Interview with Javabox Kawanishi

Second Life's Javabox Kawanishi talks about a place of dreams becoming reality at Downtown New York Citya place where the energy is buzzing day and night and SL becomes a reality!

By Miss Adalita Voom
Chief Editor and Columnist
DT NYC- NY Moments Newspaper

Published: Friday, July 8th 2011

I sat down for an interview with the city's creator and business mogul Javabox Kawanishi early on a Friday morning over a coffee and the following is an edited transcript.

Sitting in the lavish boardroom the atmosphere is energising with the presence of a man dedicated to helping people, I asked, so where did it all start?

NYC is built and managed by Javabox Kawanishi and Mariadelcarmen Bekkers, both friends and business partners since 2007 with vast experience of running a business in world.

"Our ambition was to create the best possible virtual environment for the SL community and do exactly the opposite of what we have seen so far on places in SL."
Says Java

It all started when Java went to NY for a week, fascinated by the dynamic of the city, the multiculturalismthe dreams that the city portrays of hope and excitement, put simply he fell in love with the city.
Java tells me that NY was founded by the Dutch, and was orginally called New Amsterdam, so he thought, let's build NYC here in Second Life.

With a vision and a team of ambitious friends, they began....the rest is history.

When asked about his vision i was quite suprised and in aweof his response, unlike the typical responses such as pleasure, business, fun...Java told me his vision....

"Imagine a virtual city where 100 000 people are logging in every day, imagine creating RL jobs for people all over the world, in some countries people work for as little as $1 USD per day, hard labour...this way they can earn a living enjoying all that NYC sim can bring from the comfort of their home by selling content or services, or working as a cab driver or greeter for $3 USD per day. May seem like a small amount of money to you and me, we spend that in a flash, but for them it's the equivalent of a week's salary, the challenge we face is how can we use social media and virtual worlds to create job oppertunities in those countries.
And that has been our mission since 2007.

The vision is to create a virtual environment for the Second Life community, where they can socialise.
Shopping is not core business here, socialising is...that is our aim."

Ok Java so what can people expect to see in NYC sim?

"People will see the opposite of what they have seen so farin SL, a place with more hang out places, and less stores...no shouting logo's from affiliate programs or walls paved with vendors, they will see a a place where they can enjoy their SL with their friends, such as places like Ralphs Diner (A 50's style Cafe), or ZO Restaurant (A romantic and slick place to take the one you love!), or many scenic areas where you can take pictures whether it be for blogs, modeling or fun...We have fashion designers offering fine quality clothes for affordable prices. The HQ of Freebie fashionista, a big fashion group with more than 3000 members, is also located in the city .

I asked, are kids welcome? (Being a mother i thought this was important!)

"Now that is a tough question...lol at times you may see a dragon flying through the sky wanting to land in the city, a huge dragon!!"

Of course i had to giggle at this mans sense of humour! LOL!

"Well, if that was to happen I would ask the person to change their avi, it is in our best interest to protect all visitors that are here to enjoy their day :).
Child avis are always welcome, so long as they obide by the rules of the city and are behaving, and not soliciting undesirable or mature content and are not causing harm to anyone."

Java may I ask...why did you want to start a newspaper for NYC?

"Well every city needs a newspaper right?....we would like to be able to connect with our visitors, inform them of activities and make this virtual city as real as possible for them."

So what kind of content can we expect to see?

"We will utilise social media media sites and inworld groups to create awareness about this wonderful virtual world"

So, scandal, robberies, social events, stocks & shares, sports? LOL?

"yeah as long as it serves and is beneficial to the community. We will give people what they want to see inworld, a place to socialise and create and be part of a bigger something."

Come and check out NYC sim, take part in our community and be a part of our events! It's a place you can call home and belong :)

Over and out!

Miss Adalita Voom :)