That was the question posed by Slovenian virtual world expert Alja Sulčič. The dilemma is that most readers of commentary on virtual worlds are native English speakers, but with English as a second language, there is always the issue of whether something has been expressed poorly or simplistically due to limitations of vocabulary.
That’s certainly something Alja doesn’t have to worry about as her English is as good as most native speakers – but here she has an advantage insofar as she is able to think in more than one language – potentially increasing the available structural metaphors and moving beyond what ‘goes without saying’.
For that reason I try not to restrict myself purely to English language websites – I have a very little French language and try to extend myself there, but also I use machine language translation tools, like Alta Vista’s Babelfish – imperfect, but then I try to interpret beyond the words into what were the key concepts the writer was seeking to express. And that is an amazingly useful thing to do because the translations make me see my own language in new ways, such as where different root morphemes have led to different terms for things.
An example is the French word for computer – ‘ordinateur’ – think of roots of English words like ‘coordinate’ – and suddenly you have a picture, not of a calculator (from counting stones) but of a bringing together, or juxtaposing – which is a more accurate description from user’s perspective of, for example the results of internet searches.
In short, I recognise the dilemma but urge writers using English as their second language to keep writing in English, but also to write in their own language too – as that serves to extend the expressive power of the internet, cuts across the hegemony of English and demonstrates the remarkable gift that some people have of being able to think in two or more languages – thus extending the thinks you can think!
A while ago someone on Facebook poked me – and then wrote on my wall that they were not sure if they knew me well enough to poke, and whether this was too intrusive.
I had to think about that one. Where does a poke sit, ontologically speaking, – especially a virtual poke?
Clearly a poke is attention seeking, but it’s also a way of saying ‘I’m thinking of you’ – without the complication of words which could be misconstrued. Pokes are relatively undemanding – at least virtual ones are, so there is little pressure – I can choose to respond or not as I see fit and no-one will be upset if I don’t poke back, or if I do.
It is a way of keeping in touch without having to think too hard about a response, and it takes up little bandwidth, unlike the reams of emailed jokes and videos that seem to serve the same function in the email world.
I suppose, like any form of communication it could be seen as adding marks to an otherwise blank space, but it clearly performs a narrative and above all social function. And I suspect that that is why Facebook pokes are so popular – and it’s no accident that the poke function was one of the first to be added to Facebook and forms part of the core of the software.
As a micro-function of social software a poke helps to enact a sense of community and acknowledges that someone out there is thinking of you!
According to the Wall Street Journal, it appears software giant Microsoft is seeking to claw back some of the advertising revenue from Google, by making a minority investment in social software company Facebook.
Depending on the degree of influence Microsoft seeks to gain, there are potential real downsides to this move, not least of which is the potential for facebook to lose its free-flowing open additions of micro-applications, like scrabulous (online scrabble game).
A further potential downside lies in whether or not Microsoft would start to remove some of the privacy safeguards currently in place in Facebook – at the moment, users can choose what is displayed publicly and what remains to be shared only with friends. I doubt people would want facebook to start acting like Quechup.
At this stage, however, it looks as though Facebook may hold out for a while as it is doing pretty well by sticking with its core business and providing a free-wheeling spontaneous place for people to meet each other and exchange pokes, sheep, flowers or even the odd haggis!
Thanks to Beth Kantor for pointing out this article 🙂
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The writers group ‘Sliterary’ met again in Second Life at 0900AM Sunday morning Australian time (4pm Saturday SLT) with lively discussion of what such a writers group might want to do. One suggestion was to write stories based on ideas generated by the group – and the ideas came thick and fast. Good thing I had the chat history turned on!
Characters included: a scientist who turns his/her back on science to take up a career in the arts; characters from history including Ramelli, Bill Gates and others, and settings/concepts like nano technology, time travel, dystopian urban settings and so on.
The idea is to write a short piece – up to 500 words and circulate it to the other members. Ina the convener offered a prize for the best offering, of 500 lindens (about US$1.50).
This is a great group – very welcoming of newcomers and full of creative people. I look forward to seeing what they come up with (and might even put in a story myself)
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The video begin: “A short time ago in a garage near, near by…” from the guy who brought you the steam powered centipede comes another crabfu masterpiece – R2D2 from Star Wars, he’s back and he’s steaming!
Cheers
Jerry
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