By The Wall Street Journal
This transcript was prepared by a transcription service. This version may not be in its final form and may be updated.
Ryan: Hey, it’s Ryan, co-host of the Journal. Our daily show will be back on Monday, but today we’re going back into Second Life, with the next episode in our series, How To Build A Metaverse. If you missed Episode One, you’ll definitely want to go check that out first. It’s in our feed. It came out last Friday. Last week founder Philip Rosedale and his company, Linden Lab, created Second Life, a metaverse where users could do and be whatever they wanted.
Philip Rosedale: It isn’t really about what the system’s capabilities are, but instead like what it can do for you, what it is for you. It is a Second Life that you get to live.
Ryan: This week Second Life experiences some growing pains. Here’s producer Annie Minoff.
Annie Minoff: When Second Life officially launched in 2003, the people who showed up discovered a world where they could be anyone they wanted, and many of those early users began reinventing themselves. Like Nancy Schenkein. Nancy, the former events planner who we met in Episode One, came to Second Life after getting diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Life in the physical world was getting harder, but in Second Life, Nancy could be someone new. And it wasn’t long before she settled on a name for this new someone, Baccara Rhodes. And Baccara, she had a look.
Nancy Schenkein: She had long hair, long burgundy color hair. She’s very classy, very classic. Watches her language and doesn’t want language spoken around her. Very formal, a very formal type character.
Annie Minoff: Baccara wore ball gowns and fancy necklaces. She was a budding socialite, whose idea of fun was hosting champagne cocktail parties for other avatars. But to host she needed a house. One day, as Baccara was flying around Second Life, she noticed a lovely spot, right by the water, and some of her new neighbors helped her build a little cottage there.
