NARIA PANTHAR

CompE Lockwood

Who among us has not needed a friend when unmasking the bold, at times daunting, world of Second Life? Who will help us, guide us, be there when we need a hand? Those helping hands belong to Naria Panthar, master of two worlds– Second Life and YouTube. She melds the two for teachable moments.

A quick YouTube search shows hundreds of Naria’s streams. They include Saturday Sales, Fifty Linden Friday, All about Mesh Heads, and a trip to Gorenjska, Slovenia. And that’s just page one. She averages about a thousand views per video. As of January 2022, she started the New Year with over 10,000 subscribers and over two million— that’s not a typo —two million views.

For many of us, such success would go to our big primmed heads— mesh or otherwise. Not so with Naria. Helping others by sharing her “oh wow, have you guy’s seen this?” attitude is genuine. People learn from her.

The social media star’s journey started in 2016, when after a 6-year break, she returned to SL. “I saw that the avatars looked a lot better than they did in 2009,” she recalls. “I tried making photos and blogging, but that was oversaturated and got boring.” She noticed others were reviewing SL items on YouTube but were “overly nice about it.” “I wanted to do it my way,” she says. Her way is nothing held back, informative, and often hilarious views of the cyber world in which we live.

She started her YouTube channel in 2017. “There were a lot less of us back then,” Naira says, recalling her early-day competition. “I started with exploring videos and mostly alone. Later I started bringing others in with me.” One of those others working with Naria is Timm Novak. “I don’t know about working with Naria,” Timm corrects me. “She is my best friend. We just hang out and have fun.” Naria agrees, stating “That’s exactly how we want to keep it. I don’t want my friends to feel like they have a job.”

From exploring SL, Team Naria expanded into reviewing sales— where the bargains are, what to buy, and what to avoid. She also offers tutorials on all things SL. She breaks down complicated SL techniques into easy-to-understand pieces.

Newbies and veterans alike experience and often share “ah ha! I never knew that!” moments.

She will also take you along on surfing, boating, and people watching. When you return home, she will show you how to decorate it. Keeping up with Naria’s YouTube video recording schedule is easy. She doesn’t have one. There is no research or practice. Everything she does is spontaneous. What you watch is as unscripted as possible. “I want it to feel more real and unedited,” Naria says. “We do random acts, stuff I would do anyway in SL, like fixing the land, putting an object on sale.” She explains the end result: “I want visitors to have fun and learn something from watching. I want them to see what SL is about, how to go about it, and how to make it easier to play. In addition, we strive to show what you can do in SL, what are the options, what is out there to explore, and how to avoid boredom.”

She notes that many become frustrated with SL and abandon it. “When they start out and reach a point of giving up in situations, such as making a good avatar, we are here to help.”

Her videos often derive from informally hanging out online with friends where ideas are formulated out of the blue and— cyber cameras rolling —they run with it. Viewers often IM or email questions or topics they want her to address. “We create a lot of tutorials that way,” she adds.

SL is not her full-time job. She does have one in real life. On YouTube, she records a video about three times a week on average. Viewer favorites include shopping and sales. “The SL trend I am seeing is more people are migrating to sales or events,” says Naria. She takes us there, explains what’s hot and what’s not— not from an expert, but from a friend.

Her future goals are to continue what she is doing and more of it. “I like making tutorials and want to make more. People need help, especially those just starting out. I see they have a lot of problems and questions. I receive a lot of IMs from frustrated avatars.”

Naria adds, “It’s not their fault. SL is hard. So it’s hard to get new people to play SL. A lot of them give up.” There is always more to learn about SL, and not just for novices. “There is always something new I never knew existed,” Naria acknowledges about her cyberworld visits. “I enjoy learning it and, at the same time, sharing what I learn with others.” Viewers gravitate to her ‘we are all in this together’ attitude. She adds, “I want to always keep it fun and light, not overwhelming.” And she does, every week, on a YouTube channel near you. Tune in.