A podcast from the Chronicle of Higher Education was released today called An Anthropologist Goes Native In a Virtual World, where Tom Boellstorff, an associate professor of anthropology at the University of California at Irvine, discusses his research in Second Life. He is in the process of releasing a book on his work.

[Professor Boellstroff’s Avatar]

The interview explores Professor Boellstroff’s engagements in Second Life along with his thoughts on Virtual Worlds. Professor Boellstroff’s discussion on getting to know a person or avatar is quite fascinating, where he explores how in the real world one gets to know a person outside in, while in the virtual world, they get to know them inside out. He explains how in Second Life there is no pre-judging, where you don’t know if the person is a man or women, 80 or 20 years old, their ethnicity or religion—you are only meeting their avatar, which gives you superior access to a persons intimate self.

Listen to the podcast by clicking here.

Wheelies is the first disability themed nightclub within Second Life, located on Second Ability Island.

[Photo of Simon’s Avatar at Wheelies]

The nightclub is owned and operated by Simon Walsh, a disability consultant, trainer and researcher. As quoted from his blog, he states that he has two ventures in SL: “The first is Wheelies, a virtual disability themed nightclub [and the] second is Stevens Centre which is a training centre which is still in the development stage.”

Newsweek ran a video on Wheelies and Second Life last week; Click here to see it. While Newsweek’s video is informative it is also quiet fascinating.

Second Life builds, such as Wheelies, where RL convalescent communities are able to thrive despite their conditions is a growing phenomena in Second Life. A variety of builds from both an educational as well as user oriented perspective are on the rise. Check back soon for SLing’s post on Health in Second Life.

Chronos Laval