Identity and Virtual Space (Or, Are We Our Avatars?)

This Friday at noon I'm speaking on a small panel about avatars and their role in modern technology. The talk takes place at farmlab, an interesting little downtown think tank a friend from G4 introduced me to. I'll mostly be talking about my experiences with Second Life and the many unique folks I met there.When I do these type of talks (which I rarely do) I tend to speak loosely and not try to plan it out ahead of time. I also hate when someone gets up and reads cheesy powerpoint to me. So instead I collected about 20 nice avatar pictures from my archive and I plan to just free form talk about them. I've embedded the sideshow below for anyone interested. Some of you may even find yourself there :)

"This week’s Farmlab salon confronts the computer age’s latest multiple personality disorder: avatars. An avatar is a computer user’s icon or representation of himself to another party in a chat, instant messaging or multiplayer gaming session. It’s a caricature, not a realistic photo, and can be a simple image or a bizarre fantasy figure. In the noon Friday, May 16, salon called Identity and Virtual Space (Or, Are We Our Avatars?), a panel of experts will discuss just that - the meaning of relationships, fame, experiences and community in a virtual world. Among them are Sean Percival, a Second Life expert, and Kristen Rutherford, an actress and writer who starred in the Alternative Reality Game ilovebees (and whose voice, they readily admit, still terrifies the game’s players). Farmlab Public Salons are at 1745 N. Spring St., #4, (323) 226-1158 or farmlab.org."via Downtown LA Scene

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