Google and its Integration

I finally did it. I finally figured out how to be my real self and how to be my avatar, Raftwet Jewell. Google integration was a tough one for me.

In real life, I started my social media career with Yahoo many moons ago. At that time, there was nothing but a bunch of people communicating online in chat rooms and/or pseudo social media such as Yahoo's Geocities.

Remember Geocities? That was a place where I spent many hours writing and posting about my real life company. So many of my email addresses were written down in so many vanity books. There was Yahoo, of course. Google, Blogger, Twitter, Flickr, Ning, Squidoo, and so many others, that I have no memory of being in them except for the notation in those little vanity books.

When Google decided to protect us from unscrupulous bloggers, posters, and that ilk, I just was not properly prepared, even though I knew integration was coming! I had to gather a few years of user names, passwords, secret questions and locations. Trying to integrate the real world company and the virtual world avatar, was a nightmare.

So I walked away from all of the techno muck for a couple of years.  

My mind was a blur of words, photos, updates, and BS. The world has definitely changed both in virtual and real. The internet has become such a spooky boogyman. The "Monster" knows everything about us. Being fully integrated is kinda worrisome as it means that a hack can literally destroy everything.

What all of us created was a syncopated world of blogging/posting platforms. Majority of the 'stuff' is so not important to anyone. Just words and pics floating like flotsam in the wind with everyone sharing them. And, that's the real reason why social media is important. The act of sharing them.

When you share with your next door neighbor, an overwhelming feeling of comfort may envelope you. Why? You connected with a person soley with a plate of cookies. That person may share that plate of food with another person close by. Then, that other person may tell their baker down the street how awesome your cookies were to eat. And voila! That baker contacted you about a special event where he wanted someone to make cookies!

What I hope is that this simply created avatar, my precious jewel, can continue her virtual life peacefully with grace and dignity. So many great new things, like mesh,  have happened on the grid. I am also definitely looking forward to being able to access the grid with my cell phone.

2014 will go down in my memory book as the year that I took care of my avie, and all the other loose ends on the net.

Spring is coming... time to go shopping for my avatar!


Making my way through social media... again!

Posted by raftwet jewell
Photo by raftwet jewell

raftwet jewell goes on and on

I often wonder why so many of us take the time and money to participate in virtual worlds like Second Life. In the last five years, I have been diligently learning how to build, how to sell, how to get land stats, how to manage groups, how to be a resident and how to cope in here. If anyone ever told me, before I created my avatar, how hard this place could be for anyone, I might have run away from this project completely.



So much has happened in here including friendships, love, broken relationships, bad business deals, and the rest of the shenanigans in here, that I can not believe that I am still here on this grid! It's been sometimes a rocky road and sometimes smooth sailing. But... it has never been boring. Well, until now.

I don't want to expand on that thought just yet, but all of you old avis on the grid probably know what I am talking about. The grid has become... ahem... rather sanitized. Kinda. Maybe it's just because I have been here soooo long that nothing surprises me anymore. I play in here and build. I explore places and write. I go and listen to so much virtual live music that my head spins. And, when I go clubbing, I am usually bumped to death, and it is rare to receive a hello anymore from even the hosts. (Gee, you would think I wasn't registering on the grid anymore...)



But, I am ready to tackle all the stuff that gets thrown at me. I will take breathers more frequently and sometimes I might not be on the grid at all. But, I do want everyone to know this... I love this place, Second Life, more than any of you will ever know. The wonder is still here no matter how sanitized it gets, the grid is alive with imagination and artful fantasy.

Now, here I go... about to start my fifth year in 2012... raftwet jewell signing off... but only until tomorrow.

raftwet jewell = rafee jewell = me!

RAFTWET Jewell in Second Life



raftwet jewell = rafee jewell = me!, originally uploaded by rafeejewell.



OMG! Was I bored? LOL!


RAFTWET Jewell making faces in Second Life. This photo was taken on WETLands in world one day when I was goofing around with my SL animations.


I must apologize to everyone! I have been gone much of 2011 with projects in real world gaining much of my attention. I did try to network all the projects together, though. I never did forget all of you out there in the virtual world of Second Life. I really got waylaid from doing most of my duties that a lot of you have grown to know.


Everything this year was rather sporadic. I know this. I will try harder to be on the grid regularly. Maybe not everyday, but I will do my best to get here. My hat goes out to each and everyone of you... now I am heading over to THE A LIST! blog to write something over there...


RAFTWET Jewell Resources:
raftwetjewell.blogspot.com
facebook.com/rafeejewell
twitter.com/raftwetjewell
youtube.com/raftwetjewell

Raftwet Jewell in Virtual Metaverse
raftwet jewell in blogger
raftwet jewell in facebook
raftwet jewell in twitter
the a list! in second life

raftwet jewell virtual world

RAFTWET Jewell in Second Life



raftwet jewell virtual world, originally uploaded by rafeejewell.

Raftwet Jewell in Virtual Metaverse
raftwet jewell in blogger
raftwet jewell in facebook
raftwet jewell in twitter
the a list! in second life

WETLANDS in Second Life

RAFTWET Jewell in Second Life



WETLANDS in Second Life, originally uploaded by rafeejewell.




Originally, I posted this photo way back in January 2011. 2011 has not been a great year for me either in Second Life or Real Life. My birth land, Japan, was hit by a terrible earthquake this year and I watched in horror as my family home was washed away into the sea. The images were awful to watch and my heart sank as I watched everything unfold before my eyes.  Then my very good friend died along with my cat who was 12 years old.  So much has happened this year that I took a bit of a break from Second Life... just to mend!


Both of us have been very busy in real life. My partner and I have been together now in SL and RL for over three years, and we both enjoy our group, THE A LIST! very much. We do apologize for not letting many of you know about our personal status... but, that is our business... right?



Posted this for Raftwet Jewell! All content belongs to me and only me... photo from raftwet jewell flickr.

Raftwet Jewell in Virtual Metaverse
raftwet jewell in blogger
raftwet jewell in facebook
raftwet jewell in twitter
the a list! in second life

FaceBook and THE A LIST!

Many of us have taken to the social network of FaceBook. This is a network that has the majority of the world spending incredible amounts of time socializing and sharing information. Mark Zuckerberg's baby has become a must-have on the desktop, laptop and phone. So, last year, I took THE A LIST! there, too.



Second Life has an official page there with over 100,000 plus friends and users. So, it is an important network, and I would advise that you create a profile and a business page for your interests. THE A LIST! is announcing many of our notices and events there, too. FaceBook is another place to get the word out about your djs, clubs, venues, live musicians, events, artists and anything you need to tell the world.

You can also enhance our efforts by hitting the "Like" tab on each of our business pages: THE A LIST! and RAFTWET Jewell's business pages in FaceBook. We will all grow so that our numbers grow, too.

I have also set up THE A LIST! flickr group for Second Life; a place to add your photos about your own places in Second Life and the events that you want to publicize. What I will do is pump up those groups through FaceBook, Twitter, and many other social networks for your interests. The group is an invite only, but all you have to do is hit the invite, and I will add you. Please note that all photos submitted must be PG Content Only.



If you send a notice out in THE A LIST! in Second Life please make it less than 420 characters (I think that is the limit) as FaceBook does not allow longer shouts. And, if you want to send out your own shout, you can do that by just joining us there on FaceBook and do your own notice.

I will edit your shouts from the SL notices, so please make sure it has Artist Name, Time of Event, Genre, Dress Code and Where the thingy is otherwise, avatars may be confused when they see it on Twitter or Tumblr or another blog. (Update: please add slurl to your info as I may be FB'ing your notice offline through my email. Ex: [Name of your Region] (128, 128, 23)

If you send out funny characters in the notice, please note that the RSS feed will be borked. The info will not stream throughout the universe of the internet, and you will end up missing out on expanding your own networks.  Each of you want to cultivate anyone out there that might be interested in your venues and artists. Besides, I don't want to make an error in editing your important information!



If you have any questions, let me know. We (Xavi & Rafee) are both here to help!

<3 Rafee <3
RAFTWET Jewell
2011

rafee pictures and photos in second life

photos by raftwet jewell on flickr.com


rafee art photo, originally uploaded by rafeejewell.


















2011 is here and the parties continue.


2010 is now officially gone.


art, music and fashion are at the forefront of all the artists, musicians and creators for this new year.


stay tuned for more!
the lifestyles of THE A LIST!

Raftwet Jewell in Virtual Metaverse
raftwet jewell in blogger
raftwet jewell in facebook
raftwet jewell in twitter
the a list! in second life

raftwet jewell of WETLands Group

raftwet jewell is an avatar builder and networker in second life


raftwet jewell of WETLands Group, originally uploaded by rafeejewell.




I built my first sky waterfall on Bisque in 2007. The build has 
morphed many times and I placed the current version on RiverLand.




My inspiration was the sky waterfall at SL Botanical Gardens. 
The builder there has been my most favorite builder here in Second Life. 
Her region is one of the best on the grid.




My version is a bit psy and a nod to the incredible waterfalls that 
I have seen in real life. Only Mother Nature can create what I have 
seen and my pitiful attempts are just to pay homage to her.




I own WET Builders, WETLands Group, and both regions 
WETLands and RiverLand. As a builder, my focus 
is nature and water elements. Of course, this is Second Life, so I usually add a bit
of psy to the build, too.
 



All my lands on the mainland and the regions are open to the public. 
The only place that has barriers is my personal home. You are all 
welcome to everything else. Please enjoy!

Raftwet Jewell in Virtual Metaverse
raftwet jewell in blogger
raftwet jewell in facebook
raftwet jewell in twitter
the a list! in second life

Avatars United

I just joined a cool network that is a conglomeration of all virtual worlds including Second Life. Cool because we can be in there and connect both socially and in business. Avatars United. LOL! yah another spam site, another place to get messages out.

You get the drift. Create a profile, add bio, add photos, add videos (not yet), make friends and create groups. The difference is that it is in my community... where I reside and work. The avatars in Second Life are in there duplicating many of the same interests and groups that they already have in world.

Both my partner and I are there enjoying the friends and groups. We brought THE A LIST! into the network and it's been fun adding new friends to the group. I also started a group on a whim that has had a nice beginning. FOOD! is a group without any pretensions except that we all love food, recipes and tips on making our kitchen prep easier. We also recommend slurls for our favorite food creators on the grid.

There are several applications that make photos and communication easier, too. I am hoping that this beta goes smoothly as I already see problems happening with the group dynamics and photo uploads. With all of us sending suggestions and the creators monitoring our behavior, I am hoping this new network will be THE site for the virtual worlds.

And, besides, I have brought in many of the Lindens onto my friends list there... even former CEO, Phil Linden. OMG! Seriously... and I hope it is actually him behind that profile representation. Hee hee!

JAPAN RESORT is my ...

Japan Resort is my home away from home. It's been three years since I found this little island on the Second Life grid. I still remember how I found it...

The first week of my SL experience, I spent time doing searches for my favorite subjects and places. Of course, I looked for anything Japanese or asian related. Japan Resort was at the top of the searches, so I tp'ed into the sim.



A vast expanse of beach with a small sign proclaiming "Japan Resort" rezzed in front of me. Next to the rezz area was a little ice cream stand with a simple chair. A bunch of avatars were just standing around there chatting. Some were dressed as fierce cyber warriors or dragons or creatures. Most were in regular clothes like me.

Off in the distance, I could see a tiki bar, hammocks and rafts near the beach side. And, a lifeguard station with surf boards and wind surfers were nearby. As I walked along the beach, I saw a pink cherry blossom tree with a pool and spa across the way. Many avatars were sitting in the pool and chatting away with each other. The event area is always a party zone with people stopping in for a dance or just to meet others.

I met my best friend here at Japan Resort. And, I also met my first love here. I have met so many people at Japan Resort that I could possibly say that my closest and dearest relationships were all formed here.

JR is a simple place without the fanfare of much of the grid. But, the place is more complex that any other... why? Because it is a place of real relationships and real people... a gathering place of international people reaching out for fun and human contact.

Thank you Japan Resort for all these years of fun!