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I have been exploring Second Life for several months now and I am completely amazed at how complex, realistic and valuable a tool it can be. I came to Second Life with skeptical optimism about the true real-life value it could bring to the table. At first, I considered it to be an immersive chat room and perhaps video game. But after spending time here, I have learned about the connectivity it brings to people as individuals and how valuable a resource it is in terms of communication and collaboration. I have talked with the few governments who are using SL to conduct RL business and their results to date have been very encouraging. The potential for online recruiting, public information, teleconferencing and training is tremendous. Below are some ideas I have been working on:

Virtual Emergency Communications Center
Our ECC has a long-standing issue with recruiting qualified candidates who are able to successfully complete the lengthy and demanding coursework and hands-on training requisite to becoming a Communications Officer. I’d like to create a virtual representation of our ECC within Second Life. Doing so could potentially improve our recruiting process, provide a level of pre-screening for candidates, educate the public on the realities of 911 (i.e. when to call, when not to call, etc.)

Physical Description
• This ECC would be a building modeled after our state-of-the-art RL ECC, complete with workstations, television monitors, training/conf room, supervisors stations, observation deck, etc.
• It would contain a detailed replication of the full CADS workstation with multiple monitors to illustrate the real life work of a Communications Officer.
• Perhaps include filtered real audio samples of actual calls for help and dispatching via radio.
• It would highlight the technology inherent in the position – the mapping, the dispatching, the CADS, the soft-phone, etc.

Functionality
• Within the training room, we could perhaps have a presentation outlining the requirements for the job, the job description, salary info, current job postings, etc.
• Streaming media from public safety directors about the appeal and value of becoming a Communications Officer
• The 911 Center Director could make regular live appearances to answer questions.
• We could include links to our Web site for additional information about living in Roanoke County. We could perhaps include an online pre-screening questionnaire and the ability to submit a resume.
• We could perhaps offer online training courses for the smaller surrounding localities via live chat.



Other Future SL Concepts
As we begin the physical build out of both our Multi Gen Rec Center and the South County Library, I think we could gain value by creating SL representations of both of these projects as well. Both are very focused on technology and citizen use. We could offer virtual tours, opportunities to provide feedback and input, links to live webcam feeds of construction and the like. And when the physical projects are done, the virtuals could serve as merely and extension of the physical building focused on the same mission. For example, the Libraries frequently have author meet and greets with local authors. Imagine being able to link up with an author halfway across the planet and come to hear him or her read excerpts via voice chat while sitting the in Roanoke County virtual library!

After looking at this article, and in preparation of the SL meet-up on Wednesday, I went to SL for the first time ever! How do I get to the Civic Forum/Public Works area for the meet-up? I have to admit to being a little overwhelmed by SL. It is huge. I'm sure all my co-workers are thinking I'm playing video games at work. But our CIO DID encourage us to do this, so... Here I am! I tried searching for the Public Works group and only see one item - founder is Pam Ock. Is this the same one as yours?

Hey Pamela - Whenever you are in Second Life, do a search for Greever Wemyss or Pam Renoir and add us as friends. We can then add you to the MuniGov Group and give you a tutorial, give you the landmarks, etc. The Public Works group is a separate group but we share the same space and are related. You can also find our land by searching for "civic forum" and taking the teleporter to it. If you have any trouble, please just email me (bgreeves@roanokecountyva.gov) and we can schedule some time to meet up. - Bill

Pamela,
This might seem strange, but I have about 3 main avatars in Second Life: the one I am usually on is Pam Renoir. I set up Pam Ock as my "city" avatar since I didn't feel right going to dance clubs or exploring with an avatar who is supposed to be representing our city in an official capacity. Then the other one is CivilE Writer - I use her to collect information for articles for the online publication I publish called Grid Works. I like to think of them as animated filing cabinets in a way. Having three helps me to divide each into specific activities and helps me to better organize my inventories.

Just a point for information, Second Life Security papers and information is available on the MuniGov Security Site. Also, Second Life announced on April 1, 2009 that they are beta testing a behind the firewall solution so organizations can have a public and private pressence. I think this is essential and more government applications are deployed in the virtual world.

I have been exploring SL for about 8 months and find if fascinating. I am experimenting using SL to create machinima (animated videos in real time virtual 3-D) and SL provides a wealth of content ideas for making videos quickly and at no cost. I am using the xfire client (a free software product) to record audio and video in SL. It was easy to install and seems to be working great and there is also free video blog section for uploading your videos. I plan to see if I can do some simple videos for educating city employees on our IT services. While SL is a great place, the SL interface and avatar navigation is a little intimidating for many of our users at this time. The machinima may be a way to create quick and cheap videos with a standard desktop setup and Internet access.