Downloading an MP3 of Black Box Recorder's rendition of 'Uptown Top Ranking' takes me to the playlist of somebody called Voodoochile.
#Faces of cybertown download#
Napster is not only the place where (until music-industry injunctions took force) you have gone to download songs, it also provides community groups, though, being musically orientated, has 'channels' instead of rooms. 'Didn't I see you dancing in a tight singlet at the Hanover Grand?' Lester doesn't have the heart to reply that he lives at the seaside, is going to seed, and has just turned 40. Here the goal is to target the names of others with a view to intimacy in the real world, where CosmicCupid scouts gather at real venues, spreading the message of the virtual world. However, the eyes of Manga are upon me as a female figure straight out of Japanese comic culture is the guide through a community that has a true sense of purpose: flirtation. Perhaps the character is a clue to my real age or predicament. Burnham is the Kevin Spacey character, the one undergoing some serious mid-life crisis. Instead I venture to CosmicCupid, I become Lester Burnham, one for fans of American Beauty. Do I really want to speak to people called Hotchick and Hardman2 at Uboot? I don't think so.
If you're bereft of any imagination when it comes to naming yourself, chances are you're equally inept at virtual conversation. You should avoid obvious names, and also those who choose obvious names. And, initially at least, it's how you attract others. It's how you're known throughout your travels in cyber-reality. When you become virtual, you begin with the name. And all before I'd even revealed my chosen name for the night. Words appear in his speech bubble: 'e luks lik e taks it up the ars.' Charming. I can almost feel his anger as he takes in the white suit, the silver hair, the poodle. I imagine he is a kid in some suburban bedroom, who threatens his parents with Marilyn Manson and masturbation. Slim moves towards an avatar close to me called Shagmehard. There's a Slim Shady (the real one?) and a Foxy Chick. There are characters with dayglo dreadlocks and shades. Before I can even introduce myself the clothes clearly set me apart. Whatever your age, wherever you live, whatever you look like, you can get access to the hearts, the minds, the CD collections of a rising generation, with whom you would never share air space in the real world.Īnd yet something gives me away. Watching my avatar emerge in the room, like Spock being beamed up, I realise what might be the real magic of cyber life. And the white suit? Perhaps I was thinking of Tom Wolfe who, it's said, wore white to reflect the lives and opinions of others, while giving away nothing of himself. What's more, in Cycosmos you also get an avatar - an online disguise, your 'digital being' - a choice of clothes and a choice of prop. For those interested in getting to know me further, I have an identity card listing my interests in film, literature, sport and music. I'm in a room entitled Cosmic Vibe, part of a site called Cycosmos.
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