Youth Venture

December 8, 2007 - 7:19am — Totem

TGS

Hey, thank you everyone for you awesome posts in the guest book. I really appreciate it!
This post is the blog for the D.I.D.I Initiative Blog Week.

I am a programmer and I am almost entirely self taught. This took some work and lots of book reading and over the years I have learned basic skills in almost every field of computer science, from 3D modeling to texturing to photo editing to web design, as well as knowledge of over eight programming languages. All the time I see people who really want to get into computer technology but have no idea how. They will ask other people to teach them, or they will try to find a book. But a lot of the time, computer books are not meant for teens and adults who have no knowledge of the topic. Then the books that are focused towards this audience only cover the surface of computer science, such as how to program in Alice, a drag and drop 3D programming environment.
If and when people manage to break this boundary and they become skilled enough to create content that can actually be utilized by other people, a lot of time I see these developers and they have no idea what to do next. Should they save up and buy a spot in Second Life to sell their things? Should they get a website and sell things on there? How should they raise public awareness about what they can do?
My venture idea is to set up a set of resources that allow software and content developers to move to the next level, or just get to the first level. These resources would include classrooms for workshops, directories that list prominent freelancers in the grid, mall space at a low cost to developers selling quality products, and many other resources that could help developers advance through their career. We would have a headquarters in Second Life that would house the classrooms, include theaters, a consultant contacting program, etc.
I want this venture to be a resource that anyone trying to create content in and out of Second Life could go to for any of their development needs.

Second Life and other metaverses like it are the platform of our future. Already colleges are transitioning to classes being held through Second Life. As our world moves more and more towards this digital medium, it will become increasingly important that teens in our generation know how to transverse Second Life and other metaverses, as well as improve them for others to enjoy and utilize.