IS SECOND LIFE FOR REAL?
JULIANA SIQUEIRA CS 09´
CONTENT
1. INTRODUCTION: IT´S A VIRTUAL WORLD AFTER ALL. 2. A QUICK VIEW ON SECOND LIFE 3. MARKETING IN SECOND LIFE: BRANDS AND BEST PRACTICES 4. IMPORTANT ISSUES SURROUNDING THE VIRTUAL WORLD: CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS 5. TAKEAWAY: . TODAY: CO-CREATION, TESTING AND INTEGRATION . TOMORROW: FUTURE POSSIBILITIES - “THE INTERNET OF THINGS” 6. SOURCES
INTRODUCTION
IT´S A VIRTUAL WORLD AFTER ALL. I have always been both intrigued and excited about the idea of Virtual Worlds. When Second Life was first introduced about 7 years ago, many people in the industry - and myself included - thought that a real virtual revolution was about to begin within the communications industry. Some companies took the first step by buying lands, building properties and developing marketing strategies in order to deliver a more realistic and engaging online experience to consumers. The idea of being able to have a new identity, to teleport to a completely new world, to do whatever you want to, to meet people from around the globe in a virtual reality and even to become a millionaire attracted people from all walks of real and virtual lives into Second Life. Some were just curious about how one could live in a virtual reality, others wanted to check if Second Life was just like an “online version of The Sims” and others took a deeper look on the possibilities of this new, cutting-edge platform. Today, Second Life faces many issues in both real and virtual realities. It has growth exponentially and many people say that it has reached its operational and technical capabilities. Some people believe it was just a fad and that Second Life can´t be explored from a real business standpoint. However, the evangelists of virtual worlds and many visionaries shed some lights that show that the real possibilities of Second Life haven´t even been explored yet. This thesis will explore some of the current challenges faced by Second Life as well as possible future applications for this platform from a marketing and media standpoint. This paper is not aimed at approaching specific technical issues inherent to Second Life.
A QUICK VIEW ON SECOND LIFE
WHAT IS SECOND LIFE? In a few words, Second Life is an immersive 3-D virtual world . It is a software application operating across a grid of computers to produce a three-dimensional animated world populated by a global community of individuals who are Second Life members. Each member is represented in this world (termed “in-world”) by an animated character called an avatar, which one operates on a personal computer, using free proprietary soft ware downloaded from the Internet. Second Life was launched in 2003 by Linden Research, Inc., a San Francisco-based company. Its creator, Philip Rosedale, was the former Chief Technology Officer of Real Networks, makers of the popular digital entertainment software, RealPlayer. Unlike a game, Second Life is not associated with a specific goal or outcome. Through their avatars, members engage in all forms of social and creative interaction with one another and with their environment. In Second Life, avatars ambulate through a world of earthly proportions. Second Life comprises about 10,000 islands that, when scaled to “real life” proportions, are 65,000 square meters each (about the size of Lincoln Center). One walks, runs, flies, or teleports to other locations in-world, communicating with others through text chat or instant messaging. Voice communication has recently been added, using either a headset with a microphone or the simple built-in microphone and speakers that come with most computers today. Second Life members can also create and view presentations and send and receive information both in-world and between Second Life and the “real world.”
* .Vincent Doogan/NYU (2007)
WHAT CAN YOU DO IN SECOND LIFE? SOCIAL. 3-D VIRTUAL EXPERIENCE: The 3D environment of Second Life has attracted millions of individuals from many countries. Second Life avatars, or residents, total nearly 17 million; more than 1.5 million residents have logged in during the last sixty days. At any moment, between 30,000 and 60,000 residents are logged in. This scale of participation in Second Life facilitates a potential cornucopia of digital crosscultural encounters, experiences, and collaborations as residents play, socialize, conduct business, and go about their daily lives in ways that closely resemble the “real world”.
ECONOMY. LINDEN DOLLARS TRADED AGAINS US DOLLARS: Second Life also has a robust economy, produced by in-world transactions for in-world goods, services, and real estate. Second Life has its own currency, Linden dollars (L$), which can be bought or earned in Second Life, and a money supply of more than L$3 trillion dollars. The L$ to US$ exchange rate is constantly changing, but is generally about L$270-300 to US$1. Currency fl ow in Second Life is facilitated by credit cards and PayPal. Many residents participate in Second Life by being the producers or consumers of Second Life goods and services. Products such as buildings, vehicles, and apparel mirror most of what we encounter in our daily lives; services span the areas of education, design, construction, security, entertainment, and real estate. Through real estate transactions, residents establish their own communities and business locations.
CUSTOMIZATION. YOUR WORLD. YOUR IMAGINATION: There are numerous opportunities for creativity, self-expression, and fun in Second Life. A variety of tools with graphical interfaces are built into Second Life for changing the appearance of your avatar or constructing geometric elements that can be assembled to create more complex objects such as buildings, trees, and furniture. Files from high-end graphics software like Photoshop can also be uploaded into Second Life to add surface textures. Photographs and other flat art can be uploaded for use in Second Life art exhibits, too. The Linden Script Language (LSL) — a powerful, Java-like coding language — is also available for sculpting a — and creating objects or for simply adding behaviors to objects and avatars. Of course, each resident is concerned with the appearance and identity of his or her virtual self, so intuitive Second Life tools and templates permit extensive enhancement of an avatar. Remember, if you cannot build it, you may be able to purchase what you need or contract another resident builder or consultant to do the work for you. Numerous help guides and in-world classes are available too. Finally, because of residents control over their intellectual property rights in Second Life, they can easily transfer or sell their creations to others. * .Vincent Doogan/NYU (2007)
WHO IS USING SECOND LIFE? Many colleges, museums, universities, and corporations have established a presence in Second Life for community building, education programs, and collaboration. In Spring 2007, Red (an orchestra from Cleveland) performed the first ever live digital simulcast of a classical orchestra in multiple Second Life amphitheaters. Each amphitheater had the capacity for about fifty avatars and displayed the streamed performance and graphic stills on three screens. Residents (avatars) attended, listened to stereophonic sound, and chatted about the musical program during both the concert and intermission. Case Western University, the New Media Consortium (of which NYU is a founding member), and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, among others, supported this project. Filmmakers and animators, both amateur and trained, have produced entertaining, well-respected “Machinima” within Second Life. “Machinima” is a fusion of the words “machine” and “cinema”. It refers to a set of filmmaking techniques as well as a genre. From the Second Life interface, one can initiate a simple recording in QuickTime format of all that is seen in the viewing window. More complex projects require residents as actors, as well as sets, locations, costumes, and third-party video production software. In June 2007, Jonathan Fanton, President of the MacArthur Foundation, delivered remarks on “Philanthropy in Virtual Worlds.” This presentation was broadcast into Second Life. Fanton elaborated on MacArthur's recent announcement of a $50 million initiative “to investigate the role and impact of digital technology on the lives of young people.” About Second Life, Fanton stated, “In virtual worlds, we see unprecedented opportunity for innovation because interactions are multi-modal, simultaneous, physical, and virtual, and advances happen on a daily basis . . . it's clear that there are real opportunities for education.” * .Vincent Doogan/NYU (2007)/Intro to Second Life (YouTube) and TED Conferences.
DEMOGRAPHICS
PSYCHOGRAPHICS
. Average Age: 32
. Creative People
. Age Range: 30 to 60 yrs. old.
. Early Adopters
. 45% Women
. Entrepreneurs
. Women spend 40% time inworld than Men. . 65% users are not from USA. . UK/Europe account for 55% of residents.
Virtual class on SL Harvard Campus.
A recent live simulcast orchestral concert in a Second Life amphitheater.
Film produced by Star War fans on Machinima.
MAKING REAL MONEY IN THE VIRTUAL WORLD. There are as many opportunities for innovation and profit in the Second Life world as in the Real World. Residents can open a nightclub, sell jewelry, become a land speculator; the possibilities are endless. Thousands of SL residents are making part or all of their real life income from their Second Life Businesses. By way of example, here are just a few in-world business occupations which Residents founded and currently run, and make part or all of their real life living from.
* * * * * * * * * *
party and wedding planner pet manufacturer tattooist nightclub owner automotive manufacturer fashion designer custom animation creator theme park developer real estate speculator vacation resort owner
* * * * * * * * * *
game developer fine artist machinima set designer tour guide dancer musician private detective writer gamer landscaper
* * * * * * * * * *
aerospace engineer custom avatar designer jewelry maker architect XML coder freelance scripter advertiser bodyguard magazine publisher
* * * * * * * * * *
custom animation creator theme park developer real estate speculator vacation resort owner advertiser bodyguard publicist special effects designer gunsmith hug maker
A construction company on SL.
MARKETING IN SECOND LIFE: BRANDS AND BEST PRACTICES
BRANDING IN SECOND LIFE The media has prominently featured stories of how Second Life economy has enabled small entrepreneurs to make money or even become millionaires through this platform. However, virtual worlds can also provide a casual environment for many marketing practices. Today, many companies are taking advantage of tools provided by Second Life to connect to consumers in a new virtual environment where possibilities are only limited by its brand designers imagination.
BRANDING IN SECOND LIFE American Apparel, Reuters, Adidas, Apple, Reebok, Starwook Hotels, IBM and brands from all corners of the real world have presence in Second Life. Avatars can buy cel phones, outfits, cars, host events, have fun, etc. Second Life provides a platform for replication of everything that humans and brands are allowed to do in the real world. Marketing in SL includes product placement, advertising, store layout design and product testing. Second Life can be used to marketing research, trendspotting and feedback. It can allow a high level of customization and test driving. In the future, residents will be able to actively collaborate with brands in SL to create products.
BEST MARKETING PRACTICES IN SECOND LIFE
Cost-effective tool for customer engagement and feedback.
• Starwood Aloft used their Second Life location as an inexpensive prototyping solution to get customer feedback on design for future hotel layouts. • Programs in Second Life are teaching business students about merchandising in the real world by dressing virtual stores. • Sears, in partnership with IBM, is working on allowing customers to create a virtual version of a kitchen, complete with exact dimensions and layout.
• Adidas allows customers to design their own sneaker in Second Life, helping them to design more remarkable “first life” sneakers.
Market research
• Mazda has also ventured into designing an experiential marketing vehicle; the car's designers even appear in virtual form to launch the new model. • “Just as the web replaces and extends the capabilities of traditional print media, Second Life is extending the capabilities of broadcast media and chat. Second Life now surpasses the intensity of broadcast advertising at an even more favorable price point than print.” Source: MediaPost
Public Relations
Focus Group
. Being the first big brand to move into Second Life, American Apparel received media mentions, worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, from outlets including the cover of BusinessWeek,The New York Times, and MSNBC.
Some businesses have decided to use the Second Life communities to form focus groups. Achim Muellers, head of brand relations and co-operations at BMW, stated in a conference in Second Life that, “Second Life is great to get very honest feedback, more honest than in any focus group, because in a focus group, you sort of know what's expected from you. Second Life residents are more extroverted and honest about their feelings.” * .Virtual Brand Footprint (2007)
BEST MARKETING PRACTICES IN SECOND LIFE
Focus Group
. In a focus group organized by Market Truths Limited, participants were particularly impressed with AOL's Second Life presence. A participant said that his opinion of the company improved overall. Previously he had thought of AOL as being a “stodgy, traditional company,” but after seeing AOL's activities in Second Life, he felt AOL must be more “modern and progressive” than previously thought.
Marketers and advertisers can use Second Life to allow participants around the world to take part in conferences and classes through live audio, video and PowerPoint feeds.
Greater Interactivity and participation
. The World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland is usually attended by prime ministers, celebrities, CEOs and entrepreneurs. But thanks to the democratizing nature of Second Life, sixty average residents were able to virtually attend most workshops in Davos and talk directly with people like the Governor of Virginia, Mark Warner, and musician and activist Peter Gabriel. Actress Mia Farrow has also held presentations on behalf of the UN about the genocide in Sudan. • Thomson's NetG corporate training division, which provides custom training solutions for corporate clients on Microsoft and Cisco products reportedly makes $10,000 a month by providing training, mentoring and customized podcasts for their corporate clients in Second Life. • Universities like Harvard Law School have used Second Life to host virtual classes and conferences, complete with video, sound and PowerPoint presentations. • The University of California, Davis, has created a virtual hallucination simulator to give psychiatry residents a better understanding of what schizophrenic patients actually experience.
* .Virtual Brand Footprint (2007)
IMPORTANT ISSUES SURROUNDING THE VIRTUAL WORLD: CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS
IMPORTANT ISSUES SURROUNDING THE VIRTUAL WORLD . INTERVIEW - SUELLEN SCHLIEVERT (Associate Creative Director at AKQA Washington D.C) I emailed Suellen Schlievert at AKQA to have her thoughts on Second Life possibilities. AKQA has a great reputation as one of the most cutting-edge global digital communications agencies and also, has done some work with Second Life.
“One life at a time, please”. AKQA has done some work in Second Life out of our San Francisco office. I believe we helped Visa sponsor a concert series and build our own recruitment center in the virtual world. Though I'm not sure we've done much there recently. My reaction when first hearing about Second Life was, “One life at a time, please.” And there may have been a grain of truth in the quip. While Second Life waned, social networks started going gangbusters. Adults seem to instead have gravitated toward tools that enrich their first life, rather than create an alternate one. First it was tools like MySpace and Flickr that brought real life the the web. Now it's Facebook and Vimeo – still all about what's happening in your real life, but now also managing who you share it with. And at the same time we've evolved from flash mobs to alternate reality games (ARGs), like the Lost Ring game we created for McDonalds around the Olympics. It shows people have an interest in starting with a web site and then interacting in real ways, with real people in real environments. Still, I think virtual worlds have inherent appeal for kids...as they are essentially about imagination and play. I did some research on virtual worlds for a kid-focused client we worked with a few years ago and found that virtual worlds for kids are, or were at the time anyway, growing. Webkins and Whoville are good examples.
IMPORTANT ISSUES SURROUNDING THE VIRTUAL WORLD 1. MISPERCEPTIONS ON VIRTUAL WORLDS The idea of virtual worlds has always been part of our imagination. For centuries, it has been explored by people from all sorts of fields, such as films, literature, science, etc. This attachment to the fantasy world has a negative impact on perceptions about the possibilities of virtual worlds. For many people, this idea is nothing but an utopia that can only live in the minds of scientist and in the scripts of Hollywood sci-fi productions. Today, virtual world became a reality which can be described as online environments that have game-like immersion and social media functionality without game-like goals or rules. The gaming industry advances not only have created the perfect environment for the surge of virtual worlds, but also took the experience to the next level. The graphics developed by the gaming industry got more and more realistic, and some companies rapidly realized how they could capitalize on all attributes of a 3-D experience. However, people are still not completely receptive to the idea of having a second, virtual life. People say “It´s difficult to manage my first life, my social networking life and keep up with all information already existent on web. Why do I need a Second Life?”. Second Life needs to explain what this platform is 42advantages on the about and how people can take thousands of possibilities to explore in this virtual world. There is skepticism about the idea of living in a virtual reality which 29 constantly leads to the idea of fantasy, gaming and utopia. Second Life needs to invest on marketing efforts to really clarify to people what Second Life is about and invite people to this experience. After 7 years, Linden Labs hasn´t started a serious and proactive conversation with people about its own platform.
Real life in Second Life
Fantasy in Second Life
IMPORTANT ISSUES SURROUNDING THE VIRTUAL WORLD 2. LACK OF PARTICIPATION & ENGAGEMENT Second Life claims to have more than 16 million residents. When you read articles and papers about SL, that is the statistics you will most probably find. However, when you look at the login rates you realize that the level of engagement within this virtual world is very, very weak across all levels of participation. Only 5% of its residents have an active life into this virtual reality. Second Life is like space exploration. People have no idea where they can get to and what they are going to find in this virtual world. Numbers below show the dimensions of Second Life: . Size: about 20.000 CPU´s or 100 Terabytes . Scale: about 10 times the size of San Francisco . Growth rate: it´s expanding exponentially - 5%/month. . Consumer-generated content: 100.000.000 objects created
“There was nobody else around in SL. It was almost creepy. I felt like I was in The Shining.” Michael Donnelly, Coca-Cola Worldwide Head of Interactive Marketing.
As you can see, the amount of content available for exploration and creation within this virtual reality are almost overwhelming. It´s like exploring an entire new world. Additionally, the learning curve for Second 42 Life is not an easy one. The navigation is still not so inviting, and newbies have to deal with thousands of different commands in order to execute easy tasks, like meeting people or even learning who to teleport from land 29 to land. For this reason, occasional, curious residents say that “the most common thing is to not find anyone in Second Life. Where are those 500.000 people?” Second Life can manage this problem by providing real world workshops and in-world easy-to-find guidance. In the future, Linden Labs must invest on solutions to create a more friendly and intuitive navigation for residents. * Secondlife.com; TED Conference (2008)
IMPORTANT ISSUES SURROUNDING THE VIRTUAL WORLD 3. POOR 3-D EXPERIENCE The recent gaming industry developments have set the bar really high for any company interested in providing a virtual experience for its customers. XBox, Wii, Playstation 3 and other games immerse gamers into an amazingly realistic environment through its high quality graphics. Games like Halo 3 have caused a real revolution in the industry and get people who are exposed to the game thinking “What is real and what is not?!”. According to David Perry, the visionary mind behind some of the most beloved game titles of the past 2 decades, professionals at gaming industry are not discussing about graphics and audio quality into games anymore. They know that technology is not the real issue when it comes to offer life altering experiences through games. The topic of every discussion is “What kind of video game will make you cry?”. Those visionary minds understand that it´s not just about cutting-edge graphics and audio, but about triggering human emotions.
“Even the cheesiest video games have better graphics and works smoother. Even Monkey Ball (a game) in my iPhone has better graphics”. - Michael Durwin, creative director at Rize Yongho talking about SL. In contrast, Second Life is years far behind of providing the experience people expect from living in a virtual world. Although SL allows for a 3-D experience, it ´s still far below audience expectations. Most people say they got disappointed at the graphics and that they are “from every perspective, really bad”. Therefore, Second Life fails in delivering the most basic feature of any human interactions: emotions. Second Life is still evolving towards a better experience for its residents. It includes more realistic graphics, smoother human interactions and room for more self-expression. This is one of the most important issues to be addressed by Linden Labs in order to convince people and business to jump into this idea of having a Second Life.
IMPORTANT ISSUES SURROUNDING THE VIRTUAL WORLD 4. WEAK MARKETING EFFORTS AND RISK-MANAGEMENT
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IMPORTANT ISSUES SURROUNDING THE VIRTUAL WORLD 4. WEAK MARKETING EFFORTS AND RISK-MANAGEMENT Second Life faces criticism, problems and challenges in both virtual and real world. Due to constant development, and as an open environment accessible by almost anyone with access to the internet, a number of difficult issues have arisen around Second Life. Issues range from the technical (budgeting of server resources), to moral (pornography), to legal (legal position of the Linden Dollar, Linden Lab lawsuit) and customer security. . TECHNICAL: Quality assurance (residents say that Linden Labs focus too much on adding new features instead of fixing current bugs on the system, which causes financial loses to its customers and residents); Poor Frame Rate (limited number of avatars at the same time in each island), Interface (poor graphics can´t provide a realistic virtual experience) and Operational System limitations (not supported on Windows Vista) . CONTENT: Pornography, Gambling, Griefing and Denial of Service Attacks (residents developing objects in order to harm other residents ´s properties) and unauthorized copying of content. . INTERNATIONAL ISSUES: Legality (Second Life users are expected to obey the laws of their own local countries with regard to their actions in the virtual world; however, a problem can arise in countries which have tough laws regarding material downloaded from the Internet, such as pornography.) and Taxation (In September 2007, Linden Lab announced that they would be required to charge VAT on land fees to users inside the European Union, thereby increasing the business costs of many businesses in Second Life and making it more difficult for them to compete with non-EU businesses on price). . OTHER ISSUES: Customer Security, Internal Regulation and Changes on Terms of Services provided by Linden Labs on Second Life. People who are Second Life non-residents, who don´t have much awareness of the platform and look at the idea of virtual world with skepticism are being impacted by all sorts of negative messages about SL. For this reason, Linden Labs must invest on a strong riskmanagement department to answer effectively to all news about Second Life and to clarify the risks inherent to the platform to people.
* .Wikipedia (2008)
IMPORTANT ISSUES SURROUNDING THE VIRTUAL WORLD 5. LACK OF POSITIONING AND VIRTUAL WORLD COMPETITION There are many virtual worlds available for exploration on web. Second Life has notable competitors, including Entropia Universe (free of charge and no subscription), IMVU (focus on 3-D chatting), There (virtual platform for existing brands), Active Worlds (Microsoft), Kaneva supports 2D web browsing, social networking and shared media.), and the erotic-oriented Red Light Center, just to cite a few. For this reason, Second Life must find a clear point of differentiation amongst all those virtual world and position its brand in this already overcrowded virtual reality marketplace for a clear demographic. The platform has never invested in any extensive and consistent marketing efforts to explain what Second Life is and what is not, and how people can benefit from this it. Second Life does not even have a clear mission statement. Also, the name “Second Life” doesn´t positively contribute in defining a marketing strategy to approach people and businesses. “Second Life” is a too broad concept, and gives room to all sorts of misunderstandings (“A second life? Another life? Why would I need a second, virtual life?”). The platform must find a clear positioning in order to start a conversation about how Second Life can contribute to your “First Life”.
* .Virtual Brand Footprint (2007)
IMPORTANT ISSUES SURROUNDING THE VIRTUAL WORLD 6. DEVELOPING STRATEGIES IN A NEW VIRTUAL ECONOMY “You´re not going to succeed in Second Life, if you´re not adding something valuable to the community”.
- Philip Rosedale, President of Linden Labs.
Marketers must understand that Second Life isn´t merely “one more online media platform” before considering in having a presence in this virtual world. Second Life is not a platform to replicate existing online content, therefore marketing strategies in Second Life must be crafted according to very specific purposes which take into consideration the “community” factor inherent to this virtual world. In addition, there are some aspects that must be taken into consideration before developing marketing strategies in Second Life: TECHNICAL CAPABILITIES. Only forty to sixty avatars are able to meet on one single simulator at a time, due to capacity and rendering issues with both Second Life servers and home-based personal computers. Therefore, brands should plan marketing activities in coordination with technology. Companies should look to establish experiential touch points, with fewer avatars at their sims at a time, rather than plan huge events which may cause lag and server crashing. CONSTANT BRANDING EFFORTS When a new Second Life environment is created nobody knows about it or will visit unless they are made aware. It is necessary to inform residents of the new creation and give them a reason to come. Many brands invest in building simulations in Second Life, yet fail to market them. This situation harkens back to the Internet in 1995, when companies learned that simply building a website did not mean that customers would come knocking at their doors. Creating a compelling and unique experience in Second Life can foster a meaningful dialog and connection between a brand and its consumer. Creativity is key. After making new friends and even getting a taste of virtual backlash, American Apparel, one of the first brands to open a store in Second Life, decided to close their doors on Lerappa Island. Although the cause wasn't stated explicitly, the limitations of pursuing a “build it and they will come” strategy likely contributed to the closure.
IMPORTANT ISSUES SURROUNDING THE VIRTUAL WORLD 6. DEVELOPING STRATEGIES IN A NEW VIRTUAL ECONOMY MEASUREMENTS AND ROI: It has been proven that companies benefit from a Second Life debut - some more than others. Nevertheless, companies such as American Apparel, Adidas, Coke, Dell, IBM, Nissan, Pontiac, Sears, Starwood-Loft Hotels and The Louvre received millions of real world impressions after building an island in Second Life. By entering into the virtual world these companies received a great deal of press coverage in leading publications for a very small investment. The chart illustrates the number of impressions, in millions, each brand received after their Second Life entrance. This clearly illustrates that a successful launch in Second Life often turns into positive publicity for the brands. Whether it is a product mention or an in-depth story, the brands in this study were exposed to millions of eyes around the world. The press coverage also associates these brands with innovation since Second Life has not yet become a traditional marketing platform.
However, if Second Life wants to succeed and be recognized as a serious platform which allows for business strategies and real profit, it must develop its own method for ROI measurements to be shared in the real and virtual world. Companies can´t measure success and justify ad spend based only on media impressions. If Second Life has its own economy and demands companies to adjust its marketing strategies to communicate in Second Life, it needs to support organizations with success metrics to be shared with no restriction by all professionals and industries.
* .Virtual Brand Footprint (2007)
IMPORTANT ISSUES SURROUNDING THE VIRTUAL WORLD 7. UNDERSTANDING THE CULTURE OF VIRTUAL WORLDS. Brands must understand that it´s not about allowing residents for interactivity, but how to craft and deliver a meaningful experience in a virtual world. When brands truck brick and mortar tactics wholesale into Second Life without tailoring to the unique virtual culture, they may have a rude awakening when their Second Life homesteads receive few visitors. Brands such as American Apparel have been picketed, due to lack of Second Life cultural respect, when they created ordinary buildings with very few options for residential interaction. First impressions are critical - residents never did warm up to American Apparel since they couldn't easily interact with the brand. This may have contributed to the recent closure of their virtual store. Brands must create a unique and inviting environment that residents can interact with. Brands must invite people for co-creation in this virtual space. Indigenous resident-owned stores that are manned in Second Life welcome a greater number of avatars, who then in turn spend more time and money. Second Life has traffic ranking, just as Google does, which is based on, among other things, the number of avatars who are visiting a sim and the length of their stay. The higher these metrics are, the more prominently the sims will rank in the inworld search feature. Indigenous Second Life businesses routinely pay avatars to camp out or dance in their sims, generally, one or more Linden Dollars per hour, less than a third of a penny, effectively boosting their traffic rankings.
According to Market Truths Limited, a Second Life market research firm, “About half of respondents (49%) think the presence of real life (RL) commercial brands in Second Life is mostly positive, or at least more positive than negative. About a third (34%) have a neutral opinion about the current presence of RL brands, and 17% have an attitude that is more negative than positive or mostly negative”
Market Truths calculated an overall Second Life brand impact metric. According to their research, “all of the most frequently mentioned brands are receiving a positive impact from their Second Life presence, but the impact is greatest for Reuters — largely due to the fact that most of those who have encountered the brand in Second Life say doing so has improved their impression of the company. IBM had the next greatest impact, but its position is more a result of the fact that it received more mentions in the unaided awareness question than any other brand. Toyota, Nissan, and Dell had the next greatest brand impacts. The black bars at the bottom show the metrics for Toyota and Sony when their two separate brand names are combined.”
IMPORTANT ISSUES SURROUNDING THE VIRTUAL WORLD 7. UNDERSTANDING THE CULTURE OF VIRTUAL WORLDS. Market Truths concluded that the two components of the metric — how many people are aware of the brand's Second Life activities, and how the brand's Second Life presence influences overall brand attitudes — are determined in large part by what tactics are undertaken on behalf of the brand within Second Life. Brands that score most highly on the metric tend to go beyond showing their products, provoking virtual versions and web links. They provide opportunities for deeper engagement by making a brand-relevant contribution to the community and creating opportunities for interaction such as co-creation and customization of products.
TAKEAWAY: CURRENT AND FUTURE POSSIBILITIES FOR SECOND LIFE
TAKEAWAY: CURRENT AND FUTURE POSSIBILITIES FOR SECOND LIFE 1. TODAY: CO-CREATION, TESTING, INTEGRATION . A PLACE FOR CO-CREATION AND OWNERSHIP: Second Life stands out of other virtual worlds due to its endless possibilities for cocreation. Actually, Philip Rosedale says that that was the original idea that drove the development of Second Life. The president insight was that “We are unable to execute most part of our ideas”. According to him, people have great ideas in the real world, but 90% of those ideas die because people don´t have opportunities and resources to bring it to life. Second Life was created to fulfill the human basic need of creation. Therefore, Linden Labs focus has never been and will never be content development. Only 5% of current content that exists in Second Life was created by Linden Labs; the remaining 95% content was a result of its residents creativity and imagination. For this reason, Linden Labs strongest focus relays on tools design and technical issues. In 2008, Second Life was honored at the 59th Annual Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards for advancing the development of online sites with user-generated content. This award shows how company understands that the most important thing when it comes to virtual worlds is human empowerment. Second Life message should be focused on creativity and possibilities rather than “your world. your imagination”. People must first understand the role Second Life can play into their lives and how it can positively relate to their real lives. People don´t want to have a second life with everything that is inherent to this idea. However, virtual worlds are the perfect place to unleash creativity and take risks with a minimum cost. Technology in Second Life allows people to create and share and at the same time, interact with people in another level. Having said that, I believe that Second Life could be positioned as the “virtual place for co-creativity with minimum real life risks”
Design/Architecture Projects
Fashion Projects
Art Exhibits
TAKEAWAY: CURRENT AND FUTURE POSSIBILITIES FOR SECOND LIFE 1. TODAY: CO-CREATION, TESTING, INTEGRATION “aloft is the first brand that directs itself towards the new generation of travelers. ”.
- Paul Novak, Managing Director - Starwood Hotels & Resort
. A PLACE FOR TESTING: Many different brands have benefit from Second Life due to its creation possibilities. For example, In 2007, Starwoods Hotels first created A-Loft in Second Life to get feedback from residents before implementing it in the real world. During 1 year, the brand tested concepts, customer service, and got a lot of feedback from Second Life residents. Today, aloft is considered one of the most cutting-edge brands in hospitality industry in every aspect and its partners stress how important was to first have the possibility to get residents thoughts on virtual implementations. Many other brands have already realized the potential Second Life has on prototype designs and concept tests of all sorts. I believe that Second Life has a great opportunity to communicate all those testing benefits provided by the platform that can drive direction for real projects in the “Real World”.
Starwoods Hotel - Prototype of aloft Hotel to get feedback before implementing it in the “real world”
American Apparel collection available in virtual life and in the real world.
TAKEAWAY: CURRENT AND FUTURE POSSIBILITIES FOR SECOND LIFE 1. TODAY: CO-CREATION, TESTING, INTEGRATION “We´re social creatures and must enjoy more the consumption of information in the presence of others”.
- Philip Rosedale, President of Linden Labs
. A PLACE FOR INTEGRATION: Second Life allows for virtual integration in many levels. Residents can meet new people in a 3-D reality, but also, they can extend and enhance real life relationships through this platform. Thousands of conferences, meetings, workshops and lectures are hosted in Second Life, and although graphics don´t allow for an ultra realistic experience yet, they provide tools for some level of experience and integration. I believe that Second Life should capitalize on the possibilities of integration between real and virtual worlds through its platform. Second Life can be an interesting option for worldwide corporations and many other business to bring employees together in order to share information in a more effective way.
TAKEAWAY: CURRENT AND FUTURE POSSIBILITIES FOR SECOND LIFE 1. TODAY: CO-CREATION, TESTING, INTEGRATION In my opinion, Second Life is not dead. This platform was created about 7 years ago, and it faces the same issues that Internet faced on early 90´s. According to Philip Rosedale, “There is a lot of excitement and doubt. Then, some things happen along the way and everybody thinks it´s not going to work. It happened to the Web and is happening with Second Life”. Second Life provides a platform to fulfill the human most basic need: connection. It understands that people want to access and share information together. This is what truly defines the idea of community and interactivity. Also, in virtual worlds, information is presented to people through iconic symbols, which is the most powerful possible way to expose people to ideas and concepts. Humans need and seek 3-D experiences, no matter what. This is one of the most primitive need and something that connect all of us. Virtual Worlds are the best way for us to essentially organize and experience information. In virtual worlds, it´s easier to excite and provoke memory therefore, brands have more room to trigger real emotions in virtual environments. Today, Second Life faces two major challenges: technical issues and learning curve. It´s essential for Second Life to focus on bringing a more realistic 3-D experience to its residents, in order to add more humanity to the platform. Greater interaction and connectivity are two aspects inherent to virtual reality and to any type of human relationship. Therefore, Second Life must learn a lot from the gaming industry (graphics and emotions) in order to position itself as a brand that allows people to have a “second, virtual life”. Another aspect relates to the learning curve. The navigation is still overcomplicated for the vast majority of people who already had some sort of contact with the platform. This is something that needs to be addressed by Linden Labs, in order to bring more people into this idea of virtual world. Second Life needs people to claim to be a virtual world and today, it lacks engagement and participation in every aspect.
TAKEAWAY: CURRENT AND FUTURE POSSIBILITIES FOR SECOND LIFE Also, Second Life must find its positioning amongst all virtual platforms available on web. As I said before, Second Life stands out of other virtual worlds due to its endless possibilities for co-creation. I believe that the platform has an opportunity to position itself as a virtual place that allows for creativity and ownership. Linden Labs main focus is to constantly invest on design tools to empower its residents to unleash their creativity. This was Second Life original concept, and I believe that this is still its great point of differentiation . Last but not least, Second Life should invest on marketing efforts in order to explain the culture of virtual worlds for people and business. The idea of virtual worlds has always belonged to the fantasy world and people are still not 100% sure about how it could be applied to its lives in the real world. Linden Labs must show people how their “First Life” can benefit from Second Life. It´s not about giving up on your life to live a virtual one, but on how you can enhance real life experiences through tools provided by virtual worlds.
2. TOMORROW: FUTURE POSSIBILITIES - “THE INTERNET OF THINGS” I believe that in the next decade or so, virtual worlds will be the most common way for human beings to consume and share information. The lines of real and virtual are becoming more and more blurred. Nike+ is a good example of what I am talking about. Nike + is a platform that enhances running experience in the real world and provides a virtual platform to share information online. Nike+ created a revolution in the sports world by adding experience and sharing opportunities to running. In the same way, I believe that people will be able to truly benefit from Second Life when the platform starts to show its potential as the place where both real and virtual life can meet. Web 3.0 or “Semantics Web” will allow this to happen. It´ll be the end of blurred lines between virtual and real lives where I can access information of any atomic data (physical) in the virtual world (online). Web 1.0 (The Net) allowed us to link computers to computers. If you wanted to share information, you had to share packages of data, from computer to computer. Now, Web 2.0 (The Web) allow us to share information via links. If I want to “talk” from my computer to the Brandcenter, I need to establish a connection via both IP links. Web 3.0 (The One) will allow us to access data. We are going to link one idea existing in one page to another idea existing in another page. Everything that is available in the atomic world will have a code embed to the web. Therefore, all information will be virtually available on Web as well. All screens and informations will be looking at this machine (The One) which is going to be the only possible environment for “things”. The Web will own every bit of information available and will be impossible to tryly define what is real and what is virtual. For those reasons, I believe that Second Life real opportunities live on Web 3.0 (2010 - 2020). The platform can be the place where both atomic and virtual information converge in a meaningful way to people.
TAKEAWAY: CURRENT AND FUTURE POSSIBILITIES FOR SECOND LIFE 2. TOMORROW: FUTURE POSSIBILITIES - “THE INTERNET OF THINGS” TODAY
It has been shown that Second Life is not a place where brands can take their existing digital content to the next level. It demands specific strategies and a new business mindset. Today, brands can benefit from Second Life possibilities towards concept testing and feedback, always having in mind that advertising itself does not work in Second Life. Brands must offer something valuable and meaningful for the community in order to start a conversation about their brands.
FUTURE
Web 3.0 will blur the lines between virtual and real. Second Life (or any other virtual world) can be the place where both atomic and virtual information converge in a meaningful way to people.
Virtual World
Real World
SOURCES
SOURCES . TED CONFERENCES . “Second Life, where anything is possible” by Philip Rosedale (2008). . “Predicting the next 5000 days of the Web” by Kevin Kelly (2007). . “Will video games become better than life?” by David Perry (2006) . “The Web and The City” by Steven Johnson (2003) . INTERVIEW . Suellen Schlievert (Associate Creative Director at AQKA Washington DC) . Residents at Second Life
. Web Research . The Complete Web 2.0 Directory: http://www.go2web20.net/ . Articles, Presentations and Papers on web.