Foundation With Real Money Ventures Into Virtual World

This news piece explores the way in which one foundation as well as various non-profit organisations are using a growing online game network called "Second Life" to gain insight into how virtual processes can be used by young people to stimulate discussion about development issues, and to spur philanthropy.

According to Wikipedia, Second Life (SL) is an internet-based virtual world which came to international attention via mainstream news media in late 2006 and early 2007. Developed by Linden Lab, this downloadable client programme enables its users, called "Residents", to interact with each other through motional avatars, providing an advanced level of a social network service. This 3-D virtual world is entirely built and owned by its "Residents". According to the organisation, "[s]ince opening to the public in 2003, it has grown explosively and today is inhabited by a total of 7,450,830 people from around the globe." Each member uses a virtual self, known as an avatar, to navigate the virtual world.

The New York Times article indicates that - "[f]or the first time, one of the nation's largest foundations is venturing into virtual worlds..." Reportedly, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is sponsoring events in Second Life in an effort to gain insight into how virtual worlds are used by young people, to introduce the foundation to an audience that may have little exposure to institutional philanthropy, and to take part in and stimulate discussions about the real-world issues that it seeks to address. To this end, the MacArthur foundation has provided a donation to the Center on Public Diplomacy of the University of Southern California so that it can stage events in Second Life, including discussions of how foundations can address issues like migration and education.

The New York Times piece indicates that charities and other nonprofit groups are also beginning to migrate into the so-called "metaverse", seeking ways of attracting new donors and hoping to educate a broader audience about the issues they address. For example, the United Kingdom (UK)-based Adventure Ecology staged a virtual flood in Second Life to show what global warming might bring, and a psychiatry professor at the University of California, Davis (in the United States) created a way, in Second Life, for his students to experience what a person with schizophrenic hallucinations lives through. "It's a wonderful awareness-building tool," according to a nonprofit consultant quoted here. "You can walk someone through an experience there or sit down with them to discuss the work you're doing in a way that you can't in the real world or on the Web."

Randal Moss of the American Cancer Society comments: "We've opened an office in Second Life, and through that, we will provide health information, link back to our Web site and provide space for community-based support groups to meet." According to the article, more than 30 nonprofits have opened offices in a virtual business incubator in Second Life called the Nonprofit Commons that is operated by TechSoup, a group that helps other nonprofits with technology.