Occupy CNN iReport Island

Occupy Activists gathered at CNN iReport Island in Second Life to meet Nicole iReport (Picture 2), a real life CNN Producer. CNN is covering Occupy Wall Street nationally and globally only through the generous citizen journalism of iReporters. How else could CNN cover 1700 Occupy Cities world round? (you can find your local Occupy group on http://www.occupytogether.org/ )

At CNN's regular Second Life (SL) meetings, Thursdays at 2pm US Pacific time, Nicole and Henry iReport meet with citizen journalists to discuss their stories, give encouragement, and explain what people want to read most. This week, Nicole said, "we want to know what motivates people" in the Occupy Wall Street movement and "we want portraits of protesters." In response:

Frederica Lexenstar (with the “Make Jobs Not War” sign) is an Occupy Lexington Kentucky activist in real life (RL). Frederica is a deeply committed activist, she explains, "I spend 4-6 hrs/day at occupation in Lexington KY." She's also involved in Occupy SL, the global activism group in Second Life. Frederica finds, "one interesting thing about the occupation in SL, is you get reports from people who are participating all over in RL.”

Gilles Loring (with the "Money Talks 99% Walks" sign) participates in Occupy SL because she can't attend Occupy in real life, since she is a dedicated caregiver. Occupy SL provides an accessible activist community for people in all time zones, with real life responsibilities, and irregardless of physical abilities.

We invited Nicole to tour one of the Occupy Wall Street sites in Second Life. Occupy LEA (Linden Endowment for the Arts) is an immersive artwork by Miso Susanowa (Picture 3 right). LEA is a self-curated gallery provided free for use by any SL citizen. At Occupy LEA, you are immersed in an Occupy Wall Street encampment, complete with fully functional tents, sleeping bags, and media center.

Famous SL artist, Trill Zapatero (Picture 3 left), stopped by to meet Nicole and answer any questions. Trill is the artist and curator of many immersive artworks, including the Four Bridges Project regions and two Afghanistan Museums in SL.

Later, Trill was joined by her adorable friend Genevieve Silvercloud. All this happened very spontaneously. I sent a group Instant Message (IM) to Occupy SL just before Nicole arrived, we all decided to Teleport to Occupy LEA, then Trill arrived with Genevieve to join us. It was fun. We got to chat at length with CNN about Occupy Wall Street and meet enthusiastic Occupy Activists who have a big impact in SL and real life!

CNN iReport Island
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/CNN%20iReport%20Island/68/107/26

Miso Susanowa's OccupyLEA
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/LEA5/87/17/25

Any1 Gynoid
Original article on CNN