Telegraph: Council Scraps £36,000 Virtual Town Hall In Second Life.

[CrashConnoisseur]

'Council scraps £36,000 virtual town hall in Second Life':

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/internet/7901312/Council-scraps-36000-virtual-town-hall-in-Second-Life.html

Tameside Council, in Greater Manchester, 'rented' an island in the virtual world of Second Life and built a computerised town hall, hoping it would encourage users to access local authority services.

But the project has been abandoned after council chiefs admitted they could not justify the cost.

Maybe they should have kept it and sold the real one?

[porca misèria]

Maybe they should have kept it and sold the real one?

Who's going to suggest that to the Westminster Boys Club?

[Ah-so]

'Council scraps £36,000 virtual town hall in Second Life':

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/internet/7901312/Council-scraps-36000-virtual-town-hall-in-Second-Life.html

Maybe they should have kept it and sold the real one?

Utter stupity. As if jpeople are incapable or unlikely to visit their council website unless it is jazzed up in some way. Even if you are a 2nd life user (younger members may not remember the fad) you are hardly likely to want to go to a virtual town hall.

although this is an extreme case, it appears that the government thinks that we are obsessed with accessing local services online as though it is something that we have a constant need for. You can imagine the earnest council brainstorming sessions with plenty of powerpoint presentations as they find ways for the community to increase access to local services electronically. Same goes for central government with its patronising "Direct.gov.uk" website and campaign.

In reality, the council website needs a few links, with things like, "Bins and Rubbish", "Library opening times" and "Parking Fine Appeals".

[ExecutiveSlaveBox]

'Council scraps £36,000 virtual town hall in Second Life':

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/internet/7901312/Council-scraps-36000-virtual-town-hall-in-Second-Life.html

Maybe they should have kept it and sold the real one?

Second life, or "sadville" as the register so lovingly calls it, is dying on it's ars3. They may as well have have burnt the money for all the use it would do.

[Guest Noodle]

'Council scraps £36,000 virtual town hall in Second Life':

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/internet/7901312/Council-scraps-36000-virtual-town-hall-in-Second-Life.html

Maybe they should have kept it and sold the real one?

Did it have digital hookers giving binary blow jobs round the back?

[Bloo Loo]

I think a round of real pay cuts and redundancies for these virtual non jobs is in order.

DELETE> DELETE>DELETE!

[Guest Noodle]

I think a round of real pay cuts and redundancies for these virtual non jobs is in order.

DELETE> DELETE>DELETE!

These stories kind of give me hope. If the cash was being burnt mostly on such crap, it shouldn't be too hard to get back in the black or somewhere near.

[200p]

Utter stupity. As if jpeople are incapable or unlikely to visit their council website unless it is jazzed up in some way. Even if you are a 2nd life user (younger members may not remember the fad) you are hardly likely to want to go to a virtual town hall.

although this is an extreme case, it appears that the government thinks that we are obsessed with accessing local services online as though it is something that we have a constant need for. You can imagine the earnest council brainstorming sessions with plenty of powerpoint presentations as they find ways for the community to increase access to local services electronically. Same goes for central government with its patronising "Direct.gov.uk" website and campaign.

In reality, the council website needs a few links, with things like, "Bins and Rubbish", "Library opening times" and "Parking Fine Appeals".

Haha brainstorm flipchart sessions. Don't forget to say at the beginning "The mind is like a parachute - it works only when it is open".

Ah well someone must have received their bonus "special recognition awards" for the Virtual town hall idea.

The Big Lie continues.

[Tonkers]

I am sorry, but working for the council is never going to be trendy or cutting edge, it is no place for your ego trip. We don't need techies and consultants with their expensive bells and whistles, we need it to be dull and functional, that's all.

Second Life, good god.

[Meat Puppet]

Utter stupity. As if jpeople are incapable or unlikely to visit their council website unless it is jazzed up in some way. Even if you are a 2nd life user (younger members may not remember the fad) you are hardly likely to want to go to a virtual town hall.

although this is an extreme case, it appears that the government thinks that we are obsessed with accessing local services online as though it is something that we have a constant need for. You can imagine the earnest council brainstorming sessions with plenty of powerpoint presentations as they find ways for the community to increase access to local services electronically. Same goes for central government with its patronising "Direct.gov.uk" website and campaign.

In reality, the council website needs a few links, with things like, "Bins and Rubbish", "Library opening times" and "Parking Fine Appeals".

The two main reasons people visit council websites are to look for a job or to apply for council housing.

[Executive Sadman]

Wasnt second life another one of these things the BBC inexplicably markets with lots of covert reports and segments? Spotify was another one. Ive never met anyone who uses it, yet the BBC ran dozens of things on it 6 months or so ago. Do they have shares in it? Is the founder a friend of BBC chiefs?

[deflation]

The two main reasons people visit council websites are to look for a job or to apply for council housing.

I use my council's website to search the library database, reserve and renew books frequently. The opening times of all the services such as the recycling centre (i.e. the 'tip') and print off the calendar showing the collection days for garden rubbish and the paper, bottles etc.

I can't speak for the others but Dudley Council's website is OK, some useful stuff on there. You can download forms for all sorts of stuff like garages, report noise nuisance, etc.

No I don't work for them!

[SarahBell]

can everyone spread the news on this one too. Facebook/twitter etc - get everyone really angry about this insane waste!

[togger]

But the council workers need somewhere to do their virtual jobs...

[Lone_Twin]

Wasnt second life another one of these things the BBC inexplicably markets with lots of covert reports and segments? Spotify was another one. Ive never met anyone who uses it, yet the BBC ran dozens of things on it 6 months or so ago. Do they have shares in it? Is the founder a friend of BBC chiefs?

I agree second life is balls but spotify is exellent.

Most of my friends use it, excellent free service.

[Byron]

Utter stupity. As if jpeople are incapable or unlikely to visit their council website unless it is jazzed up in some way. Even if you are a 2nd life user (younger members may not remember the fad) you are hardly likely to want to go to a virtual town hall.

although this is an extreme case, it appears that the government thinks that we are obsessed with accessing local services online as though it is something that we have a constant need for. You can imagine the earnest council brainstorming sessions with plenty of powerpoint presentations as they find ways for the community to increase access to local services electronically. Same goes for central government with its patronising "Direct.gov.uk" website and campaign.

In reality, the council website needs a few links, with things like, "Bins and Rubbish", "Library opening times" and "Parking Fine Appeals".

The reason for this is JOBS.

What is happening is that the local authority workers are underemployed.

Their managers, having a commercial ethic obviously want to drum up business.

It never crosses their mind that as a public service, they only need to satisfy existing demand.

So, they whinge that having created all these superflous unneeded services, nobody appears to want them.

What we need is a new City Hall ethic,

Services should be pared to the bone, and only retained where there is a reasonable demand.

Nonsense such as swimming lessons for OAPs etc. should go. The Council and Social Services need a divorce, quick.

I am pretty sure that if councillors held local referendums on what services to retain, they would have some nasty shocks from the Tax paying public, and a lot of their pet schemes would go to the wall. After all, most of them are not instigated as a result of real demand, but artificial demand created by election promises (Bribes to you and me)

[Darkman]

£36,000??

The point of second life is it's cheap "land" and "property", obviously because.... it isn't real.

How in the name of Allah did they spend 36K?

[darwin]

Wasnt second life another one of these things the BBC inexplicably markets with lots of covert reports and segments? Spotify was another one. Ive never met anyone who uses it, yet the BBC ran dozens of things on it 6 months or so ago. Do they have shares in it? Is the founder a friend of BBC chiefs?

Spotify's really good. Try it.

[Tonkers]

Spotify's really good. Try it.

i prefer We7 - and it's British.

[StainlessSteelCat]

Second Life was always rubbish. My bosses and colleagues were always trying to interest me in it as the company's web bod. Oddly enough I never found anyone who actually worked on the web who thought it was much cop. It was too much like real life in that it cost you to do anything of interest and you never actually owned anything there - it was all rented and/or controlled by the company who ran it (who could make it instantly disappear if they felt like it). And there was nothing to stop someone else doing exactly the same meaning you'd also have to have a presence on 3rd, 4th....nth life as well.

My favourite story is going to a presentation given by a well known charity that invested £10K and lots of time in a fundraising presence on 2nd life. Grossed about £100. Quite good PR though - as the Beeb and Guardian covered it. It was presented like somekind of success story (apparently it raised the equivalent of an average coffee morning).

I do think we are about due for virtual reality to reappear on the web (remember VRML anyone?) but to succeed it needs to recognise that most people are not interested in spending a minute or so steering themselves to a location when they could just click a link.

[porca misèria]

My favourite story is going to a presentation given by a well known charity that invested £10K and lots of time in a fundraising presence on 2nd life.

Name and shame!

[CrashConnoisseur]

Nonsense such as swimming lessons for OAPs etc. should go.

It's not nonsense at all. Swimming is the best exercise for elderley people as the water takes the weight off the joints. If it enables people to remain independent and keeps just a few out of hospital it may well save a lot of money. Also such sessions are run at times when the pool would be little used (but still heated) so it does make economic sense.

[CrashConnoisseur]

How in the name of Allah did they spend 36K?

Since it's Oldham it most likely was in the name of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). From the article...

Figures obtained through a Freedom of Information request submitted by Tameside blogger Liam Billington have revealed the full cost of the experiment.

The authority paid £3,250 for initial workshops on the project and almost £17,000 to IT company Second Places to develop the island - including computerised landscaping and an events arena.

It also handed over almost £10,000 to the company for rental of the virtual land and management of the project, £6,000 for a virtual museum and £400 for a statue.

Edited July 24, 2010 by CrashConnoisseur

[Guest Skinty]

I'm actually working with Second Life at the moment for my job.

The amount of empty islands out there where people have decided to recreate an entire university campus for whatever reason in-world is quite astounding. And they're always empty. People still think that they should just translate existing technology when new technology comes along. It's like digital cameras essentially being the same as film cameras but with a digital sensor instead, ignoring for many years all the other potential advantages there could be of having onboard electronics for example.

Second life does have it's uses. And the main use is the same one that spurs on every other technology that is successful, i.e sexual gratification. As with most new forms of technology, the first people who come out with it aren't the ones who make it a real success. And not to mention that technology most often evolves to be used for something other than what it was originally designed for. Second Life has given rise to OpenSim for example, a clunky open source equivalent of it with far fewer people using it, but with a whole world of possibilities for it to be used for something completely different.

Feel free to write off Linden Labs but don't write off the technology. It will evolve into something in the near future. Yes I remember VRML (now X3d). I still use it actually but it failed to be the 3D web which was what it was designed for. Some off-spring of OpenSim could well be though.

Edited July 24, 2010 by Skinty

[Angela]

My parents live in this area and pay their council tax to Tameside. My dad is a veteran bowler and has been trying to get the council to pay for cctv in his local park because vandals burned down their clubhouse and constantly ruin the greens. Getting the new clubhouse has been slow going and I'm not sure it will happen. Even if it does it won't be protected. I told him about this 'imaginary townhall', needless to say he is spitting feathers and telling everyone he knows!

Oh I did suggest they buy him an 'imaginary second life clubhouse', he was not amused :-)

Edited July 24, 2010 by Angela