My
favorite session at the SIIA Content Forum this week was the Second Life discussion with Russell Miyaki (TMP Worldwide) and Valerie Williamson
(Electric Sheep
Company) moderated by Patrice Curtis of Curtis Research.
Patrice
provided the basics: SL contains about 10,000 square miles of virtual space,
6003 islands, and more than 5.6M residents (and
some lawyers!). It has its own
currency (Linden Dollars) and a fluctuating exchange rate determined by the
market.
While
most people find the idea of Second Life interesting, many wonder if it
benefits a business to have a Second Life presence.
Russell
felt that it did. His company
specializes in recruitment in the real world and has extended their reach into
Second Life.
On
their island in Second Life, TMP constructs interactive buildings for their
clients, organizes, and executes recruiting events.
We
explored the T-Mobile building where a user could not only meet a recruiter,
have a private conversation, and “hand” someone their resume, but they could
also sky dive off the roof!
Valerie’s
company, Electric Sheep, is the largest creator of virtual world content.
Content
in SL is everything – literally. Avatars, clothes, buildings, cars, and every object, is content. Content is also information in the more
traditional sense.
Valerie’s
avatar showed us Nissan’s flying cars, Showtime’s island for The “L” Word,
universities, and interesting applications of real world content (XML files) within
the virtual world.
While
no one offered an ROI on creating a Second Life presence, benefits were visible
around community and collaboration.
There
were many visitors on Showtime’s island, The “L” Word, creating parties and
props and interacting with Showtime content and personalities.
Those
visitors had jumped into an environment created around a Showtime brand and
then enhanced it based on their own preferences with the collaboration of their
new found friends.
Instead
of a blog, a chat, or a game on a website, their participation was more intense
and immersive (and I’d bet more “sticky”).
Does
Second Life make real life marketing obsolete?
Hardly,
it’s one more place you can build a community, host a conversation, and interact
with your customers.
Patrice –
What a fascinating article. I’ve often thought that US schools are still trying to train kids for the industrial age and need a bit of modernization. I’d love to see a mix of in school, online, and SL training!
Nice to “see” you again!
Ann
Hi Ann,
It was great to meet you at the conference! I think schools are going to get incredible use out of SL. I saw an article just yesterday that talks about kids getting their education online. I can see this whole effort moving into a virtual universe environment, and someday kids benefitting from a customized learning experience.
No One Likes a Freeloader!
During the QA on the Second Life panel at the SIIA Content Forum last week, Patrice Curtis, of Curtis Research, was asked why vandalism is sometimes directed at corporations that venture in to Second Life. In Patrice’s opinion, one thing
Hello Scott!
One thing I thought was interesting was Valerie mentioning how entertainment often “paves the way” for other businesses. She recalled how years ago it was the entertainment companies that first asked people to visit them at their URL.
I kept thinking about a 2nd Life classroom. Now that could make K-12 (and beyond) learning a lot more “sticky”!
I’ve never ventured in to Second Life, but I’m getting more and more tempted!
Thanks for stopping by!
Ann
This is interesting and the notion of using Second Life as a business simulation/tool is well worth consideration. I have run simulation events for leadership and management groups and they can provide a stress free environment in which people can learn at pace. The likes of Second Life could take this to a deeper level.