As I've discussed before, there are many Australians doing innovative things in virtual worlds such as Second Life, Blue Mars and OpenSim. One such person is Leonie Smith, better known in Second Life as Paisley Beebe. Paisley hosts her own virtual TV show called Tonight Live and as someone who once appeared on it, I can vouch for what an eye-opening experience it is. I caught up with Paisley to discuss in-depth the challenges of having a successful TV show on a shoestring budget in the face of skepticism from the broader community.

Q: For most people, it's difficult to envisage what virtual worlds TV is - how do you describe what you do to the uninitiated?

Funny I just had to do that today! I wish I had taken a video of the guy's face when I told him what I did. I may as well said I was an astronaut.

I usually start out mumbling about how I'm doing online broadcasting, and when I have their attention I tell them that I'm broadcasting out of Second Life. If they are still conscious, then I'll explain to them that it's like a video game where there can be over 30,000 people online at the same time and that I've created a talk show. There I interview people about what they do in Second Life and that the guests can be educators, artists, musicians, charity workers etc - anyone using Second Life to enhance their global online presence or just living a dream.

Q: How many shows have you done? When did you start out?

Overall, I've produced around 250 shows. Including my Talk show, Tonight Live With Paisley Beebe which is a typical talk show, well... as typical as it can be with avatars appearing on video doing all manner of things. It usually has three guests per show, one of which is a musician. I based it on a combination of Andrew Denton's Enough Rope and Michael Parkinson (my two favorite talk shows!) The musician plays live on the show, and then is interviewed about their next tour, their upcoming album and why they decided to use Second Life to play and market their music.

I started out with Tonight Live early 2007. Tonight Live was the first TV show filmed in Second Life or any virtual world or game. Previous to the launch of the show, Melbourne-based Gary Wizniewski and Grace Roberts from Treet.tv worked on a production called the Texas Aussie Music Party to bring some real life bands from Australia into Second Life. That started our collaboration.

Q: Can you give a run-down of what's involved in the preparation for each show?

First I have to find an interesting story, I read anything about virtual worlds, to source stories that I think will be interesting to my audience. Then we contact the subjects of the interviews and attempt to entice them on to the show. Some people won't come on as they are shy, or not available. Once booked, we have to prepare them for the interview, do sound checks etc and I then research them and their story as much as I can. A big part of the show is choosing subjects that are timely, interesting and surprising. Sometimes the timeliness just falls in your lap. You book someone weeks in advance and a story or controversy breaks that either involves them or they can't speak about.

Q: On show day itself, how does it all come together?

We start about one and a half hours before the live broadcast, with run-throughs, sound checks, and preparations before we go live at 6pm. The virtual audience starts coming in at about 4.30pm before the show goes live at 6pm. By 6pm we are often full (60 people in the audience, any more than that and it's too laggy in-world) The show is filmed by Treet.tv and streamed live onto the internet on treet.tv/live. There is also a chat room beside the live clip where people can comment on the show, and that chat is also fed into Second Life through a group chat where I can also see it. People in-world at the show can also join a group to see online chat and they can also join the conversation. We have commercial breaks, when we change guests, and it runs more or less like a real life TV show being filmed live. It is then fed through the magic of Treet.tv (generally not edited) and uploaded to Treet.tv's website and iTunes where people may watch it, download it or embed it in their own websites.

Q: You've just described a pretty intense process: how many people actually watch each show and does it make money?

Between 15-20 thousand watch the show each on average. Some shows have had over 30 thousand and it keeps building because all our shows are available online, and many are watched well after our live production. We make money through our advertising and sponsorship. But at the moment only Second Life content creators and service providers advertise on our show. So payments for us are in Linden Dollars, the currency of Second Life, which is a micro currency, so it only covers our Second Life expenses.

Real-world advertisers are very nervous right now about investing in Second Life and virtual worlds even though our audiences are way bigger than many real life cable TV shows and community and local radio stations. Advertising agencies have not discovered the virtual world yet at all - you might as well ask them to suggest their clients advertise on Mars. It's a shame because it's a great audience with a large disposable income. I think it's an untapped audience and very underestimated. Companies are very nervous about investing in us because we don't have a Nielsen rating to prove our ratings and they don't understand us.



Up close and personal (Photo credit: SuperDave Spearmann)

Q: What are some of the highlights for you over that time?

Some of the highlights for me are being able to promote causes and artists that are ignored in real life. They may be people who benefit from the anonymity of Second Life but have a real honesty about what they are representing. For example, war veterans that find it hard to connect in real life because of their experiences. They connect with other vets through virtual worlds and can support and educate each other on what their rights are. They can understand each other.

Then there are the higher profile artists like Eric Whitacre the world-famous Grammy nominated choir conductor and composer and creator of the YouTube viral hit with two million hits the Virtual Choir. He proved to be the humblest and funniest interview ever. Then there is Tony Dyson the witty and excitable inventor of R2D2 the lovely Star Wars robot. And Jo Yardley a Dutch Movie historical consultant that advises Movie Producers on authenticity for films set in the 1920s and 30s who lives as a person in that era in Holland in real life and in Second Life. I find all my subjects interesting and I believe absolutely that everyone has a story that is worth hearing. Some are more surprising than others, and draw more attention, but they are all equally as fascinating.

Q: Where do you see virtual worlds TV going in the future?

Virtual worlds TV's success largely depends on the growth and acceptance of virtual Worlds. If people can accept that virtual spaces and our avatars are an extension of ourselves in the same way that web pages, telephone conversations and other forms of communication are - that you don't need to share the same physical space - then virtual TV will grow. In virtual worlds we can present ideas and creations with a virtual audience, that is in the same space as the guest, and relate and converse and interact with them and their content. In a virtual space you can suspend disbelief and your senses can allow you to actually believe you are in the same room with the guest, the host and the rest of the audience - try it, you will be amazed!

On virtual TV we can show pictures, and video about what each guest is describing and create a space where everyone, including the audience, feels like physically we are all in the same room. Objects that move can be clicked on, and interacted with. Distance is eliminated. Global collaboration and communication is so much easier. It will take time for people to get over their prejudices as they had to with the internet ten years ago. It's all about trust - trust that they won't look stupid and trust they will be able to stay credible.

Q: What are your plans for the show in the coming year?

I'm hoping that Second Life continues to grow, and that creatives and users continue to see the value in virtual spaces, for collaboration, socializing and fun.

Broadcasting is becoming less regional and more international. There will always be room for both, but virtual world TV is financially viable and successful in bridging the distance in an interactive way. Yes there are video conferences, but until you have experienced being an avatar in a virtual space with other avatars, you have no idea of the sensory reality that occurs, and that is so much more engaging and real than video conferencing. It's a totally different experience and no you don't have to be delusional or nuts to get it. During a live broadcast of a Virtual TV show, the host can "hear" you through live chat. If you, as the host or guest say something that sucks, you will know it immediately. If you are boring... you know it immediately. You must be on your game. It's immediate, interactive, exiting and challenging and I love it!

David has been writing on virtual worlds since 2006 and has been using them since 1993. You can follow David on Twitter @metaverseozor visit The Metaverse Journal.