Finding a hook with 'Second Life' hookers

Posted at 10:01 AM Sep 18, 2008

By Bonnie Ruberg

Warning: this post contains shameless self-promotion for an article from a fellow Village Voice Media publication. Next warning: it also contains criticism for that same article. Snap, oh no she didn't!

This week, Denver's Westword ran a feature story on science in Second Life -- that virtual world everyone talks about. (You all know what it is, right? If my mother knows, then it's got to be common knowledge.) The piece is about virtual science museums set up in-world, like the Second Life branch of San Francisco's Exploratorium. There visitors can ride educational rides that would be too dangerous to create in real life. They even aired their recent solar eclipse broadcast in its entirety in the game, with great attendance. Nearby, in another part of "Sciland," a user has created a model nuclear reaction for students to learn from and prod. Interesting stuff for a world that defies the laws of physics. Yes, you can learn science. You can also fly!

But why, oh why, does this article full of potential have to start with an eight-paragraph hook about a prostitute? The piece isn't about sex in Second Life or its seamy underbelly. Still, the first thing we read here is that a "hot escort" with "digitized curves and pixelated bedroom eyes" has entered the scene. Then we hear about how she's probably working for Linden dollars, the game's currency. Um, OK? That's like starting a feature about a new, real-life science lab by discussing the economic interests of the sex worker the reporter saw on the street on the drive over.

With all due respect, this article could have benefited from less ogling and more focus. As in, "I know there's a lady in a 'skin-tight catsuit and long black leather boots' over there, but we actually have an interesting story to report here, so come on, focus!"