Those of us who don metadentities are accustomed to the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune — not to mention the love/hate relationship that mainstream media has with virtual worlds and those of us who inhabit them. So when my friend, Persephone Milk (she of fabulous Persnickity glasses and Musical Alchemy grand pianos), told me she was going to be interviewed by her local FOX News station for a piece on SL, I confess, I was worried for her.
My concern stemmed from a few places. Wired’s recent glorification of the grief culture has made it seem like even media outlets that should know better will stoop to playing the “you geeks take all this virtual stuff too seriously” card when it suits their purpose. And, of course, there is the fact that anyone who knows Seph understands that the person behind the keyboard is a man — something fairly common and ho-hum in our universe, but which could have been taken out of context and portrayed any number of ways.
WATCH THE YOUTUBE VIDEO CLIP HERE
I am thrilled beyond words that the piece was actually handled very professionally. It focused on the business end of Seph’s endeavors, but it did touch on her creativity and that of Seph’s RL counterpart, if only briefly.
So much of SL’s media coverage focuses on what big-name RL business is invading - completely ignoring our home-grown geniuses and artisans and the rest of it tends to drool over Scandal X or Trend Y. So, score one for the home team and YAY Seph!
(Many thanks to Stroker for editing and getting this up so that we could all enjoy it!)
Wow, that is so refreshingly positive. I would really like to see more media coverage like this, you nailed it. Persephone (Tim!) deserved the positive exposure and it made me smile to know I have one of his harps
Comment by Siyu Suen — April 15, 2008 @ 10:44 am
What a great interview!! Such a nice change to have the media portray us ‘geeks’ as talented people.
Comment by Absinthe Menges — April 15, 2008 @ 8:12 pm
Thank you for blogging this Salome
You are a sweet friend. I was concerned about how this piece would come out too … I had all sorts of horrible ideas about how they might edit it together to create some kind of a sensational story. I am glad the reporter was true to his commitment to me. Although I had hoped the piece wouldn’t focus so much on my business, I think this is a minor quibble. I am pleased with how the story was presented, and even more so with the incredibly warm and accepting response from my friends and the community. Thank you all so much!
Comment by Persephone Milk — April 15, 2008 @ 10:33 pm
Feature on Persephone Milk … SL Piano Designer…
Saw this over on Linden Lifestyles. Positive interview on a local FOX station in the US about an SL resident, Persephone Milk, (and her RL typist) who creates pianos and music for them. Such a great example of a small…
Trackback by Kate's So-Called Second Life — April 16, 2008 @ 12:41 am
Lovely coverage. Really shocked to find out it was my local tv station, and Persephone lives probably within shouting range of me. Well, Howdy neighbor!
Comment by Whimsy Winx — April 17, 2008 @ 3:16 am