Getting In Touch With Your Inner Sexual Deviant

After reading this article on Forbes, all I could think of was OMG, there are so many parallels to Second Life.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/daviddisalvo/2013/10/24/getting-in-touch-with-your-inner-sexual-deviant/

Product Review: Myrano Remembers (Second Life HUD)

I'm filing this under "strange things you may not know you need" for your Second Life experience. A wearable HUD for Second Life, "Myrano Remembers" (by MrMark Benmergui) captures and recalls events, avatar interactions, chat and your own experiences as you meander through the grid. It's a strange concept at first glance, so first to the nuts and bolts and then I'll discuss why you might want to actually do this!

How it works

To start, you simply wear the HUD. The default attachment is Upper Left but that spot always gets my Tiny Empires HUD so I moved Myrano to Upper Right.

On first use, the HUD will ask for permission to interact with your controls. This allows Myrano to continue working in non-script areas. Say yes (you only have to do this once) and the HUD will initialize for a few seconds followed by an unassuming button that simply says Remember (see photo). Myrano is now capturing things you do, say, go to, etc.

At first, there won't be much to Myrano. For it to be of any use at all, it needs to collect stuff. Lots of stuffs. The more the better. It looks for things like avatars near you. Activities you're engaged in. Parcels you're on. Think of it as a Second Life radar on steroids. As you experience things in Second Life, Myrano records it.

Myrano Main Menu

To interact with Myrano, you click the Remember button which shows a menu of options that allows you to recall your experiences or avatars that you see most often. You can also tell Myrano what you or other avatars are doing if it hasn't figgered it out for itself. For example, you might be cuddling, standing, chatting, kissing (some of the defaults) or you can create a custom activity ("pixel sex" anyone?)

Myrano recalls these interactions in narrative form to you via private chat. You might read something like : "You met Frankie Shoebox at Blackhearts Cafe months ago, dancing with Julie Hatrack. You have also seen him shopping at Jimbo's Mall." This is a bit of a simplification but should get the idea. As Myrano records experiences, the storylines it spins out get more detailed.

There are two versions of Myrano...a "Pro" model which sells for $2700L and a "Starter" version for $1500L. The pro model has more features including recalling payments, looking at social networks around a particular avatar and others. Even at $2700L, the developer says the Pro model outsells the Starter 5 to 1.

Why would I use Myrano?

Good question Snick! It's one I've struggled with. While MrMark lists a number of applications for Myrano on his Second Life Marketplace listing, some of them are a bit alien to me (like identifying stalkers or helping to see if an SL lover is cheating on you*). One that does resonate is for SL club owners, shop owners, DJs and hosts who want to have more personal interactions with their customers. Knowing that Frankie Shoebox is one of your regulars who is often seen just sitting around might help you tailor your interaction with them. Recalling details about people just might give you that edge in customer service that brings a person back for more. Myrano can also help you with that dreaded SL social circumstance where you can't remember someone at all that you only met a week ago.

* Example: finding out that someone you don't know is constantly in the same sims you visit.

Limitations of Myrano

The biggest drawback for me with Myrano is that it doesn't keep track of what you are doing in chat or IM. While it knows avatars that are near you and the places you are at, it won't have a clue that you are busy chatting with Julie Hatrack in IM. Since most of my SL interactions are via IM and Group Chat, this limits the usefulness of Myrano for me personally.

Another concern you may (or may not) have is privacy and security. Myrano stores all of its interactions on a server outside of Second Life that's maintained by the developer. You simply have to trust him to keep your information secure. Please note that I have absolutely no reason not to trust MrMark -- he seems like a very sincere and dedicated programmer.

Conclusions & buying

While I see potential applications for Myrano, it's not really for me and the way I interact with Second Life. However, if it strikes a chord with you, you can buy it inworld at MrMark's store or via Second Life Marketplace.

Euro Motorcycle Grrrl!

Fancy yourself a Bond girl? Well here's your chance for the latest Euro-chic outfit from Inga Wind. Available in red as shown plus blue, purple & silver! ZOOOOM!

$400L as show with helmet, boots and accessories. Group members get 10% off.

Click here for the SLURL to Inga's shop: Inga Wind Clothing

Second Life content not valuable outside Second Life

Wagner James Au and others make an interesting argument about the revised SL Terms of Service. Basically it's that since Second Life content is not very valuable outside of Second Life, what's the big deal about giving up your rights to stuff to Linden Lab?

See http://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2013/09/second-life-content-tos.html

While I appreciate this POV in practical terms, it's bad precedent and has potential to undermine the core of the Second Life economy which is based on trust. Trust that Linden Lab has no interest in taking original content and selling it themselves. Trust that you can change your $L for $US or whatever. Trust that LL values its creator community and the marketplace that comes out of it. All that seems to have been TOSsed aside (bad pun yes).

It further raises suspicions about the future of the SL economy when most reasonable people see no good reason for Linden Lab doing this OTHER than trying to prepare the company for sale or making wholesale changes to the way Second Life itself operates.

The question is less about WHAT they did and more about WHY they did it and WHY NOW.

More Linden Lab Terms of Service (TOS) uproar

Don't know if this is going to go anywhere but there's a blog purporting to represent a number of creators in Second Life who are either leaving, pulling their content and/or refusing to upload new content until the TOS are changed.

No posts yet other than an announcement.

http://unitedcontentcreatorsofsl.wordpress.com/