Archive - 2008
January 12th
Organizing Edwards Volunteers in Connecticut
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Sat, 01/12/2008 - 16:27Last month, Kim spent a lot of time working on getting volunteers to head up to canvas in New Hampshire. After the New Hampshire primary was over, she started her new job working for Common Cause. At Common Cause, she needs to be non-partisan, so I’m picking up where she left off.
On February 5th, voters from Connecticut will go to the polls to vote for their candidates in the Democratic Presidential primary. If the race were simply decided by who can raise the most money or get the most media coverage, we have a two-person race. Those candidates have strong organizations here in Connecticut as well. However, if you want the candidate with the strongest message who is most capable of bringing about the change we need in Washington you need to look at the other candidate who has finished in the top three in both Iowa and New Hampshire, John Edwards.
January 11th
Moral Victories
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Fri, 01/11/2008 - 10:56Last night, I spent some time with Ned Lamont as he spoke to folks in Second Life. There were many supporters who showed up, people who had been moved by Ned’s campaign. As I reflected back on 2006, it struck me that perhaps we are undervaluing moral victories.
We all want to get agents of change elected. We may factor ‘electablity’ into our calculations. Clearly ‘electability’ is a factor, but people can make big changes without being elected.
Let’s take a couple of examples. Who do you think are the politicians that have had the biggest positive effect on our country?
January 10th
The continuing discussion about the banking crisis in Second Life
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Thu, 01/10/2008 - 16:34This afternoon there was a special session of Metanomics held to discuss the radical shift in policy that Linden Lab has taken to regulate Second Life Banks. Participating in the discussion were IntLibber Brautigan, head of Ancapistan Capital Exchange (ACE) and Brautigan & Tuck Holdings (BNT), Travis Ristow, head of BCX Bank, Benjamin Noble of Virtually Blind, Jillian Barth of Saxo Bank.
The main room filled up completely and there were seven alternative sites. The discussion was also broadcast on SLCN.TV. The amount of interest was so great that the bandwidth was overwhelmed and most people could not hear the feed. Numerous people called for the event to be rescheduled. It was noted that a full clear archive would be available after the broadcast. However, this did not address the issues of audience participation.
Numerous people are working on arranging sessions to discuss the broadcast once a clean version is available on the SLCN site. Details about the session will be posted as soon as the times and locations are determined.
A Medium of Exchange
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Thu, 01/10/2008 - 13:46That is how Merriam-Websters defines “currency” and provides an interesting framework for understanding the issues of currency in Second Life. Beyond currency, we need to think about what it is based on and how it is transmitted, all of this will can help put the latest decision by Linden Lab about banking into perspective.
Further reflections on Second Life Economics
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Thu, 01/10/2008 - 10:17What does the change in banking policy mean for Second Life? It is a question a lot of people are asking and no one seems to know. One person was told by a Linden that companies will not be able to provide dividends on their stocks. Another person was told that companies will still be allowed to make loans, which pay interest. Exchanges are still waiting for official feedback from Linden Lab.
The bigger question is how do we understand the “currency” of Second Life, which Linden Labs describes as “a limited license right available for purchase or free distribution at Linden Lab's discretion” Can or should banking regulatory agencies be expected to regulate the borrowing or lending of such rights? If so, then these rights should not be controlled at Linden Lab’s discretion.
At 11 AM, SLT, today, Metanomics, together with the Investment Education Team will hold a special event to address Linden Lab’s ‘a radical shift in policy’ regarding banks. I expect it to be a lively discussion and I hope many people attend. Details can be found here.
