interview | Brandy Rasmuson

Posted on October 17, 2009 by Ana Lutetia | No Comments

Water’s Edge, originally uploaded by Brandy Rasmuson.

Leaving, originally uploaded by Brandy Rasmuson.

1 – How did you discover Second Life and what made you create an account?
I was in a grad program for instructional technology, and I found out the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) had a presence in Second Life. I’d heard about SL years ago, but for some reason I’d never tried it out. I signed up in 2007 thinking that I’d use SL for academic/career networking, but that never really happened.

2 – How did you come up with your Second Life name?
Brandy is my RL first name, so there’s no interesting story there except my mom named me after one of her favorite songs “Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl)” by Looking Glass. I guess because I intended to do professional networking through SL, it just made sense to me to use my real first name. I knew as soon as I saw the last name Rasmuson that it was the perfect fit because it’s also the name on the university library where I spent so much of my undergrad years. I also just like the way Brandy Rasmuson sounds.

3 – Lots of people only stay inSL for a week or a month after creating an account. What made you stay and what motivates you to log back in?
I signed up for SL in February 2007, but I didn’t actually go in-world until late May when work and school had slowed down a bit. I’d done some reading in that time, so when I did sign in, I wasn’t completely clueless. I bought $10 worth of lindens to make myself look presentable and went exploring. I somehow found Caledon early on, and my love of Victorian England and steampunk won out over the possibility of networking, so most of my early SL time was spent in Caledon and related areas.
The exploration and dress-up was enough to keep me at first, and then I made friends who continue to be a big part of why I’m in SL. Now I also sign in for the creative outlet of making things, something I never expected to do in SL. One should never underestimate the encouragement of best friends.

4 – What have you been doing in SL?
I spend a lot of time lately hanging out in the sky over Covet, the sim I co-own with my closest friends. I have a shop there called Shine where I sell accessories and eyes. It’s fun to see people wearing things I make, and I like sharing a work area with friends so we can see each other’s projects. If I’m not doing something on Covet, then I’m probably shopping, exploring and taking photos, or hanging out at a concert.

5 – Have you found, developed or improved any skills because of SL?
I most definitely have. I had some basic knowledge of Photoshop before SL, but I’ve learned so much more since being in SL. Just looking at the first eyes I made and comparing them to my latest eyes shows how much I’ve learned, and the more I learn, the more I want to learn. And I never would have even looked at Zbrush if not for SL, and now I create jewelry sets made from my own sculpts and textures. All of it still amazes me. I never thought I’d have a shop in SL.

6 – Could you share a funny or awkward story that happened to you inSL?
I once lived next to a vampire who was involved in some kind of turf war with another vampire, so I often had vampires leaving bloody markers around the place or just standing around doing nothing but watching. I blocked a few of the usuals from my parcel, but there were always others showing up. One day I was particularly fed up with it, so I brought out my watermelon gun and used the vamps for target practice. It made me laugh, and for some reason, it actually made them leave.

7 – What would you change or improve in Second Life?
I’d love to have a more detailed avatar mesh. I guess that’s my big dream at the moment. As for something that’s probably more feasible, I’d like to see an overhaul of the event listings to make them more usable. I rely mostly on blogs and groups to keep track of interesting events, but not everyone is aware of those options. And really it just makes sense that our in-world event listings should be filled with actual events and not useless garbage about sales of business-in-a-box items in every category.

8 – Can you share your current and/or future projects for SL?
There are some showcases and collaborations that might be in my future depending on how things go, but nothing definite. I’m just going to keep learning and making things I find interesting, and those things will most likely make their way into Shine eventually.

9 – Have you ever had any issues whatsoever within Second Life? If so, how did you reported and was the feedback positive?
I’ve never reported any issues to Linden Lab. I do make use of the JIRA though and track some issues there that are relevant to me. Sometimes I wish they’d act more quickly on certain items, but I also know they all have a lot on their plates. Nobody is going to be pleased all the time, and overall, I’m thankful for their part in the world we create together.

10 – Is Second Life merely an online game or do you consider it more of a metaverse or a virtual world?
I think of it as a virtual world, but when I talk about it with other people, I sometimes call it a game too. I’m pretty relaxed about how to categorize SL. I admit to being just as confused about people in SL who make fun of gamers as I am of my fellow gamers who write SL off as a sex fantasy for losers. There’s room for all of it even within SL.

11 – Imagine a new resident asks for your help. What would do? What would you tell him/her?
It would depend on their interests really. For appearance basics, I’d share a notecard I have that lists suggestions for making shapes along with some SLURLS for places with attractive freebies. I’d encourage them to find groups of people with common interests whether that’s history, music, education, art, or whatever else might strike their fancy, and I’d do my best to give them some resources as an overview.

12 – How would you describe yourself in one word?
Eclectic

OMG, originally uploaded by Brandy Rasmuson.

URLs –

Blog: My personal and mostly dormant blog is Writing the Sonnet – http://www.brandaluna.net – and I also do a bit of writing at the Exile blog – http://www.exilegear.net.

Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandyrasmuson/

SLurls: Shine

Mentions: I co-own the Covet sim with 3 amazing creative people – Kavar Cleanslate, Kere Delcon, and Ju Weissnicht – and without them, SL just wouldn’t be the same. I owe special thanks to Kavar for being my best friend through everything and a constant source of inspiration and encouragement. He and Kere also have a knack for smacking me when I need it, which I appreciate. And if Kere is around, then it’s a given that I’m going to do a lot of smiling and take a ton of photos because he always make things fun.

I’m not going to try to mention every person who’s made a difference in my SL experience because that would quickly get out of hand, and I’d forget people, but I do want to thank everyone who has ever complimented the items I make. It means a lot to me to know that other people appreciate them. Those kindnesses are never forgotten, and I often pull them out of my memory as a bit of light on dark days.

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