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<generator>Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/</generator><item><title><![CDATA[Schrodinger's Gossip Girl: It's dead but it's still alive]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/06/30/schrodingers-gossip-girl-its-dead-but-its-still-alive/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/06/30/schrodingers-gossip-girl-its-dead-but-its-still-alive/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/06/30/schrodingers-gossip-girl-its-dead-but-its-still-alive/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/culture/" rel="tag">Culture</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/events-in-game/" rel="tag">Events, in-game</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/launches/" rel="tag">Launches</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/second-life/" rel="tag">Second Life</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/free-to-play/" rel="tag">Free-to-play</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/casual/" rel="tag">Casual</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/virtual-worlds/" rel="tag">Virtual worlds</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/massively-interviews/" rel="tag">Massively Interviews</a></p><div align="center"><img hspace="4" border="1" vspace="4" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2009/06/ggmodsquad580.jpg" alt="" /><br /></div>
It's been a long run for the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqdFZmmX2AU">Gossip Girl simulation</a> on <a href="http://www.secondlife.com"><em>Second Life</em></a>, two years in the making actually, but all good things must come to an end. The well trafficked sims will be closing the doors tomorrow, as Warner Brothers and <a href="http://www.cwtv.com/">The CW</a> discontinue their virtual marketing campaign for <a href="http://www.cwtv.com/shows/gossip-girl">the show of the same name</a>.<br /><br />But that doesn't mean the Gossip Girl community is dying...<br /><br />Fans of the simulation will be overjoyed to hear that the Gossip Girl community is transitioning to a new home thanks to the <a href="http://www.metaversemodsquad.com/">Metaverse Mod Squad</a>, the builders and moderators of the original official sims. While the official sims, and the setting of the Upper East Side, will be retired on June 30th, the new doors will open on July 1st to large fanfare and a great number of festivities.<p><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/06/30/schrodingers-gossip-girl-its-dead-but-its-still-alive/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Schrodinger's Gossip Girl: It's dead but it's still alive</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/06/30/schrodingers-gossip-girl-its-dead-but-its-still-alive/">Schrodinger's Gossip Girl: It's dead but it's still alive</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Tue, 30 Jun 2009 10:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/06/30/schrodingers-gossip-girl-its-dead-but-its-still-alive/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/19082118/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/06/30/schrodingers-gossip-girl-its-dead-but-its-still-alive/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>breaking</category><category>closure</category><category>community</category><category>events</category><category>gossip-girl</category><category>interview</category><category>metaverse-mod-squad</category><category>second-life</category><category>sl</category><category>the-cw</category><category>warner-bros</category><category>wb</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Seraphina Brennan]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 30 Jun 2009 10:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Warner Brothers rejects non-English-speaking Gossip Girl fans]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/06/29/warner-brothers-rejects-non-english-speaking-gossip-girl-fans/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/06/29/warner-brothers-rejects-non-english-speaking-gossip-girl-fans/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/06/29/warner-brothers-rejects-non-english-speaking-gossip-girl-fans/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/culture/" rel="tag">Culture</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/news-items/" rel="tag">News items</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/opinion/" rel="tag">Opinion</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/second-life/" rel="tag">Second Life</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/virtual-worlds/" rel="tag">Virtual worlds</a></p><p align="center"><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2009/06/tan-gossip-girl27.jpg" /><br /></p>
<p>Warner Brothers has a very successful setup in <a href="http://secondlife.com/"><em>Second Life</em></a>, centered around its popular Gossip Girl property. All isn't exactly rosy there, of late, as WB's actively moderated environment collides with <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/second-life"><em>Second Life's</em></a> and Gossip Girl's rather broad popularity demographics.</p>
<p>Warner Brothers uses the Metaverse Mod Squad for active moderation of the <em>Second Life</em> presence. The question is, how do you moderate conversations in languages you don't understand? The answer, it seems, is that you don't. Visitors who communicate in languages other than English are warned to switch to English. Failure to comply sees the visitor ejected.</p><p><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/06/29/warner-brothers-rejects-non-english-speaking-gossip-girl-fans/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Warner Brothers rejects non-English-speaking Gossip Girl fans</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/06/29/warner-brothers-rejects-non-english-speaking-gossip-girl-fans/">Warner Brothers rejects non-English-speaking Gossip Girl fans</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Mon, 29 Jun 2009 19:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/06/29/warner-brothers-rejects-non-english-speaking-gossip-girl-fans/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/19081792/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/06/29/warner-brothers-rejects-non-english-speaking-gossip-girl-fans/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>culture</category><category>cw</category><category>gossip-girl</category><category>metaverse-mod-squad</category><category>opinion</category><category>second-life</category><category>virtual-worlds</category><category>warner-brothers</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Tateru Nino]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 29 Jun 2009 19:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Metaverse Mod Squad raises over $200,000 from Angel Investors]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/06/19/metaverse-mod-squad-raises-over-200-000-from-angel-investors/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/06/19/metaverse-mod-squad-raises-over-200-000-from-angel-investors/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/06/19/metaverse-mod-squad-raises-over-200-000-from-angel-investors/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/events-real-world/" rel="tag">Events, real-world</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/events-in-game/" rel="tag">Events, in-game</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/news-items/" rel="tag">News items</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/second-life/" rel="tag">Second Life</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/machinima/" rel="tag">Machinima</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/virtual-worlds/" rel="tag">Virtual worlds</a></p><div align="center"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/22354510@N07/2565415807/in/pool-metaversemodsquad"><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2008/06/modsquad.jpg" alt="" /><br /></a></div>
Back in 1970, futurist <a href="http://www.alvintoffler.net/">Alvin Toffler</a> coined the term "<a href="http://oddculture.com/2007/05/05/future-shock-documentary-video-toffler/">Future Shock</a>", which is the personal perception of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Future_Shock">too much change in too short a time</a>. While reading a press release for a virtual avatar staffing company, future shock hit this blogger upside the head like a ton of bricks. Thirty eight years after Toffler described the trouble people were having keeping pace with the ever-increasing rate of technological progress, a company has acquired $200,000 to populate virtual worlds with virtual people, living virtual lives.<br /><br />The Metaverse Mod Squad, creators of avatars for projects like a <a href="http://secondlife.reuters.com/stories/2008/05/20/cw-television-films-gossip-girl-machinisodes-in-second-life/">series of machina "Gossip Girl" episodes</a>, celebrated the closing of their $200K "angel" investment deal <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ogo3hUulvh8">in their virtual offices</a>, of course. Remember, every avatar with a job is one less avatar on the streets. By putting avatars to work as greeters, actors, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/12/15/cinemassively-ues-insider-noob-to-knockout/">friends for the friendless</a> and so on, they are doing well, by doing good.<p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/06/19/metaverse-mod-squad-raises-over-200-000-from-angel-investors/">Metaverse Mod Squad raises over $200,000 from Angel Investors</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Thu, 19 Jun 2008 10:30:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.metaversemodsquad.com/>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/06/19/metaverse-mod-squad-raises-over-200-000-from-angel-investors/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/1228556/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/06/19/metaverse-mod-squad-raises-over-200-000-from-angel-investors/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>events</category><category>gossip-girl</category><category>machinima</category><category>metaverse-mod-squad</category><category>news</category><category>second-life</category><category>virtual-worlds</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Brenda Holloway]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 19 Jun 2008 10:30:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Cinemassively: UES Insider - Noob to Knockout]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/12/15/cinemassively-ues-insider-noob-to-knockout/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/12/15/cinemassively-ues-insider-noob-to-knockout/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/12/15/cinemassively-ues-insider-noob-to-knockout/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/video/" rel="tag">Video</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/second-life/" rel="tag">Second Life</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/cinemassively/" rel="tag">Cinemassively</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/machinima/" rel="tag">Machinima</a></p><center><embed width="425" height="355" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/5HundTffqW8&amp;rel=1"></embed></center>Warner Brothers created a promotional <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/machinima/">Machinima</a> showing the <a href="http://www.metaversemodsquad.com/index.php">Metaverse Mod Squad</a> making over a newbie in <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/second-life/"><em>Second Life</em></a>. It is narrated by <a href="http://www.cwtv.com/thecw/gossipgirl-uppereastside">Gossip Girl</a>, the character in the <a href="http://www.cwtv.com/shows/gossip-girl">TV show</a> that anonymously blogs all the happenings in Manhattan's Upper East Side. She starts out by explaining that there was an asian-themed party for Blair Waldorf's 17th birthday. All of the familiar faces were there, but a mystery girl stood out in the crowd. They go on to show how she went from "noob to knockout."<br /><br />The <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/video/">video</a>, created by WB Worldwide TV Marketing - New Media, in conjunction with Reitz-Lange Productions, is a fun look at what goes on in the <a href="http://slurl.com/secondlife/Warner%20Brothers/176/142/22">Gossip Girl sims</a>. However, it could have been so much better had they not left the UI in the shots. You can clearly see chat going on in the bottom left corner. Another complaint is that the press release calls it an "animated video." This is supposedly the first in "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HundTffqW8">The Upper East Side Insider</a>" series, so hopefully next time they'll call it what it is; Machinima.<br /><br />[Thanks, Stormy!]<p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/12/15/cinemassively-ues-insider-noob-to-knockout/">Cinemassively: UES Insider - Noob to Knockout</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Sat, 15 Dec 2007 12:30:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HundTffqW8>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/12/15/cinemassively-ues-insider-noob-to-knockout/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/1063711/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/12/15/cinemassively-ues-insider-noob-to-knockout/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>cw</category><category>gossip-girl</category><category>linden-lab</category><category>metaverse-mod-squad</category><category>millions-of-us</category><category>reitz-lange-productions</category><category>second-life</category><category>sl</category><category>the-upper-east-side-insider</category><category>ues-insider</category><category>upper-east-side</category><category>warner-brothers</category><category>wb-worldwide-tv-marketing</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Moo Money]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 15 Dec 2007 12:30:00 EST</pubDate></item></channel></rss>
