Virtual Praxis: SL Women as Media Makers

Welcome! This blog reviews the status of women as media makers inside the virtual game Second Life. Your host is Sonicity Fitzroy, alias Dr. Phylis Johnson, Southern Illinois University. This blog is a spin off of my November 15, 2008 Second Life presentation at the Virtual Praxis Conference sponsored by Ohio State University.

Virtual Praxis: SL Women as Media Makers

Women are increasingly involved in the creation, production, and distribution of news and entertainment content. This content is created for and distributed to radio streams and news and entertainment cable services, and printed in magazines and newspapers in Second Life. The role of “media” women in SL content creation, and the potential impact on the larger mainstream media industry is an area that deserves focus, particularly as new media promises new opportunities and creativity. SL users, internationally, are becoming notable media makers, and HBO featured the first documentary produced inside this digital community in early 2008. It is within this context that I create a portrait of an emerging woman producer who resides in a hall of media mirrors, and subsequently one might consider how much originality is realistically possible during "construction" in this parallel mediated universe. Presented at Virtual Praxis, Saturday, November 15, 2008.