On the Road to a PhD

The House of Flames got is start in the wake of my entry into the Educational Leadership and Innovation PhD program at the University of Colorado Denver. Becoming the avatar Flameheart Sol was concurrent with becoming indoctrinated into the world of writing and research. Both identities were challenging and five years later, my dissertation was as much an auto-ethnographic view of my experiences as Flameheart as they were about identity interplay in virtual spaces.

A funny thing happened on the way to my dissertation defense – I became Flameheart Sol, founder of House of Flames Media. It began innocently enough; I began a virtual music venue in Second Life, and with some real world business talent and a lot of virtual help, the House of Flames became a prominent virtual venue. As I studied identity development and constructivist learning as a student, I also studied streaming audio and video as a virtual business owner. The more versed I became in my area of study, the more adept I became in streaming media.

Within a few years I finished my coursework as a student, and I began streaming media outside of virtual worlds. By the time I was ready to propose my research study about virtually performing musicians in Second Life, I was also outfitted with a Sprinter van and the ability to stream as a mobile unit. It wasn’t as if I was living an alternate life as an avatar-gone-human; both these identities were significant and real, becoming the multi-lifing that Turkle (2011) writes about.

With my dissertation defense imminent, I am looking at two equally earned paths; that of an academic who attempts to inspire and transform the students I am able to cross paths with, and that of a music-technology lover who wants to broadcast the performances of those who might never cross paths with a global audience. Can these paths peacefully co-exist?

Looking for my place in the world, using social media, virtual worlds, and whatever will come after them to change human behavior. If you have a place for someone who will always “think different,” please leave a comment.

Turkle, S. (2011). Alone together: Why we expect more from technology and less from each other. New York, NY: Basic Books.

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