Progress Report 3

Once Again, I went into “Bloody Village” for my interview. Luckily, I found one Vampire quickly this time. The following is my interview with her:

Why do you want to be a vampire?
I love vampires. They are mysterious, beautiful, and handsome, so I want to try the role play thing.
What pleasures do you attain from being a vampire?
It satisfies my desire to play a role that otherwise I would never be able to play in real life.
Do you believe in the existence of vampires in reality?
No. I am not nuts.
Is being a vampire the same as your imagination?
Actually, more or less the same, I would say. It just feels so awesome to be a vampire.
What are the pros and cons of being a vampire?
I make a lot of friends for being a vampire, for joining a very close family.
Have you confronted any stereotype on vampires in SL?
Sure, people are generally scared of us. So we need to break the mould a little bit to get to people, I would say.

Afterwards, she even took me to some places to show me the place. She is really a nice vampire!

Progress Report 2

Wandering in “Bloody Village” on Second Life in search of a vampire to do the interview, we finally came across somebody in the end. However, although she is not a vampire, we did ask her some questions about the vampires as well as some rules in the village. She showed the signs that explained the rules clearly to us. After that, we went on another search for our targeted interviewees of vampires, but there was not any avatar in sight that we could talk to. With the dangerous vibe in the village, we decided to leave as a result.

We heard that it was actually pretty common to run into a vampire once in a while in Second Life, so we decided to wander around on the streets with the hope of chancing upon one of them. Nevertheless, most people are not vampires, not to mention their zero knowledge of the subject. Hence, we put our focus on the Internet and did some research first. In fact, we found so much useful information about our subject that it prepared us for our future interviews even more. We also found several interesting videos on Youtube that can be helpful references to our final project. One particular video showed that the vampires had their own ceremonies to turn average avatars into vampires, which were pretty much like the ones shown in our movies, TV series, etc. In general, we got a much clearer picture of what we were dealing with after the research.

Progress Report 1

We finally decided that our topic for our final news project would be about vampires in Second Life. There were several reasons why we chose this topic for our final research. First of all, stories about vampires have been all the rage recently, from books, movies, TV shows, even to the fashion industry. Hence, we thought it would be interesting to do a research about the vampires in Second Life while comparing them to the ones that have dominated the billboards of real life recently. Second, we thought it would also be interesting to try to understand the motives behind the role-playing of vampires in a virtual environment. Why do they choose to be vampires in Second Life? What do they gain from all of this? What kind of sacrifices do they have to make? This is actually a question that we can dive into with the perspectives of culture, psychology and human behavior in mind.

To gain all of this information, there is no better way to do the research than to ask a real vampire himself/herself in Second Life. Thus, we did a little search on the Internet and found that there was a place called “Bloody Village” in Second Life that was quite popular for the role-playing of vampires and other creatures that seem fit to our research. At first, we could not find anybody else, and then we got lost. The whole atmosphere there was quite dark, but weirdly fun at the same time, kind of like what we would have seen from the movies or TV series.

Live the Second Life, with a Second Chance

Imagine what would happen when you show up at a meeting with the mayor of New York City in plain T-shirt and jeans, or the time you crack jokes that are not particularly appropriate for negotiatings business transactions, or all the better the time you just loose it in an event of emergency and, unfortunately, bring something to death? Though we don’t usually have a second chance in real life, there are always several ones for us in Second Life, an on-line game that has gained trmendous popularity over the last couple of years around the globe.

Instead of casual interpersonal intercourses between avatars or vigorously slaying mythical creatures of medieval time, what’s unique with Second Life is the platform it opens to the tens of thousands of its registers for real-life pratices. You can see students woking on a virtual oil-spilling reenactment of today’s accident in the Guld of Mexico. Still, turn around and you can see students learning the dos and don’ts throughout a string of practices the game offers, let it be a lesson in work ethic or social gaffes that it would only make people so glad that they are not heppening for real.

As the time advances, virtual computing like Second Life has emerged and defined itself as the looking-glass of our world right now, providing efiicient ways for people to learn. It only seems that the trend is inevitable anyway in the future.

Taiwan Story Final Version

What's in store for the mass drinks-lovers of the small island of Taiwan when the fancy foreign franchise meets the traditional tea brewing? Yes, that is the latest campaign rolled up by Starbucks, who aims to stir up a new trend in an already ever-innovating beverage market of Taiwan, where running into someone holding one mermaid-logoed cup is par for the course.

Among the newest concoctions of this American company are Awake Tea Latte, Earl Grey Tea Latte, and Rose Fancy Tea Latte. As a fit combination of tea bags soaked up in latte, each mix-up is original in its own right that features tea's essence while enhancing the art's eclecticism to the fullest flavor possible. In theory, the strategy is perfect for the isle's bold appetite for new ideas, along with its crowded landscape that fertilizes the chain's grab-and-go culture, plus the centuries-old affection for tea, that when driven with coffee's kick in full throttle, it should simply be irresistible.

But no one can be sure of how the plan would work out in reality, not even me, who stand as a false coffee connoisseur. All we can do is just wait and see while sipping a brand-new tea journey in motion.

Taiwan Story Revision

Latte Brews a New Pas De Deux with......

What's in store for the mass drinks-lovers of the small island of Taiwan when the fancy foreign franchise meets the traditional tea brewing? Yes, that is the latest campaign rolled up by Starbucks, who aims to stir up a new trend in an already ever-innovating beverage market of Taiwan, where running into someone holding one mermaid-logoed cup is par for the course.

Among the newest concoctions of this American company are Awake Tea Latte, Earl Grey Tea Latte, and Rose Fancy Tea Latte. As a fit combination of tea bags soaked up in latte, each mix-up is original in its own right that features tea's essence while enhancing the art's eclecticism to the fullest flavor possible. In theory, the strategy is perfect for the isle's bold appetite for new ideas, its crowded landscape that fertilizes the chain's grab-and-go culture, and the centuries-old affection for tea. When all of it is driven with coffee's kick in full throttle, it should simply be irresistible.

But no one can be sure of how the plan would work out in reality, not even me, who stand as a false coffee connoisseur. All we can do is just wait and see while sipping a brand-new tea journey in motion.

3/24 Second Life Discussion about My First News Draft

[19:00] Charlotte Mohegan: maybe we can start on Ocean's
[19:00] ko525252 Shelter: thanks Charlotte
[19:00] ko525252 Shelter: OK~
[19:01] Charlotte Mohegan: you can tell your story first
[19:01] ko525252 Shelter: so who will be the reader?
[19:01] ko525252 Shelter: editor and what?
[19:01] Charlotte Mohegan: organizer
[19:01] Phoebe Isenia: organizor
[19:01] Phoebe Isenia: reader
[19:01] Phoebe Isenia: and u the writer
[19:01] Roxanne Kristan: wirter
[19:01] ko525252 Shelter: OK~
[19:02] ko525252 Shelter: cool!!
[19:02] Phoebe Isenia: ocean can you send the complete transcrip to me
[19:02] Phoebe Isenia: thank you~
[19:02] Roxanne Kristan: i want it too
[19:02] Charlotte Mohegan: I will be the editor
[19:03] Charlotte Mohegan: how about you guys
[19:03] Phoebe Isenia: reader!!
[19:03] ko525252 Shelter: OK~via MSN?
[19:03] Roxanne Kristan: writer!!
[19:03] ko525252 Shelter: ar u on MSN?
[19:04] Phoebe Isenia: yup
[19:04] Roxanne Kristan: yes
[19:04] ko525252 Shelter: my computer seems broken~
[19:05] ko525252 Shelter: wait a second~
[19:05] Phoebe Isenia: but i suppose ocean's article so he's already the writer?
[19:05] Roxanne Kristan: ok
[19:05] Charlotte Mohegan: yeah Roxanne is the organizor
[19:06] Phoebe Isenia: ok then let's read the article first
[19:06] Roxanne Kristan: haha
[19:07] Roxanne Kristan: ko
[19:07] Roxanne Kristan: can you send me the whole transcript
[19:08] ko525252 Shelter: OK~wait a minute~
[19:08] ko525252 Shelter: my computer seems going to explode!!
[19:08] Roxanne Kristan: thamks
[19:08] ko525252 Shelter: sure~haha
[19:11] Roxanne Kristan: where is WRITER
[19:11] Roxanne Kristan: that is where we should upload
[19:12] Roxanne Kristan: ?
[19:12] Charlotte Mohegan: ??
[19:12] Phoebe Isenia: pardon?
[19:13] Roxanne Kristan: http://journalisticwriting.blogspot.com/
[19:13] ko525252 Shelter: ??
[19:13] Roxanne Kristan: see here
[19:13] Charlotte Mohegan: what's your point
[19:14] Roxanne Kristan: March 24th--Peer Revision Session in SL
[19:14] Roxanne Kristan: see this
[19:14] Charlotte Mohegan: we already saw it
[19:14] Phoebe Isenia: yes
[19:15] Phoebe Isenia: and we're doing that now
[19:15] Roxanne Kristan: it said that the organizer should post things to WRITER
[19:15] Roxanne Kristan: what is the WRITER?
[19:15] Roxanne Kristan: it's my point
[19:16] Charlotte Mohegan: on writer 's blog
[19:16] Charlotte Mohegan: that's what the prof. mean
[19:16] Roxanne Kristan: um....
[19:16] Roxanne Kristan: i see
[19:16] Roxanne Kristan: haha
[19:17] Roxanne Kristan: i thought it is a new kind of blog
[19:18] Phoebe Isenia: but how can the organizer post the things on the writer's blog?
[19:18] Phoebe Isenia: i mean if they are not common users
[19:19] Charlotte Mohegan: so maybe the teacher want us to be the common users
[19:19] Phoebe Isenia: then we can not post anything on the other's blogeer
[19:19] Charlotte Mohegan: we could add each other later
[19:20] Roxanne Kristan: ok
[19:20] Charlotte Mohegan: I think Ocean's news has a trait which is that your sentences are very long. is that on purpose?
[19:20] Phoebe Isenia: ok~
[19:21] ko525252 Shelter: hi~I am back~
[19:21] Charlotte Mohegan: oh ~finally has your computer OK?
[19:21] ko525252 Shelter: no~but sometimes it just becomes long~
[19:22] Charlotte Mohegan: alright. I want to ask your very last word"motion"
[19:22] ko525252 Shelter: perhaps I should have some shorter sentences to balance out
[19:22] Charlotte Mohegan: what does that mean?
[19:23] Phoebe Isenia: and i am confused that is the combination realized or not?
[19:23] ko525252 Shelter: I want to change the phrase "set in motion" into "sip in motion"~
[19:24] ko525252 Shelter: haha~try to play on words~
[19:24] ko525252 Shelter: give it a twist~oh my
[19:24] Phoebe Isenia: ohh perhapd we don't have that sense
[19:24] Phoebe Isenia: but what does set in motion mean...?
[19:25] ko525252 Shelter: it means to start something
[19:25] ko525252 Shelter: If I don't remember wrong~
[19:25] Charlotte Mohegan: I see
[19:26] Phoebe Isenia: oh i c
[19:26] Phoebe Isenia: but i can't look up the phrase in yahoo dictionary so sorry
[19:27] ko525252 Shelter: perhaps we can try google~
[19:27] Phoebe Isenia: so can i raise some question about the content?
[19:27] ko525252 Shelter: it should be "set sth in motion"
[19:28] Charlotte Mohegan: go ahead
[19:28] ko525252 Shelter: sure~go ahead~girl!
[19:28] Phoebe Isenia: your article is really clear in the 1st paragraph
[19:28] Phoebe Isenia: to be honestly. i feel a little bit difficult with the second paragraph
[19:29] Phoebe Isenia: of course, one reason is that some sentences are too long
[19:29] ko525252 Shelter: because it's not clear~~?
[19:29] Roxanne Kristan: maybe you can summarizr for us
[19:30] Roxanne Kristan: with short and simple sentance
[19:30] Phoebe Isenia: yes
[19:30] ko525252 Shelter: sure~it's my pleasure~
[19:30] Phoebe Isenia: and so we can give you some advice
[19:30] ko525252 Shelter: first~
[19:30] ko525252 Shelter: I lay on the table the three
[19:31] ko525252 Shelter: drinks~
[19:31] Roxanne Kristan: yes
[19:32] ko525252 Shelter: and then that each three has its own feature~
[19:32] Phoebe Isenia: you mean Awake Tea Latte, Earl Grey Tea Latte, and Rose Fancy Tea Latte.?
[19:32] ko525252 Shelter: yes~
[19:33] ko525252 Shelter: and then go on to say that~
[19:33] ko525252 Shelter: in theory~why would this campaign be successful~
[19:34] ko525252 Shelter: for TW~
[19:35] ko525252 Shelter: because 1.TW is open to new ideas~
[19:35] ko525252 Shelter: 2.TW has cultivated a grab-and-go culture
[19:36] Phoebe Isenia: sorry what does grab and go mean?
[19:36] ko525252 Shelter: that people would not sit for a long time drinking tea~
[19:36] Phoebe Isenia: oh i see
[19:36] Susie223 Chun shouts: ?
[19:37] ko525252 Shelter: and 3.TW has been in love with tea for centuries~
[19:38] Roxanne Kristan: it;s much more clear
[19:38] ko525252 Shelter: all these with coffee's kick would be perfect~
[19:38] Roxanne Kristan: yes
[19:38] ko525252 Shelter: yeah~~thanks~
[19:38] ko525252 Shelter: oh my
[19:38] Phoebe Isenia: yes
[19:39] Charlotte Mohegan: that 's would be absolutely clear~
[19:39] Phoebe Isenia: i thin you can add these three clear standpoints in the paragraph
[19:39] Roxanne Kristan: i agree
[19:39] Phoebe Isenia: that would trongly help
[19:39] Phoebe Isenia: strongly*
[19:39] Roxanne Kristan: i have a little advice
[19:40] ko525252 Shelter: OK~thanks guys~
[19:40] ko525252 Shelter: The lines after "In theory"
[19:40] ko525252 Shelter: each sentence is a point mentioned above
[19:41] Roxanne Kristan: 10 minutes left
[19:42] Phoebe Isenia: you know the problem? because the sentences are too long
[19:42] Phoebe Isenia: hey organizor is our time ok?
[19:42] Roxanne Kristan: that's right
[19:43] ko525252 Shelter: but I am afraid of breaking the flow~
[19:43] ko525252 Shelter: the flow of the rhyme~
[19:43] ko525252 Shelter: haha
[19:43] ko525252 Shelter: what should I do~
[19:43] ko525252 Shelter: brake the sentences up~?
[19:43] ko525252 Shelter: break
[19:43] Phoebe Isenia: but without your further explanation as a reader, i hardly understand what u were talking about
[19:43] Phoebe Isenia: yes
[19:44] Phoebe Isenia: rewrite it
[19:44] ko525252 Shelter: OK~thanks~
[19:44] Phoebe Isenia: charlotte
[19:44] Charlotte Mohegan: maybe you can delete some words
[19:44] Charlotte Mohegan: such as " crowded landscape "
[19:44] Phoebe Isenia: The organizer keeps discussion on schedule and facilitates clear, concise, and specific peer discussions.
[19:44] Phoebe Isenia: it's your time are we keeping up the schedule?
[19:45] Charlotte Mohegan: Roxanne is the organize
[19:45] Charlotte Mohegan: organizor
[19:45] Roxanne Kristan: ?
[19:45] Roxanne Kristan: yes i am
[19:45] Charlotte Mohegan: I'm not
[19:45] Roxanne Kristan: keep going
[19:45] Charlotte Mohegan: she already said there is ten minutes left
[19:46] Phoebe Isenia: you mean ocean's part?
[19:46] Charlotte Mohegan: yeah
[19:46] Roxanne Kristan: why you think he has to delete those words
[19:46] Phoebe Isenia: oh sorry i though you were the organizor
[19:46] Charlotte Mohegan: because I think it is no nessesary to said it's a small land of Taiwan
[19:47] Charlotte Mohegan: the trend of grab and go do not have related to it
[19:47] ko525252 Shelter: I agree~
[19:47] ko525252 Shelter: the reason why i wrote "croded landscape"
[19:48] Phoebe Isenia: i think the time arrangement is weird each run has 30 min then we can';t finish all of us news before 12:00
[19:48] ko525252 Shelter: is because the grab-and-go culture is nurished from
[19:48] ko525252 Shelter: the crowded landscape
[19:48] Charlotte Mohegan: we will be more faster when it's our turn cause we already has some discussion last week
[19:49] Roxanne Kristan: if there is no question
[19:49] ko525252 Shelter: cool~
[19:49] Roxanne Kristan: maybe we move on to next news
[19:49] ko525252 Shelter: OK~~
[19:49] ko525252 Shelter: thanks everyone~~
[19:49] Roxanne Kristan: and rotate the roles