Creative IT® Videos, The Brainchild of Pamila Tiponi.

Written by Margaux Dufaux

When Pamila Tiponi first came to Second Life™ (SL) almost 3 years ago she wanted to see what this interesting virtual world was about. She came on to explore and in short time met a friend that provided her with her first lindens and helped her learn her way around. Before long she was employed as a hostess and through her work there she met many wonderful new people, landing her a job playing in a band, and eventually getting into modeling. It was while training to be model she started to experiment with making videos, which is also a real life interest for her.

When she decided to make her first video, she asked her friend Spirited Emor if she could record a music video for him  and she asked friends to join in. (see that video below).

"Spirited Emor- Stand By Me"

Pamila, a recent college graduate, continued to explore SL, making videos applying her real life skills to improve.  While working as a manager for a music business  she filmed her first wedding video. Wedding videos are the bulk of the business now and for Pamila the most enjoyable part of her work " I love to make Customers happy, to give them the best moment in their SL life captured by us".

This video  "Yannick & Curvey" is one of her wedding videos.




As more and more people started to become aware of her work approaching her to record for them she decided then it was time to learn how to establish and promote her own business.

Creative IT® Videos Production was born, to date they have produced 85 videos (35 of them being wedding videos).

Logo of Creative IT Videos production

 

One of her favorite and most successful projects was the sexy belly dance video she did, for a client:
See it below:




This video has had over 6500 views from all over the world and was named one of the best Second Life™ videos of 2012 by Momac.
It was one of the best of Momac Videos of August 2012. Be sure to check out the Creative IT Youtube™ channel https://www.youtube.com/user/MissArubiana so that you can see their full body of work ranging from performance pieces, to weddings, to promo videos. 

In addition to videos with Creative IT, Pamila also offers modeling, clothing design https://marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/86738 and wedding consultation services. Many of her past clients like Rose/ rfb morpork of Paris Metro™, and lovelyrans of Love Dreamers™ are now part of the network she utilizes to help provide her clients with full service experience. In addition to video services providing help with anything you need for that special day, from advice on finding that perfect gown to arranging the reception of your dreams. Attending to all needs of the client is what she credits with their success. They all recently teamed up under Creative IT to sponsor a contest to find the perfect bride and groom. See details here https://www.facebook.com/pages/Creative-IT-Videos/299160863484322?ref=stream&hc_location=timeline

Pamila plans to continue making videos and sharing in some the most special moments of people. Her greatest satisfaction comes in knowing she was able to capture the quiet beauty and tender emotion of those precious moments, for her clients to enjoy for years to come. See for yourself what her customers have to say https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/Creative-IT-WEDDING-VIDEO-S/4587280. As for the future she is exploring SL to real life possibilities for growing a successful business doing what she loves using skills gained on both sides of the grid.

The Creative IT team also do Live events for customers and fans one of them are Weddings contest here is an example of  a Second Life wedding contest of Creative IT:



If you want to participate in their videos as actor or want to participate in their contest feel free to contact Pamila Tiponi in Second Life.

GraffitiWear™ Is Fashion By Designer, Chalice Piers.

Written by Fuzzball

GraffitiWear, founded & owned by its designer Chalice Piers-Soulstar (Soulstar is her partner's last name) is a shop that, upon first glance, seems to be just another clothing store in Second Life™ virtual world, but after a look around, it's much more than that. It's a store for both men and women, who are looking for clothes, at a reasonable price.

GraffitiWear Gowns for L$ 225 each in 4 assorted colors (shown above are the red and purple ones)

               The dresses found here, are not only creations of the store owner, but are also better looking than others, and cheaper than far more. In Second Life (SL) a single dress, of this caliber, can go for about L$ 500 to L$ 1000. At GraffitiWear, they are sold for the mere price of L$ 225, each. Dresses aren't the only item sold here, for a cheap price, skirts also made by the store's owner, are sold for as low as L$ 25, each, and look a lot better than most, that are sold for four times as much.

Velour Skirts @ L$ 25L each

                What store is complete without a few games? There are two Gatcha machines here, as well as an Unlucky Dip. Gatcha machines have become a sort of necessity in an SL store. However not many people have probably heard of the Unlucky Dip. It's a game that has basically the same principals of Bobbing for Apples, but instead of apples, you're bobbing for prizes.

Currently their best selling item, the Lace Tees @ L$ 50 each

                The design of this place is just as top notch as its merchandise. With the bottom floor filled with woman's wear such as the Lace Tees the best selling items currently selling for L$ 50 each, and the top floor with men's wear and accessories, one might think of a bunch of boxes just stacked everywhere, but once you see how the design of the store works well with the placement of the products, you will realize there are no boxes here.

                Of course, most stores have boxes, though this store has the bottoms hanging on hangers. Even a lot of the tops are on hangers. This store is truly one that had the goal of looking realistic, and not only reaching that goal, but perfectly, and flawlessly, exceeding the goal.

                The lady's section is split in three parts, with the new products in the middle. To the north is the single piece items, as in the shirts, the pants, the skirts etc. To the south is where the ladies outfits are sold, giving it a more organized look. The men's and accessories section is split in half. The men's wear is to the north, and the accessories is to the south. Fat-packs (an item packaged in a bundle of sorted colors) are sold with the items that are in the fat-packs..

GraffitiWear men's wear Hawaiian shirts @ L$ 95 each

                Don't be discouraged if you don't have enough linden for something, because they have a mini mania board, as well as a lucky letter board, too. So the store is nicer than a lot of other stores that only want your linden. This store actually wants you to have clothes, that's why their prices are cheaper than most.

                A place of amazing clothes at cheap prices, and fun almost addicting games, and an amazing design, make this store one of the best in SL. It is definitely worth a visit.

Below are GraffitiWear new releases which include Jewelry sets and Pleated Skirt & Top sets.
To see more of the designs online, please visit Chalice's Flickr™ account http://www.flickr.com/photos/chalicepiers/
Thank you for reading my review of GraffitiWear, my avatar name in SL is Fuzzball! (theonlyjohnny) reporting for OI Magazine SL.

These new released jewelry sets are sold at L$ 95 a piece sold in assorted colors each

The Pleated Skirt and Top Set are also new releases that are L$ 150 per set

Entrepreneur, Stacy Mosely Talks Business, Life & Charity.

Written by Carmichael Caudron

Glam picture of Stacy Mosely done by our photographer Kaley Rae Fancypants.

Few people in Second Life™ are as driven as Stacy Mosely, our client this time at OI Magazine SL.
She is the owner of 2 companies, acquiring one recently this year, VMS aka Virtual Music Services™ publication, previously owned by Jay Hurikan. She manages several live singing acts and on top of that also works as a photographer and machinima artist.

We will highlight her career up until now and take a look inside the mind of this dedicated entrepreneur of what she is willing to share ,what made it all happen into who she is today, who is by her side and what further plans she has stored in her journey in our virtual world online community.


Charity...

You must be tired, Stacy coming from the event yesterday. I read in some notices that you were promoting Brixton Canning and Jessy Davidson , could you tell our readers more about it?

Stacy: "To be honest, every day is pretty much chaotic. Not only the venue grand opening last night but I also had a performer singing the hour before the opening. So dealing with rl and then coming inworld to make sure notices get sent out, the performer has what they need, the venue has what they need then being at the show to monitor their stream, make sure sound is right and things are going as they should. Play hostess to their shows and answer the dozen IM's that always come through during performances about the performer, then running to VMS Club Neuro™ to get things ready for the first performer in about 5min or less before stage time, pretty nuts.
Actually it was so crazy yesterday that I was at all the events in an evening gown with no shoes.
SL was not cooperating with notices, my bot that sends out groups notices inworld about performances wasn't working right, I was writing 3 different sets of notices and never got shoes on!

Picture of the event taken by Stacy, with Jesse Davidson playing the guitar



Brixton Canning also appears in this shot, taken by Stacy Mosely

The VMS Club Neuro, is that your club?

"Yes, it's the collaborative work between VMS™ and The Guardian Spirit Transitions™ (GST) sim. It's a group working with autistics inworld. They use SL to help teach social and personal skills in a non-threatening environment. Hoping people can take what they learn gradually to their real life."


That is very cool, what kind of club is it and when did you establish this collaboration and what made you interested in doing so?

"It's a tips only venue, the main goal is a place where any performer can play. They don't have to be one of "the famous" to have a place to sing. A place for just musical enjoyment and help with bringing awareness of Autism to everyone. What it is, who these people are and how to understand.
when I took over VMS, the first thing I did was eliminate the venue. It was never prosperous and the cost was ridiculous. Venues really don't make money but what was being paid out vs return was beyond bad.There was some flack from some performers over it, who had had regularly scheduled (paid) gigs there. The more I started thinking about it, the more I thought would be nice one day to re-open but with better thought put into the operating.
Marcus, the owner of the GST group and sim approached me about their group and if I were interested in re-opening on their sim, rent free, with a tip split to the sim for the venue
after lots of thought and discussion, we came up with the plan - Club Neuro was a club they had had years ago and we decided to keep the name and go with it from there ... thus we now have VMS Club Neuro back on the grid
It's not a fund raising venue, that's not the goal. Any venue tips are appreciated but we don't use it as a fund raising venture. Just a place to hang, have fun, listen to some music and meet some extremely interesting people."

The promo for the Club Neuro grand opening event

Did Marcus come up with supporting Autism, a very noble case btw or did you both decide on it?
 
"Marcus is autistic and has been doing this for many many years. He's a published writer and loud proponent of all things Autism. It is his guides that are being used on the sim as training tools. He founded a rl non-profit foundation years ago based on his work and brought it into SL as a means to reach more people, services and support at no cost to anyone - minus sim tier fees.
There are a lot of supposed non-profit focused groups and sims in sl, all looking for handouts and fund raising under the pretenses of some rl foundation. The Autism Society of America™ does not have a true group inworld that is governed by their standards and guidelines yet. There are those who claim to be but the funds donated never leave SL and make it to the foundation. We're hoping to fix that."



Business....


You mentioned taking over VMS™, when did you buy it? Follow up, what made you interested in buying VMS?

"Well that's an interesting story.. short version - I'd been working with Jay as Chief Editor for about 9 months or so and he came to me one day frustrated and said he was giving up VMS, going to do something different because he wasn't having fun anymore. This happens to everyone in sl over time. So I offered to take it. That's pretty much how it came to be. We've reorganized, made some changes to the website, added to the magazine page and are doing very very well."



That's great. Looking over at your profile I noticed you are also the co-owner of Krypt Keeper Media™, tell us more about it please, what is it about?

"It's a group that my partner (Kessryll Stormcrow) and I put together, originally for the inworld machinima that we filmed - should point out that it is adult oriented material and the photography work that I do. We were very involved with it for a while and I do still photo work when asked or if the mood hits, but like most "hobbies" in SL, it's fallen to the wayside for the most part.
We enjoy building sets and poses for them for photo work, we have an MP store where we sell the custom poses really cheap after the photo shoots are done. We prefer making our own because of the uniqueness and ability to make what we want how we want, rather than use someone else's pose and make my set fit them."

logo of VMS

logo of Krypt Keeper Media

Did you start out as a machinima artist and photographer in SL before doing publishing and music management?

"Yes, we also do a lot of our own building and I make textures as needed. The music management came into play because my partner is a live performer inworld - Stormcrow."



Life....

Oh yes, I noticed you were partnered to Stormcrow, may I ask how did you guys meet?

"We met in SL, friend of a friend kind of introduction and literally just hit it off instantly.. love at first pixel."
*Smiles*
"He really wasn't singing much inworld and just didn't have a strong management base so I took over. That was almost 2 years ago. It just took off from there. Meeting the most amazing people just inspired me to get more and more involved."


That's so nice to hear, how long have you been together?

"We had some rough times and split up for a few months but we've been back together and partnered now for a year and 1/2."

past promo of Stacy's partner, live singer Kessryll Stormcrow

I always ask our clients this,because it is so interesting to know, how did you discover SL and what was your first wow moment here as a noob?

"LOL...omggg...sooo long ago! I actually saw it on an episode of CSI like a million years ago and decided to check it out. I think that was maybe 7 years ago now, maybe 6...lost track. But I was instantly hooked and have been here since in some for or another. On my 3rd AV and last.
And initially, every moment was a WOW moment and even now I am still Wow'd fairly regularly.
Haha...I googled...appears to be 2007 when that episode aired."



Contacting Stacy Mosely, VMS...

Great. In closing could you let our readers know what they should do if interested in contacting VMS and how they can stay updated on your future projects there?

"Well the best way to stay in touch with us inworld is to join the VMS group - we have around 600 in the group now. We dont spam! Notices are 99% about VMS updates on the web or major goings on on the grid.
We also have the Facebook™ page where same things are posted and a twitter account
and there's a VirtualMusicServices page that allows for everyone to post upcoming shows and anything live performer related on the grid.
VMS is not just about the VMS Venue, we want to promote all live performers, venues and anything performance related in SL. We don't charge for our write ups or reviews. We average about 12k or more hits a month on the site so great place to advertise - those we charge for but very affordable compared to other online advertising options for inworld marketing."

https://www.facebook.com/pages/VirtualMusic-Services/164576940263986
https://www.facebook.com/groups/virtualmusicservices/
http://virtualmusicservices.com/vmsmagazine/
https://twitter.com/Vmusicservices

"The first link is the main group to LIKE on FB, 2nd is the group to join and post in and last is the magazine website itself."
This concludes our interview of Stacy Mosely of VMS in Second Life, thank you for reading, feel free to comment and recommend this article to others, my name is Carmichael Caudron, reporting for OI Magazine SL.

Life Talk Adult Counseling Services™ Makes Its Entrance In Second Life™

Written by Carmichael Caudron

Surfing through Facebook™ last Sunday afternoon I came across Life Talk Adult Counseling Services™ page and saw the inspiring posts left by its founder, Sabrina Hannu aka sabrinaxox​o hannu, her avatar name in Second Life™.


Life Talk Adult Counseling Services, LTACS for short in this interview, a non profit organization was created by Sabrina and her best friend and business partner, kataluna Quinnell.




logo of LTACS

How did you meet I asked."Kataluna and I met at a club in SL and I had IM'd her asking where she had bought her outfit.  We both have a love for shopping so we clicked right away.  I have known her for a few years now and she is the sweetest person I know alive, also very smart." Sabrina answered.

Glam shot of Sabrina's avatar done by our photographer Kaley Rae Fancypants ({g} Photography)

When asked how it came about creating LTACS, Sabrina told me "We started throwing ideas at each other probably about 4 or 5 months ago and that night I was pumped up about starting it that I had started to create a blog and Facebook page and we talked about how we would run it, and that it'd be free because helping people is something that makes us feel good and we aren't greedy like some. I am doing this for the sake of others in the time of need. We decided to start this because we seem to always have friends coming to us for advice and we have been through a lot. So I have always loved helping others by sharing my experience with them. We both realized how many people came to both of us just to talk, or vent, or just need some help with life. When we realized that I sort of joked around saying maybe we could save many SL relationships. That's where the idea of marriage counseling came in, then decided to broaden it to a more diverse population."


Relationships seemed a big interest for LTACS to their clients. The advices left on the Facebook page are very uplifting. Wondering if and why she encouraged SL relationships, she replied "Well SL relationships are a lot harder to maintain than in RL.  A lot more trust is involved but every couple has their own rules set and ideas of what they want.  It is just to find that other half that wants the same.  I have tried and failed many times. With every failure you learn a lesson.  I encourage it but be cautious."

Lovely RL pic of Sabrina Hannu!

LTACS has existed for a few months and is in process of also making its debut in form of a blog, I wondered what the best way was for clients to contact her and Kataluna when they need to talk.
"Best way right now is by our Facebook group (click hyper link).Then as I finish our blog I will be keeping the page updated about that."


Sabrina told me she had a few hours before she headed to work in real life, so I went deeper into our conversation mentioning at OI Magazine SL we were familiar with counseling groups as our co founder Krissy Sinclair had founded Survivors of Suicide group in SL.
Asking her if she was familiar with depression issues and if she was including that into her services, she took a pause and replied "Depression hits home for me.  I would support it 100%.  I have lost a loved one a few months back for this very reason who was my inspiration, my brother in real life.....  Even in hard times myself, I still find I feel better helping others.  As I heal, I find ways to cope and continue on in life in a positive manor and if I can share that conception about grief I hope it spreads to others.  To let them know that everything happens for a reason. As we don't have a cure all we can do is show our support to those who need someone they can trust and know that we really do care."

Sorry to hear that, Sabrina. My condolences. "Thank you."


With the recent rise for civil rights finally in LGBT groups and couples, many LGBT people in SL also look for their life partner and take it to real life in many cases. I asked Sabrina what her opinion was of the movement finally happening in our era and if she supported and included it in her counselings in SL. "Yes definitely, all are welcomed. We are all the same, a human being looking for someone to love and appreciate them.  If they find someone who makes them happy and it happens to be the same gender then so be it."


How long have you been in Second Life and what do you hope to see Second Life develop into or are you happy with the way it is? Follow up, who introduced you to SL ,how did you find it?
"Well I was in a previous virtual game called Vside™, and the group of friends I had there we heard about Second Life.  We realized how much more freedom there was and a lot more to do.  So as a group we all joined SL.  I have been in SL now for just over 3 years, and it has grown lots.  I still find neat sims and I am always learning new things to build or create.  I do hope to see it improve a little more quality wise as we all know as "Lag" it can get pretty bad sometimes :P, " She smirked.


Who designed your logo on Facebook and how did it come about?
"I came up with it myself.  I wanted something simple I didn't want to be known as an artist so I didn't want a fancy logo.  After a few hours of me being picky I came across this one I liked. As a Facebook group I use inspirational pictures as most can relate to using Facebook to generalize some topics that have come up to talk as a group."


We came to a close of the interview with Sabrina's parting words "I am no professional, no degree in counseling I am only here to provide my opinion.  I would like to see myself as someone who can try my best to help others sort through any hard time in life.  I haven't been married but I will help sort out fights, or life questions, grief is very popular as I have been through it I can provide exercises and activities to help cope."

Great words, to support or contact Life Talk Adult Counseling Services, please contact Sabrina directly at her Facebook page listed earlier in the article where you can contact her business partner as well and remember Life Talk Adult Counseling Services is a free service and client issues remain confidential.
Thank you for reading our article, feel free to leave comments and please let others know about this, my name is Carmichael Caudron, reporting for OI Magazine SL.


Update July 10th, Sabrina just designed her blog and it's ready to be viewed at this link:
http://sabrinaxoxo.wix.com/howtodeal#

Introducing Marc Strassman & Etopia News™

Written By Sita Writer






Marc Strassman, is a multifaceted man with extraordinary vision and interests that range the gamut from real life politics to virtual world etiquette. Strassman , who is a Los Angeles native that studied Social Relations at Harvard™ university is a true professional that is always in search of a good story ,Strassman admits, “ Mostly I use Secondlife™ to chat with avatars from around the world about their First Lives and, when they feel like it, about the political situation in their own countries. Second Life provides me with information that I can use in my real life profession of video interviewing guests about politics and related subjects, by giving me a clearer understanding of the actual political situation and attitudes in different states and countries.”


Technology has certainly made the world a smaller and more manageable place and Strassman’s research and subsequent interviews are perfect examples of this.

Picture of Etopia News' Marc Strassman

Strassman ,bilingual in English and Spanish is a self-proclaimed “internet reporter”.  “I use the Internet as the platform for conducting my interviews and as a means of distributing them, as well as in the sense of someone that covers new developments of the Internet itself.”


In 2003, Strassman started Etopia News™. 
The origin of the name is interesting because Etopia is a place where most public and private communications take place using electronic platforms, especially the Internet. 
Strassman tells OI that, “The name comes from a book by the late MIT professor William J. Mitchell called e-topia, available from Amazon (click hyperlink) .  When I started Etopia News, I often had to explain the origins of the name to people, but by 2013, most people realize that we are living in Etopia, even if they don’t recognize the name as such.”


Strassman started Etopia as a platform for coverage of important news that wasn’t getting adequate coverage in the mainstream or even online media.  He is reminiscent of Utne Magazine™; a subcultural watchdog that ferrets out important stories that really need to be told.  Strassman’s goal is to tell those stories via Etopia.


Over the years, Etopia has grown and evolved.  Currently there are thousands of articles and 200 plus YouTube videos to peruse created by the always-prolific Strassman.


As technology has advanced along with Strassman’s skills, Etopia News evolved from a text news operation that included links to audio and video coverage of people, subjects, and events to one that mainly features video interviews on Etopia Youtube™ channel and occasional text posts on the Etopia News blog, that also features embedded versions of the videos as they appear on YouTube. 


Not leaving a social media tool unused, Etopia News video interviews are also available on Pinterest™.  In addition, some Etopia News interviews are also syndicated as blog posts on AOL’s Menlo ParkAtherton™ Patch site. Strassman also promotes his interviews via Twitter™.


Many articles and interviews that were produced before Strassman started to use  Google+ Hangouts™ On Air to produce them (he previously used SightSpeed™ and Skype™)are archived on the Etopia News Now channel of blip tv ™. 


For the sake of convenience, a player streams the blip.tv interviews and is embedded on the home page.
The most recent interviews are streamed live and archived on the Etopia News YouTube.


In terms of getting the word out about Etopia, Strassman uses Facebook™ as his primary promotional tool.  “I usually post links to new interviews on the Etopia News page on Facebook to generate traffic to the page.  “On FB ,I define Etopia’s mission as a source that features in-depth, remotely-recorded video interviews with elected officials, academics, authors, business people, and others, covering current topics in politics, technology, medicine, business, and culture @ www.etopianews.com”) and on my own home page.   I’ve also recently created a FB page featuring 27 Etopia News videos dealing with cannabis regulation, called “The Path to Cannabis Legalization."


Strassman hopes to expand the quality and quantity of guests that appear on his show and to reach a larger audience utilizing the latest online technology for production, distribution and promotion of his shows.  “As for future guests, I hope to interview Tom Boellstorf, author of Coming of Age in Second Life, and Tom Ammiano, a California Assembly member and author of AB 473, which would reform the regulation of medical cannabis in California. I’m satisfied that Etopia News is getting its work out to a select group of viewers, but I’d like to build its viewership to enable it to reach more people and have a bigger effect on the news cycle.”


As an up and coming alternative news source, and as new stories emerge and slip under the radar, it is good to know that Etopia News will be there getting the word out and creating more conversation to a growing online community.


Thank you for reading my article on Etopia News and its founder, Marc Strassman. My name is Sita Writer, reporting for OI Magazine.