Does Second Life Need More Real Life?

What’s one of the first things that a lot of people try to do as soon as they feel comfortable moving around Second Life (and perhaps other virtual worlds as well)? Break down the wall between their First (or Real) and Second lives.

Really, it’s like being back in college, only people ask “Where are you from?” instead of “What’s your major?” Some people ardently protect this information, while others spew TMI and pictures. And just for disclosure, I do have a RL pic on my First Life profile page showing RL hubby and me, but I’ve taken down other personal stuff since my original plan to do business in SL has faded.

Anyway, some folks are trying vigilantly to pierce the wall. The latest is MIT Prof. Joe Paradiso, who is spearheading a project (with some funding from SL parent Linden Labs) to let RL people interact in SL environments. A Forbes story, “A Realer Virtual World,” details his project, scheduled to launch later this month, that would let people wearing special electronic badges interact with people in selected SL sims. Paradiso sees this technology creating more flexibility in conferences, training sessions and other group meetings, which is a growth area for SL/LL.

Go, read the the story. Then, come back and comment: Where does RL belong in SL? Or, does it belong at all?