CENT Discussion at Ethnographia

By Deaflegacy

The session at CENT place was in text/voice.  Shyla the Super Gecko (krijon) was the host.  The presentation is about the new organization Shyla helped create, which is for disabled people doing business on Second Life.  Shyla started the presentation off with some words about CENT.

"CENT stands for Capable Entrepreneurs Nurturing Talent. It is an organization for people with a disability of any kind, or who are friendly to us, to come together to network, share ideas, and grow the capabilities within our own community.  It is an idea I was bouncing around for quite a while before I first spoke about it with a friend. I have a lot of ideas, but it generally takes me quite a while to do something with them. I like them to be just right." said Shyla.  "Not sure how long my friend and I talked about this idea amongst ourselves, but we thought about bringing it to one of the Ethnographia chats. In December, at an Ethnographia chat, folks were trying to think of something to do for the holiday. There were lots of suggestions, all of them would require effort, commitment, and time."

"Many of the builders on these islands are also entrepreneurs in Second Life. I play it being an entrepreneur, I’m more an artist. I own a business in Second Life, but I more dedicated to my art, which is poetry. Either way, I know the holidays are a busy time for entrepreneurs as well as artists in Second Life.  I have thought about taking my art to an entrepreneurial level in Second Life, but I’ve not done not yet. I use Second Life’s open mics and opportunities to read my works as motivation to pursue artistic efforts in the real world, so to speak, since I am particularly homebound." said Shyla.  "But I did start a business at some point last year, and it was very eye-opening. It’s not easy. Perhaps, and I think this is true, it gets easier over time, but it gets busier too. What I mean is, running a business in Second Life involves certain skills, and if you don’t have them, knowledge of where to find them, or who can assist with them.  Over time, many entrepreneurs learn a variety of skills in Second Life. Thus, some of the earlier efforts we engaged in as business people would be easier today. But if entrepreneurs in Second Life successful, their business grows, and with it grow the demands of the business for their time, their creativity, their skills. So it is not as if becoming easier means it demands less time."

Shyla continued on with the presentation and said, "So to that conversation last December, it seemed to me most all of us might be very busy time of year, something someone who is not a Second Life entrepreneur might be completely unaware of. I mean, when I was new, everything in this virtual world was kind of like magic. One day it wasn’t here, the next day there something was as if it happened in just a moment.  That aspect of 'magic' is part of what makes what entrepreneurs in Second Life do so valuable. Many have no idea how to do these things or to put together a project or to maintain a sin or to protect the Sim, or to stream music or media, how to place an advertisement in the Second Life directory, who might be best to network with, whose for real and who’s a con, and so on.  But the reality is, and for those of us who have become skilled creators in one or more areas of Second Life, be it in creating prims or providing services, these are skills which we have acquired over time with the help of those who came before us. It took us time to sort out networking."

"Heck, for some of us it took time to believe we had something to contribute to the virtual world at all.  And now, for some of us, we contribute more than we ever imagined. And yet, we wonder what more we could do. If we just knew the right person to work with, the right person to share skills with, who knows the amazing things we could do?  What I know is becoming a creator in Second Life, opening my first business here, which is, again secondary to my art, as I have learned a lot. It is given me a great respect for what everyone does, builders, scripters, textures, customizers, service providers, DJs, organizations, coordinators, and the list goes on.  Second, I feel empowered. I feel better about myself, my relationship with the virtual world, and that I have something to contribute.  And this is what I hope CENT has to offer others in our community. That we may share, grow, flourish, prosper and be more empowered together.  This is probably the more ethereal view of CENT."

Shyla went on to say that at the core, they are entrepreneurs, and to steal from a blog post, which provides a whole lot more information on the vision of CENT (http://www.ourdigitalselves.com/blog/), they work. It is how they earn their living and become self-sufficient.

"Work is not a dirty word, but it does imply a pay-off. And I believe this idea is central to CENT’s success." said Shyla.  "The vision is an organization of Capable Entrepreneurs, who define Capable as they so choose. Business people aligned with the idea that we serve ourselves best if we are as self-sufficient as possible.  With CENT, we can organize ourselves so we can readily identify member scripters, builders, idea generators, marketers, and so on. Not so we can ask each other for favors, but so that we can share ideas and engage each other in business; offering compensation both parties can agree on and benefit from.  Finally, as a group we know others gave their time to use, freely and without question, as they were able. In so doing, they gave us the gift of success. We wish to pass this on, to Nurture Talent of those who wish to give this self-sufficient way of life a try. Some gave time in the way of encouragement, others via online tutorials or manuals and others with one-on-one training. None gave us all their time, but they gave some – and as our skills grow and we become more adept at running our businesses successfully, we wish to emulate those who helped us, as good citizens, offering what we can while still sustaining the businesses we build."

"In this way we can further grow the disabled business community and give, from what I can see, one of the greatest gifts of all – an opportunity to see ourselves in a positive way, a successful way, as self-sufficient individuals participating in the virtual world as a whole, with a viable voice that is worth hearing and a message which demonstrates inclusiveness is good, solid business for everyone. Hopefully, someday, this will be CENTs legacy: We came together, worked together, helped each other and demonstrated how capable we all are." said Shyla.  "For today, CENT is here, it is free to join and wants to hear your voice, help support your goals and offer hope to those who might follow us into business in the virtual worlds. We’d be honored to have you join us."

Tom Bukowski and Tredi Felisimo were the people who gave CENT the space to put the building on.  As Shyla puts it, "Tom and Tredi gave us the space to put this building on. And it will be the membership who determines what goes inside." Shyla said.  "Jayden created these logo options for us."

"It's a lovely building, but we had nothing to do with it - it's all CENT's wonderful creation!" said Tom.  "Great logo indeed - both versions!"

"Truly our honor and pleasure!" said Tredi.

Deaflegacy