Global Kids' Online Leadership Program

OPENING

Barry GKid: Welcome everyone
Blue Linden: Happy Rezday GKids :)
Barry GKid: We just announced to those on GK island
Barry GKid: that we will be carrying on the interview in this IM window
Barry GKid: For that to work, I must ask that unless you are Blue or Philip or myself, you refrain from posting in here during the interview
Barry GKid: If you would like to come to the island, please tp Mercury Metropolitan
Chilko Tardis: sims full
Barry GKid: Because it is full, we are going to hold the conversation here
Barry GKid: but only if people agree not to post here. So please understand, for the next 45 minutes, if anyone else posts here me might need to remove you from the Global Kids group.

Philip Linden: I was just saying that I wonder how long it took for the main grid to get as big as the current teen grid.
Blue Linden: A couple years perhaps Philip
Philip Linden: Yes I think so.
Philip Linden: Something like that.
Blue Linden: TG is just over 2 years old
Barry GKid: Philip! Blue! Thank you so much for coming today
Philip Linden: Thanks you guys.

Philip Linden: It was never really a 'game' to me.
Philip Linden: I just wanted to build this place.
1000 Carlos: Second Life is more than a 'game' it's well.. a life
Dude Coldstream: well, its become a real second life to many

Barry GKid: So, let's begin!
Barry GKid: We thought an excellent way for Global Kids to celebrate our first year in TSl was to ask you questions about what has come before and what is to be
Philip Linden: Sure!
Barry GKid: We have asked teens questions they want to ask
Barry GKid: so for the next 30 minutes I would like to ask you both these questions
Barry GKid: and then open it up for new questions
Barry GKid: and if you have a new question in the audience please send them to Mariel Voyunicef
Barry GKid: Before we begin, is there anything either of you would like to say?
Philip Linden: Well I would just say thanks for having me here.
Philip Linden: it has been so crazy for the company that I haven't had as much time in-world as I would like.
Barry GKid: the residents miss you :-)

PAST

Barry GKid: What did you think when you first thought about the idea for a separate grid for teens? Where did the idea come from?
Philip Linden: Well let me remember...
Philip Linden: Basically we didn't really know how Second Life would shape up.
Philip Linden: And we were afraid that without understanding how people would behave better
Philip Linden: we might be better off separating teens from others.
Philip Linden: And I looked at Whyville, and it seemed like they had a cool idea...
Philip Linden: just asking the teens to turn on the adults...
Philip Linden: and a proof that this worked pretty well.
Philip Linden: So we went with that for a start, and that is the teen grid.
Blue Linden: hehe...yes teens have been extremely protective of their space
Philip Linden: At a high level we don't even want to separate anyone from anyone.
Philip Linden: So now that we have more experience, we are thinking about how to also create the option to have everyone together.
Barry GKid: In what way?
Philip Linden: Well I think it would be great if there could be an area with all ages, but no mature content.
Philip Linden: And I think we can make that work.
Philip Linden: We have so much more experience now.
Philip Linden: I think that where we are today... a place for only teens...
Philip Linden: makes sense too. It is up to you.
Blue Linden: Yes, there has been a lot of thinking along those lines. There will be much work to do before we know we can get there successfully

Barry GKid: Alpha Zaius asks, Why did you call your company, Linden" lab?"
Philip Linden: We called the company 'Linden' because I started it in a warehouse in an alley... 'Linden Alley'. Here in San Francisco.
Blue Linden: Hehe, I've still never found Linden Alley, need to look harder ;P
Philip Linden: You can look it up on googlemaps... 333 Linden, SF
Philip Linden: It is in hayes Valley near Hayes and Gough.
Philip Linden: It is also a cool word... a tree... some neat mythology.
Blue Linden: Yes, it's the Buddha tree :)

Barry GKid: How has the teen grid grown differently than the main grid? Do teens use TSL different than adults use the main grid?
Philip Linden: Frankly, I don't think they do.
Philip Linden: There is a sort of mythology that teens and adults live different lives.
Philip Linden: SL shows that for the most part they really don't.
Philip Linden: I always thought that was funny.
Blue Linden: Agreed....much of what goes on is so very similar.
Philip Linden: Folks on the main grid suggested that teens wouldn't build things for example...
Philip Linden: that was clearly ridiculous.
Barry GKid: They must have been surprised. :-)
1000 Carlos: We've proven that statement wrong
Barry GKid: Were you? Have the teens used SL in ways that were unexpected?
Ty Dejavu: Go us. =)
Philip Linden: Yeah I remember feeling a certain satisfaction when the teen grid became interesting just as quickly as the main.
Blue Linden: My collection of teen avs is highly coveted at MG meetings
Philip Linden: And the amount of fighting, etc, was about the same.

Barry GKid: Given that teens have used the SL tools in similar ways to the adults, I wonder if you have noticed the grid being shaped differently since it was coming from a youth voice?
Philip Linden: I don't feel like I've been here enough. Blue?
Blue Linden: I think the cultural differences are mostly stylistic
Blue Linden: there's a bit more Anime influence here
Blue Linden: but the functionality remains the same
Blue Linden: Multi-tools, land barons etc etc
Blue Linden: these things are universal to SL

Barry GKid: How are the economics that support the teen grid different than the business model underlying the main grid?
Blue Linden: the economics are surprisingly similar
Barry GKid: Please say more. In what way?
Philip Linden: Yes the economics are basically identical, in every way I am aware.
Blue Linden: lack of credit cards make it harder for many teens, but that's mostly a scale issue
Blue Linden: there is still a robust consumer vs. creator interaction
Philip Linden: I haven't checked on stats like producers/consumers, etc, but I'd be surprised to see a difference.
Blue Linden: and millions of L$ are transacted per month here on TG
Blue Linden: just between residents
Philip Linden: In general SL has an enormous diversity of content creators, I don't think it is different here.
Barry GKid: Well, I guess I mean the economics for Linden Lab. Since teens have less money does that effect the funding Linden receives from the grid, or the resources you can allocate to it?
Philip Linden: Oh, that.
Philip Linden: Yes, last I checked, I think the teen grid had less % landowners.
Blue Linden: Yes, quite a bit fewer
Philip Linden: But the concurrency isn't much different/acre, so that means the costs are the same to us.
Philip Linden: it is possible that support costs are different, but I'm not aware of it.
Blue Linden: It's been interesting to see the proportion of private sim owners grow
Philip Linden: So we really aren't going to do anything different here based on economics.
Blue Linden: so it could very well be that in the next year, island ownership by individuals as well as edu/non-profits like Gkids becomes the primary business model for TG

PRESENT

Barry GKid: Blue can you say a bit about current demographics of the grid and where it is projected?
Philip Linden: Blue do you know the average age or gender breakout?
Philip Linden: I don't have those stats for the teen grid.
Blue Linden: TG is 75% male....average age is 15.5
Philip Linden: I only know them for the entire grid. Average age = 32, 43% of concurrent users are female.
Philip Linden: The concurrent female teen % is probably higher.
Philip Linden: On the main grid, women use SL more than men on an hours basis.

Barry GKid: Mariel Voyunicef asks, Is the TG going to expand culturally" as in terms of promotion in non-English-speaking countries? I saw a reportage on local news (Mexico City) about SL, but it focused on adults+MG, so I'd like to know if it will be popular for teens as well."
Philip Linden: There isn't any restriction on TG growth based on country,
Philip Linden: but probably we need better web pages.
Philip Linden: I'm not sure if we have localized the download TG pages... probably not.
Philip Linden: We'll get to it.
Blue Linden: New identify verification methods will help to expand TG to countries not so Credit Card oriented
Blue Linden: Yeah, currently website is in English only...we could stand to work on that hehe

Barry GKid: Mariel asks, Given the male majority on TSL, are LL going to target girls specifically to get a more balanced population, or is it not a priority?
Philip Linden: That is a good point Zach... we were just trying to be protective of you, but probably matters less now and with open source.
Philip Linden: We've never really 'targeted' anyone, frankly.
Philip Linden: Our media comes to us, we don't really seek it out.
Claudia Linden: (There are some groups working on projects for girls in Second Life...coming soon).

princeszELLIE Jaxa: philip how old are u?
Philip Linden: I am 38 years old.
princeszELLIE Jaxa: NICE! can i have ur autograph now
Philip Linden: When I was a teenager I most mostly programming :)

Barry GKid: When the main grid dropped credit cards last summer as a requirement, the same occurred for a short time in the teen grid. During that time I understand non-US teen residents increased
Barry GKid: But then it was reinstituted to be able to keep the grid safe. Can you comment on that?
Blue Linden: Because credit cards are hard for teens to get, that's a limit....during the brief period when they were not required, signups jumped
Philip Linden: Yep the credit cards are pretty effective in helping only have teens register.
Blue Linden: we're working on some really cool ID verification methods for all of SL that will benefit teens most
Philip Linden: I realize it isn't ideal. Like Blue said we are working on a cool new age verify system.

Barry GKid: What role do you see for adults in the teen grid? What role have orgs like GK played and what role can we play in the future? How do you decide who gets islands in TSL and who does not?
Philip Linden: We will give out islands as quickly as we have capacity to process them.
Blue Linden: as far as who gets islands, we do want to make sure that people coming to TG add value, but we don't have a strict set of rules
Blue Linden: we've never turned down a request, because people interested are usually working on cool projects
Barry GKid: Are there orgs whom you would not sell and island to, for ethical reasons?
Philip Linden: That is a good question... about ethics.
Blue Linden: Yeah, that is a good one
Philip Linden: We are very principled about making the world a better place by connecting people and empowering them.
Philip Linden: I guess if someone wanted space that was radically opposed to those principles, we might say no.
Philip Linden: But we are also very aggressive about preserving freedom in SL, which means being very open and open minded.
Blue Linden: Luckily we haven't had to make a call like that

Trevor Ball: How much do you get paid working as a linden?
Philip Linden: We get paid mostly an unlimited supply of beef and turkey jerky.
Blue Linden: oh yah, Jerky :D
Blue Linden: tofu Jerky
Philip Linden: Fruit, lot's of fruit.
Blue Linden: and Bagels on Monday which rocks

EDUCATION IN TEEN SECOND LIFE

Barry GKid: Another teen asks: Do you think that, now that educational projects are growing on the TG, people will see TSL more as an educational place than one to have fun?
Philip Linden: I will be very surprised if there are not very cool new ways to learn on the grid soon.
Philip Linden: I personally can remember being very bored in school.
Ty Dejavu: me too
Tas Zenith: same
Ty Dejavu: cept im still in school 0
Tas Zenith: lol
Philip Linden: And I think about how much faster I could have learned things here... seems like a big opportunity.

Barry GKid: Can you say more about the expansion of educational, adult-owned sims on the TSL, like Global kids, and the impact it has had on the community?
Blue Linden: I should point out that Global Kids pioneered all education on TG....helped us learn a lot in the process :)
Blue Linden: There have been other groups that have started using TG for edu and non-profit projects and they've basically benefited from GKids work
Philip Linden: Well I'd like to see things like what GK is doing expand as fast as possible.

Barry GKid: Savion Willsmere asks, I see a lot of new sims made by the lindens what will be the plans of those?
Philip Linden: We've been just overloaded here... hence the slow speed on some of these things.
Philip Linden: But the possibilities for educational applications, and education sims attached to TG seem big.
Blue Linden: We're all very big supporters of the idea of SL as great educational tool :)

Barry GKid: What do you see teens learning as they play in Second Life?
Blue Linden: I always call SL the greatest creative tool ever made available for free so I consider collaborative creativity to be something teens learn here
Blue Linden: it's not always as easy in RL to get 20 people on a team to create something amazing

FUTURE:

Barry GKid: Tads Vollmar asks Could you please ask if you could from me if the TG is ever going to get as big as the main grid?
Philip Linden: Well the TG is already bigger than the main grid 2 years in.
Philip Linden: TG will only get bigger than the main if there are more teens wanting to use SL than adults.
Blue Linden: hehe, TG growth will apwws up over time as well :)
Philip Linden: And that is an interesting question I don't know the answer to.

Barry GKid: nik385 Doesburg asks: It's undeniable, the TG has a large number of foreign players, some not speaking english, isnt there a way to bring a translator over from the main grid, or integrate one into the SL client?
Philip Linden: Wow blue we should definitely get some translators here. Good point.

Barry GKid: Scott Deharo asks, Where do you see the teen grid in 1 year?
Philip Linden: I wish I knew where things would be in a year!
Blue Linden: I think it's safe to say that in a year there will be twice as many people on TG....that's looking at how the MG grew when it was 2 years old
Philip Linden: Like SL, I think we will look a lot better graphically, hopefully have better search tools, and crash less!
Philip Linden: Yes it is very likely >2X as large.

Barry GKid: What would you like to see in TSL, that is possible, but hasn't occurred yet?
Philip Linden: I'd like to see the same improvements I'd like to see on the main grid.
Barry GKid: Like what?
Philip Linden: Better physics, voice, HTML
Philip Linden: things like that.
Barry GKid: Those three reflect many of the questions we have been receiving to ask, about those three things
Barry GKid: So clearly the teens agree
Barry GKid: Blue?
Blue Linden: yes, I get questions about those things regularly
Philip Linden: We will move to the latest version of Havok, yes.
Philip Linden: That is correct.

Barry GKid: And for both of you, any disappointments with the teen grid? Things you would like to see less
Blue Linden: not really barry....have primarily been excited by the Teen Grid. Lots of enthusiasm here...

Barry GKid: What role do you see for youth in actively shaping the future development of the teen grid, not just through objects they build and activities they run, but in shaping the public policies that drive the grid?
Philip Linden: I see no difference between ages in shaping policy.
Philip Linden: And, of course, we try to have as little policy as we can.
Philip Linden: Better to let you all decide.

Barry GKid: Ryou Debs asks, I have a lot of friends that I'd like to get into SL. They’re all into MySpace, and their profiles. I've heard quite a bit about the SL profiles becoming much like that of a MySpace Profile some day. But the problem is, SL only runs on high end machines. Will there be a day when SL min requirements will be dumbed down?
Blue Linden: I think open sourcing the client leads to people's ability to develop aspects of SL on other platforms
Blue Linden: someone could very well make a small SL client that runs on any machine, or even mobile devices

Barry GKid: Paul Zapotocky asks What kind of new projects will be coming on existing or new sims?
Blue Linden: most of the exciting projects come from people like Gkids and not LL itself....the residents create many of the truly compelling experiences
Barry GKid: Claudia - great to see you. Is there anything you would like to add to all that has been said so far?
Claudia Linden: Just to say how much I have enjoyed working with all of you.
Barry GKid: Aw!

Barry GKid: At what rate are new island coming in from adults in the teen grid and what are your thoughts about how that will impact the youth-only aspect of the community as more approved-adults like GK come in?
Philip Linden: I'll let blue answer that one... I don't know.
Blue Linden: a number of projects that buy islands are closed....single classes for example
Blue Linden: but those that are open to teens are OPT IN only
Blue Linden: so they won't impact the TG Mainland at all....teens can choose to engage them
Blue Linden: or choose to ignore them completely

Barry GKid: A year from now - if I can dare to ask you to make such a bold prediction - what might we look back and say “Wow, I never expected THAT to happen in the teen grid! But I am sure glad it did”?
Philip Linden: I've got a dream... don't know if it will be in a year :)
Blue Linden: hmmm...How about I never expected the President to speak to the TG
Philip Linden: What if most of what we thought of as 'school' today... happened in here instead?
Tas Zenith: omg that would rock
Ty Dejavu: awesome
Dereck Drebin: That would be awesome
Zack Voom: Awesome.
Scott Deharo: that'd bee awsome, if we didnt have to go to school
Tads Vollmar: awesome
Barry GKid: For many of those home schooled that GK works with in TSL, it already does.
Philip Linden: If you look at how people are studying SL in developing countries... where schools are terrible... it could happen.
Philip Linden: And if it happens there, it could rapidly be a model for other countries.
Philip Linden: Imagine that.

CLOSING

Barry GKid: Thank you both for spending your time this afternoon/night/morning speaking with TSL residents at the Global Kids birthday party
Philip Linden: OK, it was great to be here.
Barry GKid: Would either of you like any final words before we bring this to a close?
Philip Linden: Some good things for me to think about.
Philip Linden: These were good questions.
Philip Linden: Take care.
Mercury Metropolitan: Thank you both very much for taking time out of your busy schedules to be here!
Andrew Montagne: Thanks phil
Dereck Drebin: You need to visi more often
Philip Linden: I will try and visit more. Point taken.
Philip Linden: Take care everyone.
Barry GKid: All questions not asked, and the transcript of this interview, will appear on our blog Http://www.holymeatballs.org
Blue Linden: Thanks for having us :)
Ace Amat: Thank you very much for taking the time to visit us here on this Teen Grid. We hope for you guys to visit more
Barry GKid: Thank you both
Scott Deharo: thANKS MR. PRESIDENT
Blue Linden: look forward to another year of GKids. Keep up the good work guys :)
Barry GKid: Night everyone!