100 Tips for Second Life Island new Owners

In the last year I have worked with several organizations that started islands in second life. There are many things you will need to consider. Small tips that could save you time, effort, and money. So I am collecting them. For now, I have 15... but I plan to get to 100. Your feedback is needed.

So here are ome Technical Tips for active hands-on research in Second Life:

1. Time to get Island – Getting the island from Linden takes 2-3 weeks. You will need a credit card and a budget to buy things in world (in world = in the virtual world).
2. Teen Grid islands take much longer because you need to follow a background check process.
3. Firewall. Second Life uses various non-standard ports. You will need to open them.
4. Permissions and ownership – make sure you fully understand the permissions schemes of second life. For business related items, you may want to insist on full permissions. Such products usually cost much more.
5. Strong computers. Running Second Life calls for a relatively strong computer (see System Requirements in the second life web site). Running Second Life and makeing a video at the same time, calls for an even stronger computer.
6. Full view. Make sure you use full graphics and you set the distance to 512 meters – this will enhance the look and feel of the experience.
7. UI size. For demos you may enlarge the UI size – in preferences.
8. Media on a Prim. Use the added features of HTML on a Prim, Music on land, and video on land. Such features demonstrate the integrative nature of virtual worlds.
9. Training videos. View training videos by using www.secondlife.com/videos. The fastest way to learn.
10. Programming – Second Life has a full programming environment based on LSL (Linden Scripting Language). There are lots of materials on the web re this.
11. External systems. There are several ways to connect between in-world objects and out-side objects. There are some complex demos in-world to show this.
12. Measurement. There are several tools to measure how many avatars visited your space. You can install listeners in various objects.
13. Company Family Names. There is a method to buy a family name from Linden for members of the firm.
14. Voice Chat. Using voice in world can be a good way to start and to collaborate. Saves texting.
15. Harness power of other users. Work with other users to help you. There are many people in Second life that would gladly help; if you pay a bit you will get a lot of energy.