This year I had the distinct pleasure of attending South by Southwest again. Two real standouts for me from the 2008 Interactive Conference were the Opening Remarks wherein Steve Johnson interviews Henry Jenkins, and the closing Keynote by Jane McGonigal.

And, here is a link to the SXSW video clips. Click on the Interactive coverage and Henry is the first of the Keynotes while Jane is the last two.

Sadly, these videos don’t include the entire speeches. I had found the full audio of the entire Henry Jenkins & Steve Johnson conversation online, but now I can’t find it anymore. Please let me know if you know where it is and I will post the link here. As well, you’ll likely enjoy his blog, HenryJenkins.org.

Here is my take on what they said with my thoughts interspersed. Henry is brilliant, joyful and a smart, informed optimist. He comes from such a great perspective on things. He is very interested in fan culture and he loves participatory culture. Of course it seems obvious to those of us with experience online that fan culture is a good thing to be cultivated, but lots of companies still come down on fans for infringing copyright, etc. Something Henry talked about is the difference between Hillary Clinton’s numerous I/You statements vs. Obama’s We statements. The conversation online is very much a We conversation. We pool ideas, share language and we’re building something together. What do We want to build, where do We want to go, etc. He speaks out for parents giving kids power over their voice and at the same time taking responsibility that they’re safe as they move into the world.

One point he made very clearly goes a bit like this: People are rational and they make good decisions given the options they’re faces with. So, let’s say you’re someone working at a less than challenging/fulfilling job day after day and at night you go home and you manage a Guild of 40 or 50 people in World of Warcraft, (or organize a Society in Entropia Universe!) and you’re really good at it, which is no small feat. You’re successful and doing well, and it’s fun and challenging and fulfilling. It is not bad, or evil, or stupid or wrong that you’d rather be doing that than going to your dead end, boring job. What it points out is not a failure of games and gamers, but rather a shortcoming of the current set up in the physical world, where we have millions and millions of people who are chronically underutilized in their jobs. The opportunity is there to harness that vast human potential and fulfill people at the same time.

I agree with him! And, as you look at the demographic trends you see that the Baby Boomers are moving into retirement and they’re taking a huge amount of knowledge and productivity with them as they do. Generation X isn’t going to be filling many of those positions, Gen X is already working. No, it’s going to be the Millenials. And, they’re into games. I believe that companies who pay attention to that and correct course for it stand to do far better than companies who don’t. In other words, if companies don’t make their jobs a lot more fun they’ll be running a serious risk of being trumped by their competitors who do. I also believe that some form of wiki technology, perhaps combined with gameplay aspects, will be crucial to companies keeping some of that institutional knowledge from vanishing as the Boomers retire.

Jane’s comments dovetailed very well with Jenkins’ and Johnson’s conversation, too. Jane talked about Positive Psychology, which, instead of looking at how brains can go wrong, looks at the best case for the human brain. What makes us happy? What makes us function well? She points to the undeniable similarities between what that field is finding and game design. It turns out that game design actually turns out to be about happiness and fulfillment. She boils it down to 4 basic tenets of happiness are: 1) Satisfying work to do. 2) The experience of being good at something. 3) Time spent with people you like 4) The chance to be a part of something bigger. I like to note, as she does, that it takes multiplayer games to accomplish all 4 of these. And, that probably explains why Microsoft was so slammed when Halo 3 came out and everyone wanted to get onto XBox Live (which is an MMO, albeit a very bounded one) and play Halo 3 together! She concludes that if you’re in the game design business what you may not realize is that you’re actually in the happiness business. (Trivia: When she says, “I like that someone in the back is going like that (and pumps her fist in the air)! She’s talking about me, by the way. I love what she was saying.) Read the rest of this entry »

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We all have our methods for coping with real life stress, and for some, signing into a virtual world environment is just what the doctor ordered (not literally of course … or could it be?). Anonymity behind a computer monitor affords us freedom to take on a persona that perhaps in real life we would not entertain. It allows for a range of behaviors that some might be more reluctant to exhibit in real life, but excel at in a virtual world. So what does this all mean?

For some, virtual worlds provide an opportunity to come out of their shell, so to speak, and explore interaction with others in a less inhibiting environment. These virtual environments arethat is also less judgmental about personal characteristics such as physical attributes, and/or perceived behaviors such as shyness, or perhaps even an encumberance like being wheel-chair bound. It’s no secret that some people in our the real world can be rather shallow in their acceptance of others based on many variables that encompass not only physical appearance, but belief systems well entrenched in stereotypical thinking.

Virtual world environments could very well be the catalyst for helping someone become more confident in themselves by putting into practice what they may be apprehensive doing in real life. Such as, making the first move to introducing themselves to someone new, which in turn helps toward gravitating away from shyness and becoming more sociable. The more comfortable an individual becomes doing so, perhaps the more they might reverse the process and give it a shot in real life.

However, as with many things, there also exists the opportunity to take anonymity to the other end of the spectrum. Entropia Universe, as with any environment that provides a level of anonymity, has its school-yard bullies that find it more entertaining to disrupt pleasant experiences for others, rather than contributing in a more positive manner. It makes one wonder whether these individuals behave this way in real life, or whether this is just their way of relieving the real life frustrations they experience, and as such, is their means for coping.

While environments that provide anonymity, also provide an opportunity to explore ourselves outside of the normal every day constraints and judgments in real life, there is also a responsibility for being personally accountable in the way that we affect others. Behaviors in a virtual world have just as much impact and influence as they do in real life, and give us that double-edged sword of good vs. evil. You know as well as I do that respectful interaction with others is key in promoting a more pleasant experience, but it’s not a given, especially when afforded anonymity, because there will always be those who will act out in ways they wouldn’t, or couldn’t get away with in real life, or those who push the limit because they can.

I’m happy to report that in my own personal experiences in the Entropia Universe, I have encountered some of the most incredible people who have added nothing less than pure joy to my virtual world experiences. These people who genuinely care about others in a very selfless way, and who are quick to assist in whatever manner possible without conditions or expectations of anything in return. The fact that Entropia is globally diverse makes it even more exciting, because the one common denominator (if we had to choose one), would be that basic human interaction in the most basic of ways, exhibits the good in all of us, more so than not.

Entropia Universe is on a path toward evolving into something even more unique, and expanding into areas that will give us a greater opportunity to interact with each other in unexpected ways that perhaps we hadn’t expected. I don’t know about you, but I for one would like to be on the side of that double-edged sword that not only promotes, but contributes toward the positive experiences of those I come in contact with, because it has the tendency more so than not to motivate like behaviors.

Whatever Entropia Universe is to you, remember that there are real people behind the pixels, and that your behavior definitely has an impact and influence with regard to how they experience our the virtual environment. As a globally diverse population, remember to respect for the experiences of others’ experiences is important, because to have an expectation assume that we all interpret behaviors the same is an unreasonable expectation given language barriers.

I’m not naive to think that there will always be those who don’t care what others think, or feel, or how their behaviors can have a negative influence on others, but we can at least take solace in knowing that they are the minority, and that the majority of us choose to promote good will through our actions and good deeds.

Here’s to more positive experiences than not!

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In the 1934 short story “The Shadow Out of Time” by H. P. Lovecraft, a man is taken hostage by an ancient alien mind who wants to learn about the man’s society. The alien is part of a species that have transferred into various life forms on different planets for billions of years in order to escape death. I won’t ruin the great ending, but I wanted to show this very interesting reference to a black orb sitting in space which gave rise to the aliens. Sound familiar?

And, meanwhile, the Great Race itself waxed well-nigh omniscient, and turned to the task of setting up exchanges with the minds of other planets, and of exploring their pasts and futures. It sought likewise to fathom the past years and origin of that black, aeon-dead orb in far space whence its own mental heritage had come - for the mind of the Great Race was older than its bodily
form.

The beings of a dying elder world, wise with the ultimate secrets, had looked ahead for a new world and species wherein they might have long life; and had sent their minds en masse into that future race best adapted to house them - the cone-shaped beings that peopled our earth a billion years ago.

Thus the Great Race came to be, while the myriad minds sent backward were left to die in the horror of strange shapes. Later the race would again face death, yet would live through another forward migration of its best minds into the bodies of others who had a longer physical span ahead of them.

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The Oscars have come and gone, but virtual worlds award season is ramping (and being rounded) up. Entropia Universe was featured in a participatory drama “The Truth About Marika,” produced by Swedish Television and The Company P, now the winner of Best Interactive TV Service from the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. “We are beyond thrilled to be part of this Emmy Award and are extremely thankful to Swedish Television and The Company P for allowing us to be part of this momentous partnership,” Mindark Chief Information Officer Marco Behrmann, said in a statement. “We look forward to more integration of entertainment outlets as technology and viewer demand calls for it.”

Read the rest of this article from Virtual Worlds News

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Anyone playing in a real cash economy (RCE) virtual world usually dreams of hitting pay dirt, or getting the big one that made the efforts put forth worth it. On April 2nd, I found myself fortunate enough to be on the receiving end of such a windfall if you will, and to this day find it difficult to wrap my mind around. More about that in a minute, but first a little background if you will, and why I feel karma played a role in this event.

I gave birth to my MindStar9 avatar three years ago, and right out the gate the profession I chose was hunter. I enjoyed hunting with my brother (Jetboy) who introduced me to Entropia, as well as the members of the one and only society we both joined (Hunters-Extreme) before forming our own (JetStar Alliance). I quickly became known as one who loved the adrenaline rush of getting into the faces of mobs, and even mob-herding to take on more than one at a time when my skills increased. When Blood Moon (Moonie) joined the society my brother and I created, he gave me a nickname that has remained with me since – “Kick-Ass Warrior Huntress with a Flower.” So why the flower? Moonie not only saw the aggressive huntress in me, but a side of me that many within our Entropia Universe experience quite frequently – my generous side in helping others enjoy their virtual experiences, and thus, gave me a Red Christmas Flower that I still have to this day.

While hunting was my thing for a very long time, and I enjoyed it immensely, I figured I would give one of the other professions a go and see how I did. My brother was quite successful at mining, and while it may seem silly to say this, maybe there was something in the DNA-Barcode that would work for me too. I believe it was around July 2006 when I first began mining, and it progressively got better, but it was the first quarter of 2007 when it kicked into high gear. While I never “Uber HoF’d” (a deposit find 1k or greater), I enjoyed a large number of globals and smaller HoF’s that kept me in the profitable range for a long time, especially with selling the ores and enmatters for a higher percentage at auction, or to friends and crafters I made deals with. I also ended up with five spacecraft that produced 50 ped globals, but never a beacon unfortunately.

Toward Summer 2007, the mining return started slowing down, so I thought I would change it up again, and that’s when I gave crafting a shot. I’ve crafted many things, from armor and weapons, to mining tools, and even First-Aid Packs, but the one item that seemed to net me more of a profit than any other, was the OreAmp-101. Therefore, as often as I could, I would enjoy crafting runs on my OreAmp-101 blueprint to get the quality rating up, and it is currently at 84.1 QR. I have experienced many “Uber HoF’s” since then, and as many as four in one night, with the largest being 5940 ped (Project Entropia Dollars). It has been quite profitable for me overall, with only a few less than profitable runs, so I really can’t complain. I craft my amps on “condition” which produces a much higher risk of loss than not, so I have considered myself quite lucky to not have lost my bustier.

Now back to the big payoff. In the wee hours of April 2nd (ingame time), I decided to do a crafting run on my OreAmp-101 before bed, and since it was rather late for me, I chose to do only a 180 click run to. I’m usually doing anywhere from 200-300 clicks in a run, so this was a short run for sure.

It was going along smoothly and I was getting several globals as I usually do, but was winding down and had about 15 more clicks to go. I didn’t think this run was going to be my best, but at least one that allowed me to break even. Perhaps I should think that more often, because with so few clicks left to go, I hit a 1907 ped “Uber HoF” that definitely made the run worth it. However, five minutes later, that moment that everyone dreams about at one time or another happened for me. The big payoff was an “All Time High” (ATH) in the amount of 81,186 ped, which translates into $8,118.60 in US dollars. It also garnered the #5 spot on the ingame ATH Crafting list (don’t even need to scroll the list to find it). Talk about shock and awe, I couldn’t believe my eyes, and the body rush was more than any adrenaline I experienced while mob-herding and having 15 mobs in my face – ok, maybe not that good.

Anyway, people in the Sakura City Trade Center were congratulating me, and friends ingame were sending PM’s (private messages) left and right. I couldn’t type for anything, and had to will myself to settle down so that I could respond to these people. Friends were coming to the Trade Center to join in the celebration, and others were signing ingame to connect with me after hearing the news, while my good friend TOAST from Chicago Hardcore Gamers was shooting off fireworks, and my socmate (and fellow blogger here) Sir Odd Bunny and others were popping the corks off of champagne bottles.
I mentioned earlier that I feel karma has played a role in all of this, along with a bit of luck I suppose, but I certainly would be remiss if I didn’t mention our dear Lootius. TheNun (Lykke) of Church of Lootius, whom I adore as a very close ingame friend, gave me a blessing the day before when we were both crafting OreAmps. I did quite well in that run, but it seems the blessing was powerful enough to carry over into the next day. However, aside from the luck and the blessing, I’m a great believer in karma, and I feel that what I have contributed unconditionally to my fellow Entropians over the past three years either personally, or through the activities of my society, has come back to me. While gratitude and thanks from those I (we) have helped over the past three years has more value, this financial windfall is appreciated.

Let me take this opportunity to thank MindArk for creating the virtual environment where possibilities are only limited by our thoughts and actions, and where those possibilities can produce some very nice experiences, not to mention big payoffs with a little perseverance.

To see the pictures and other details of this event, go to “Finally Got The Purple ATH” – which is the thread at the EntropiaForum.com that includes the responses from those in the Entropia community.

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My planned one week visit to Club NeverDie was extended by about 10 months, due to the large environment but small community that resided inside the asteroid resort.  I knew everyone there, and sooner or later everyone knew me.  I sweated the low level mobs when needed and when time and resources allowed, I mined the asteroid for ematter and did small hunts in teams.  The club was jamming to beats 24/7 unless an event was in place– then NeverDie would be live on air where anyone in the control room or the domes would be able to hear the commentary.  The apartment was coming along nicely, and I made some close friends while keeping in touch with the soc folks on the ground.  Compusmurf and Twitchie were always in good form, while Oleg, Archman and LaZer would frequently come up to visit for a quick run or event.  Moonfish was always taking people down in flights, Mindstar9 and Co. would be advertising the weekly events, and Klod was working on a new event for CND, called the Champion’s League, which is now a smashing hit.

Also during this time NeverDie made a large purchase on a small egg, and was displaying it in the club’s private dining hall.  The price was huge, but it brought so much attention to the club.  I enjoyed it when it was a full house; so many players were in one spot that you had to move the camera around just to see where you were.

I had also taken up a daily routine of looking through every planter and corner of CND, as low level items such as fruit or hair gel would pop up once in a while.  Yes, I know taking things off the ground is frowned on by some, but I couldn’t resist being the n00b I was.  Gave something to fill the apartment with.

However, even the space cowboy has to come down sometime, so after 10 months staying at CND I came down to give the avatar some sun (being in an asteroid that long turns your skin a pale shade).  One week after coming down I was out hunting molisk.  Why? I dunno, they were in the way.  I was shooting and popping them off as I ran, and then I ran into a molisk adult.  This guy was tougher than the youngs!  So I shot/fap/shot/fap, the usual routine.  Killed it, then something happened that hadn’t before.  The screen shot back a bit, and a trumpet blared.  What the hey?  I looked in the loot window to find some shogun armor parts with a stack of 43 ped in the window.  Only then did it hit me that I actually got my first global!  100 PED, right there in the window!  I fell off the chair a bit while the PM button flashed green on the interface from friends who wanted to gratz me on the find.  Now I had some PED on the card and some upgraded armor parts that worked better than the goblin.

I upgraded some of the mining finders, then went back to CND to stay for another few months.  The RP blog had really taken off and I had made the move to the Entropia Forum, the largest forum community on the web.  It was filled with more information and posting than the previous two forum boards I attended to, so it took a good week to learn where stuff went and how to post things.  I even got a chance to be a storyteller/EF reporter—which is a great job—reporting the news as it is to the masses outside of the universe.  I’d like to think I’m better known around towns because of it, and just being the nice guy I am

I was able to get my brother in Real Life to join the Skillin’ Villains Society as well, where he still a member today.  I enjoyed my time with him and the society, however, I yearned for a change of pace and to maybe try somewhere else for a bit.  It wasn’t an easy choice to leave the society that had built my gameplay from nearly day one. I thought it through for over a week before coming to the conclusion to leave.  It was a sad occasion for everyone, but they understood the reasons and I still keep in contact through the game and the message board.

Early one evening I was on the planet moving things into a new apartment in the Sakura Complex.  Apparently, the JetStar Alliance society had also moved down and set up camp in Sakura.  I was talking with Star in the Trade Center about what was going on with finding a new society.  However, I wasn’t in the market for a new society long, as JSA quickly accepted me.  They had invited me to join them previously on certain occasions, whether it was a beacon run or team hunt, so I already was close with their society. They always considered me an ‘unofficial’ JSA member, and now it was ‘official’.  This was a perfect fit for both me and the new society.

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During the next month of playing Entropia, the whole game had done a 360 degree turn in interest, as the heads of the Skillin’ Villains (Compusmurf, Twitchie, and Archman) showed this newbie, as well as my favorite comrades (Cherries, Oleg, and Badhank) how to live and survive in the virtual world. I hunted whenever time allowed, however mining was a dream of mine, collecting raw materials and selling them to a crafter to make their wares. Only problem was, I was still sweating. So on a daily basis I worked with a balance of .50-2 ped. So even if I did have a big enough balance to fire off a probe or two, I would have to purchase a really small number of probes, along with the TT finder, then if I actually found a claim or two, return to the TT, sell off the finder and purchase the extractor. While it was a meager living with that I was still happy with my equipment and knowledge.

Speaking forum-wise, I had my sights on landing my feet on Club NEVERDIE. This was the whole thing that I had came to the game for. So, before finding a ride up I set foot into the CND Forum to catch a glimpse of what was to come. Lots of activity, and even Epic and a few familiar faces from EP had already comfortably made their new home. So, again with some assistance, I left the ground I had known for a while and took to the skies.

It was scary…again. Entirely new environment, new occupants, and for all I knew I just paid a one way ticket so I knew I would be there by choice or not for who knows how long. Thankfully I had made the correct choice of staying, as I met more friends and contacts than if I stayed on the ground. I met several well known players (Blood Moon, Mindstar9, and Jetboy, all who would impact me ingame and out from that time to today), Grading, Pink Panther, Major Force, Klod, and even met the mastermind of CND itself, Neverdie. That was a honor in itself. The parties I attended were definitely rocking the house, if not the music pumping it was meeting new and old friends. When the club itself was not full of people I still had the soc channel to send news down to the folks planetside.

Anyway, back to the story. I made myself home back in the newly RealityPort Journal area. It seemed like a simple task, just spill what I did that day into the blog. It actually received a lot of views during the first days, so I continued. So one day Klod put up a thread announcing that he would give an apartment he won for half of the market cost to a person who couldn’t afford one on auction. Well, someone will be happy with a new home I figured. One thing lead to another (Epic to pick up the action, as usual), all of a sudden I’m refreshing the page just to make sure I was seeing what I saw, someone had picked up the tab and donated the apartment to me! Well you could call me an ecstatic camper for at least the next month. I had not only landed on CND, but I had one of a select few apartments! Now that dung I had would no longer reside in my inventory weighting me down! Wish I knew who the person was.

So…I now had an apartment, and a few armor parts and a pea shooter. Was still working with a meager allowance, usually 1-2 PED from the sweat I got from the snables in dome 5. I had grown to like the JSA folks as they would buy the sweat and whatever else I had of value. They saw how big PE/EU was to me so one night they hooked me up with goblin armor and some mining stuff. It was pretty cool, now I felt like an ubber (ok, goblin and the word ubber don’t mix much, but you catch the drift.) Ok, I definitely like these guys now. So I managed to spruce up the apartment a bit with some furniture and lights, and it was nice to have a place to store stuff when I didn’t need it.

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From Virtual Goods Insider:

 According to the New York Times, Chinese experimental artist Cao Fei, known in Second Life as China Tracy, is creating the world’s first virtual art installation. RMB City is a virtual city in Second Life that is meant to be an artistic commentary on the rapid industrialization of China. The virtual city will incorporate elements of famous Chinese landmarks such as the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, and Tianamen Square.

Lombard-Freid Projects, a New York art gallery, is currently exhibiting RMB City. The exhibit is part art showcase and part real estate sales office. Cao Fei is offering art collectors and virtual real estate investors a chance to sponsor individual structures in the city for prices as high as $120,000. Sponsors get two years access to their structure in RMB City and a commemorative artwork at the end of their “lease”.

If Cao Fei is able to get those prices, she may just find herself in the 2009 Guinness Book of World Records for “Most Expensive Virtual Object”. She would be dethroning Jon “NEVERDIE” Jacobs, the current recordholder, who purchased an asteroid space resort in Entropia for $100,000.

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Consider the description of the limited handgun “Isis HL6.” It tells us a little about a newer corporation in the back story of Entropia Universe. The Isis Corporation are known for their “robust and somewhat crude designs.” The three most famous corporations in Entropia history are the ones that received Colonial Contracts to develop new planets when humans first started to colonize the universe: Genesis Star Interstellar, Chikara OmniWorld, and Omegaton Industries.

How does Isis fit within this picture? Depending on what you think about the duration of the Entropia backstory (it could have lasted for hundreds of years old or thousands), this company could be MUCH newer than the three I listed. Or, it could be a division of one of them or even a part that was spun off. This makes me wonder if these companies were “public” and sold stock at any time. They would have outlasted lesser companies because they had the partnership of the Federal Empire of Earth.

The really interesting part of this item description is “It’s still not known if the Isis corporation had anything to do with the mysterious happenings aboard the Villre Star.” How can you leave us hanging like that MindArk? We haven’t heard about many “named” ships. There were Odysseus Probes and the Exodus which brought the colonists to Calypso. There’s the Crystal Palace Space Station. We need to know much more about this “Villre Star” and what possible role Isis had in a mysterious happening.

Maybe it was a battle ship used in the Robot War. Maybe it was a colonist supply ship. Maybe it was used to transport the Aurli from the planet Nornue or the Kreltin from the Malus system. Or maybe it brought all the new models of gun to Calypso.

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The gaming and virtual worlds industries are threatened by real-money trading for virtual objects and debating if the Asian item model for online games will work in North America. Wake up call: Digital goods are here to stay and will shape the future of online experiences both monetarily while pushing the limits of property rights individuals may have. The session will address the real question of what form do online property rights take? And beyond property, what is the shape and form of online human rights in virtual worlds and how do we get there from here?

Susan Wu Principal, Charles River Ventures
Erik Bethke CEO, GoPets.Ltd
Andrew Schneider Pres, Live Gamer And,
Greg Boyd an attorney with Paul, Weiss

Sitting in the panel. Bethke of GoPets is great. He is very intelligent, practical, down to earth and is clearly focused on the clients; their joy in their experience and keeping that joy alive. He intelligently dismisses the outlying weird cases that people get so hung up on. Boyd is also pretty funny and interesting.

GoPets makes a distinction between ‘tourists’ and actual ‘citizens’ of the world and he gives them different rights. He is trying to say that the stuff you buy and sell and trade in the world is your stuff, if you’re a paid ‘citizen,’ they’ll replace it if they lose it, but not guarantee its value. They also have laws against griefing and such.

He makes the point that derivatives are ‘virtual’ property. Look up quanto options. They fall right before a virtual sword or gun on the continuum of physical to virtual property.

What becomes clear in this panel is that neither law nor society has figured out how to handle this whole thing. We are all way ahead of society and the law and we have to manage things as they catch up.

Bethke says that we geek out a lot on this, but there are bigger things that are happening that haven’t addressed issues like taxation, either, like eBay, and they’ll have to sort this out first.

See what people said online about this panel at: Meebo’s Discussion Boards.

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