The Circle Game

An interesting perspective on what is believed to be the apex of the competitiveness of professional tennis - winning by physical dominance and hyperskill. The argument here is interesting in that if we build training and set goals to just win, we lose a little something in the process, the sense of a game, the strategy, the finesse, the pleasure of the hunt perhaps... And the mighty ad dollar and the sponsorships from athletic equipment companies contribute to this. What happens if SL becomes a marketer's paradise, driving the stakes high, quickly swamping the grass-roots level aura of SL and miring it in billboards, incredibly ornate and complex structures, and then dominate the rules, politics, and practices of the highly visible and powerful in the SL world. I think that like the physical world, people will struggle to find authentic and good things, those who provide that will be forced into a niche and constantly defending their space... and the quality experiences will be reserved for those who can afford and are in the know about using SL to be a better or more successful human in the physical reality.

Sorry, I'm not a gloom and doom type, but history is a very good teacher and we all want to think the next big thing will be different.

I can hear the Paul Simon song in my head now, "Train in the Distance" - I love that song, that album (woops, that word dates me a bit...).

tc

p.s. read the book "The Black Swan" - really!!