A blog rotisserie

The other day this blog’s stats rocketed to a very high pointy spike! Further investigations revealed that the source of this sudden increase in visits was a website called alphainventions.com. This website cleverly locates recent blog posts from a number of blog sites e.g. WordPress, Blogger and Windows Live, it rotates the newly minted blog posts within a simple white frame. (A blog rotisserie displaying still warm blogs!)

cyberloom displayed on the alphainventions website

Stop the blog rotation with pause/read
alphainventions gives you the option to stop the blog rotation and read a particular post, once you have finished reading you press play and the blogs start rolling again. If you don’t press pause/read you have just a few seconds to scan each blog before the next one appears. Like everyone else I am drawn by striking images, stylish layouts, witty or thought provoking blog names and/or blog post titles. If you are considering redesigning your own blog it might help to go to alphainventions to watch the blogs spin by and see for yourself what works, and what doesn’t work on other people’s blogs.

If you don’t click on pause/read you will only have time to read about two sentences before the next blog appears. While I hovered around perusing different blogs I saw that the frame displayed a little green button next to my blog name saying that I was online, and if anyone wanted to comment on my post they could do so. This creates the potential for immediate feedback to blog posts.

Top buttons on alphainventions

Blogs are like little platelets…and the secret of perpetual motion
The frame also offers other options, you can add your blogs to join the rotation. If your blog is featured, and you visit the alphainventions site, you generate yet more views to your own blog (in just a few minutes 20 views were generated). Question… did I cause this increase? Were these phantom hits I wonder? Is alphainventions some kind trick with mirrors, reflecting blogs into infinity?

No, perhaps alphainventions is more like a microscope capable of looking into the anatomy of the web revealing blogs spinning by like little platelets flowing down hidden web arteries. It seems as though the creator, Cheru Jackson, has established a kind of perpetual motion, a cycle of reciprocal behavior. First of all he randomly picks blogs and features them in his rotisserie, the blogger is then astonished to see all the hits on their blog and investigates. While visiting alphainventions the hits actually seem to increase; Cheru then encourages his visitors to leave comments on each others blogs; link to his site in their blogrolls; and write about his site. The reward is to get your blog into the rotisserie, and see stats climbing. This appears to satisfy many of Cheru’s visitors, that is, they use the site to get hits, and that is the end of story for them.

Nothing to shake a stick at…
However, if you study the stats information few visitors filter through to actually landing on your blog to read it. Out of 100 views, I would say I had 12 visits with 4 people reading the post.That’s nothing to shake a stick at of course, and possibly out of those 4 readers, 1 person might subscribe? Who knows? I would prefer it if alphainventions had some kind of filtering system that would help bloggers find blogs relevant to each other. What you get for now is a completely random array of blogs that cover every topic under the sun. It does not hurt bloggers to lift their heads out of their favorite categories and view the big picture, but I did find myself wondering how alphainventions could be improved.

I would start by making the frame more professional and polished looking; I would add some kind of filters so I could see the blogs that relate to my interests. I prefer to have fewer ‘hits’ and more real visitors; draw in folks because there is truly something of interest for them look at or read. And a funny thing, the view you see of other blogs seems to show the bloggers dashboards, not the public view but a private view as though from inside the blog program? Mind you, Cheru could be onto something if he develops the application. I could see this livening up a blogger’s personal feed aggregator page, rotating selected blogs effortlessly. With today’s information overload, anything that simplifies and helps us manage information is appreciated. If I had a personalized alphainventions application I would keep a ‘random’ button that would occasionally shift me out of my favorite category groove, and remind me of what else is ‘out there’. In the meantime I can visit alphainventions for its glimpse into the vast world of disparate blogs, I suggest you get yourself a cup of coffee and go for a spin and see what you think!

∞

Visit alphainventions.com to learn more!

‘Second Life -Why would you go there?’#4 Foul Whisperings

'Foul Whisperings and Strange Matters': Macbeth in Second Life

Q: Second Life, why go there?

A: To understand Shakespeare’s Macbeth.

I wonder how many people know what Second Life is? Of those who know what it is how many think it’s just a game? How many others think it’s a seedy sex place on the Internet? How many people visited this page because they wanted a voyeur’s window into the much publicized, yet little understood shadowy behaviors of avatars? How many people immediately left when they saw this post was going to be about Shakespeare’s Macbeth?

Macbeth Island: Silhouette of ruins

The virtual world of Second Life maintains layer upon layer of synthetic realities, and it is intriguing to see how some people extend understanding of humanity through ‘virtuality’. I was introduced to ‘Foul Whisperings and Strange Matters’ when I went to a Gronstedt Group meeting organized by Anders Wildcat. Over 25 avatars met on this small island that lies nestled deep within the virtual world of Second Life. Our Macbeth Island guide was an avatar named Anya Ixchel (Angela Thomas) who was up at 4:00 am in the morning (pre-dawn in Australia) to tell us about the virtualmacbeth project which she helped to create. I returned to the island a few days after Anya’s talk to explore on my own and take a few pictures (see below).

Enlightenment at Foul Whisperings & Strange Matters?

Foul Whisperings and Strange Matters takes a new approach to understanding Macbeth. You do not land upon the island to watch the drama unfold, you actually become part of the action. Throughout the installation you can find copies of Macbeth, and when you touch the book note cards are activated on your screen. These pose questions, encourage you to look around where you might be standing, and deliver short speeches for your contemplation. In effect you become Macbeth experiencing his descent into madness. However, the full drama comes alive when your avatar falls under the control of unseen hands, and voices intrude upon your thoughts…

cyberloom seated on Macbeth's throne. (Note my avatar's pursed lips and sinister stare!)

As I was drawn deeper into the maze of Macbeth’s mind I saw no other avatars, I was alone in the drafty castle corridors with only ghostly apparitions for company. I was intrigued by the thought that I was using the social platform of Second Life, yet here I was wandering the imaginary space in isolation. What struck me most about this is that my usual experience of Shakespeare is a social experience, plays are social creations that require a cast and aim to be realized on stage. Yet, here I was on my own and because of my virtual isolation in the Thane of Glamis’ castle I was, perhaps, a little closer to Shakespeare? Closer to the images Shakespeare saw in his imagination? This thought caused me to then wonder what Shakespeare himself would have made of 3D virtual environments?

A wunderkammer holding items (with sound effects) that symbolize Macbeth's ambition and psyche

The virtual environment of Macbeth Island is a fascinating place to visit and wander around, there are many intriguing details to see, and some macabre surprises (which I won’t reveal here). I do share one object of interest that is to be found in the throne room, the wunderkammer (see above) this is a cabinet of curiosities, used to symbolize Lady Macbeth’s influence on Macbeth’s mind. Each item on the wunderkammer produces a sound effect, but some of the sounds don’t match the object, a technique used by Anya Ixchel to unsettle visitors.

The Path of Temptation

Anya Ixchel designed the island in 2 hours, and the NMC (New Media Consortium) team took 6 weeks to carry out the build. However the project itself did not reach completion for 6 months as it took that long to develop the brief, build, tweak and test everything. The result is a simulation that provides a vivid glimpse into the future of education through simulation.

For more information about Macbeth Island

Visit Macbeth Island: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Macbeth/44/51/54/

Visit virtualmacbeth Wiki for more information: http://virtualmacbeth.wikispaces.com/Island+Guide

See more photographs on flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/virtualmacbeth/

Small balls of fire!

Dragon fire problem.

Spit-Wrath my pet dragon is not house trained yet, at least his particle effects are not. I had decided to experiment with Spit-Wrath’s options, and opened up the note card that had accompanied his egg (at the time of purchase). I clicked on his head after selecting ‘Aggressive – set avatars on fire’, and caused a fire to rage just above my avatar’s hair. When I walked away the fire continued to burn, but now it hovered above where my avatar had been sitting. I tried editing, and deleting it, etcetera, before I realized I had a particle effects problem. (I also wondered when I might feel the urge to set other avatars on fire?)

I have encountered this particle problem once or twice before. This time last year I had a snowflake generator (a freebie) that sent giant, pretty snowflakes swirling all across the shared island (I was unable to not stop it for days). This is not the way to make friends and influence people in Second Life, as it can slow down the server, causing headaches for other local avatars. (Avatars with headaches, there’s a thought… a new spin on Social Presence Theory?) Most people exploring Second Life encounter this little problem sooner or later. I have wondered whether it is a trick played on newbies, and folks who can’t resist a freebie? In this case, the note card that came with the dragon did not give me directions on how to put out the dragon fire once ignited.

As it’s getting close to Christmas, and I am filled with Christmas spirit (plus wanting a break from writing rather turgid papers) I am posting this solution to help other folks manage runaway particle effects problems.

To stop an unwanted particle effect select View from the top menu bar, then click on Beacons.

This will open your beacon dialog box and show the particle effect generator, in this case that red ball in the middle of the flames

Click on the now revealed particle generator then hit delete, and the whole effect will vanish!

Mission accomplished! All that remained after my dragon-fire was the smell of burnt Tiki house, plus the annoying sound of a virtual smoke detector buzzing in the background. I waved a synthetic magazine at the detector, and opened the simulated windows to let imagined air into my artificial room. And all was well with my 3D make-believe world!

Spit-Wrath the dragon culprit!

Dragon Sage Smoke and Fire Proof Jackets

Hatching the dragon's egg

I waited 21 days for this dragon’s egg to crack open. I read that they are best kept at room temperature, away from radiators or bright sunlight. At night the egg would glow and emit a high pitched squeak, and it became sizzling hot on the day the egg finally broke open. When the egg cracked there was a blood curdling screech that seemed to come from the egg rather than the pathetic looking wrinkled occupant.

Posing with Spit-Wrath my pet dragon created by Vilem Beaumont

The baby dragon is cute in an ugly way and appears happiest perching on my shoulder. (I am not sure if it can fly yet.) I found that whenever I took the small creature off my shoulder it had a temper tantrum that involved firing spitballs of red hot lava (hence its name Spit-Wrath). This shoulder perching has become less of a problem since I found a fire resistant leather jacket (an acquisition that has improved the quality of life for us both). Now when it sneezes, or burps, my clothing just smolders slightly. (The leather jacket also protects me from its needle sharp claws.)

Spit-Wrath has a constant stream of smoke coming out of its nostrils, this smoke has a pleasantly mild perfume reminiscent of burning sage. The one problem with this dragon sage smoke is that it gets in my eyes and makes them water so for the time being I have opted to wear goggles.