Having used Second Life extensively for the Virtual Worlds Seminar, I concluded that there was a surprising lack, or confusing nature, of social tools and media sharing options. How could this be, given that one of the primary activities for virtual world users is to be a part of their own invented communities? Avatar personalization and a vibrant marketplace of customizable clothes and appendages seem to be the focus of many, but the simple act of sharing a photo with a fellow Second Life citizen is an impossibly difficult feat.

This project aimed to reimagine what Second Life could be, stripping away the beautiful three-dimensional world with all its bells and whistles and going back to basics in an effort to create new avenues for social activities. Unlike Second Life, this world will exist in shards, or individualized worlds rather than a single one, based on the user's social network derived from services like Gmail or Facebook. Those inhabiting the virtual world will be either friends or friends of friends, with less of an emphasis on the serendipity of meeting new people and more on creating a three-dimensional experience to the things we do on a daily basis: share media, discuss topics and makes new friends from acquaintances.

Upon entering the world, users are given a list of participants online, opportunities to see who they're chatting with (with options to join the conversation or start a new one), the media everyone's sharing, and a way to explore the social landscape in a very basic virtual world. Scrolling over the names of individuals will show them in the world, along with those they are conversing with and a wide orbital circle emphasizing the place within that world where the conversation is happening. With a history of prior conversations, along with any media shared, available in the top right section, users can keep inventory of their social history and share prior conversations with others as quickly as possible.