Well, Second Life celebrates another birthday, and we all trekked out to show off our latest creations to the virtual world. And once again, there have been some truly superb exhibits, showing the very best on offer inworld, and there have been... some less impressive stands on show. So, once again, I would like to present to you all, my personal Do's and Don'ts of SL6B.

Don't give visitors a migraine - When I flew past Marmottina Taurog's Green and Wild Design stand, I immediately gagged at the technicolour swirling see through boxes, with a mesh of glowing chaos within. I then thought, "No, give it a chance, it might be much better inside". It wasn't. I'm now wearing sunglasses.


Do work with the theme - A lot of people have been very annoyed with the enforced theme of "The Future" that was imposed on us by our rulers up in Linden Land, but many of the exhibitors, rather than bitching and moaning, have made a real effort to do something with the theme. Juliete3d Quinzet's decision to steer away from the usual box building acting as her gallery, but rather having a shuttle pod being smashed by a meteor, spilling her artwork down onto the ground, was inspired and a delight.


Don't forget to add some content - The CoExist exhibit by Claari Shepherd is an impressive monolithic building, with an intriguing logo on top. And inside, absolutely nothing. I am totally none the wiser, and to be honest, if you can't be bothered to make the effort, I can't be bothered to care.


Do pay attention to detail - And to be honest, when it comes to detail, you never need to look much further than AM Radio, and his playful futurist nod, still entrenched in his retro style, delights almost as much as his perfect and intricately put together builds. Just stunning.


Don't turn the festival into an adfarm - Sioban McMahon - West of Ireland and Project Children: Yes I know you're not on the main walkway and yes it might all be in aid of a good cause, but the is NEVER an excuse for a giant rotating cube billboard. NEVER. Okay?


Do take us into your world - Yes, I know I have mentioned Skills Hak and her fantastic work at Insilico in the past, and yes it probably is easier to put on an impressive futuristic exhibit, when your sims are all set squarely in the future, but just look at it. Look at it, and be in awe.


Don't make your exhibit look like a 5 year olds scribbled all over it - Right, don't get me wrong, I am actually a fan of Treet TV, and I know what the designer was TRYING to do, with the multicoloured cables, but honestly, it didn't work, looks a complete mess, and I was more than a little disappointed. Massive shame.


And finally, a very special final Don't....

When making walkways, Don't forget that the actual point of them is to be able to WALK on them - Yes, they look very pretty, and in keeping with the cyberpunk motif, but when you're constantly ranting about getting stuck, trying to jump onto or off the blasted thing, and generally finding that they are hindering your ability to get around, then you have a recipe for Walkway FAIL.


See you next year!

You’ve been in Second Life a while now, you’ve decided to take the plunge and find yourself a home. You’ve bought your land, or found a lovely rental island and paid the tier. You’ve decided you want to be careful of any DIY accidents and splinters ruin your hands so you’re going to buy your Second Life home, but wait… where to go?

Welcome to my personal Second Life essentials for home makers; a small, yet succinct list of my personal recommendations from the filled world of the prefab home.

[ba] barnesworth anubis


Tastefully nestled into a hillside on the Demersal sim is [ba] (barnesworth anubis) without doubt one of the best known names in the world of Second Life prefabrications. With a vast array of residential prefabs and a small, yet growing number of commercial builds, ba offers its visitors good quality in a vast array of styles at reasonable prices.

The shop displays show images and information about the individual prefabs as well as a quick and easy option to teleport to the display in-world, where you can wander through the potential house of your dreams and all without an estate agent chirping it's features in your ear.

Various sizes, costs and prims await you at ba, all explained on the easy to understand vendors. The majority of houses are priced in the 1,000$L - 1,500$L price bracket, some indeed much lower, and similarly a few more expensive. Most of the builds come with copy/mod permissions and an easy to use rezzer for initial placement. Also, most have window tinting and lockable doors etc, although you should always check details thoroughly before parting with your hard earned Lindens.


I took a peek at The Howe Efficiency Home which is one of my favourite ba houses. It makes for an excellent starter home. At only 750$L and 88prims it's perfectly suited for smaller plots.


Trompe Loeil


Connected on the same cluster of sims as ba stands Trompe Loeil. This outfitter isn't just a prefab maker, they also have some landscaping products for sale. Predominant however, of course, are the prefabs on offer here.

Trompe Loeil offers a smaller collection to the likes of ba, however the quality is outstanding. Indeed some prefabs incorporate sculpted prims for maximum prim efficiency and style. The arrival shop features vendors with easy to use teleport to display functions similar to the neighbours at ba.

The styles on offer in this smaller selection are quite unique. You can have a sculpt hobbit home, popular with Lord of The Rings fans or you could chose to live in a rustic Silkhouse. With the varying styles, varying prims and prices follow suit.


Without doubt The Hobbiton home is not only a fantastic quirky house, but also quite an achievement with the plentiful use of sculpts. Priced competitively at 2,000$L and featuring 351 prims the house speaks for itself.


If however you have no delusions of hobbit-ism then perhaps the The Arc - Luxury Lodge is for you. Make no mistakes this isn't your average Second Life prefab. Priced at 12,500$L and engulfing 751 prims this gigantuan building won't suit all. I however have been in love with this building since the first time I ever saw it and had to feature it here.

Scarlet Creative


If however you're the kind of person who enjoys clean lines, with white minimalistic qualities then you should venture no further than ScarletCreative. With a substantial collection of homes most RL architects would be proud of, the minimalist look is one which suits many.

There are various sizes, prim counts and price costs at ScarletCreative so really you would need to venture around this sim to find the build to suit you, and your needs. However as this is a beautifully constructed region, wandering around isn't a hard task.


I'm choosing to feature the Grand Urban Beach House from ScarletCreative. Weighing in with 480 prims and costing just under 14,990$L this is one of the more luxurious homes featured here.

BOTHA ARCHITECTS


You've decided to embrace your inner architect however you're not one for the clean, white line, minimalist look of ScarletCreative. Botha Architects may very well suit your needs. Scattered across 2 sims the architecture here at Botha covers a plethora of styles.

Similarly to ScarletCreative, Botha doesn't have a store with all the build offerings laid out, so you will need to hot foot it along the pathways and explore these sims yourself.

In true architectural fashion, you couldn't describe these houses as low prim. If however prims are not an issue for you, then these meticulously designed homes are filled with many prims furthering the attention to detail. In fact many of the houses come with in built water features or fireplaces.

Featured in the image above are two very different styled buildings on offer at Botha. The Treehouse on the left, complete with 323 prims, and priced respectably at 3,999$L offers home makers another path to take on their search for the ideal home. Meanwhile the house on the right, with a staggering 1,106 prims and priced at a modest 11,000$L is certainly an investment in your future home.

Skye Castles


"An Englishman's home is his castle" - it must be true then that said Englishman shopped at Alex Bader's, Skye Castles.

As quoted in Skye Castles creator, Alex Bader's profile - "Skye Castles - the finest castles in all SL? Only you can decide". I must admit that true to my Scottish Heritage I have seen quite a vast number of Castles in Second Life. People clambering to have a piece of tangible history in this fast paced virtual world. In my personal opinion Skye Castles are the finest castles in Second Life.

Upon arrival at Skye you will be presented with a notecard containing the landmarks to all the build and accessories on offer here. It would be well advised that you store this notecard as it will make exploration of this place a lot easier. With a growing number of castles, and pavilions, tower houses and even a bridge it's no wonder that Skye Castles stretch over a number of sims.

From the dark depths of Skye Gothic Castle through the Skye Deco Castle and into the Skye Steampunk Castle the collection here can only be described as eclectic.

Nipping on the heels of 1,000 prims stands the Skye Faery Castle and at a cost of 15,000$L it is a substantial expense but then it IS a castle! One major advantage of the Faery Castle is the selection of accessories you can purchase to decorate it. From the Faery Watchtower, to the Faery Bed and even a Faery Bridge which all go hand in hand to compliment this building on arrival at your home.


Even the relatively dormant steampunk in me is aroused by the Steampunk Castle here. Also costing 15,000$L and charging off with 842 precious prims this building uses the best of it's included scripts to create a quirky steampunk experience. Panel opening doors and a rotating sphere system driving outer cogs which all go hand in hand to make more than just a home it’s an experience!

Hydro Homes


Ok so you've looked at my recommendations and decided you don't want to live your Second Life in a castle, or clean minimalist home. You haven't found anything at Barnesworth Anubis or Trompe Loeil so what now?

Well perhaps you're someone who wants a little funk in their modern living. If that's the case then go along to Hydro Homes.

You'll arrive in a clean functional store with vendor images and all the information you'll need about prim counts and costs. I find the layout at Hydro very helpful, the builds themselves are split into categories dependent on the size of parcel they require. Starting at 499$L for 512 sqm homes increasing to a maximum 1,999$L for 2048 sqm builds you'll find the houses here all priced very reasonably.

Venturing towards the daylight you will be presented with 3 levels to rise too and take advantage of the temp rezzing platforms to view your potential homes. With clear instructions you can see which platform is in use or free and up, up and away you go.

The Enigma is a clear representation of what you can expect at Hydro Homes. A curvaceous building with plenty of interesting features which will help to set your home out from some of the other prefabs available in-world today. In the largest size category this build utilises 307 prims and will cost you 1,999$L, well spent in my opinion.


That completes my tour of some of the best Prefab makers in Second Life at the moment. The Second Life prefab world is a humongous world, the market is flooded with options for you when you purchase your virtual home. It pays to spend time investigating the options open to you before making your decision. Hopefully as I believe these establishments stand out from the others, this list will give you a good place to start.

There is only a relatively small select group of people who have actually made a career from Second Life. That is either people who work in Second Life or those content creators fortunate enough to bring some very real profits from their given venture which, in turn, make a difference to their real life.

All things considered, generally speaking, when we think of a Second Life career it's usually a job that we love and therefore that we dedicate time too. Wether it be a career in virtual journalism or torturing prims into whatever you've decided to make that day, it's safe to say that very few people make any money from their Second Life career.

Undoubtedly the virtual world of fashion is a highly demanding fast-paced one. Couture comes in and out of fashion in Second Life as quickly as it does in real life, of course the real difference is that for many of us Second Life fashions are much more affordable than those of the real world. There is a plethora of fashion orientated blogs and magazines in second life and for many of the top bloggers/ writers they can hold the key to a product, or brands visibility and success rate. With that in mind I set out to speak to one of the biggest and best known fashion bloggers, Ana Lutetia about her career as a model, and blogger, including the highs and lows which come from her chosen career path.


What made you want to be a Second Life model?
I don't remember when or how it started. It just did. I remember deciding that I wanted to be a model inSL and I started looking for agencies and opportunities. Nowadays, I am more a (fashion) blogger and a magazine writer than a model. My RL European work schedule is not compatible with the majority of SL events.

When did you realise that you were a well known model/blogger?
I don't consider myself a well-known model. I realised I was a well-known fashion blogger when people would IM me around SL saying that they love my blog. Nowadays, I must be one of the oldest fashion bloggers around.


What, if any, have been the experiences of this ‘fame’ (good and bad)?
In the catwalk, I was always surprised to see people knowing my name and it still amazes me to get feedback of people saying that they know my work (mostly about my work as a blogger).
The good part is making friends. Some people that follow my work contact me and we start talking and became friends.
I love blogging. I am a addict blogger and if it wasn't for my blog I wouldn't log as often as I do.
It's weird to get random friendship offers and random offers from people...
The bad part is the jealousy involved that results in nasty anonymous comments in my blog and in some SCD SL Secrets. I call it jealousy because I can't think of a better word and because there is no reason whatsoever for anyone to have any issue with me mostly because I don't get out much and don't socialize. (I simply can't find time to do it all.) So the majority of people don't know me in a personal basis and only know me through my blog.
Some people don't realise the hours of work involved for being a fashion blogger and mainting a website updated daily. There are only a few bloggers that keep their blogs updated daily...
On occasion, I feel the fashion blogging pressure and that makes me very anxious. A lot of people send me gifts as well as review copy items and I simply don't have the time to blog it all even though I wish I had but it's impossible. I am only one person and it takes me around two hours (sometimes more) to make a simple post. And... the time I have to be inSL daily is only between two or three hours.

Are there any trends in the fashion world you personally like/dislike?
Personally, I don't like the new freebie and hunts trend. I believe that a lot of designers feel an obligation to release freebies and to participate in hunts. What about the hours spent by designers creating an item?
The sense of entitlement of freebies is bad too.

Do you have any suggestions for budding fashion stars that are starting out now?
Nowadays there are two many fashion bloggers and models and I encourage people to learn another skill like building, texturing or scripting because the fashion world can be overwelming and people will need a break from it.


*All images reposted with the kind permission of Ana Lutetia*
More information about Ana Lutetia can be found on http://analutetia.com

In the real world, society breaks many of us. Companies eat up their ‘human resources’ as a means to make a profit. In a recent conversation with Peter Stindberg we discussed the idea that SL could in-fact be somewhat similar to this.

As shop owners will admit, success is born from a drive to create and release new products. Even the best stores will continue to tick over as their releases diminish, but eventually new stock is the only thing that keeps people returning and shopping. A virtual ‘target’ is placed on creations and the need to; constantly release products, speak to the group, offer support, advertise and market your brand can be just as harsh as any RL target driven work.

As bloggers will also agree, the need to write new articles, feature new designers and highlight the happenings in this world comes with its own stress and strain. Resident Choice blogger Prad Prathivi quickly became a victim of resident attention, forcing him to take a step back and focus on what he wanted to do, and blogging at this time wasn’t it. I’m sure many of us will remember Prads writing abilities and sarcasm, but eventually people move on and find new sites to focus their attention on.