So Kevin, who are you in RL ?
«I am Kevin M. Klerks ((avatar : Winter Silversmith), and I say ‘M’ because there are five Kevin Klerks’ in the world. I live in Canada, Alberta, and I work in retail management.»
In virtual world, on which grid are you connected ?
«My Homebase is on Great Canadian Grid, my summer home on TanGLe Grid, and my office and for retreat, the open grid of TanGle grid, WestWorld Grid.»
What do you do in virtual world ?
«I am Editor/Publisher of the Corran Journal tabloïd, and, I am CEO of Silversmith Studios (Studio City Manitou).»
Do you organize virtual events?
«No, however I do sponsor them from time to time. DJ’s on TanGLe for their Expos, Meet & Greet party DJ’s, decorating contests, shopping contests, independent video productions and so forth. If I think that an event or activity will benefit the community as a whole I tend to support it.»
Have you sim on these grids ?
«I lease one sim on TanGLe Grid (residential) and three on Great Canadian Grid (commercial; residential; and a mixed residential/memorial park) at the moment.»
Do you have any current projects in virtual worlds ?
"My current project is to publish the Corran Journal with articles about the interest of the social side of OpenSim. And my second activity is to host and provide funding for independent video productions in OpenSim, with Silversmith Studios (Studio City Manitou).»
Why are you interested in virtual world ?
«I’ve been involved with virtual worlds since 2008. I find that virtual worlds allows you the freedom to let your imagination run wild and to participate in projects you might not have the opportunity to do in RealLife. For example I have played the role of Mayor of several regions inworld, this is something I would not have the chance to do in RL. And now I host a studio set where members can film their own independent productions, again something that is impractical in RL. Oh, to answer your question, I'm interested in networking, event and production hosting and meeting new people.»
What are the benefits ?
«Other than the social side of meeting new people around the world. I have found over the years that you can gain experience inworld that you can use in the RL. For example, networking people together, organizing events, advertising, fundraising and more. If you can achieve these things inworld it’s easier to achieve them in RL.»
And disadvantages...
«Disadvantages, well, the number one disadvantage would be the drama. For some reason people feel it necessary to bring their negativity and personal dramas into the virtual world. The thing is, most of us come inworld to get a break from RL drama, unfortunately only to be confronted with it by people with personal ego and emotional drama issues.»
Which grid do you prefer ?
«I would have to say Great Canadian Grid, partly because I’m Canadian but mostly because I find the grid owner Roddie Macchi very easy to talk to and work with on various projects in the grid. A very close second would be TanGLe grid. I have a year plus history with them and I've owned as many as 6 regions there at one time.»