President Obama Speaks in Second Life

Okay so that was misleading. It mislead me, too. He was only on a big screen with dozens of avatars gathered around watching, listening, and commenting. When the message came via one of my groups from someone I know and respect said that Obama was speaking in SL I thought he'd have an avatar there. I left what I was doing and followed the link almost immediately. Now I wouldn't cross a street in RL to see a celebrity. I don't want to be in a crowd. I wouldn't expect to be able to see or hear the celebrity, much less have any sort of verbal exchange. But this is a key difference between RL and SL. I meet avatars operated by real people who I've heard of and admired all the time. I get close to them, even have a one on one discussion, sometimes. No, I haven't meet a world leader, or famous actress, or wealthy athelete; but I have met a Holocaust survivor, a pioneer in podcasting with kids, and international speakers on the topic of instructional technology. So why shouldn't I expect to see my president if only as an avatar? Maybe some day I will. We have invited Senator Warner, former Virginia governor, to VSTE Island. I don't think there has been any response, though he was one of the first politicians to go public in Second Life. It seems like an easy thing to do to make an impression.