Patch Linden Announces Upcoming Linden Homes , "Meet the Lindens" Lineup At SL18B Opening Ceremony

On Thursday June 17, the Second Life Birthday officially began. And one of the first events was the Opening Ceremonies in which Patch Linden would address the residents inworld for the first time since the passing of Linden Lab's CEO. 

(Click here if the video does not play)

Patch's comments would be delayed for a few minutes due to technical difficulties (his voice can be heard at 6:58 in the video, and the speech starts at 7:50). Finally it began, "Welcome to the 2021 Second Life Birthday Celebration. Eighteen years, and what a year behind us!" He called the biggest accomplishment of the past year being the move of Second Life data to Cloud Servers, and Second Life itself "nary skipped a beat ... Second Life saw practically no downtime," and that the efforts of the Lindens and Moles allowed all to "continue our virtual lives uninterrupted."

They were also focusing on "various initiatives" to grow the virtual world's numbers. They were working on a project to improve the experience of new users. He mentioned the marketing team "has been testing out several new campaigns to build on this momentum," such as the new homepage, with more changes to come soon there, "and new strategic partnerships." He also mentioned the several designs of new Linden Homes in the past year. Saying, "some of you want to know why this particular theme was chosen for SL18B. Well, I suppose I can't contain it any longer. The theme you see around you is part of the new addition to Linden Homes: Fantasy. This theme has several unique attributes that are sure to amaze you." He would say more would be revealed at "Meet The Lindens" next week.

Patch would then mention Linden Lab's "new ownership," saying, "Brad Oberwanger and Randy Waterfield both have nothing but high hopes to see Second Life succeed and continue to have a long healthy and prosperous future." He stated he had worked closely with Oberwanger for eight months, "as we experience his passion for Second Life together." Patch would say he took him around inworld, "he has been hugely thankful and humbled by our time and experiences together."

Patch would mention Second Life going through some highs, handling the Pandemic and the US election, "Second Life provided many with a normal that exists for all of us" that many use as an escape from the stress of life in these unusual times.

Eventually (at 12:30 in the video), he would bring up the passing of Ebbe Altberg, "Sadly we have also seen some people go. And they will never be forgotten as they touched us. They gave us the best from their hearts, their minds, and their souls. And this thing called real life sometimes knocks on our door and makes a call. This is one of those calls. Ebbe Altberg started as our CEO on February 5, 2014. He took the helm of the company, and immediately went to work on invigorating our spirit and culture. Ebbe brought a profound openness. Transparency in his operation was key. And that had many effects on us internally and externally. Lindens were again encouraged to be part of the vibrant community in Second Life, to participate in and cherish it as part oc our daily duties.

"Ebbe also worked internally on embracing all aspects of Second Life, learning about its many nuances, to understand the impacts of decisions we made, while being sensitive to those and utilizing all of our resources, which firstly included you, the community, and many of us who are deeply embedded in Second Life. Ebbe's goals for Second Life included promoting Second Life as the world's best virtual world, community, and platform. He also sought new adventures in developing next generation products. But behind the scenes, Ebbe worked tirelessly to improve the lives he surrounded himself with on our teams, and for the residents of Second Life. Ebbe would be very proud of our accomplishments today." Patch would then strain to speak as the emotion began to show, "And he, would have, been here, among us, as we celebrate Second Life turning eighteen years old. There's no doubt in my mind that he wouldn't have had it any other way.

"Now please, a moment of silence as we reflect and remember those we lost in the past year." Thirty seconds would pass, then, "Thank you. As I stand before you today, I commit to all of you our mission of making Second Life the biggest, best, most vibrant virtual world there can ever be. To grow Second Life, and to ensure the residents are respected and happy with everything we do.

"Thank you to everyone for being here, part of this wonderful world we enjoy so much together: Second Life. Thank you to the Moles, the Lindens, the residents, and volunteers who work so hard to bring this event to life every year. Here's to an awesome remaining 2021."

Patch then announced the schecule of "Meet the Lindens."

Monday June 21: "a special double-header of a Lab Gab" at 2PM SLT
Tuesday, June 22 : Patch Linden at 1PM SLT
Wednesday, June 23 :  Grumpity Linden at 2PM SLT
Thursday, June 24 :  Brett Linden at 1PM SLT
Friday June 25 :  "Meet the Moles"  at 1PM SLT.

All of these events will be at the Auditorium.

Patch would then talk about the Music Fest and the musicians. He also mentioned there would be a special set of last names coming out later that day. "So with that, bye for now, have fun, and stay virtual." He then declared the region with the Fantasy Homes open, "Now go find it. Thank you everybody."

Strawberry Linden would speak for the rest of the video, heading from the main stage to the Tapestry of Time, where there was a statue of Ebbe Linden set up, and then other places around the SL18B grounds.

Stay tuned for more information about the Fantasy Homes, and more about the SL18B.

Bixyl Shuftan