cc image courtesy flickr.com/photos/28481088@N00/
I'm a Big Bad Blogger Challenge (BBBC) virgin so I'll do my best to act like I know what I'm doing, but really I'll just be watching people like Botgirl and Lalo and doing my best to stay in line. (This is pretty much how I got through marching band - but don't ask me how that worked out).
Alicia Chenaux started BBBC in 2008 as a way "to give SL bloggers a little kickstart, and give people something to read. But it turned into a great sharing opportunity!". This year's challenge starts today and runs through June 18th. I think it's a brilliant idea (even though it's probably one of the worst weeks ever for me to try blog every day) so I'm going to give it a shot.
Fortunately, Alicia is kind enough to draft a topic for the day. And today's topic is:
Why did you become a blogger? How has it enriched your life?I had to check my archive to see when I started this blog - which was in October 2006, about eight months after my Rez Day - but I do remember distinctly why I started to post and that was the most notable "Augmentation versus Immersion" discussion started by Henrik Bennetsen. Yes, I was intrigued by culture from the beginning.
My first post was brief, but I think answers the question best.
A few months ago I was wondering how I would find the time to do the things I wanted to do - write, philosophize, explore, and meet new people. Somewhere between the cracks of daylight I found enough time to immerse myself in the virtual world of Second Life and suddenly I had a platform that allowed those things and more.
This blog will be "late to the game" in the midst of the recent media frenzy surrounding Second Life, but I hope to add some new dimension to the conversation - to highlight what I have experienced in my exploration of Immersionist to Augmentationist in this emerging state of virtuality.
I am Grace McDunnough, and this is the state of phasing grace.
It wasn't long before I became completely fascinated with the possibilities in Second Life and this is why I was (and still am) so drawn to the world view that Philip shared - as a means to "improve the human condition". Phasing Grace was a play on the idea that with broad adoption, virtual worlds might stimulate some kind of phase shift in individuals and society as a whole. I guess we still have a way to go.
I never really thought about people reading this blog in the beginning - it really was more like a digital satchel, a place to capture the things I was thinking about or things that struck me as interesting. I never thought about it "enriching my life" either but it has in subtle ways I probably cannot even articulate.
It's a challenge to put your thoughts out there and have someone say "Yeah, that's bullshit Grace". But if someone takes the time to really read what I wrote and respond, and if I can accept that they aren't attacking me personally (ok, some are) then I believe that every time I grow as a person. The diversity of thought, shared experiences and ideas, for me, are the riches.
Share Some Grace:
