Frolic Mills Brings You "The Impossible Interview"!

*reprinted with permission from The Best of Second Life Magazine, July 2009

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A Conversation with Philip Linden
Best of SL Exclusive Interview with the Chairman of the Board and Founder of Second Life!

By Frolic Mills

A "Game" is defined as an activity with purpose, freedoms and barriers. Too many rules and it becomes a non game, just the same as a total lack of rules.

It requires an incredible amount of imagination to dream up a game, an even bigger amount of energy and knowledge to translate it into a cyber platform. So what exactly is the amount of said values required to dream up a virtual Second Life? Inventing one game is quite an acomplishment, but to dream up a game - an entire virtual world - where all participants can choose their own purposes while sharing the same rules and freedoms is beyond my understanding. It is genius!

I opened THE BEST OF SL Magazine in October 2007, and even as a newbie I had enough knowledge of other virtual platforms to know that I had entered something different. A playground where I could be anything I wanted to be, a world that was only limited by my own imagination. And so I heard of Philip Rosedale. What kind of man could imagine, much less create something like Second Life? Who was this man? And could I ever interview him for BOSL?

And this question went unanswered for quite some time. I am not one to interrupt anyone to ask them for an interview. I will think twice before sending notecards to people I don't know. With this kind of shy attitude, there was no way I would ever get this interview. But suddenly, a light shone bright on my SL life, and, thanks to my friend Baz Ceawlin, I found out Catherine Linden was interested in coverage and promotion of SL6B.

I jumped on the opportunity. I threw hints at Catherine about how we had Torley Linden on the cover of BOSL last year for the SL5B interview cover story, and I suggested... ...that maybe, perhaps, err, well, uhmm, well, maybe we could ...interview Philip this year...

And she said, "Absolutely!" <...Frolic Mills fainted..>

I was so boggled by all this that I had to resource my dearest Managing Editor, Breezie Noel, to help me research the questions that our readers really wanted to know about. And between the two of us, we believe to have gathered what I shall call the "impossible interview".

Ladies and Gents, without any further introduction, we give you the Chairman of the Board and Founder of Linden Labs: Mr. Philip Linden !

Frolic Mills: Happy 6th birthday, Phil !! Thank you so much for taking the time to do this interview for Best of SL. Our readers appreciate it, and so do I. Phil, you have paved the way for creators of other virtual worlds hoping to achieve the same success. Actually, BLUE MARS mentions Second Life in their website. Do you watch the new developments? Do they spur you to stay ahead of the competition?

PHILIP: Hi Frolic, thank you for your birthday wishes. To answer your question, I don't think I'm as competitive as the typical startup CEO, but it certainly feels good to have created something that people think worth criticizing and copying! Second Life and virtual worlds are still very early and very complex to make work, which, I think, is why there isn't as much competition as you might expect. The many people out there (like me) who have been dreaming about these worlds for so long are often surprised by this.

Frolic Mills: Right, and I suppose that's why we all remain faithful to our Second Lives. Phil, after all these years with Linden Labs and Second Life, what still surprises you? What excites you about SL?

PHILIP: If I wasn't constantly surprised and excited by things people do and build in SL, I'd know that something had gone wrong. I always felt that the unpredictable nature of developments in the world would be one of the key indicators that we were doing things right - that some magical threshold of possibility had been reached. Today what excites me more is the possibility that SL can make the real world better and safer by connecting different cultures and people more quickly than otherwise might have happened.

Frolic Mills: I agree completely. One of the most wonderful things about SL is the multinational blending of culture and friendships from across the globe.

Two other trends we see, and are particularly excited about, involve real life crossovers into Second Life. First, many educational institutions are finding creative ways to offer extended, distance-based learning to students using Second Life. Second, real life architects (such as DB Bailey and Patch Thibaud) are using SL as a medium in which to build and test prototypes for real world structures, even bringing their clients into Second Life to review mock-ups and changes before proceeding in real life. Do you/Linden Labs get directly involved in encouraging real-life universities, architects, builders, artists, etc. to take advantage of the benefits of SL? Do you offer any special help or assistance or referrals, for example?

PHILIP: We do have a team that helps businesses and educators get started in Second Life. We also maintain a database of inworld solution providers on our Web site. That's a big help for anyone who needs to get a presence and running quickly. And in May we launched a Gold Solution Provider program to identify highly qualified firms -- 31 to start.

It's interesting you mention architecture. As I'm sure you know, one of the winners of the inaugural Linden Prize was Studio Wikitecture, which has developed an ingenious collaborative approach to architectural design. It's not just a clever idea. It actually works, and it really demonstrates the collaborative value of working in a 3D environment. A professor in Boston just won a MacArthur genius grant for a communal urban planning project called Hub2, which he piloted in Second Life. Prototyping and design are definitely growth areas for us.

Frolic Mills: Yes, it's good to see these industries benefiting from Second Life. We know Linden Labs supports the business side of SL as well. What's the most exciting thing you're working on to benefit Second Life business owners, land owners, entrepreneurs? And what's the most exciting thing you're working on for everyone in Second Life?

PHILIP: The redesign that we are doing on the interface right now is exciting, because I think for landowners and businesses and entrepreneurs it will hopefully bring users into SL that previously just didn't have the time and dedication to figure out how things worked. I think that is the most important thing we need to do there - get out of the way and make the initial experience as fast and simple as possible.

I've also been working on Snowglobe, which I think is important and exciting in general, because it will give us a faster way to test innovative new work, even as the world gets bigger and stability becomes more important.

Frolic Mills: Have you ever walked around the grid with an alt? And if so, what is the best anecdote you can share with us?

PHILIP: I have an alt but really haven't used it yet. It's too fun to login as Philip Linden, at least sometimes! Maybe I'm a little vain. :)

Frolic Mills: Haha, I'm sure it causes quite a stir when Philip Linden shows up somewhere. Speaking of causing a stir, there's obviously a lot of buzz around SL regarding Linden Labs' recent changes to adult content restrictions. Some call it censorship. Do you consider the changes justifiable censorship?

PHILIP: We're not censoring any sort of content. You can do all the same things in SL that you could ever do. We have to figure out how to make adult content not show up adjacent to other content in a way that makes Second Life alienate potential users, without restricting the ability to create and experience adult content (or any other sort of content for that matter). This is a hard problem, and I'm sure we'll make mistakes along the way. Also, as Second Life grows, how content is accessed and organized will probably be less and less our issue and more the community’s and content creators’. I think we've demonstrated an ability to listen and make changes. We'll keep doing that.

Frolic Mills: Thank you Phil. You probably know better than anyone about all the interesting and imaginative new things Second Life artists and creators are doing with this virtual world. What are some of the newest resident-created developments that have surprised and excited you recently?

PHILIP: While it's not exactly new, something I have been very inspired by is our other Linden Prize winner, Virtual Ability, which is an organization that helps people with disabilities experience the full range of activities available to them in Second Life. One of the organizers has said, "It's an amazing experience, helping someone who will never walk again in real life to jump on a virtual trampoline." When you hear something like that, you realize just how important this technology can be. Second Life is a lot of fun, no doubt about it. But it's also making people's lives better.

Frolic Mills: Yes, I have met people who are hearing impaired, and they have said that Second Life has allowed them to interact with people in ways they never could in real life. We know you get out and participate in various activities with Second Life residents. When people see you in game, how do they react? Do they bombard you with questions and requests? Do you get propositioned?

PHILIP: Yes, I get some partner requests. :) I also get some really nice messages, which are often very moving. Keeps me coming to work!

Frolic Mills: I'm sure people tell you things they'd like you to change. Everyone has their pet peeves among the various restrictions and glitches of SL - for example, the 25 groups limit. What are the top SL citizen change requests you hear about, and which ones are you working on?

PHILIP: Group limits and problems with group messaging are definitely top of mind. You know, group messaging with 1000's of people in groups is actually a really hard problem. Almost no systems out there (virtual world or otherwise) have done equivalent or better. Give us time, we'll keep improving it!

Frolic Mills: And we appreciate that. You know, everybody knows Philip Linden, Founder and COB of Second Life. But you're a real guy too, with a real first life. Are you always consumed by Second Life, whether you're logged in or not? Or do you ever take time off just to relax? Tell us about the last time you took at least most of the day off. What was your day like?

PHILIP: I actually have a very balanced life. I meditate. I go running a lot. Rode an electric skateboard to work the other day, which was really fun.

I think I thanked Phil for the interview and wished him well, wished him happiness. But the idea of meditation and the image of him riding an electric skateboard took hold of me for quite some time. It was such a personal glimpse. And all of a sudden, the answer I had asked myself at the beginning of this interview struck me like lightning: It requires a very free man to dream up a world like Second Life!

And I was left with this picture in my mind...that Phil got up, turned off his computer, and skateboarded off into the beautiful sunset on the steep roads of San Francisco. Nothing should get in the way of this freedom, and I can only wish that someday we can all be just as free.

Thank you Phil. I won't forget.

Frolic Mills