Last week I escorted Neil Strauss to two events to promote his new book, Emergency.
The first was a two hour signing and seminar with his fans at Waterstone's Piccadilly. Neil attracts a particularly devoted kind of reader: a mixture of seasoned PUAs, admiring AFCs and domineering AMOGs (read THE GAME to decipher the anagrams). He clearly cherishes the personal interaction - the banter and back-and-forth - of his book events so that everyone leaves feeling like they've had decent time with the man.
That was Thursday evening. Friday night was different, but in many ways the same. Neil gave a talk on Second Life to a room of about 30 virtual people in an event being broadcast all over their digital universe. I had to do a sound check and set-up before he logged on and could see how this alternative reality posited a substitute life which blended the SIMS and GRAND THEFT AUTO, that could easily veer into the dangerous waters of LAWNMOWER MAN.
But after Neil had settled into it the discussion online was every bit as an engaged and engaging as the real life version. In fact, with simulated earthquake effects, an interactive earthquake survival quiz game and some good quality keyboard banter from all participants it was a very good laugh.
With a soft drug habit and lots of spare time at a university I can see how Second Life might spell your downfall, but it made me wonder whether the scope for international attendance and the impression of intimacy it gave might make pixels preferable to atoms.
Watch Neil's Second Life broadcast here.
