Governments migrating to the virtual world
Wednesday, January 14th, 2009 at 11:13 am - by Dan Pohlig. Filed under: Entertainment.
Governing.com’s blog The 13th Floor posted this item about Arlington County, Virginia’s move to Second Life. With their effort to reach out to the millions and millions of people who meet and collaborate in this on-line community, Arlington County joins Missouri as the only two governments - that anyone is aware of - to make this leap. Apparently, there’s a practical side for all of the time being spent by government employees - and it’s important to note that it’s their personal time - to create and maintain this Second Life presence:
The county has a down-to-earth reason for doing so, according to a Washington Post story: economic development. Business executives can get market research. County officials can do presentations to promote the region. And people can join a confab later this month on how to launch a business in Arlington. All in that other world.
The person creating the online presence on Second Life hopes it will give Arlington a good way to promote itself to tech-smart businesses.The county also is thinking about running a job fair on Second Life, as Missouri did.
The WaPo article about the county’s efforts goes a little further in the description of Arlington’s virtual presence:
The county’s cyber-office, on the first floor of a virtual glass-and-steel tower, sits behind tinted sliding doors, across from a vending machine that sells digital Cheez-Its and Pop-Tarts. Visitors can take a seat in swiveling office chairs and scan understated orange and gray promotional posters (”brainpower: arlington’s alternative energy”) as they wait to meet with an economic development official.
Apparently, even in the virtual world you still have to wait in line to meet a local government official. Many would say that with the way things have been going in this city and in the nation’s entire economy, city officials should probably focus on the First Life before worrying about a virtual presence. But still, I wonder what Philly’s city government would be like in this ideal world:
- Second Life Philadelphia’s libraries would only be open on Mondays, Wednesdays and alternate Fridays because of its Second Life budget difficulties.
- Fire trucks would be half as long as in the real world with two virtual fire fighters holding up the back end and pushing them along.
- Lines would still be long for certain city services but at least customers could levitate 3 feet off the ground while waiting.
- Need your trash hauled away? Just a hundred Linden Dollars and it’s taken care of.
How do you envision Philadelphia city government’s virtual, Second Life presence?
It's Our City is a project that uses TV, Radio and Web
to promote civic engagement in the Philadelphia region.


January 14th, 2009 at 4:19 pm
- Press conferences occasionally interrupted by hordes of flying penises: http://kotaku.com/gaming/second-life/second-life-interview-wanged-223542.php
January 16th, 2009 at 6:16 am
@Mark Gardner
“Kasparov was dishonoured: a flying phallus”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dq_-Gf9rXhE