GimpGirl Community Moves to New Second Life Home, in Collaboration with the Experiential Design and Gaming Environment Lab at Ryerson University

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GimpGirl Community Moves to New Second Life Home, in Collaboration with the Experiential Design and Gaming Environment Lab at Ryerson University

September 15, 2010 – The GimpGirl Community, an international online support network for women with disabilities, is launching its new home within the virtual world of Second Life, in collaboration with the Experiential Design and Gaming Environment (EDGE) Lab at Ryerson University, based in Toronto, Canada.

GimpGirl Community was established in 1998 as a support network and resource center for women with disabilities. One of the first of its kind, it has brought together women with disabilities, allies, and supporters from around the world, using various Internet-based platforms. GimpGirl Community is active on several sites, including Flickr, LiveJournal, the social networking platforms of Facebook and Twitter, and its own website forums, among others.

Since February 2008, GimpGirl has maintained land within the virtual world of Second Life, previously sponsored by 3D Embodiment. This in-world environment includes space for weekly support group meetings, events and presentations, and areas to showcase art and items for sale created by community members, along with residential areas.

The EDGE lab is a transdisciplinary research lab exploring virtual and mixed-reality applications at the intersection of developing technologically embedded social and cultural practices, and shifting economic landscapes. The lab is supported with funding from the Canadian Foundation for Innovation and the Ministry for Research and Innovation of the Province of Ontario.

This new partnership will allow us to expand and more fully utilize our presence on Second Life and beyond,” said Jennifer Cole, program director of the GimpGirl Community. “Our goal is to create and maintain spaces online where women with disabilities can express themselves, support each other, and and engage their creativity.”

The new partnership with the EDGE Lab will allow GimpGirl Community access to the lab’s research and development infrastructure for the exploration of virtual and mixed-reality projects. The partnership will also increase traffic to the GimpGirl Community presence in Second Life, and ultimately support all of the community platforms used by the GimpGirl Community. This will allow for continued and exciting improvements in how the GimpGirl Community can reach out and support the lives of women with disabilities it connects with every day.

A “moving party” will take place within Second Life on September 19th, 2010 from 12 PM to 3 PM (PDT), which will include live music, as well as a DJ and dance party, a tour, and a guided storytelling hour. The event will also be accessible outside of Second Life via the GimpGirl Community website chat room and audio stream, and related projects and discussions will take place across the various GimpGirl Community outposts on the web.

For more information, visit http://www.gimpgirl.com.

Contact:
GimpGirl Community
info@gimpgirl.com

Dr. Jason Nolan
Director
Experiential Design and Gaming Environments (EDGE) Lab
Ryerson University
jnolan@ryerson.ca
http://ryerson.ca/~edgelab

SLCC 2010

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Come join GimpGirl Community at the Second Life Community Convention in person or online! Katherine Mancuso (SL: Muse Carmona) will be representing GimpGirl Community in the following SLCC 2010 events:

GimpGirl: Weaving a Virtual Support Network for Women With Disabilities
Saturday, 6:30 to 7:30am Pacific – Thoreau
UStream Channel: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/slcc6

GimpGirl’s mission is to connect women with disabilities through social technologies to support each other’s lives. We believe the lessons we have learned about how universal design and accessibility apply to facilitating conversations about healthcare and support across platforms are translatable to other community building, education, and collaboration efforts in Second Life.

Virtual Worlds Standards: Why You Should Care
David Levine (SL: Zha Ewry), Katherine Mancuso (SL: Muse Carmona), Jeanne Spellman (SL: Jeanne Solo)
Sunday, 8:00 to 9:00am Pacific – St. James
UStream Channel: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/slcc2/

As virtual worlds evolve, standards will be part of the dialogue shaping the growth of their technical architectures and social ecosystems. Topics will include: standards for Second Life-Like worlds, compatibility with existing Internet technologies, accessibility for persons with disabilities, and standards for meshes and graphics.

Utilizing Virtual Worlds for Real Life Good
Joyce Bettencourt (SL: Rhiannon Chatnoir), Henry Allen (SL: Jaywick Forcella), Kathey Fatica (SL: Katydid Something), Katherine Mancuso (SL: Muse Carmona), Janyth Ussery (SL: Saxet Uralia)
Sunday, 11:30am to 12:30pm Pacific – St. James
UStream Channel: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/slcc2/

Can a virtual world manifest real life good? This presentation will be an overview and panel discussion of best practices and learned experiences of five people working formally and informally on social good, nonprofit and philanthropic projects within Second Life. Topics such as using virtual simulation for support and awareness, fundraising, community outreach, and event planning along with the opportunity to askquestions, and pick the collective brains of the panelists.

All events can be viewed from Second Life at the SLCC sim (SLurl: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/SLCC%201/233/24/25 ) in the room listed, or on the Ustream address in each event listing above!

GimpGirl Community at 2009 IEEE Accessing the Future Conference in Boston

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We pleased to share that GimpGirl Community Liaison Katherine Mancuso will be presenting on our behalf at the 2009 IEEE Accessing the Future Conference, which takes place in Boston, MA from July 20-21.

You can also read the PDF of the abstract. Are you attending IEEE? Say hello! What are your thoughts on accessible community in virtual worlds? Let us know…

GimpGirl Community at The San Francisco Online Community Report August Meetup

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Tomorrow, August 26th at 7pm Pacific is the free monthly gathering of online community managers, enthusiasts, and innovators to meet and discuss tools and strategies for building and managing effective communities.

Liz Henry will be representing GimpGirl Community as the August guest speaker. GimpGirl has been doing online community since 1998 as a means to connect, support, and make positive impact in the lives of women with disabilities with an active presence on a number of social media platforms including the virtual world of Second Life. Liz will discuss the process of building and sustaining a growing community, meeting the needs of users, and strategies for managing community on multiple sites. Her talk will kick-off an informal discussion on managing and supporting online communities in all forms.

Speaker Bio: Liz Henry is a producer and developer at BlogHer, the award-winning aggregation, syndication and advertising network for women bloggers, and is on the advisory board of GimpGirl. She has been writing online since 1990, drafted the Common Public Attribution License for SocialText, and has been a key figure in organizing BarCampBlock, WoolfCamp, the Tiptree Awards and Wiki Wednesday. She has been a wheelchair user on and off for fifteen years, and is a proud member of the Secret Feminist Cabal.

Hope to see you there! They will also be streaming the event live on justin.tv and you can also follow the action on Twitter #ocrsf .

You can RSVP for this event here: http://www.meetup.com/SF-Online-Community-Report/calendar/10938416/

Radio interview about GimpGirl Community (listen online, live or archived)

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GimpGirl Community Representative Alejandra Ospina will speak with radio host Dan Windheim (based in Rockland County, New York) on his show, “Dialogues With Dan”, which focuses on issues that affect people with disabilities. They will talk about the history and focus, and future of our community, and what makes us who we are.

The interview will take place on Tuesday, May 19th, at 6:30 PM EDT/3:30 PM PDT (if you are in another time zone, check here to find out the time in your area).

Tune in online at: http://www.rocklandworldradio.com/program/dialogues/

If you’re not able to tune into the live broadcast, the interview will be available for later listening, in the show’s online archive.

Thanks for listening!