Recent Comments:
Mislearning the 'Facts' of SL
Second Life Insider
Nov 7th 2006 2:31PM Reviews like this are all to common - not only on topics/products/services like Second Life. The principle is: I dont like it (or I dont understand it) so it is all a load of BS and everyone who like it is a moron. Why? Simple: if it were cool, I would have liked it!
If you look at it a little deeper, it ist just plain old egocentrism mixed with ignorance. Take Second Life: The one aspect most "normal" people like to make fun of when they are told about Second Life is the fact that "virtual goods" are traded for "real money". OMG, how stupid do you have to be to fall for that!
What they tend to overlook - or are too uneducated to know is:
(1) Modern money is a completely "virtual" concept. A 20$ bill is only worth something because people aggree on its value.
(2) A huge part of our "real" economy consists of trading "virtual goods" already: software, newspapers, books, music etc. not to talk about licences, shares etc. It is not the physical aspect of these products we pay for - if there is any physical aspect at all.
Reality bites
Second Life Insider
Oct 24th 2006 1:03AM @Caliandris (8)
> But I can't honestly say that I know whether these
> impressions I have - that people enjoy and welcome more
> interesting things - are right for businesses and serious
> academics... I just would love to have a go and see if -
> as I think - they might work even better.
Thats what I meant, when I was talking about "trust", Cali. You "can't say" (if it is better for the clients needs). You "would love to have a go". You think it "might" work better.
Nobody is questioning you good intentions, but before a client trusts your feelings and beliefs, he must know you - and maybe must experience at least once that those "different" ideas you present are beneficial to his business interests.
When you talk about "keep them in the boxes they inhabit in RL, or give them a little bit of a surprise" you imply that clients want it boring snd uninspired. I am not sure about that. In my RL experience it does not matter that much to a client, if his projects are "in the boxes" or "surprising". What matters is, if they are effective. And many a client will accept "surprising" (I AM talking from personal experience), when you can convince him (with arguments not beliefs) that "surprising" will be good for his bottom line.
Reality bites
Second Life Insider
Oct 22nd 2006 11:21PM Hi Caliandris, please don't get me wrong but your answer makes me question the intent of your initial post. You were lamenting a certain inflexibility of clients in the original post. But your comments (answers to comments) were more about them not giving you freedom for artistic expression.
A client is rarely interested in financing your artistic ideas - and its quite a different relationship between an artist and his patron than that between a client and a contractor.
The examples you mentioned for "artistic architects" are interesting, btw. I know buildings of two of them from personal experience. I am a huge fan of the third one and ... eeehmmm .... I would not want to live/work in any of their houses. These are works of art, not results of a directed process leading to an efficient solution for the needs of some person, family or corporate client.
I agree with your assessment of clients who sometimes come around with very conservative ideas. It is a hard job trying to persuade them to try some more creative, unconvential ideas (as someone working in the professional service industry I know, how hard). This job is nearly impossible, when you are working through a middle man (another agency). So you have my sympathies.
It is a big difference, though, between asking for some flexibility and openness to innovation and asking for artistic freedom. And as long as you don't prove to the customer that his (business) intents are better served with a "cave, greenhouse or a spacestation" you are simply asking for artistic freedom. There are some clients who might even allow you that freedom; but rarely in the first job they do with you. This is a matter of trust. And trust builds up slowly.
Reality bites
Second Life Insider
Oct 22nd 2006 8:29AM > Maybe I am being completely unfair, and potential clients
> would look at a crazy treehouse conference area and make
> unwelcome judgements about a company.
Probably.
> Or maybe the overwhelming preponderence of suburban houses
> complete with bathrooms and kitchens mean that people do
> like the familiar things.
Exactly. :) This IS an indication of most people's attitudes. Or isn't it?
How to not get scammed
Second Life Insider
Oct 12th 2006 2:29AM As pyramid schmes like this are explicitely forbidden in the TOS, the easiest and rather simple solution for this problem might be, to file an abuse report. ;)
