers can get to know a little bit more about their new fellow residents. Please contact me if you're interested.

I arrived during a live stream of a Youth Conference, so there were a number of teens on Global Kids island. It was almost a surreal experience as I could not build, didn't know where anything was, and was afraid to do anything for fear of offending others. After the initial shock wore off, I had the chance to speak with some of the teens and let them sound off about the issues with their grid. I'll be blogging about my experiences here, as well as giving the teens a voice on Second Life Insider. If there's anything that you're dying to know, leave a comment!

San Francisco-based Doppelganger has made its first foray into the virtual worlds arena with The Lounge, a made-for-teens environment in which users can chat with each other, listen to the latest tunes, and customize their avatars up to a point.

I recently created an account in The Lounge with my RL age, which means something, though I'm not sure what, exactly. SL's Teen Grid caps its residents at 17, and no one above that age can create an account or even enter the TG without special authorization, which includes a background check. So, for me to be able to enter The Lounge and hobnob with teens at least half my age should probably be a red flag to someone somewhere.

Despite that, the experience was somewhat enjoyable. I liked the layout of the little cityscape I found myself in. The curious will find that the various alleyways and stairs encourage exploration, and there are lots of little nodes that offer animation opportunities when clicked. Strangely, it's possible to fall into the open waterways and 'drown', which deposits you back at the main start point; why do this? Lounge residents can't swim?

When I started blogging for Second Life Insider earlier this month, I mentioned that I was hoping to bridge the gap between the Main Grid and the Teen Grid. At that time, I had submitted my application for a background check and was anxiously awaiting the results. They came back and I received a clean bill of health. In other words, I'm not a felon!

The time has come for my alt, Machinima Guru, to head on over to the Teen Grid. I've learned quite a bit about what you can't do over there. For example, you can't give or receive inventory, or teleport freely around the grid. I'll be relegated to GK Machinima Island, where I'll be working with the teens on Machinima.

In preparation for my move, I've raided moo's inventory for some cute, yet conservative clothing, headed over to ETD for some newbie friendly hair, purchased eyes and eyelashes from Sin Skins, and chose a nice light, freckled Fevrier skin from Tete a Pied. I also grabbed a MystiTool, which I absolutely can't live without, and a tiny cow avatar from Wynx Whiplash. See, one other thing I learned is that I can't shop over there. I'm a major shopaholic, so the idea of not being able to support their economy devastates me.

Soon, I'll be bringing my stories of life on the Teen Grid to Second Life Insider. I'll also have the chance to chat with the teens in their native environment and find out their opinion on things. I hope that you'll enjoy these experiences as much as I will!

My name is moo Money. While I'm no stranger to blogging on a personal blog, this is my first time doing it in a professional manner, so bear with me. I found out about Second Life in January of 2003 when I was managing the news for TSO Stratics. I wasn't feeling very creative at the time, so I didn't stay for very long in SL.

I returned in December of 2005 after reading an article about Second Life somewhere. It was a wondrous, magical place and I couldn't wait to get started on my new virtual life. I eventually found my niche in May of 2006 at which point I was hired by BuhBuhCuh Fairchild to promote Machinima. I've accomplished a lot since then ...