Well, it's official: after loads of positive feedback, I've decided in early 2007 to open a new Second Life publication, one for adults only entitled -avatar-. The publication will still be free like ITG, will still be published daily as a blog and monthly as a PDF, and also cover the same general ground (interesting cultural essays and interviews); only in this case with a heavy emphasis on broadly-defined "adult activities," including sex and fetishes, clubbing, casinos and more, and with readers invited to submit their own fan fiction and erotic machinima as well. As mentioned before, it's no secret that I'm doing this for the potential increase in readers and advertising revenue involved; in fact, -avatar- will have a much more complex advertising scheme than ITG, specifically to cater to adult businesses, including an always-updated online guide to erotic services in which one can purchase a classified listing. The reason I'm starting -avatar- up at a new location, then, is to continue keeping this main blog safe for work environments, as well as not cluttered up with a bunch of kinky things for those who don't really have much interest in reading about kinky things.

So why am I announcing -avatar- so early, before there's even anything concerning it to show? Well because, unlike ITG, -avatar- is going to have a paid staff, and I need to actually find that staff right now in time for us to open next month. As per my usual group projects, I thought it'd be best to describe what I eventually want to have happen, and then let creative professionals out there pitch what they'd like to do...

The goal with -avatar- is to be much more like a traditional news blog than ITG; to output a regular schedule of 4 to 6 entries each day, every day. Given the multimedia capabilities of a blog, I'd like these entries to be a mix of interesting content: articles and interviews, photo essays, film clips, reviews and the like. If someone would like to contribute only one type of entry (say for example, reviews of escort services), but would be willing to do one every day, they'd be welcome as a staff member; so would someone willing to do a lot of different types of entries, but not as regularly.

I would like to bring a total of four staff members on board full-time; they plus Steven Cann and myself would bring the total contributing staff to six. Staff members will each receive 10 percent of the profit of that month's issue, payable on the 7th of each subsequent month; or a minimum of L$600 per month when applicable. As you can see, this is a position I expect people to take on just as a fun side hobby while in the grid, mostly for the fun of getting published and sharing your opinion with a large readership; if you're putting in more than an hour or a two a day on your obligations, you're putting in too much!

The best way to bring your work to my attention is to simply write a sample (or 'spec') entry on either the style or subject you'd like to be hired for; please make it 500 to 1000 words for an article or interview, 250 to 500 words for a review, 5 to 20 JPG images (72dpi) for photo essays, or a 5-minute-maximum movie file (any format fine; or go ahead and upload it to YouTube if you want, for me to watch that way). All files can be sent to inthegrid [at] gmail.com, as well as letters of interest. And remember, I lean heavily towards people who have already had real-life publishing experience.

Anyway, that's the news for now; and don't be shy if you're interested in becoming an -avatar- staff member, by all means.