Outting Hygeia Philo – Shamp Writer

Sure, we all love the crazy stories out of Second Life – flying, dancing snow tigers, vampires. As much as I embrace the zaniness, it does make it hard for a First Lifer to take SL seriously. But the Centers for Disease Control is (are?) working on ways that Second Life can actually make people healthier in meat space – and last week I met the people spearheading this initiative. I had seen Hygeia Philo in video clips and I even spoke with her briefly at the CDC landing pad (http://slurl.cm/secondlife/Juwangsan/215/216) in SL. And I have to say, she stood out. Then I heard that Hygeia was a guy in real life. I knew there was a story there. So I went to meet with John Anderton, the Associate Director for Communications Science at the National Center for Public Heath Informatics, a unit of the CDC.

Wow, Hygeia and John really couldn’t look more different she is a svelte red-head, he is a 6’4” and a little burly (in the best possible sense). John built the Hygeia Philo (greek for “lover of health”) avatar because he walked past a marble bust of the Greek goddess of health everyday at the CDC. John and Hygeia both share a vision for the way that SL can positively influence people’s health care decisions. They have some great ideas that I am looking forward to watching in the future and they are both coming to visit the Second Life class being taught in the New Media Institute fall semester. The CDC is helping other federal agencies think about ways to serve through virtual worlds. And here is one of the cool things I found out, John is a Bulldog – he got his Ph.D. at the University of Georgia. I wonder if Hygeia is an alum as well.