September 19, 2007
Amid rumors that he may join the crowded Republican presidential field, Newt Gingrich, conservative author of 1994's Contract with America, has plans to appear in Second Life.The Washington Post reports:
[Gingrich's group] American Solutions for Winning the Future, is hosting workshops in Atlanta later this month, in real life. But now the former House speaker also plans to host some sessions in Second Life...
So as Gingrich gets set to potentially begin his second life in American politics, he will rent the West front of the Second Life version of the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 27 for some of his workshops.
There's symbolism in Gingrich's decision, since Sept. 27 is the 13th anniversary of the Contract With America, which Gingrich and other GOP lawmakers signed on the West front of the real U.S. Capitol.
Meanwhile, Gingrich writes about the planned SL appearance in his own blog:
Second Life is a more sophisticated extranet, representing the next wave of collaboration using a 3D Internet virtual world. It is so compelling that people actually spend real money to buy real estate in this online reality. The Swedish government actually has an embassy in Second Life...
This Second Life workshop will occur at 2:00 PM EDT on September 27... Please join us, we intend to continue where the Contract left off.
Comments
Oh elite what a world you all live in.
I doubt anyone will even care about Gingrich's place unless it gets griefed in a particularly hilarious way.
Second life is experiencing the world's first recorded "pixel shortage" as the Newt Gingrich character devours and absorbs every last drawing block available. When asked for comment Second Life players responded with;
"Who the HELL names their kid Newt"?
What is wrong with this world?
Who decided the Newt Gingrich is relevant to anything?
E. Zachary Knight
Divine Knight Gaming
Random Tower: Game News and Commentary
Senator Ted Stevens (R, Alaska) described the internet as "a series of tubes."
it wasn't Newt "I'm against every immoral sin while i'm not commiting them" Gingrich.
Um yeah, thanks. I knew that. I was merely answering the question "Who said Newt was relevant" with MY answer.
This appearance is going to get vandalized all to hell, mark my words. Flying penises and goatse billboards and every horror the internet has at its disposal will be turned on this.
They'd better have the grid he's on locked down tight as a drum.
I just can't get interested in second life.
That's because SL isn't as ground-breaking and expansive as they say it is.
It's a laggy, poorly programmed, constantly crashing, pr0n-filled, furry-filled, glitchy excuse for an MMO. It's revolutionary if you rewind about 10 years when everyone thought we'd be browsing the internet in big VR helmets.
Theoretically, the idea is solid. Create a virtual version of yourself and explore a digital world all created by players. The problem is that most of the players are juvenile or unwilling to learn how to use the game's building and scripting tools (only a select few can actually use the scripting to their full advantage)
So, unless you find a nice niche area with a group of people you can tolerate you'll find yourself wandering through either extremely empty or extremely laggy/overpopulated areas while 12 year olds pretending to be 21 year olds shoot at you with weapons that break the ancient physics engine SL uses causing your program to crash and you to spend an extra 20 minutes trying to figure out wtf to do as you watch your avatar flail through empty space.
Newt Gingrich is a nobody. He needs to accept this.
you also seem to miss the whole point of SL its not a game in the common sense, its more a 3D chat program where you can add your own stuff and walk it around the world, I don't think of it as a game but as a 3D forum.
This short video of Newt Gingrich’s appearance in Second Life shows him effectively deflecting a question that he was asked. He thinks that “companies” (specifically IBM) should be the one’s answering the question “How can...
This short video of Newt Gingrich’s appearance in Second Life shows him effectively deflecting a question that he was asked. He thinks that “companies” (specifically IBM) should be the one’s answering the question “How can...