Interview: Eureka Dejavu

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By gar, it's been a while. I've done a few interviews during my time here, but I can easily say that interviewing Eureka Dejavu was by far the easiest one of the lot to do. It's not that the others were in any way difficult or unpleasant, but that conversing with Eureka was like talking to an old friend. This interview occurred over the course of two visits, and the second time was just as easy to fall into as the first.

Eureka is a freelance investigative journalist in her RL, and it was her continuing series for the Huffington Post that caught my attention. She's interested in social dynamics in SL, and who can blame her? Our conversation, however, turned to other things. In fact, it turned so often that it would resemble a bramble bush if presented schematically. I've trimmed out those parts of the interview that concerned personal matters, yet what's left is still good reading. Thanks again, Eureka; I'm looking forward to talking with you again! (More interview after the jump!)

How long have you been a resident, and what brought you to SL?

I first heard about SL only a few weeks ago, and became a resident that evening. [I] decided that as an investigative reporter and columnist it was a world well worth exploring. I worked at AOL ten years ago and wrote an article for the Village Voice, a cover story, about my experiences there as a vulgarity censor. This work in some ways is an extension of that work, journalistically.

It was extremely interesting and surprising, and the things people say about SL now are the same that people said about AOL back then in some ways. By doing this work I am exploring the evolution of virtual social systems. It is a sociology experiment.
What was it like being a censor?

I was a "monitor" of screen names and profiles. I have no particular problem with profanity, having grown up in Brooklyn. I only did it for a few months. I wanted to find out about the internet and AOL. It was a great experience, eye opening. I've been a writer ever since.

What did you do after that?

I am an investigative reporter and columnist, but I also have a business writing intimate stories about people's lives for private use in families so the members can understand one another better, and I am a process observer for families, businesses and other groups, meaning that I write about the dynamics between group members.

Do you have a journalist's education, or did you just fall into it?

I became a journalist in 1999 after seeing Dan Eldon's book, The Journey is the Destination. He was the youngest Reuters photographer ever. Stoned to death in Somalia in 1993 with three other journalists. He left behind a collection of journals that inspired me to become a journalist.

I spent the last year traveling back and forth to New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, writing about corporate profiteering post-Katrina, and participating in a think-tank for the rebuilding effort. So my work these past years has been serious and dark, depleted uranium, Iraq.

How is it affecting you?

Well, needless to say this assignment is much more entertaining although it still addresses the depth of the human condition in a different way. I consider myself a chronicler of the evolution of consciousness, and this is part of the way our minds are changing, and the way we interact.

A good tag line for a movie of SL would be: "When you can have anything you want, what do you want?"

That's a great point because it often fascinates me how people are extensions of themselves here. It is also making me see real life differently.

I am having a problem paying people at the moment.

What's the trouble?

The Linden doesn't transfer. My landlord had to let me slide on rent until I get it worked out.

Your SL landlord, you mean?

Yes. My RL landlord refuses lindens. He is SO behind the times. And may I add that if he showed up here shirtless with a rippling six pack the way my SL landlords do I'd be a little freaked out.

What's the character on the wall to your right?

Dream, because to me this is all a dream.

Was your intention to focus on sexual activity from the start?

No, it's only a part of what I'm doing. As an investigative reporter I'm always looking for interesting ways to get people to read about subjects of substance. Throwing sex, money, and fame into a sociological experiment is a good way to do that.

I started off studying Western philosophy, but ended up with a wild passion for Eastern. I study Buddhism although do not consider myself a Buddhist per se. I think those studies have helped me to make sense of SL/RL, in the sense that many of the Buddhist concepts such as non-attachment are damaged in translation. So many Westerners misinterpret and when they think they are practicing Buddhism in many cases they are half-practicing a twisted interpretation.

SL is an interesting realm and it is like cave paintings to me. It represents the infancy in the next major milestone in the evolution of consciousness. By which I mean that presently, human beings cannot escape the loaded concepts of race, gender, age, etc., but in SL you are limited only by your ability to express yourself, and therefore a new form of segregation, i.e. creative elitism, will arise. This is the best thing that could possibly happen to society, in my opinion, although many people who don't get it disagree with me.

History proves that people cannot transcend cultural conditioning, at least not as a mainstream movement. I see a massive potential here. It is necessary to be conscious about that instead of just allowing it to unfold organically.

For example, why do they have boxes in SL? I blogged about that yesterday. Boxes are a nuisance in RL ... why carry them over?

People still need the comfort of metaphors.

That is so true, and so significant. Everything here is a metaphor. So in order to be "true" to yourself, you start to amplify that dream part of yourself. In my case the thing I cherish most in the world is making true and meaningful connections to people. People either love that or get intimidated by it.

In SL everything is about connections.

I totally agree. It's what keeps me coming back. I cherish the friends I've made in here, because they're friends based on mutual love of concepts.

You said it; love of concepts. All the mundane facts of reality are eliminated, and that is liberating.

There's no other context for our meeting. We're not nice to each other because we work together, or have mutual friends.

There are no relationships of convenience here. I've always been one to eliminate relationships of convenience in RL.

That's a pretty evolved concept.

I may have told you I expected to come in here once and that would be that. I never expected to actually enjoy it, much less find such hope for the future of humanity.

Philip Linden would love to hear that!

Philip and I are becoming friends. We have wonderful philosophical conversations.

Really? How did you meet him?

He got in touch about my blog, and then we just started chatting. The dream symbol is in his honor although he doesn't know that. Because this is all his dream.

He will after this!

That's fine. The critical thing to me is to approach this as a step-at-a time adventure. In other words, I don't do extensive research ahead of time on specific issues, etc. I just explore as things come up, and I don't judge the content of what I see or experience, because I think that would be employing RL mores, etc. in SL.

But then I am torn about that ... I mean, we are all still human beings ... so are we creating avatars as reflections as a part of ourselves, or as autonomous entities? And what are the ramifications?

The short answer is: Yes, to everything. It's all those things, and more.

It's all new. That's what makes it so exciting to explore. It really is fun and I've been hearing stories lately about people who have been disfigured in RL through accidents and other misfortunes, who live here primarily, and they have regained themselves or discovered new parts of themselves. That is huge.

Extinction or evolution are the only two options for a species. We are facing down that fact now, with climate change and global warming etc.

Well, a favorite quote: "There's nothing like the threat of extinction to force evolution".

Who said that quote? Love it.

I'll have to look it up; I don't even remember now.

People say it's sad to interact in a virtual world instead of RL. Mind you I am a very socially gregarious person in RL at times, other times I can go into a fearfully long period of creative solitude. However, we need to radically rethink the way we use resources, and again there's a huge potential here, and that's another reason why I believe this process needs to be guided instead of just kicking back to see how it all unfolds. That's not to say that creative freedom should be monitored in any way, just that the most creative thinkers we've got ought to be giving this process some long, hard thought. How it can be used to help people connect in meaningful ways.

Another favorite, from Anais Nin: "We don't see things as they are; we see things as we are".

I love that quote.

It's something not a lot of people realize, and especially relevant when discussing SL.

"You can't solve a problem on the same level that it was created ... you have to rise above it to the next level". Albert Einstein. And this is the next level.

Buddhism applies equally well here, too, with its concept of Right Thinking.

Yes.

There does need to be a framework of thought that guides us.

That is true, and that's why I enjoy talking to Philip Linden and why I put the dream symbol up, to remind me to touch base with him as my own thoughts on SL develop, and to be mindful of his evolution as this grows.

Long term project, him.

Yes. It's amazing that you can enter this realm, truly start to be conscious and mindful of the process of others, and trust them to share the most important parts, and the most interesting parts, of themselves. Such people in any realm are true pioneers, and that's what interests me. Everything changes all the time and we can either get knocked out by that, get melancholy, or learn to roll with it.

I wonder how he perceives the process, and if it interests him as much as he hoped it would.

I can't see that it would fail to.

Exactly.

Even if only on the level of management, though I'm positive it still exists on the plane of emotionalism.

He gets badmouthed constantly. It's as if people expect him to invent another version of reality, when in fact he's gone beyond that.

It's important to remember that people wouldn't be so passionate about SL if it weren't something meaningful.

An actual real life magazine article came out about my work and I've been swamped with new clients. So I've been so busy! Do you know about my business? Dancing Ink. I write intimate stories about people's lives for private use in families and groups so they can understand one another on a deeper level.

That sounds amazing.

It's a lot of fun but also very intense. If you go to my website, there's a Dancing Ink tab you can check out.

I'll do that! Eureka, thank you so much for talking with me!

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