I’m a Nerd

So I’m a nerd, but not very outwardly.  Not that I’m ashamed of it, cuz I’m not, but it just doesn’t come out of me that much.  So my nerdy tech-web orientedness (and friends) took me to a place called Linden Lab.  Alright, I didn’t actually go there, but I researched it a lot.

It was created by a man named Philip Rosedale.  He’s a pretty genius dude and computer programming wize kid.  He started Second Life.  For the majority of you that have never heard of Second Life, it is a virtual world where anyone can buy land and, via programming, build and create anything they want.  There is even a Second Life ecomony bceause people can buy real estate in Second Life for their stores so they can sell Second Life avatars services, appliances or even clothes.  There’s more to it, but I’ll stop.

I saw a sweet lecture by Rosedale at ted.com. The link to that specific lecture is on every word in this sentence.

Linden Lab also happens to have the most awesome word ethic ever.  Rosedale has what he calls the Tao of Linden which is a really interesting read.  The basic philosophy is that the workers chose their work projects and are assessed by their weekly progress.  I think it’s a great way of running a company and I definitely wouldn’t mind working for them one day. Their Mission Statement can be found here.

I bet some of you are wondering how the company got it’s name.  While I don’t know for sure, I can offer you this: Linden is the last name of Rosedale’s avatar in Second life.  Hmmm.