Shopping in Second Life

8/6/2019 Shopping in Second Life

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DRAFTPAPER.DrJuliaDaviesTheUniversityofSheffieldMarch18th2010

ESRCFestivalofSocialScience:InfolitiSchool,SecondLife

TheABCofshoppinginSecondLife?Issuesofidentityandculture

or

ALiteracyAcademicgoesshoppinginSecondLife

Introduction

InpreparingforthissessiontodayIhaveundergoneaprocessthatmightbereferredto

asblingingupmyavatar.Lessthanaweekagomyavatarwaswanderingaroundthe

Universityof SheffieldEducationSecondLifespace inits(I nowrealize)pitiful looking

system shoes, hair, skin and clothes. DrJoolz had skulked around in the safety of

education spaces wherepeople havebeen very circumspectand quietabouther/my1

lackoffashion/culturalawareness.HereinTheSchoolofEducationandininfolitiSchool

IhaveattendedregularmeetingsandtreatedthespaceasifitweresomekindofSkype

facilityworkingwithcolleaguestoplanafundedseminarseriesandconference.Ihadvaguely noticed that others at these meetings, more experienced at SL than I am,

somehow lookedbetter thanmyownavatar. Iwasnot really clearaboutwhatitwas

thatlookedsosystemaboutDrJoolz;indeeditwasjustthisweekthatIdiscoveredthis

lookhadalinguistichook,withthetermsystembeingusedadjectivally.Thetermseems

tobelongtothesameparadigmasinsitutionalisedbutactuallyidentifiesnotjustalack

ofindividualstylebutalsotheideathatoneisnotaninsider,someonewhois notinfact

institutionalized,butissomeonewhohasnotmovedbeyondthebasicsandstillretains

thestandardissue.

So,fittingintothecommunityistosomeextent,aboutlookingthepartyoushowyou

areaninsiderbyyourphysicalappearance.Toshedyourfirstcaterpillarskinistoshow

thatyouhavebeenaboutintheworldabitandhaveinvestigatedtheoptions.Youhave

toearnyourwingsbygettingoutthereandinvolvingyourselfinthecapitalexchange.

Writing for educators, introducing them to Second Life, SavinBaden et al (2009)

describethenewbieexperienceinthisway:

Younoticethatyouravatarsappearanceislikeahugebadgethatsays

Idont knowwhatImdoing;youbecomeslightlyenviousofthose

aroundyouwithamoreindividualappearanceandbegintowonder

howtheyacquiredtheirimpressivehairandclothes.Thisleadstoan

extendedperiod ofplayingwithyouravatars appearancesettings,

which ends with it looking slightly less default but still fairly

unpleasing.

(SavinBaden,etal,2009:3)

1Readersmayhavealreadynoticedmypronounproblememerginghere.Lastweekitwas

definitelymyavatarandthisweek..selfconsciously,itisbecomingIandme .


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SothisweekIhavestartedshoppingindeedIhavehardlystopped;andIhavemanaged

togainnotjustmynewskin,eyes,hair,fingernails,clothesandaseriesofmiscellaneous

freebieitemslikecocktails;salsadancemoves,theoddTshirtandrandompiecesof

furniture.ButIhavealsodippedmytoeinthewateroftheSecondLifeculture,since

whenonestartstogoshoppinginthespace,onestartstogetsomekindofsenseofthe

culturalvaluesandrituals.HoweveraswillbeappreciatedfromhowmuchofanoviceI

am,Iamsharingwithyoumyfeelingsandobservationsontheseearlyexplorationsof

SecondLife;I feelconfusedbytheworldand Ihaveto confessthatI bought things in

shops I was kindly taken to by Sheila Yoshikawa and have not yet found my own

personalgeographyintheworld.

Astrangethinghashappened,whichisthatingettinginvolvedinshoppingactivitiesI

have started to thinkaboutmy avatar as a presentation of selfwithin the world.My

engagementwithshoppingactivities,theactofevaluatinggoods,selectingandbuying

merchandise, represents an investment of time, money and thought. Whilst I have

selectedthingsthatareinsomewayclosetowhatIwouldwearinRealLife,Ihavealso

beeninfluencedbywhatisavailableinworldandbywhatthefewothersIhaveseenare

like(mySLskinforexample,ismuchmoreyouthfullookingonmyavatarthanonthe

RLme;franklyIdontthinkaclosermatchwouldeverbemarketableinSLorRL).There

seems to have been some kind of accommodation process happening and I havegraduallystartedacclimatizing to thenew culturalspaces inSL.However,I amaware

thatIhavemixedinverydiscretecircles.Fromtheformaleducationalinstitutionspaces

ofLancasterandSheffieldandaveryfewotheruniversitiesintheUkandthestates,I

have a limited cultural experience. I am drawing from personal observations at this

pointandneedtoliveabitmoretobeabletothinkofthisasanethnography,andwould

like to interview others who inhabitmore diverse communities than the ones I have

foundmyselfin.AndwithallthisIhavebecomefurtherawarethatSecondLifeisnotjust

one cultural spacebut many, and that different ways of behaving are expected in its

differentdomains.

Literacy

I have begun looking at Second Life shopping practices through the lens of literacy.

SecondLifeisliteracysaturatedandliteracydependent;moreoveritseemstometobe

fundamentallyaboutcapitalexchange.It isfascinatingforexample,todiscoverthaton


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the right click facility, one isoffered a dial ofoptions that includes: Sit Here,Touch,

Create,Open,Edit,Pay,andTake.

Withinthisparadigmofbasicactions,Payingandtakingareonthepremierlist.Soa

simplequicklookatthelanguageofthecommandsoneofthekeysocialfunctionswithin

theVirtualWorldisconcernedwithacquisitionofgoodsalongsidesittingdown!

Inorder to function inworldone needs tobeskilled ina rangeof literacypractices;

many of these are subsumed within managing the technology; the mechanics of

manouevring are of course hugely important and these are sometimes managed by

selecting from textual options that appear inmultiple formats, frommaps and dials;

menus,iconsandlistsofwords.Ofcourseallthesemanouevringskillscomeintoplay

whenoneisshopping,butthereareevenmoreliteracypracticesspecificallyinrelation

toSecondLifeshopping.

SointhenextfewminutesIwilljustbrieflyoutlinewhereIamcomingfromintermsof

literacytheory;IthensharesomeoftheobservationsIhavemadeaboutdigitalliteracy

practices as they relate to shopping in Second Life, particularly thinking about the

questionWhatliteracyskillsandknowledgedoyouneedtogoshoppinginSecondLife?

andthenfinallyImakeafewobservationsaboutwhatIthinkwillbeinterestingareasto

exploreusinganethnographicapproachtolookatliteracyandshoppinginSecondLife.

Iseetheproductionandconsumptionoftextsassocial;thatis,textsareproducedoutof

particular contexts, and readers bring to those texts and contexts, meanings derived

fromtheirownexperiences,culturesandsocialposition.Thatistosay,socialaspects

are irrefutably part of literacy practices, and meaning is not just mediated

straightforwardlybytextualcodes(alphabetisedrepresentationetc),butareshapedby


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socioculturalmatters.Textsaresocioculturalconstructs.Inemphasisingthesepoints,

myworkwithinwhathasbecomeknownastheparadigmoftheNewLiteracyStudies,

associatedwiththeoristslikeBartonandHamilton(1998),whodescribeliteracyasa

socialpracticeandarguethatLiteracyisprimarilysomethingpeopledo;itisanactivity

locatedinthespacebetweenthoughtandtextargueBartonandHamilton(1998:3).

Being literate therefore involves an understanding not just of how to decode

alphabetically,butalsoinvolvesbeingawareofallkindsofsocialstuffthatsurround

texts.OneneedstodecodeculturalandsocialcontextcluesasLankshearandKnobel

argue:

Fromasocioculturalperspectiveitisimpossibletoseparateoutfromtextmediatedsocialpracticesthebitsconcernedwithreadingorwriting(orany

othersenseofliteracy)andtotreatthemindependentlyofallthenonprint

bits,likevaluesandgestures,contextandmeaning,actionandobjects,talk

and interaction, tools and spaces. They are all nonsubtractable parts of

integratedwholes.Literacybitsdonotexistapartfromthesocialpractices

inwhichtheyareembeddedandinwhichtheyareacquired.

(LankshearandKnobel,2006:13)

WhenyouthinkabouttheusesofliteracyinSecondLifethiskindofargumentisdifficult

todisputewherereadersandwritersoftextsareprimarilytryingtodosomething;they

are involved in social acts making friends, asking for help, selling, presenting,

explaining,teaching,reportingandsoon.

The work of the New London Group in conceptualising multiliteracies is now well

established(Cope&Kalantzis,2000);multiliteraciestakesintoaccountafullrangeof

modalitiesascontributingtomeaningmakingsothatvisual,aural,andspatialpatterns

areacceptedasbeingasmeaningfulasthelinguisticmode.Shifts,indeedabroadening

ofthemeaning oftheword literacy, havebeenpartly due, sincetheproliferationofscreenbasedandotherdigitaltexts,to theescalationoftheuseofdifferentmodalities

withinsingletexts(Kress,2010;VanLeeuwenandJewitt,2001).Literacyresearchers

drawingontheseideasofliteracyasasocialpractice,ondoftextsasmultimodal,would

therefore treat Second Life as a text in itself, discussing meanings inscribed within

individualentriesonthesite,theirrelationshipwitheachotherandthesitegenerally,as

wellasthewayinwhichotherfunctionalitiesoftheeBaysoftware /suchastheratings

system,blogsanddiscussionboards/impactonmeanings.


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I also draw on the work of critical literacy theorists, beginning with the writings of

Freire,whodescribeshowinReadingthewordwearealsoReadingtheworld.That

istosay,thattextisneverideologicallyneutral.ThuswhenweinteractinSecondLife,

weneedtothinkabouthowthetextmighthavebenefitsforsomeandnotothers;how

powerisinscribedintotextsandwhomightbeaffectedbythis.

As I mention above, Second Life is literacy saturated and literacy dependent. It is a

programme on the Internet, but it is also a set of everyday cultural practices.

Fundamentallytheprogrammeismadeupofhtmltextandtheculturalpracticestake

placeviathis(largely invisible)medium;moreoverresidentswithintheVirtualWorld

interactthroughmultipletextualmodesvisuals,alphabetizedtext,sound,andsoon.

The creation of content is all textual whether it is the words exchanged among

interactants,orwhetheritisthecreationof3Dlikevirtualobjectsortheuseofgestures

enactedviaavatars.

ShoppinginSecondLife

The Second Life website introduces Second Life to newcomers; it provides video

materialandadvertisementsforjoining.Akeyareaitsellsistheshoppingmalls:ShoppinginSecondLife

Shop'tilyouDrop

Changeyourshoesoroutfitasoftenasyouchangeyourmind.Maybe

todayyou'llbearobotoratinyrabbit,orroleplayafantasycharacter

withyourfriends.Here,theselectionisasendlessasyour

imagination.Andit'salwaysinyoursize.

Itdrawsoneverydayfantasiesandeverydayidiomshoptillyoudropwhichwomenin

particulararelikelytoidentifywith.Forthosetowhomsuchaphrasemightappeal,

Second Life is able to make claims that Real World shopping Malls cannot. The

transformativequalitiesoftheworld,coupledwiththepronounYouwherethereader

is directly addressed, begins the process where potential residents start to make a

transitionbetweenthinkingaboutavatarsandthinkingabouttheself.Theinformation

givendescribeshowonecanbuy goodswithinworld,aswellas outside,on theweb.

ThenotionthatbeinginvolvedinSecondLifealsoinvolvesshopping,isonethatseems

veryclear;followingonfromsuchadsistheinvitationtoJoinNow>>ItsfastFreeand

simple.


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Theskills

In thinking about participation requirements for second life, the first skills required

involvethefollowing:

Registeringonthewebsite: Havinganemailaccount Decidingonanavatarusername

Secondlyinordertomakethetripshopping,oneneedsto

Setupapaypalaccount,validatetheaccount(orsimilar) Locateashop Understandhowtoteleport Understandhowtowalkaroundtheenvironment Workouthowtodiscoverthecostifitisnotdisplayed Knowhowtomaketheexchangeclickingonanitem,selecting buy

etc

Knowing that items will appear in the inventory and locating theinventory

Knowinghowtoaccessitemsfromyourinventoryeitherdraggingthepackageandopening,orrightclickingandwearing

Ascanbeseenbymyoneandonlyvisualforthistalk,oneof the commonerrors for

newbiesoccursintheunpackingofgoods.Ididseeandtakeasnapshotofsomeonewith

apolarbearattachedtoherbodyacoupleofdaysagoshehadjustwontheitemona

luckychair.Itdidnotseemquitesoluckytomeasshehadtomovearoundwiththat

beastattachedtoher.


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Itisprobablynowafamiliarproceduretomostpeoplehere,thatinpurchasinganitem

it is not transferred to the buyer intact. It appears, as a folder in the inventory.

Moreover,whenonemanagestolocatethefolderintheinventory,thereisaseriesof

iconswhichneed tobedeciphered. The purchase of one cardigan recently, manifest

withafoldercontainingfouritems.Ineededtodecidewhichoftheseitemswereindeed

thecardigan.ThemysteriouswordprimseemstobeusedeverywhereandsoIneeded

tolookelsewhereonthewebforanexplanationoftheterm.

Inadditiontoallthisareissuesaroundtheft;becausethevirtualworldistextual,and

becauseonecancopyandreplicatedigitaltextwithvaryingdegreesofease,thismeans

thatcomplexinstructionsandregulationssometimesaccompanypurchases.Theuseof

legallanguage,oftenverypowerfulsounding,referringtooinworld(theLindens)and

outofworldauthorities(thelaw)asabackuptothewarnings.Clearly,whilethisisto

somejustagame,thisisalsoabusinessenterpriseandsoaswithotherweb2.0spaces

copyrighttheftisanimportantconcern.

SomeitemsareavailableforpurchasewhichIhadnotconsidered;forexamplethesalsa

movesImanagedtobuy;facialexpressions, fingernails(invaryinglengths),skin,eyes

andsoon.TheassumptionsweholdinRLaboutwhatonecanbuyandwhatisgivenare

challenged;althoughinsayingthis,thereisthegrowingrealizationthatinrecentyears

muchofthesethingshavebeencommodifiedintheRealworldtoo.

Thereareadditionalareasoneneedstothinkabout.Firstlythatsometransactionsthat

appeartobe likebuying,areinfactnotbuyingatall.Thisisakindofsubversionofthe

capitalistprinciplewithintheworldwhereonecanpayzeroLindensforanitem.Using

the option to buy allows residents to make the transaction to happen and soindividualscantakeadvantageofthiskindofaffordanceintheirownway.Herewesee


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theexploitationofaparticularaffordancethathasdevelopedovertime,beyondwhat

wasinitiallyenvisaged.Suchadaptationofaffordanceuseiscommonacrossweb2.0

spaceslikeFlickr,eBayandYouTube.Secondly,shopownerscanusethiswayofgiving

goodsawayinordertocourtlatercustomandtoacquireinterestintheirshops.

FurtherResearchConsiderations

AsanewcomertoshoppinginSLIaminterestedinexploringmuchmore;myprevious

workinlookingeBay(2008)enabledmetothinkabouthowtheDiscoursesofthesite

shapedthewaysinwhichpeoplebehaved;Ilookedatreputationandthewayinwhich

that was configured both through official and unofficial online spaces. I was alsointerestedinhowpeoplebolsteredtheirreputationasbuyersorsellersthroughtheway

theylinkedtoothersitesontheInternetsuchasthroughtheirblogsandFlickrspaces.

This will require a longer period of time to allow an ethnographic exploration to

discoverifthereareanykindsofparallelinSL.IarguedthatineBayneedtoconduct

relationshipsasbuyersandsellers,involvednotjustinparticularisolatedtransactions,

but with an understanding that individual exchanges contribute to an accumulated

biography of themselves that can be referred to later. eBayers also need to read

critically.Crossreferencing; anunderstandingof community rules and theability to

discern and put into practice cultural and social knowledge of eBay. This is a space

wheretradersformaselfmonitoringcommunity,withanawarenessofbeingwatched

inamannerevocativeofFoucaultspanopticon(Foucault,1977).Thereissomesensein

whichSecondLifeoperatesinthisway.

Notcoveredinthisbriefconsideration,arethewaysinwhichtheSecondLifespaceis

usedbyRL advertisers; for example Ipurchased free some Pringles,abottle ofJack

Daniels and sundry other branded items just today. The hidden exchange of capital

involvingoutofworldmerchandiseisclearlyanareaworthyofexploration.Iamaware

ofworkbyCatherineBeavislookingattheadvertisingofMcDonaldsinaMMOGbutI

thinkthereismoretobeexploredhere.KenwayandBullen(2003)talkaboutissuesof

globalizationinwhattheyrefertoastheageofdesire.Totakeonboardtheideasof

critical digital literacy, I would want to explore these ideas further in relation to

shopping inSL. Such researchwhicvhmoves across online and offline spacesmight

needaconnectedethnographicexplorationnotjustvirtualbutinRLspacestoo(Fieldsandkafai,2008).


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I joked earlier about the appearance of my avatar, but the inworld glamour and

adherence to stereotypical notions of westernized beauty seem to go largely

unchallenged;theculturalexchangeofgoodsandwork.Certainlythereisanareahere

forfurtherthinkingaroundhowtoparticipateinsuchspacesasafeministandwhether

onecanorshouldresisttheDiscourseswhichpositionmenandwomenisspecificways

ascurrentlyseemtobesoprevalentinworld.InbuyingthedreamsthattheSecond

Lifebusinessespousesinitsads,areweaddingtoinequalitiesinoutofworldspaces.

Iwouldalsobeinterestedinexploringwhatkindsoftracesweleavebehindwhenwe

involveourselves inSLpurchasingandwhetherthedigitalfootprintswe leaveremain

inworldorfindtheirwayoutside.

Conclusions

Drawingonthenotionthatliteracyisasocialpractice,Ihavearguedthattheliteracy

skills required in order to participate successfully as a buyer or seller are complex.

SecondLifetextproductionandconsumptionpracticesrequireasetofcomplexliteracy

skills.

Arangeofliteracyskillsthatare:

Functional

Critical

Social

New/Digital

Multimodal

everyday

References

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ofSocialFutures.London:Routledge.

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Lankshear,C.andKnobel,M.(Eds.)DigitalLiteracies:Concepts,PoliciesandPractices.

NewYork:PeterLang.(Pp227248).

Fields,AandKafai,Y.(2009)Aconnectiveethnographyofpeerknowledgesharingand


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Kenway,J.andBullen,E.(2003)Globalising The Young In The Age Of Desire: SomeEducational Issues.

Kress,G.(2010).Multimodality:Asocialsemioticaproachtocontemporary

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Lankshear,C.andKnobel,M.(2006).NewLiteracies:EverydaypracticesandClassroom

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SavinBaden,M,Tombs,C.White,D.Poulton,T.Kavia,S.Woodham,L.(2009)Getting

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Documents

Shopping in Second Life