It’s coming thick and fast now – commentary and news on which business is doing what in Second Life.
The latest today:
- Dell launches its Second Life presence today with an invite-only press preview followed by opening up the brand new Dell Island for general access. I’ll be at that preview at 6.15pm GMT.
- Edelman partners with Electric Sheep to offer funding for a new Second Life business venture. It’s a competition and kicks off with a panel event on Friday November 17 on Edelman’s brand new Second Life island (not yet launched). Giff Constable at Electric Sheep has the details. Related development – both firms are starting a machinima news blog called The Grid Review, launching soon.
As regular readers of this blog know, I’m a founding principal at crayon which is heavily involved and time-and-attention invested in Second Life. We launched our new company in Second Life last month.
So I’m hardly impartial when it comes to extolling the virtues of Second Life from a business perspective.
Take a look at Avatars at the Office, a feature in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal that gives some good examples of what a number of companies think and are doing in Second Life, and why. We’re quoted as one of the examples.
All of this represents the emerging of more of the tip of a very large iceberg.
And if you’d like to know what my crayon colleagues and I think about new marketing and business, check out what we have to say at One Degree where Mitch Joel has posted our answers to 5 Questions For Crayon – A New Marketing Company.
Keep paying attention.
4 responses to “Attention on Second Life”
The Crayon guys are getting a bit of a kicking from some SL quarters, as I’m sure you are aware, Neville. Is this something that will put off other companies in the long term, if they all keep getting roasted like this? The Register, through the typically combative Andrew Orlowski have some criticisms of this too.
For me, I’m unconvinced as to just how much more SL has to offer than more mainstream uses of the web to communicate, like GoToMeeting, which seems really cool, and Campfire and the rest. Part of this might be to do with the cruddy 2mb/s broadband I am on at the moment (soon I move to a new house where I can go up to 8! Whoo-hoo!) and the speed issues I run into.
But a big part of me just can’t take the thing too seriously. My SL avatar is called ‘Minge Quimby’ and is a short fat guy with a luminous green beard and an absurd haircut.
Past the initial publicity of a company getting into Second Life, where do you think the benefit really lies?
Crayon may be the most inventive company to date. I am anxious to see how it will evolve over time. Second Life continues to gain momentum, but one has to wonder how long the virtual world will prosper. The fact that Wall Street Journal is taking notice of companies involved in Second Life speaks volumes of the site’s success. Keep up the good work and thanks for the update!
Such kicking goes with the territory, Dave. I saw the Register story (“sadville for wrinklies”) which I thought very amusing.
I doubt any of this will put off any company who’s serious about their business. Look at Dell, for instance.
As for the benefits you ask about, it really depends on what a company’s objectives are. Listening and learning are two benefits I can think of that should be sought no matter the objective.
I’ll be looking out for ‘Minge Quimby.’ Great name :)
Kristina, thanks for your kind words!
Oh Canada! And the English dissent….
Canadian Second Life residents and marketeers have been busy this week. Fresh on the heels of One Degree’s 5 Questions for Crayon, an interesting QA with Crayon’s principals, came the news that the first CaseCamp will be held in SecondLife…