Dear Otto,

As the first week of Camp Magic MacGuffin draws to a close, I wanted to take a moment to drop you a line. Perhaps you are wondering why I never picked you up in my Winnabego along the way to camp as we had planned. The reason I never made it to your place in Bay City is because the RV got stuck in the sand when I took a little detour in to the virtual world called Second Life.

I remain on a beach on an island chain called Corona Cay and have yet to arrive at the camp. Fortunately the internet connection here is good enough that I’m able take part in some of the camp activities.

This past week for example, I was able to do three installments of The Daily Create. Two of the three snapshots I uploaded were taken in my recent explorations in Second Life. You’ll be happy to know that one of the images even confounded your old nemisis: The Bava. How sick is that?

I’ve heard via the twitter that some feel I’ve gone a bit off the ds106 script with my renewed enthusiasm for this immersive 3D virtual reality experience. I’ve discovered in my short time here that such an online environment offers an unlimited palette for creative expression across a spectrum of media. It seems to me that this is the sort of space that digtial storytellers would want to seek out

I must confess that I’ve been so focused on my personal project of building an emporium for animated GIFs that I’ve been a wee bit negligent on meeting all of the required Camp Magic MacGuffin tasks. I was fortunate enough to get to spend some time with Camp Co-director Cogdog on the ds106 radio this past weekend. He an Martha have done a lovely job of getting the camp up and running.

The only thing I think this camp needs is you. It should still be possible to register a blog and join in from a distance – as I am. Better yet, perhaps Stella or Merrill could assist you in making the journey from Bay City.

Think how much benefit your inspirational Vince Lombardi Troll Quote posters would bring the campers campers. You don’t need me to remind you how much this open-online scene would benefit from a little good olde fashioned Prussian strategic thinking. From there, it’s just a hop, skip and a jump to monetization.

Obviously, you are welcome to come join me in Second Life. A few of the other campers have popped in for the odd visit. There’s even talk of doing an ice cream social or something on the beach here on an upcoming Sunday.

Bottom line, there are seven more weeks of fun in store. You and anybody else reading this will regret not getting involved in Camp Magic MacGuffin.

Inscrutibly yours,
–scottlo