The Happiest Place In Second Life

Magicland In Second Life

Walking into Magicland for the first time brought me back to my youth to the day my parents took me to Disneyland for the first time.  I was transformed back to that little boy that stared in wonder as we walked down Main Street USA.  Cinderella's castle loomed in the distance while my favorite Disney characters greeted us.  The attention to every detail is apparent at this well built tribute to Disneyland.  Magicland has wonderful replica's of Disneyland's most popular attractions.  The sights and sounds surrounding you enhances the experience.  Such as the "It's A Small World" ride. The operator tells you to keep your hands inside the boat at all times right before you go into the tunnel and the familiar song starts to play loudly. The Magicland Railroad gives you an audio tour into the past with a touch of humor and my favorite was the audio tour through the "Jungle Ride" with a cut-out of an actual tour guide with his very corny memorized dialog.  Made me laugh.  Visit Tomorrowland or Fantasyland, Ride the Tea Cups or the Matterhorn and be sure to stay for the nightly parade and fireworks over Cinderella's Castle.  Magicland will bring out the kid in you and for some, very happy memories.

The Tour Guide on the Magicland "Jungle Ride"

The Search For The Best Magazines In Second Life

The judges for the 2015 Innovative Second Life Media Awards have been working hard to look through every publication in Second Life.  As professional writers, photographers, editors and publishers in real life, we are all tough critics.  As much as we appreciate the efforts of anyone undertaking the task of publishing a monthly magazine, we have been underwhelmed by many. We have seen some mediocre photography, poor editing, badly written articles, inconsistency and amateur graphic designs. We have also seen amazing talent.  After careful deliberation, we have posted the nominees for this years awards.  Several editors/owners have sent our staff messages asking why their magazine was not nominated.  We compiled a list of requirements that we are judging.

**Prerequisites For An Outstanding Publication:
1. Professional photography. is a must.  Most anyone can take a photo of a person or thing against a Second Life sim background.  We want to see some effort.  Photo Shop editing, unusual windlight settings, shading, shadows, use of advanced photography tools, etc.
2. No repetitive photo's or content.  The same model, same background just different poses or angles page after page loses our interest fast.  Same with text such as stories, articles and interviews.  We do not want to read a novel.  We like informative content that has been summarized by highlighting major points of interest.
3.No Incomplete information: If an article is featuring a fashion designer, product or destination, We want to know how long have they been established. Where can the product or service be found, who to contact and is it offered in-world as well as Marketplace and price ranges.
4. Consistency: Monthly issues should be available each month without fail. Content and format should always be consistent.
5. Advertisement overload.  We understand that ad's are the only revenue for most magazines but no one enjoys looking at more ad's then content.
6. Self Promotion: An introduction page or a note from the editor or owner is important to let the reader know about you, your vision and direction of your magazine.  But we don't need 10 pages of your opinions or your photo in every article.
7. Professional Graphics. We are looking for original and creative page design.
8. Dated Content:  We are looking for current news and events, new products and destinations.  We don't want to read an article about something that been written about in dozens of publications already.  Date your publication! Volume 12 does not tell us if it was published in 2006 or in 2015.

We are looking for the best of the best.  The #1 best magazines in Fashion & Lifestyle, News and Current Events, Arts & Culture, Music, Adult Entertainment and Home & Garden.

Are you an aspiring editor or publisher?  Or do you already have a magazine or periodical and want help or advice elevating it to the highest standards?  Our qualified group is offering free consultation.
Drop a notecard in our mailbox at our office in-world.  We are located on the boardwalk of the beautiful ROYAL Sailing Club and Marina.
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Scarfiotti/139/16/26

Second Life Renaissance Faire 2015

The fifth Renaissance Faire is a grid-wide Hunt and full-sim Faire, which takes place September 1-30. There are Renaissance, Medieval and Fantasy-themed gifts to find hidden all over the grid in nearly 75 participating shops. Enjoy the Faire with its food and drink, shopping, entertainment, dancing, and a mini-hunt! Wear a costume to the Masked Ball September 5th and win prizes!
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Mieville%20Shelley/205/95/24

Innovative Second Life 2015 Media Awards Nominees

This month is the Innovative SL's annual Media Awards to show our appreciation for all the creative and entertaining magazines and newspapers in SL.
Innovative Second Life was created as a collaborative group of real life writers, journalist, publishers, authors and editors who have joined together to explore and share excellent experiences in SL.  As our real life careers naturally draw us to the many magazines and newspapers offered in SL, we have joined with other qualified judges and media groups to award the best magazines and newspapers in Second Life.  We looked through over 40 publications the past few months and narrowed it down to 17 nominees for the 2015 awards.

The Innovative Second Life 2015 Awards Categories:
Fashion & Lifestyle
News & Current Events
Arts & Culture
Music and Entertainment
Home & Garden
Adult Content

2015 Magazine and Newspaper Nominees:
Inovare Magazine
L'Hommes Magazine
Dope Magazine
SL Enquirer
New World Notes
SL Newser
Windlight Magazine
rez Magazine
Cultured the Magazine
SL Goth
Nuvibez Magazine
Cizum Webzine
BOSL Magazine
LTD Magazine
AMM Life & Style Magazine
Busted Magazine
Playmates Magazine
Crush Magazine
Aroused Magazine

  Winner's will be announced September 26th.  Good luck to all of this years nominees!

Firestorm Viewer New Release and Anniversary

Several month's ago Linden Lab introduced the new VMM viewer (Viewer Managed Marketplace).  No longer could you access or manage your marketplace items through any third party viewer. This left many residents scrambling to download the official Second Life viewer
Good news for all those Firestorm Viewer user's. Firestorm has finally released version 4.7.3.47323
The version is VMM capable and many of the bugs from the previous version has been fixed.  This comes at a perfect time as Firestorm is celebrating their 5th anniversary.  Join the celebration tomorrow Sept 3rd with a party and concert and remember to always clean your hard drive of all Firestorm download files before uploading the new version.

The SL Botanical Garden's - Natural Wonder

One of the most beautiful sims in Second Life is the SL Botanic Gardens.  The flora and fauna in this amazing sim features some of the best tree's, plants, flowers and landscaping from several of the most amazing creators in SL.  We have listed this as one of our top 10 Must See places in Second Life.  It is the perfect destination for a quiet, romantic evening with walkways and cuddle spots and many nooks for sitting and relaxing.  Take a ride in a gondola or sit by the tropical waterfalls. Reserve plenty of time to explore everything and take in all the beautiful nature this sim offers.
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/The%20Botanical%20Gardens/193/60/38

Second Life Alts - Who are you?

Most of us log on to Second Life to escape our real lives for awhile.  But some of us have created a third life or forth, fifth or sixth life.  Called "alt's".   When I created my first account or main account in 2006, I was drawn to building, creating, landscaping and eventually owning and renting land.  The more successful my business became the busier "Troy" was.  No longer could Troy enjoy a concert or an evening out with friends without getting messages from customers or questions about a rental.
Being a typical A type,  I couldn't ignore the requests and I take pride in my customer service so I would leave the event to take care of business.  That's when I decided that I needed a third life to escape my 1st and 2nd lives.  I created Alexx and told all my close friends that Troy was now strictly for business and Alexx is for fun.  I log into Troy's account first and take care of all business.  When I'm done, I log into Alexx to explore, go to my favorite clubs and hang out with friends. 
I do not and never have used my alt to deceive anyone but many people create alts to harass because they are cowards. In my 9 years in Second Life, I have seen many people deceptively use alts in one way or another. 
The members of ISL in-world did a survey and asked residents if they had an alt, why and how they feel about it.  47% said they did or have had an alt.  Some of those were people who just wanted to start over with a new account for one reason or another.  Few readily admitted they created an alt to harass someone but we have all witnessed it sometime in our SL's.
That brings us to spy tools that detect alts.  I personally have nothing to hide.  My profile clearly states that I have a work alt.  But I do not agree with an invasion of residents privacy at any length. 
Our survey respondents gave some very valid reasons for having alt's from breaking up with a long time partner and wanting to start over to being stalked or harassed and creating alt or new account.  Several had a different alt for different activities.  One particular story described having an alt that was Gorean only, another alt that is Fae, another alt for combat sims, a stripper/escort alt and a "regular" alt for everyday stuff.  Her reasoning was mainly inventory.  Each alt has clothing and items just for that RP character so she doesn't have to look through a large inventory and change skins and shapes.
So although many use alts to harass, they are many who don't.  Alt detection tools such as Red Zone, don't tell you the story behind the alt and some are to quick to judge.  It is an invasion of privacy.  Those who have family members that share a computer and in some cases even neighbors who share internet in an apartment building or duplex become targets of paranoid spies.
In some cases, an alt detection tool can be an important component to stop griefers but should be used only when needed and not for everyday spying on residents.
So maybe if you want to try something new in SL and don't want your accomplished and well known avatar being seen in a place like that * winks, you can just create an alt and participate in your darkest secret desires.