Second Earth: Print Edition

• Second Earth: Print Edition ,By Wade Roush [technologyreview.com]

"Second Earth" describes the possibilities of "mirror worlds" in user driven virtual interfaces. The article explores the possibilities of "mirror worlds" in a "metaverse", where real world services and events are integrated into a virtual interface. The author describes "mirror worlds" as a "microcosms...[a] reality brought down to a size at which it can be grasped, manipulated..." The article presents Second Life and Google Earth as examples of such virtual interfaces. Second life is a simulation game that offers users the tools to create and manipulate almost any aspect of their environment. Google earth is an advanced map interface that offers a variety of views(satellite, street view, etc..) and allows real time data to be layered on top of a map. The author entertains the possibilities of real world information being streamed into these interfaces. Avatars will simply access real time information such as "traffic jams, stock prices, or water quality" and share with others.

The ideas presented in this article already exist on the web to some degree. When I think of the web, I think of a massive hub of information constantly growing and learning. Google maps and similar services are growing into ever more integrated full featured virtual interfaces. Information(demographical, environmental, etc) can be precisely and seamlessly represented through the virtual interface of Google maps in ways that were almost impossible before. Representations of the real world can be reproduced in these virtual interfaces. Users in Second Life can reproduce cities, museums, parks and continents, they are are only limited by their imagination.

But these interfaces are not without their flaws. Second Life is very much limited in its technology. The "backend" or the server side system that supports second life was not originally created to handle large numbers of users. In order to accommodate these users or "scale", new servers must be purchased along with more bandwidth to "stream data to users". The actual number of users on Second Life is often contested. Second Life claims to have millions of users, but approximately 30,000 to 80,000 users are logged in at anytime. I doubt Second Life has the capacity to accommodate the number of users it claims to have.

The author admits his enthusiasm for virtual worlds, particularly Second Life. Though I agree that information will inevitably be integrated into virtual interfaces, I don't believe it will happen through avatar driven interfaces such as Second Life. The internet already contains the building blocks of a "metaverse". Currently all the information is scattered among different services and interfaces. I don't believe that the "mirror world" the author seeks can be accomplished through a Second Life interface. As the web continues to grow, new interfaces will have to be created to scale the massive information being fed into the web. I don't believe these interfaces will come the way of avatars or interactive maps.