Q&A with Anshe Chung, virtual philanthropist

By Janet Rae-Dupree

updated 6:37 a.m. ET Jan. 10, 2008

Contribute's Janet Rae-Dupree created a digital “self” — an avatar called Scoop Raymaker — to enable her to explore Second Life and interview its first philanthropist, virtual real estate tycoon Anshe Chung. Rae-Dupree was typing into Second Life from a PC in Los Angeles; Anshe Chung’s real-world persona, Chinese businesswoman Ailin Graef, was typing into Second Lifefrom her computer in Wuhan, China. They met in a virtual art gallery in Second Life for a recent interview. What follows is an edited transcript of that other-wordly exchange:

[22:01] SCOOP RAYMAKER: Hi! Where shall I meet you?

[22:02] ANSHE CHUNG: One moment...

[22:02] SCOOP: Okay.

[22:11] SCOOP: I’m just beginning to see the fabulous details of this gallery. When I teleported in, you were right in front of me, but not fully rendered.

[22:13] ANSHE: Where are you connecting from now?

[22:13] SCOOP: I’m in Los Angeles at the moment, working on a friend’s computer. You’re in Beijing, yes? Can you see me seated beside you?

[22:14] ANSHE: I am in Wuhan. Your avatar is now loading on my screen. Ah, now there you are :-)

[22:15] SCOOP: Wonderful! I am writing a story for CONTRIBUTE magazine about philanthropy in Second Life. My research thus far indicates that you are Second Life’s first real philanthropist, donating the SIM (digital land) for the Nonprofit Commons. I wanted to get a better understanding about why you did that.

[22:17] ANSHE: I think there are people who have done much (in SL) for other good purposes, such as fundraising for cancer projects.

[22:18] SCOOP: Yes. But that has been more of a group effort. Your donation seems to be the largest individual contribution to date.

[22:20] ANSHE: When I first came to Second Life, it was trying to raise funds for a boy in a developing country. His name was Geo and I sponsored him through a German nonprofit using Linden $ (the currency of SL). I think positive change is important and I like to help a little bit when I see I can. The idea of a nonprofit incubator in Second Life appealed to me and my husband.

[22:21] SCOOP: Why?

[22:23] ANSHE: When it comes to virtual worlds and virtual world economies, I always saw that primarily as some globalization medium to create more democratic access to the economy for people in different places. That I would end up building a big business myself was not exactly planned. It surprised me.

[22:26] ANSHE: Guni’s family (my husband) had some history of doing philanthropy in RL (real life), so I thought it might be a good idea to try to see if a virtual world could create enough value to pay for one person. At the time, I felt that if I could achieve this, then maybe people from developing countries could connect to Second Life and do this, too.

[22:26] SCOOP: So, by sponsorship you mean that you paid for his daily needs—food, housing, education? Are you still involved with him?

[22:27] ANSHE: Yes. He doesn’t need sponsoring anymore because his father found a job in the Philippines and can support the family again.

[22:28] SCOOP: How long had you been on Second Life before you helped Geo?

[22:29] Anshe Chung giggles.

[22:29] ANSHE: No, I did not have this idea when joining SL. There were other things, like curiosity, that brought me here.

[22:29] SCOOP: Like most people here.

[22:29] ANSHE: But after I arrived, I began earning Linden $ on the first day.

[22:30] SCOOP: I see. Were you looking for a group to help you sponsor nonprofits?

[22:31] ANSHE: Guni and I have been involved with the Chinese Internet. Actually, this project is what brought us together. For 20 years, we’ve tried to use the network to help China develop and create jobs. I was not really actively looking. It just happened that there was some contact, in part via Guni.

[22:36] SCOOP: What do you think of what the Nonprofit Commons has become so far? Are you considering expanding it into additional SIMS at some point?

[22:38] ANSHE: I think it is working well. The idea was to help nonprofit organizations to network in SL and to easily integrate new arrivals during their first steps in SL. In the long run, I hope that the metaverse (virtual world) will help nonprofits in both developed and developing countries to more easily collaborate. My ultimate hope is to have people like Geo (or his parents) participating in virtual worlds so they can be in direct contact with potential donors.

[22:39] SCOOP: What has your real-world experience of nonprofits been? I’m under the impression that philanthropy isn’t much a part of China’s or Germany’s culture. Do you see SL helping to expand nonprofit activity globally?

[22:40] ANSHE: Both Germany and China have rich cultures of philanthropy and nonprofit organizations. I have relatives who are very involved in fighting for women’s rights and against poverty in the Chinese countryside.

[22:41] ANSHE: The difference between China and the US is maybe there are more nonprofit government organizations than non-government organizations doing development.

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