interview | Stacia Villota

Posted on October 25, 2009 by Ana Lutetia | No Comments

1 – How did you discover Second Life, and what made you create an account?
I was on an airplane with nothing to read. Out of boredom, I picked up the in-flight magazine. There on the cover was a beautiful profile of a young woman, rendered by what I assumed was a talented digital artist.
Only after reading the article did I discover what I was viewing: the face of an avatar in a virtual world called Second Life. I’d played enough Xbox games to understand the concept of an avatar, but never had I seen one so lovely. I made a mental note to check out this virtual world. And… promptly forgot.
Months later I saw another article about Second Life, so late one night I signed up, got immediately hooked, and never looked back.
The best part of this story? A year and a half later, I discovered (quite by accident) that the lovely avatar who was my first impression and incentive to join this world, was none other than Ana Lutetia. As you can imagine, she has a special place in my heart. <3

2 – How did you come up with your Second Life name?
I love old literature… it’s taken from a character in a Thomas Hardy novel. When I realized SL wouldn’t let me type in her last name “Vye,” I chose a “V” name that seemed to best match “Stacia.”

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?
From my first moment in SL, I’ve been completely enamored with everything it stands for — creativity, independence, self-expression, lack of limitation, exploration, education, psychology/behavior, and most of all, the way it distills our blue planet into a small, special community of individuals. In my experience, Second Life has the potential to draw out the very best in each of us.

4 – What have you been doing in SL? Tell us your story: what have you been up to or what have you created.
I spent my first year wandering, exploring, observing, listening to live music, and even working a little (marketing research, consulting, and event coordination). I tried my hand at building, but didn’t have enough interest (errr… skill…) to carry me through the learning curve.
One evening towards the end of that year, I met someone very special. A few months later he showed up wearing Neko ears and a tail. Next thing you know I was buying my own set. Next thing you know we started a Neko blog.

5 – Have you found, developed or improved any skills because of SL?
Like many, my photoshop skills have improved as a result of SL photo editing… which is a benefit to my RL career. Most of all however, I credit my blog for giving me the courage to find my voice — to kick off the fetters of my “by day professional” writing style and ride the wave of my very own thoughts. I love to write… at last, I’m finally doing it!

6 – Could you share a funny or awkward story that happened to you in SL?
Once upon a time, I was a noob.

7 – What would you change or improve in Second Life?
There are all sorts of technical frustrations from time to time, and sure it would be great if we could get more groups, friends list categories, offline IMs via the “Friends Online” page, little things like that…. but when I step back and look at the greater picture, it’s amazing to me how much we’re able to do, and how reliably. I’m especially enamored with Hyang Zhao’s Emerald viewer for the Mac.
As an aside, I wish we could shift the media’s attention to the preponderance of positives that occur in SL, but I’m afraid that media bias has existed long before SL was born…

8 – Can you share your current and/or future projects for SL?
I’m very passionate about fostering, enhancing, and supporting the Neko community in SL. That may sound trite, but it’s truly at the heart of everything I do here.
Another project currently underway is a first-life research study being done on Second Life Nekos. No, i”m not kidding. There’s a gal at the Institute of Technology in Sweden who is focusing her PhD on virtual world communities… with a couple chapters devoted to Nekos in Second Life. (Who knew you could get a PhD wearing ears and a tail, eh?!) Lately I’ve been doing all I can to support her efforts. (If there are any Nekos reading this who want to participate in the study, feel free to contact me).
Where all this may lead in the future? Who knows. Where Virtual Neko will be a year or two or five from now? I have no idea. I only know I’m enjoying the journey.

9 – Have you ever had any issues whatsoever within Second Life? If so, how did you reported and was the feedback positive?
I’ve participated in a few Jiras that were resolved. I still experience strange occasional drop-outs in my delivery of IMs to email, but again, with all that it takes to keep a virtual world operable, I figure we have to be a little flexible during the bumpy road parts.

10 – Is Second Life merely an online game or do you consider it more of a metaverse or a virtual world?
To me, it’s all life — whether first life or second life. Starting up SL to visit a friend seems no different than starting my car to go visit a friend. At the end of the day, we’re all human, doing the best we can, learning, growing, and (hopefully) becoming better individuals in both lives.

11 – Imagine a new resident asks for your help. What would do? What would you tell him/her
I’d answer their questions, give them a walk-through of the menu and viewer if needed, and search my inventory for any leftover “transfer-ok” things I could give. I’d try to explain some of the general SLetiquette and philosophy that newbies aren’t usually aware of… how everything they see in this world is the result of an individual’s passion — real people who spend their real time, energy and dollars to create and share with all of us. Hopefully by then they’re so entranced with my furreh bits that they just can’t help turning into a Neko, too.

12 – How would you describe yourself in one word?
catnip =^..^=

Blog: http://virtualneko.com
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/virtualneko
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/virtualneko
Twitter: http://twitter.com/virtualneko
Plurk: http://www.plurk.com/stacia

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