To mark Second Life’s 12th anniversary, Linden Lab has launched a rather unusual video share project, asking residents to reveal some of what Second Life means to them.

The official blog post from Xiola which launches the project reads in part:

Second Life has been going strong for a dozen wonderful years and there’s a ton of things happening to celebrate. You’ll see more to come here in the Featured News Blog – but we wanted to stop and ask – “What is the meaning of Second Life?” To you – that is! This question may sound daunting – but the truth is, tapping into what makes “SL” so special to us as individuals and communities is a really amazing exercise in retrospection and self-discovery. This is your world – so what does it mean to you?

Whether you just got started, have been onboard for the full dozen years, or fall somewhere in between – we’d love to see a glimpse of your story in the “What Second Life Means to Me” video project. You don’t have to be a master of machinima to participate…

From a few seconds to a few minutes – just kick it off with this – “In Second Life, my name is …” and share your story from there! Once you have something set – share it! Upload it to YouTube and embed it on this forum thread. Together, we’ll watch the thread for new stories over the coming weeks – it should be awesome. If you prefer to express yourself in writing – share what Second Life means to you with a reply to the thread.

To get things started, and to springboard people’s inspiration, the Lab has included a number of videos from well-known names in Second Life, including Xiola and Torley from the Lab.

Each video is roughly a minute and a half long. Those they already provide a unique mix of stories and provides very personal points of view of Second Life, ranging from Torley’s extrovert and enthusiastic approach (which again reveals just why he is such a marvellous ambassador for the platform and the Lab), through to more introspective pieces, such as Xiola’s piece or Kaya Angel’s examination of creativity in Second life, and the richness it has brought to him in terms of his own creations and the people he has met.

This is a unique project everyone can share in – remember, videos are not required: you can write your own story in a forum post if you prefer (and, I would guess, include your own pictures). Nor do you have to be a great machinima maker, or necessarily film in-world scenes.

It’ll be interesting to see who else opts to celebrate SL’s 12th birthday in this way, and reveals what Second Life means to them!