The Many Don't Always Outweigh the One - Especially if it's YOU!

            There are as many things to do as activities you can imagine. For example, if you love

            the Bikers' lifestyle, riding motorcycles, and belonging to an MC (Motorcycle Club) you

            can join and participate in approximately 200 different MC's. There are American Motor-

            cycle Association types, 1%'ers (bad boy) types, Riding Clubs, and Lone Wolf riders' 

            groups. MC's are on a spectrum from very casual to very organized, too!

            So, if you love riding motorcycles (of all types) then come on in and give us a look-see:

            Mavericks MC @ Ruffneck Falls, SL. Simply type in "Ruffneck Falls" in the location field

            when you log into Second Life. 

12 Communication Skills That Will Advance Your Career

12 Communication Skills That Will Advance Your Career 

Editor’s note: This post originally appeared on the Communications Alumni Network Blog. 

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If an open flow of communication exists, where employees feel their voices are heard, they often feel better about themselves and the organization they work for. On the contrary, if there is a lack of communication within an organization, this can produce an unmotivated and disgruntled workforce. Effective communication is critical to an organization’s success. 

What Is Effective Communication, Really? 

An effective communicator is one who is engaged, considerate, and really listens to the other person; taking the time to ask questions and respond accordingly. When they speak, they are clear, confident, and gracious in their interactions... 

Top 3 Communication Skills for Workplace Success 

1. Active Listening Active listening involves paying close attention to what others are saying and asking clarifying questions to demonstrate interest and understanding. This facilitates effective communication while simultaneously allowing us to show respect and build relationships with the other person with whom we are communicating. 

“We tend to focus too much on delivering our messages and opinions, and too little on listening,” Zangerl says. “Understanding what others are trying to tell us—whether it’s face-to-face or via another medium—is the basis for shared action and collaboration.” 

2. Awareness of Communication Styles There are four main communication styles you might encounter in the workplace, and Zangerl recommends that professionals be aware of all of them in order to facilitate effective communication. They are: 

•   Passive: Passive communicators are quieter and don’t always express their true feelings. They can act indifferent or agreeable, depending on the situation, in order to keep the peace and not rock the boat. 
• Aggressive: Aggressive communicators are the opposite of passive communicators, and often express their emotions freely without any consideration for others. They can be intimidating or abusive in their interactions with others. 
• Passive-aggressive: Passive-aggressive communicators strive to appear aloof, even when they are actually upset or annoyed. It is subtly evident that they are angry, but because they tend to avoid confrontation, it can be unclear what they are truly thinking. 
• Assertive: Assertive communicators are considerate and express themselves in a clear and direct manner. They are respectful in their interactions with others. “We know that there are a wide variety of communication styles, which can often result in misunderstandings,” Zangerl says. “This requires us to be aware of our own communication style and to carefully observe both the verbal and nonverbal of others. The ability to recognize our own style and be adaptable is so important in creating a sound foundation for mutual understanding.” 

3. Persuasion The ability to persuade others is very useful in the workplace, and employers value employees who demonstrate proficient persuasive skills because it can lead to increased productivity. The skill involves convincing others to complete a desired action or behave in a specific way, typically to achieve an end goal. 

“Communication is all about influencing the attitudes and behaviors of our audiences, both in the workplace and outside, with customers and other external stakeholders,” Zangerl says. “Translating the principles of persuasion into our messages increases the odds of achieving impact.” 

Communicators with strong persuasion skills can “read“the room and have a keen awareness of their audience. They are also friendly and charismatic and can establish a rapport with whoever they are trying to persuade. Persuasive communicators make their offers or ideas tempting by presenting them in such a way that people believe they benefit from whatever it is that the persuader is convincing them to do. 

Other persuasive skills include countering any objections and making modifications to their proposals, if necessary. If they can’t convince others completely, they will negotiate and try to reach common ground. They are able to do this by listening and catering to people’s interests...

Read Full Article - Click Here

Second Life's Lab Gab - Oberwolf and Philip 

Ashemi Remarkable

AFTER DC REBIRTH [2022]

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Unabated/213/67/3576
 

Second Life Destinations - Seaclaid

 

Award winning Second Life commercial 2021 - YouTube

Award winning Second Life commercial 2021 - YouTube

Second Life Founder Phil Rosedale Is Positioning Platform for a Comeback 

Now that metaverse-minded tech companies are catching up with his original idea, the virtual world pioneer believes it’s time to give his groundbreaking platform a second chance. 

By Max Weinstein | Thursday, January 20, 2022 at 10:56amIn 3D, Business, CG, Digital Media, People, Technology, Virtual Reality | 

Second Life, the online platform that allows users to interact in a virtual community with custom avatars, is now getting a - er-herm - second life. 

Founded in 2003 by Philip Rosedale, Second Life garnered a devoted fan base, racking up about one million regular users by 2013. By 2017, that number dwindled down to between 800,000 and 900,000. The decline was precipitated by a number of factors; at the height of Second Life’s success, Rosedale was preoccupied with co-founding a VR technology company, High Fidelity -- a venture he eventually abandoned in 2019, when he concluded that VR technology hadn’t yet reached an ideally user-friendly status quo. 

Now, Rosedale is working to give Second Life a shot in the arm, returning as its strategic advisor and investing cash and patents into its parent company, Linden Lab. So, what happened, exactly, to bring him back to the business of augmented reality? 

The main catalyst for the move, it seems, is the recent explosion of interest and investment in the metaverse. 

Since Facebook rebranded itself as Meta last fall, scores of tech companies have begun accepting the metaverse - a virtual world where people work, play, and interact with friends and family - as an industrial inevitability. To wit: Microsoft’s press release about its history-making, $68.7 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard this week states, “This acquisition will accelerate the growth in Microsoft's gaming business across mobile, PC, console and cloud and will provide building blocks for the metaverse.” 

At its core, Second Life has always been a metaverse company. It offers a space in which up to 100 people can gather online at once, and where virtual storefronts and virtual currency drive its self-contained marketplace. That’s why it’s still making money, and as of 2020, its community was hovering at around 900,000 active monthly users and hosting hundreds of daily events. 

Rosedale told CNet that "There are 375 million things a year sold in Second Life at about two bucks apiece. So, it's about $650 million a year in transactions. Those are all NFTs -- basically, the core idea of allowing digital assets to be marked and allowing them to be tradable and shareable. That's going to get bigger and bigger and bigger.” 

But first, Rosedale adds, Second Life must look beyond its diehard loyalists to bring new prospective users into its ecosystem. And to do that, the platform must position its comeback as a necessary part of the metaverse. “We have to answer the question, why would I be there?,” he says. “Why am I using that space? We've got to get to that.” 

To that end, he’s already shifted seven staffers and some patents from High Fidelity to Second Life -- a clear sign of commitment to a comeback fueled by fresh ideas and plans for future tech. “Two of those patents are moderation in a decentralized environment patents, which is really cool,” Rosedale says. “We're investing in Second Life, to keep working on Second Life.” 

Max Weinstein is a writer and editor based in Los Angeles. He is the Editor-at-Large of 'Dread Central' and former Editorial Director of 'MovieMaker.' His work has been featured in 'Cineaste,' 'Fangoria,' 'Playboy,' 'Vice,' and 'The Week.'

Second Life A difference perception

SECOND LIFE 2021 Review, Documentary From Inside The Social Metaverse

Exploring Hangars Liquides the world's largest cyberpunk city in Second ...

Pandemic spurs Second Life usage, book club, lower non-profit prices – Hypergrid Business

David Kariuki

 April 8, 2020

 Features, Metaverse, News

 Linden Lab, Second Life

 2 Comments

Second Life saw a 60 percent increase in new registrations and a 10 percent increase in the number of returning users in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Linden Lab CEO Ebbe Altberg said during an interview with Lab Gab.

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Second Life services will continue normally without any interruption as a result of lockdowns in different countries following the pandemic, he said.

”We are also working on a product that enables people to have social connections and interesting vibes, in a virtual space where they stay much much safer than doing it in a physical space,” he said.

...

Linden Lab has put aside a total of seven turnkey region solutions for business use which can handle up to 350 avatars in total – each can handle 75 avatars without becoming stressed.  The initiative was a response by the company because more educators and businesses continue calling for support from Second Life to use their regions for education and other purposes more during this time of coronavirus pandemic.

Pandemic spurs Second Life usage, book club, lower non-profit prices – Hypergrid Business