Wagner James Au / New World Notes

Author, strategist, virtual world reporter

Contact me!

Bio / CV

https://www.reddit.com/user/slhamlet

  • Watch Me Talk About Second Life, VRChat & the Metaverse on Belgian TV!

    Thanks to host Tim Verheyden, here's my segments on The Digital Dilemma, a TV series from Belgium's public TV network. Most of it's in Dutch, but hopefully the YouTube subtitle AI works. (Belgians can watch the whole thing here.)

    I'm at the start of the episode, walking on the beach in Malibu, comparing Internet dangers to surfers swimming beneath the surfers. 42:50 is my main segment, chatting with Tim about Second Life and its relationship to Malibu, the gender difference in VR that Meta has ignored, and how metaverse platforms already benefit vulnerable people like the LGBT community and military veterans with PTSD. 

    I kinda hate watching myself on video but this was a fun time (shot in November 2023) and Tim and his team were lovely; even though I came back with a pretty bad sunburn after 6 hours of shooting. 

    And yes, massive great white sharks literally do swim right beneath the surfers in Malibu — watch below! And yes, I know the 90s called and wants my hair back.

    (more…)

  • As a Writer, I Don’t Feel Threatened by ChatGPT — It Can’t Even Accurately Summarize My Own Writing!

    Why Writers Hate ChatGPT

    Now that ChatGPT is openly available online, I've been checking in on the system's knowledge of virtual worlds — and yep, it's still confused. And worse it's actively confusing what I've written about virtual worlds. Ask it, "How does Wagner James Au define the Metaverse?", and you get something like:

    [He] defines the Metaverse as a collective virtual shared space, created by the convergence of virtually enhanced physical reality and physically persistent virtual reality. This definition emphasizes the interconnectedness of virtual spaces and their integration with our physical world, suggesting a seamless blending of digital and physical experiences.

    Like the saying goes, this is not right, it's not even wrong. I don't know how ChatGPT came up with this muddy extrusion, when I painstakingly researched and put my definition on the web (let alone my book, let alone several online articles about my book), starting years ago:

    The Metaverse is a vast, immersive virtual world simultaneously accessible by millions of users through VR and other devices, highly customizable avatars and powerful experience creation tools. It is integrated with the real world economy and compatible with external technology.

    A properly targeted Google search leads to that definition, but ChatGPT's authoritative, mansplain-y format is meant to ensure confidence in its answers. (Even the fine print qualification, "ChatGPT can make mistakes", belies its rampant potential for off-base laziness.)

    It's amusing to read AI evangelists assert that programs like ChatGPT will soon replace writers, when I mostly see ChatGPT causing more tedious work for writers — making us spend extra time chasing down its errors, turning its mediocre, bland answers into something that's readable. 

    Longtime journalist/editor Mitch Wagner, who uses ChatGPT as a side assistant tool for spellchecking and a thesaurus reference while he's writing his own articles, made some similar points recently:

    (more…)

  • Today’s SL Flickr Pick: Gorgeously Composed Scenes by Little Whale

    Monsoon

    Cajsa Lilliehook covers the best in virtual world screenshot art and digital painting

    Little Whale’s “Monsoon” is enough to take my breath away. First, it's beautiful. Second, it’s terrifying. On the night we invaded Iraq, I marched with everyone until they decided to cross the Burnside Bridge. Then I went home. I’m fine in a vehicle, but walking across a bridge scares me silly. I know it’s nonsensical, but it’s real. And I live in the “City of Bridges!” But as terrifying as Little Whale’s adventure in bridge-crossing may be, this really is an extraordinarily beautiful picture. In my imagination, the air is fresh with petrichor, that beautiful scent of imminent rain and the cool, brisk promise of a break in the heat. [At Hotel del Salto, to teleport click here.]

    For more of Little Whale’s gorgeous pics, click here:


    //embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js

    (more…)

  • Try Equimake: Real-Time, Multi-User Collaborative Building — on the Web!

    Equimake is a new indie platform which enables live, multi-user collaborative 3D building on the web. Just launched in early beta, it's the passion project of Canadian developer Alexander Yevsyeyev, who recently gave up his day job in tech to create a new, delightfully accessible means of social creation online. (Watch the demo above!)

    "Over the last few years," as he tells me, "I spoke to users of Second Life and other creative platforms, and many have stopped creating. Why? Some said it's too expensive to host their 3D worlds, some found that the learning curve is too steep, and others thought that learning 3D art and coding was too intimidating."

    Built in Three.js, Equimake runs completely on the web, designed for anyone from students/novices to seasoned artists and gamers to use — on the web, in groups, with an embedded text chat window for communication/collaboration:

    (more…)

  • LOOK: Photographing The Many Megalodons of Second Life for Flickr

    Aurel

    Cajsa Lilliehook covers the best in virtual world screenshot art and digital painting

    A’s “Aurel” was such a surprise to see because my best friend and I had been discussing megalodons just last week. It’s the sort of conversation one has when one’s best friend is a biologist. The photo is striking on its own with the sunlight filtering down through the water, but adding the recent conversation made it material for a deeper dive (pun intended) in search of megalodons. 

    For proof megalodons exist in Second Life, click here:

    (more…)

  • Linden Lab Payment Spinoff Tilia Acquired by Fintech Company Thunes; Second Life Staffer Promises No Additional Costs for SLers

    Tilia, Linden Lab's spinoff company for processing virtual currency to real money payments in Second Life, Upland (more here), VRChat (more here), and other virtual worlds, was recently acquired by fintech company Thunes:

    To accelerate its growth in the United States and its presence in the fast-expanding online gaming market, Thunes, a global cross-border payments company, agreed to buy Tilia, an all-in-one payments platform. Tilia is licensed in 48 U.S. states and territories and offers payment solutions (acceptance and pay-outs) for online games, virtual worlds, creator economies, and in-app purchases.

    As part of the transaction, Thunes and Linden Research, Inc. (“Linden Lab”), the current majority owner of Tilia, have agreed to an exclusive five-year partnership in which, post closing, Thunes will provide payment processing and pay-outs to Linden Lab, leveraging Thunes’ global network – allowing gamers to pay, and to receive money real-time, in a more cost-efficient way and with increased transparency.

    Emphasis mine, because while this announcement hasn't been mentioned anywhere on Second Life's social media channels, it's inevitably lead some SLer to worry if this means they'll be paying more to process their Linden Dollars.

    A Linden Lab staffer says no:

    (more…)

  • Today’s SL Flickr Pick: Completely Charming Avatar Photos by Jane Bang

    --

    Cajsa Lilliehook covers the best in virtual world screenshot art and digital painting

    Jane Bang has the cutest avatar. I was browsing and I could not stop smiling when I looked at this picture. A second and third look and it still worked – insta-smile. I want those glasses in real life, by the way. That smile, though, is what really draws me in. It’s just that little bit off center, a quirky smile that is just so sweet. 

    I wrote about Jane in the past, loving how she manages to look so casual and spontaneous. She still does. The majority of her pictures are vendor pictures for Space Cadet, her pose store. The vendor pics also have the casual cool you find in her pictures, probably thanks to the poses. 

    For more of her fabulous pics, click here:

    (more…)

  • Meta Horizon OS Seems More a Move Against AndroidXR, Than Encouraging an Open XR Ecosystem

    Meta Horizon OS Android XR

    Meta just announced Meta Horizon OS, which despite the name is not specifically about its metaverse platform Horizon Worlds, but actually its mixed reality operating system for Quest devices which is now running on other upcoming XR headsets:

    Developers and creators can take advantage of all these technologies using the custom frameworks and tooling we’ve built for creating mixed reality experiences, and they can reach their communities and grow their businesses through the content discovery and monetization platforms built into the OS… 

    Leading global technology companies are already working on new devices built on Meta Horizon OS:

    ASUS’s Republic of Gamers will use its expertise as a leader in gaming solutions to develop an all-new performance gaming headset.

    Lenovo will draw on its experience co-designing Oculus Rift S, as well as deep expertise in engineering leading devices like the ThinkPad laptop series, to develop mixed reality devices for productivity, learning, and entertainment.

    Xbox and Meta teamed up last year to bring Xbox Cloud Gaming (Beta) to Meta Quest, letting people play Xbox games on a large 2D virtual screen in mixed reality. Now, we’re working together again to create a limited-edition Meta Quest, inspired by Xbox.

    The announcement seems like a good deal for Xbox, Lenovo, and ASUS, but it seemed rather nothingburger for everyone else. So I checked with XR expert Avi Bar-Zeev. Unsurprisingly, he'd already posted an apropos rant on LinkedIn:

     

    (more…)

  • Linden Lab Expanding SL Mobile Testing to Its Estimated 68,000+ Premium Subscribers “Really Soon”

    Update, 4/24: SL usage analyst Tyche just told me: "The last equivalent figure I have is from Jan 2021 where Premium mainland owners was 68,409." So I've updated the Premium estimate accordingly!

    In case you missed it, Linden Lab unveiled the latest update to its Second Life on mobile project last week (watch above), which is coming along quite nicely. (Though avatars move around somewhat oddly and gravity-free, as if they're steadfastly moonwalking across the world.)  But for my money, the big reveal comes toward the end:

    We're still accepting private alpha applications from our Premium Plus subscribers… we're looking forward to opening up the early tester program to Premium subscribers really soon.

    Emphasis mine, because that will be a pretty large expansion of mobile. While Linden Lab hasn't posted how many Premium Plus subscribers they have, I'd estimate somewhere in the four figure range. So assume Premium Plus users no won mobile in the three-four figure range.

    The Premium user base, by contrast, is much larger:

    (more…)

  • Top 5 Posts Including: Adam Schiff’s Gen AI Copyright Disclosure Bill Applies to Games; Forecasting the 3 Body Problem‘s Virtual World Future

    Adam Schiff fighting AI dragons Pikaso

    CONFIRMED: Adam Schiff's Generative AI Copyright Disclosure Act Would Apply To Video Games, Virtual Worlds & Metaverse Platforms

    Seeking Media / Business Partners As New World Notes Expands Reach!

    When Can We Create Something Like 3 Body Problem's Virtual World With Full Body VR? Forecasts By Philip Rosedale, Raph Koster & Other Experts

    Second Life Community Social Feeds Swamped By AI-Enhanced Images, Creating Craving For "Real" Avatar Photos

    Alchemy Third-Party Viewer Now Includes PBR Graphics Features — Watch These Demo Videos, Read More Details!