Next week the Second Life community will have a chance for breakfast with the Lindens at the SL Community Convention which kind of sounds like what you see on the political scene these days - you know, Hillary tossing back boiler makers with the steel workers or McCain gulping down German sausages or whatever, all so cozy as you get to have coffee with M and Philip, although of course there’s a bank of kleig lights just off camera and a bunch of bloggers waiting to parse your every word.

So I thought maybe I should avoid the rush and blog about what they’ve said before they say it, although I’m having trouble deciding if this is a prediction, a hope, or an expectation so I’ll leave that for you to decide. Suffice to join me in this imaginary journey into events of a week or so from now.

First up, M Linden, whose messaging is so tightly ordered and planned that, needless to say, he’ll be wearing a crisp white shirt and chinos.

Here are some of the main bullets from M’s speech:

Residents are Great and I’ve Learned a Lot in a Short Time
- “Wow, this is so exciting, and what an exciting 4 months this has been for me, are you excited? This is an exciting event! Wow!”
- SL has succeeded because you made it succeed. Yay community! Yay residents!
- Funny anecdote about how working at the Lab is so different (furry avatars for staff, humorous pranks in the office, the Love Machine)
- “But seriously, these are the differences that make virtual worlds, and Second Life, so challenging and provide such incredible potential - the breadth of this user-generated world is a first in history”

The Union is Strong
- Stats
- Some more stats
- Case studies and examples of projects in Second Life
- Lots of university names
- Something about the differently-abled

Small Steps for M, Giant Leaps for, um Concurrency Maybe
- I can’t take credit for the hard work at the Lab this past year
- Since I joined we: killed orientation island, launched Mono, launched a Dazzle-optional client, embedded tutorials in the viewer, interoperability with openSim
- We still haven’t convinced Philip to get new hair however (chuckle)

Three Intersecting Worlds
“You know, as I look out at you this morning, I see educators (hi Fleep! *waves*). I see folks in SL just to have fun (Stroker! You old dawg you *winks*). And I see businesses (gives thumbs up to roped-off tables filled with IBM staff).”
- Three worlds: Mainland Communities, Islands (universities, immersion, commerce), and Companies (you know, the folks who do all that collaborating, on what exactly we don’t know, but it’s really collaborative and global)
- All of these worlds see the potential of SL as a site for creation, exploration, collaboration
- How do we make Second Life, and by extension all virtual worlds, better for all of the diverse people who use the Grid?
- There are a few things we need to work on to make the world better

Areas of Focus
- Improve the first hour
- Improve the ability to communicate
- Attract new users

Brief note will be made about improving Mainland, the new user “mentor” group program, and changes to Help Island (including possibly a screen shot or two). Then, off to the bigger announcements

What M Will Announce
- The launch of SLim with screen shots and possible roll-out as a test platform within the week
- The comment that SLim is more than just a “light client” - it is an extension of Second Life as a social platform
- As such, SLim is being launched along with: a total revamp of the “Group” system, and the launch of a new opt-in avatar listing/directory (think Facebook for SL)

What M MIGHT Announce
- SLim is just the beginning - it has been developed to allow a new level of connectivity. But the features of SLim mean that we have a chance to think about the first hour, and to think about how people connect to the world. For that reason, we’re also launching a new Second Life client, rebuilt from the ground up.
- New client will simplify the user experience but include all new features such as integrated communications, improved scripting and building tools, and better inventory management

The Hail Mary Announcements (I’m still betting on at least one of these)
- Linden Lab is pleased to announce that we’ve completed a deal with AT&T (or fill in phone company name here) to provide avatar phone numbers to all premium Residents, land owners, or those who pay a special fee. These numbers will be optionally integrated with your cell phones
- Linden Lab is pleased to announce that Dell Computers, who have long had a presence in Second Life, will now be shipping all computers of a certain specification with the Second Life software
- Linden Lab is pleased to announce that we’re giving out free t-shirts to the first people who can name the new VP of Global Technology

Stay tuned: of course, the other half of the story is breakfast with Pip, which will include a lot more fruit and granola I suspect and special “Singularity Vitamin Packs”.