This months Costa Rica Sims Influential is a multi talented and extremely nice woman who's SL resume is quite impressive, I am thrilled to introduce you to our May Influential: Ms. Percia Bravin! Persia wears many hats in the media world of SL; Treet.TV /'Pop Vox'- Host/Co Producer, The BOSL Radio- CEO, The BOSL Magazine- Copy Editor, The BOSL Magazine-Senior Writer, Blog- 'Chrome Never Sleeps', Blog- ‘Second Life Art and Entertainment’, Pop Art Lab-RL/SL Press Manager, Caerleon Art Collective-Press Manager,  and EXPLORE IT!-Press Manager.  If this wasn’t enough Persia’s RL is just as impressive as Journalist, art lover, fashion junkie, surf junkie and Raqs Sharqi obsessed.  I get exhausted just imagining all that she expertly manages to do every day! Let’s meet this multi-talented lady…

Persia, congratulations on being Costa Rica Sims May Influential, how do you feel about being chosen as the Influential by the Sim you call home?

Hi Sydney, thanks for taking the time to interview me because I know how busy you are too! Well, when Giancarlo Takacs first approached me about becoming an influential, I was at my home here on CRS rezzing a new house. To say I was shocked is an understatement and I remember very clearly my half rezzed house being suspended in mid-air while I absorbed his news- I was actually a bit emotional! The CRS are famed for having many well-known and exceptionally talented residents, and I consider myself to be simply a hard working journalist in here, nobody of any great importance. To sum up I was shocked, delighted and needed a glass of wine RL to calm down again!

What were the factors that lead you to make Costa Rica Sims your home?

I had been sharing a full sim with my SL sister and some close friends for two years, but the friends both moved abroad in real life and my sister and I decided to downsize our land. I had heard great things about the Costa Rica Sims from many friends who had lived there, so teleported over to take a look. Within an hour, the ever charming Giancarlo had set me up on a plot and it immediately felt like home. I have been here over six months now and every time I log in, and before I face the onslaught of SL work-I always take time out to enjoy the incredible views and the tranquility that CRS provides.

There are so many amenities Costa Rica Sims has to offer, what are some of your favorites?

Oohh-there are so many amenities, it’s really hard to choose just a few. I really love the rainforest area and the turtle beach-they are both superb places to relax and unwind, and to escape the hustle and bustle of the rest of my second existence. I’m also really impressed by the ‘DJ Knockout’ events that take place here-I have seen some genuinely brilliant DJ’s who I would go and see in real life for sure. Those knockout events are perfect when you need some hard partying SL style!

 If I asked you to sum up your opinion of Costa Rica Sims in one word what would it be and why would you choose it?

That’s easy ‘Community.’ The sense of community at these sims is unrivaled I think within Second Life. The whole executive team is really warm and welcoming and they work very hard at providing fun and entertaining events. All the residents I have met have been a joy too and my first neighbors here, Royal Catteneo and Devine Hunt, are both really kind and interesting people. Living next to each of them was really lovely.  After running out of prims, I up scaled my land and recently moved, and I now live next door to LesPaul Ibanez and we became good friends really fast. He’s a really humorous and intelligent person, and we joke that standing on our respective boundaries and talking about music and movies is like chatting with the neighbors over the garden fence in real life! No matter where you go in this estate, everyone is very friendly and the beautifully landscaped communal areas really encourage us all to get to know each other-it’s a masterstroke of sim design really.

You wear many hats in your SL professional life how do you juggle it all?

How do I juggle it all…. Well, I think it’s mostly down to the fact I am just very organized about my media work in both lives. Because I am a print and broadcast journalist in my real life, I’m used to the pressure of deadlines, to the unexpected happening, to technical issues occurring and to always, always having a backup plan if a story falls through. I’m also never too far away from a PC or laptop in real life work, so yeah, I have been known to log into SL from some crazy real life situations just to meet virtual deadlines! But I also love what I do in SL; I am a huge believer in using RL skills to help other people in world and I totally agree with the concept of ‘paying it forward’-if we can’t make a positive difference in SL then where can we? I guess my passion for what I do in SL makes it easy to juggle it all…. I only do what I enjoy doing! I’m also fortunate to work alongside some of the most professional, hardworking and dedicated people in SL media who I know I can rely on in a heartbeat.

Persia, you cover the gamut of media types in SL, is there one you prefer or enjoy the most?

Sydney, that’s a great question, and I haven’t even thought about which I prefer until you just asked me! I think I am the only journalist that works in radio, television and magazines in SL and each of those media bring very different highs and lows. To answer honestly, I think it’s my magazine work and blog writing that I enjoy the most because it brings me into contact with such a diverse range of people, and being a naturally curious person, I love discovering more about the real people behind the avatar. I have worked for a few magazines in SL, but have been a senior writer at BOSL Magazine now for over two years and in that time; I have interviewed so many interesting people from M Linden to Mimmi Boa, to Jessica Lyon to Stiletto Moody, from some of the most famous fashion designers right through to relative unknowns. BOSL Magazine has been one of the best experiences of my Second Life.

What are some of the challenges that SL media presents compared to RL media?

Interesting question! I think the most obvious is that in SL, we are not working alongside each other ‘in person’ so misunderstandings and poor communication, plus of course the typical SL issues such as lost IM’s can sometimes result in mixed messages, but I’m a diplomatic and fairly relaxed person so I never take it personally. Working in SL television is much more like working in real life radio where you are interviewing someone in a separate location, so you have to be good at timing your questions and not talking over the other person otherwise it just looks amateur. Before any POP VOX programs or before hosting televised events such as Miss Virtual World and the BOSL Awards, I always make sure I have a friendly chat with my guests in Skype so I can get to know their personalities and voices better which I think helps make it seem more natural. Again, I rely on my real life skills and training to get me through any challenges that the SL media might throw at me and if I find myself feeling really frustrated, I just go for a very long run in real life to put it all into perspective!

Not only do you work in the various media of SL but you also arrange events and do public relations for range of artists, are there challenges that come with promoting SL artists?

Ha! A good friend of mine who runs some of the best art sims in SL, told me once that working with artists is a bit like trying to herd a pack of cats which I think is a brilliant description! All those artistic temperaments can sometimes clash, but all the promotion work I do for SL artists is done purely for the love of it. SL is home to some of the world’s finest virtual artists and I have been fortunate to become friends with some of the absolute best. It’s one part of my SL that I would never trade in, and the buzz I get from seeing installations such as DynaFleur, Simplexity and Visualizing Theorem becoming some of the most popular sims is worth all the hours of work that are needed to do successful promotion.

Is there anything you have not yet accomplished that you would like to do?

I’m very content with my Second Life, I have no real ambition or career goals in here-I keep those for my real life. I’m honestly just very happy to be able to help make a small difference in this virtual world we all love.

Being so busy what do you do to relax?

Trust me, I might be busy but I live my second life completely-all aspects of it! I love relaxing chatting to friends and SL family from around the world the most; SL has been a great cultural education.  I collect contemporary art by new British artists in my real life, so the SL arts scene is also a passion and I love visiting galleries and installations in here. There’s also a thriving SL belly dancing community which is another real life addiction, so I love talking to fellow dancers about SL and RL dancing too. Music is central to my real life also; for work and pleasure, and some of my closest friends in SL are musicians and DJ’s and there are some cool SL clubs I like dancing at. I will admit to being a total girl in both lives, so shopping in SL is also a favorite pastime- the fashion designers of SL are just as good as their real life counterparts! I love playing practical jokes too, I confess to being a bit mischievous, so any opportunity to play a joke on my friends and family I find very relaxing… just ask my brother!

How do your RL experiences influence your SL experiences?

I’m exactly the same person in SL as I am in real life, with the same interests, same personality and same ethics- I don’t log in and become someone different. I think my real life work as a journalist certainly makes my SL work a lot easier and more fun too. SL is not an escape for me; it’s simply a very good reflection of my real life and something I enjoy being part of. I feel all of us are virtual pioneers really, and in the future when I have kids and grandkids I will be able to show them my SL work and say “See? I was there at the very start of online communities!”

Has SL influenced you at all in your RL?

It has-in so many ways! Mostly, I get very inspired by SL and whenever I am feeling like I have run out of creative power in real life, there’s always something from Second Life that inspires me again. Once, I wrote an article about latex trends in SL which then led me to write about real life latex fashion too. This was great, until accidentally, I emailed my Editor in Chief the SL article by mistake, which raised a few questions but was a funny experience. Because of SL I have also contributed to some real life books including recently writing the foreword on a  brilliant book all about machinima which is due to be published in the Fall-it’s only because of SL that I have been able to do that.

Thank you so much for your time Persia, is there anything else you would like to share with our readers?

Thank you Sydney, it’s been a real pleasure talking to you! All I would like to add is a huge thank you to all my work colleagues, family and friends who are used to me being busy yet never demand time from me-I’m very lucky. Just want to say a special thanks to Frolic Mills, Umberto Giano, Brett Linden, Claus Uriza, Lanai Jarrico and Texas Timtam for all their support. And oh, I’m really looking forward to the influential party too-everyone’s invited!

I would like to thank Persia for taking the time to allow me to interview her, I can truly say that Persia is one of the nicest personalities I have had the pleasure of interviewing and is an inspiration to anyone considering pursuing an SL career. Please be sure to join us in honoring Ms. Bravin at the Influential’s Lounge the end of this month.