Yesterday I spent some time talking with Starr. Starr is a model in Second Life. That is, she models skins and clothes for various designers in regular fashion shows across the world. She has over 100 different model poses, and multiple sets of shoes that have built in animations of walking styles once she wears them. Starr spends at least an hour every week practising her walks and poses. Every day she searches for additional poses and talks to fashion designers. And Starr earns enough real money doing this to feed her family.
I wonder what Baudrillard would have to say about the economy of signs here? This is simulacra - the modelling has real value and is not merely a copy or replica of reality. It serves its own purpose for the SL world and brings in real revenue. Starr modelled some clothing for me and she and one of her friends explained how to look for clothes that were “fakes” and those that had real quality. The distinction between the two was not related to what we might think of in reality, rather it was directly related to the design software - and whether clothing was “flat” because the textures were uploaded in jpg format or whether it was animated because it was uploaded in another file format. I am learning about 3D modelling from the models (*chuckle*) - but the semiotics here of space, animation, texture and movement are fascinating.
Very intriguing how there is literally a real econom running in a “virtual” community.
Comment by Chris Best — April 10, 2006 @ 2:55 am
amazing stuff. Beware of freaconomics … anew word here in th eUK.
Comment by DrJoolz — April 10, 2006 @ 7:30 pm