We Didn't Start the Fire

I always wonder if Billy Joel, one of my favorite musicians of all time, will update his classic hit, "We Didn't Start the Fire."

Second Life seems to have that same pace or rhythm. I tried out the Beta Voice grid last night and ended up chatting with some teenagers. I have mixed emotions. Clearly, it will rock the educational world. It was DEF COOL to chat live, but it was hard to figure out who was talking. It was DEF COOL to add voice to avatars, but I was disappointed that the commanding tiger furry dude was really a 15 year old girl from the Bronx. And while it was DEF COOL to ease up on my impending carpal tunnel, my thoughts drifted to users like my son - the ones who, in real life, are mute. My son will hear the others, but he won't be able to respond, and, thus, another world is shut off to him because he can not play on the same level as the others. But, voice will come, and, like it or not, people will use it.

Building, creating, generating...the whole idea of the "physics" of SL...yikes!

s.

Adrian built me a swing. I tried to build a pond. My buddy Marc came in for the first time and he built his avatar. 50+ educators are building a conference. Neo built me 4 custom laptops. There is constant building; there is constant change. But we love it; it is what we asked for...it is what we wanted.



But there are some things that never change. The human need never changes. The Good Samaritan group is hosting its conference May1-6. Collected around are agencies that - in RL and in SL - are trying to make a difference for those in need. The kiosks for charity grow every day. The needs grow or perhaps they are the same, but the need is still there.

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it