Fictional Worlds

Now, I can't really be one to judge others' use of escapist alternate realities, but does anyone else find it weird that Second Life has taken off? Maybe weird isn't the right word... maybe prophetic... ?

Whenever I read about SL, I get flashbacks to reading both Jennifer Government and The Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect. I mean, here we have this world that is, just like the early Internet, wide open. Initially populated with artsy hippie types, businesses have been quick to establish themselves, what with there being an exchange rate between the in-game Linden Dollar and the US Dollar. And now... now all the big players are getting involved: automotive companies, computer manufacturers, entertainment networks, news agencies. It makes sense: their audience is here, and some really cool shit is happening in-world.

When the singularity hits (and Ray Kurzweil promised it would), it's gonna leave the world looking a lot like SL, so better get prepared now. And even if we never do get a singularity, it's still worth jumping on the bandwagon. Fictional worlds tend to have a habit of forcing themselves into our everyday reality.