Chronicles of a Noob
For the past few years, I’ve happily been a resident in the online Metaverse IMVU. IMVU, to me, is the greatest instant messenger ever invented! It allows you to chat instantly with people from around the world, while giving you a sexy avatar and great fashion to boot. With so many years of living a virtual double life and a big time investment into my avatar, I became a full fledged IMVU lifer years ago but now, after losing my “Noob” status in IMVU, I've recently decided I want it back. To join Second Life (SL) and compare the differences between IMVU and SL from a users perspective.
If you are not familiar with the terminology of a virtual existence, you may not know what a “Noob” is. My guess is that if you are reading this however, you do! But if by some off chance you don’t let me explain. Using the definition provided by the Urban Dictionary, a "Noob" is deemed to be a person of “little intelligence.” In a virtual world calling someone a Noob is a sign of frustration. Although this may seem harsh, if you have ever been a resident in a virtual community you already know "intelligence" means " knowledge of the gaming system. "Noobs" lack this knowledge which can make socializing much harder for them and daily users.
Now that I’ve reclaimed my “noob” status in SL. I have been exploring SL for 6 months, and let me say it has been an adventure. Walking is great, and it’s nice to give your typing fingers a break with voice conversations something IMVU got rid of years ago, which I miss. I've obtain some privacy to figure out how to “get it together” with a SL premium membership. The membership provides a home and and a few -and I emphasize a few- lindens to allow me to add content to my inventory. Now having a basic space for dressing (Free in IMVU), and Lindens to dress with I've been able to create an avatar that I like and one that I feel will get me moving toward erasing my "Noobieness" in my new SL.
Avatar Wars
Battle of the Beauties, Who serves fashion and body better SL or IMVU Avatars?