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I created my first account in Second Life in early 2007; I didn't really spend a lot of time inworld until 2009, though, and I didn't start thinking seriously about the potential of VWs in education until 2010 / 2011, so I'm a little late to the party. Although I'm primarily interested in seeing how educators are using virtual environments (both inside and outside of Second Life), I would also just like to see more of the cool stuff out there, whether it's related to education or not.

I've done some limited exploration of other virtual worlds in the last couple of years (on my own, on the occasional excursion with Pathfinder's Hypergrid Adventurers Club and more recently through UW's Virtual Worlds Certificate Program), including JokaydiaGrid, ReactionGrid, OSGrid, Blue Mars, Inworldz, Jibe, web.alive, and WoW.

Aevalle, I think that your practice of visiting a different virtual environment every week is a great idea; I'd like to start doing something similar, time permitting (either on my own or in a group setting). I think that it's essential to keep building on our knowledge of and experience with the different platforms out there, and to keep up with what others are doing with the technology. I also totally agree with your thoughts on group tours as a shared experience and as a way to build community.  :)

I've been exploring in Second Life since I first joined at the end of 2006. Most of my exploring tends to focus on engineering, science, and government-related builds. For some time, I documented this exploration of serious builds with an online magazine called Grid Works.

When OpenSim and other virtual worlds opened up, I continued my explorations there. And because I create regions and content, my journeys have expanded to include research of building in virtual worlds. 

I agree with Aevalle's points. It's essential to explore and tour because it helps people better understand the space, and it offers the opportunity to learn best practices, discover ideas, and achieve inspiration. Journeys through the Metaverse also allow for increased chances to meet others who have similar interests.

Since I posed the question, I guess I'll start. 

For the past 3 years, I've been leading tours in Second Life--some educational and some just for fun.  On my own, I try to make it a point to get out of SL and visit another grid/virtual world at least once a week (yes, I actually have it on my to-do list).  Even with this, I learn a TON from others who are gamers (because, frankly, I'm not). 

Why bother with exploring?  Well, personally, I think it helps for me to see what others are doing out there.  As an instructional designer and ed-techie, I need to be at least knowledgable about what's happening.  I also teach educators about how to use tech in their classrooms, so being knowledgable enough to take someone into a grid/world that they're interested in is a plus.

As far as group tours, I think it helps to give the group a shared experience which is great when trying to build a professional learning community.  Sure, we could simply use VWs as a place to sit around and chat or "meet and greet" but the explorationg part--especially if there are glitches--it has a "shared quest" kind of feel to it.  The group itself begins to have a shared history/narrative.  Also I think exploring and touring is the jumping off point to something more--you have to get people in and get them moving within the environment before they can expand into creation and such.

Well, that's my 2 cents.  I can't wait to hear from others!