So what is Second Life? It's official website is at http://www.secondlife.com . Second Life is a virtual world whose content created by the people who use it. Every building, object, item of clothing ... when Second Life launched it was a blank rolling countryside. It is now populated by all manner of buildings and creations from offices to shops, space stations to beaches. The thing that makes Second Life unique is it's approach to copyright: the users who create an object, what ever it is, retain ownership and copyright of that object, and can sell their object to other users for currency that can be easily converted into US$. The same is true for the land itself: it can be bought, owned and resold by the users – Second Life has it's own property market.
Driven but this built-in concept of user ownership, Second Life has an expanding economy and over US$ 1.2 million changes hands every day. I have recently read that the economy in Second Life has been estimated to be worth US$1 billion.
The world is displayed in 3D on your computer using a viewer application that is available free from Second Life's makers, Linden Labs. Registering an account to use the world is also free, although features like land ownership require a higher level of account that has a subscription fee.
Second Life offers a lot of the features that you would expect to find in any real time communications tool – text based chat tools, in-built VOIP (Voice Over IP – essentially the ability to talk and be heard over the internet), user profiles, the ability to exchange landmarks (like bookmarks, but pointing to a specific place in the virtual world) and comprehensive search tools.
Having said that, a business starting up in second life should not expect to immediately find a new revenue stream. The biggest benefits of virtual world technologies is as part of the social networking mix and they present and opportunity for a business to communicate with it's existing and potential customers in a new way that offers an experience that is not readily offered elsewhere. Your business can also benefit from the increased exposure and marketing that you base around your new adoption of this technology.
Translating your business and your brand for use in a virtual world may need some adjustments to the kind of voice you use. In the same way that writing for a printed publication differs from writing for a website, the content that you choose for use in Second Life must be adapted to suit the way it is going to be presented.
One key concept to remember, and this is something that was missed by some of the first businesses entering Second Life, is that having a Second Life office is not the same as having a website. Websites are a part of the communications mix that is still very much a solitary, user driven experience. As a representative of your business, you probably have no current data about how many visitors are viewing your website right now, or a mechanism where you can start a conversation with them.
Virtual worlds offer a more social way to browse information and to share the experience, both with a representative of your business and with other customers. Offices in Second Life are much the same as real world offices in this respect – they benefit from being staffed. It is also worth noting that there is a difference in the way that people will interact with your virtual office compared to your website. It is well documented that a new visitor to a website will remain for only a very short period of time (less than a minute) and will be unlikely to explore any links from that page if they don't quickly see something that sparks their interest. People visiting locations in Second Life tend to spend longer exploring, especially if the location has been well designed, and tend to retain more of the experience.
So what should I actually use Second Life for? Second Life is a tool for communication, collaboration and shared exploration. Uses include:
- as a venue for conferences, seminars and meetings where the participants are geographically separated
- as demonstration environment for collaboratively exploring 3D mock-ups (for example, taking a client through a replica of the show apartment in a new development)
- as gallery and exhibition spaces that offer a similar experience to their real world counterparts
- as explorative spaces (for example a fitted kitchen company could use the space to offer a try before you buy experience for it's customers and allow them the ability to switch units and groups around to see which options the prefer).
Are there any other worlds? The future seems bright for virtual worlds when you consider the total number that are in use every day. When you include all the games, like World of Warcraft, that are being played (essentially themed virtual worlds) the the total number of registered users is in the 100s of millions. Soon to launch for Sony's Playstation 3 is Home. A social networking environment designed for players to meet, interact, share experience and start on-line games together. So far, however Second Life is the only world to offer user generated content and content ownership.
Second Life is not a replacement for your website. It is a key part of your communications mix, in the same way that email newsletters and using myspace.com are both valuable channels for reaching clients. Second life also provides a unique user experience which can be tailored to carry your brand and your message which can be reinforced by direct interaction.
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