I love TechSoup, and I love trying all the latest online tools for building community and collaboration.

So when I had an opportunity at the NetSquared conference to take a tour of TechSoup's new virtual branch office with Susan Tenby (TechSoup's online community manager), how could I resist?

The virtual branch office is located in Second Life, a web-based virtual reality setting that I had never tried before.  However, at the NetSquared session, Susan and other real life helpers showed me very quickly how to sign up for a free account and download the application.

Along with a whole group of TechSoup fans and Second Life newbies, I chose a name for my newly created avatar (Deborah Replacement), clicked on "find," clicked on "places," entered "techsoup," and teleported to the virtual branch office.  I received a warm welcome, an invitation to the TechSoup group on Second Life, and a free virtual t-shirt to wear.

At the moment, the virtual branch office is mostly just a pleasant setting, but the team there is building information kiosks and brainstorming a lot of other ideas.

Right now, I feel like a toddler in Second Life, as I strive to master skills such as walking, talking, sharing, and taking turns.  But later on, when I'm up to speed, I want to organize a gathering at the TechSoup/Second Life branch office of Information Systems Forum members and any other folks in the field of nonprofit technology.  I'm envisioning an opportunity for all of us to learn our way around, with plenty of amnesty granted to those who bump into or walk over each other.  A little later on, we can convene to have a substantive discussion or two about topics of common interest.  Susan has been very encouraging about creating a salon of this sort.

If you're interested in visiting TechSoup's virtual branch office, or in finding out what other nonprofit techies are roaming around in Second Life, be sure to go to the virtual community discussion section of the TechSoup web site.