Longtime readers would have noticed more than just a cosmetic change to this site, in that I have generalized it so that it will cover all of the activities under the avatar name Cristalle Karami.  This is meant so that I can discuss all my creative endeavors in one place, as I may branch out to other virtual worlds.  

Particularly, I mean Blue Mars, which is going into public beta in June.  It doesn’t mean that I will leave Second Life, but it is a creative outlet worth exploring.  I have applied to become a creator there, and will soon receive the nondisclosure agreement and SDK.  It will be a chance to create in more powerful ways, and to develop on a scale that is not as limited as Second Life, although the personality of the world may be somewhat different.

Blue Mars is not a true direct competitor to Second Life because the average Joe or Jane cannot create content on the fly.  That characteristic gives Second Life its Wild West flavor, but even Second Life is working hard at destroying that personality, as seen with the upcoming changes to adult content that Linden Lab (foolishly) thinks only constitutes 4% of the content on the grid.  Try a much, much larger number, LL.  

Either way, I think this is a world worth having a foot in, regardless of what I do in Second Life.  More on that later.