Third, Marketing

Second Life received a lot of press in the Fall of 2006 and the following Spring. There were stories about fortunes being made, political candidates offering speeches, real world vendors setting up islands to sell their products, large companies like IBM making major investments, television shows like CSI NY using Second Life as an extension of their shows, and so on.

But the publicity often cut both ways. There were stories about a lurid sex trade, pedophilia, and infidelity. Following he 'get rich quick' stories there were 'get poor quick' stories about falling land prices and vendors pulling out.

The upshot is that Second Life has a major image problem from a business perspective. And marketing a product as a Second Life capability would be a real uphill battle. So, this capability to hold meetings in Second Life could not be marketed as such. In fact there should be no mention of Second Life what so ever.

Second Life meetings would conjure up images of griefer attacks, naked avatars parading around, people sneaking off to meet with escorts, and all manner of antisocial behavior. People wishing to hold business meetings would not find this an attractive prospect at all.

Instead it should be marketed simply as "Virtual Meetings". The benefits of Virtual Meetings should be emphasized which include cost savings, functionality and ease of use. People don't have to drive and park, or sit in airports and hotel rooms. Instead of loosing three days for an out of town meetings, only one day is lost.

Unfortunately, Second Life today is like a pristine wilderness inhabited sparsely by eco-friendly artists. It has potential, but in order to exploit that potential, some of the pristine quality of the wilderness must be loss. It is a 'hand in the cookie jar' problem. If you do not exploit the technology nobody will ever appreciate it. If you do exploit it, it will loose a lot of its original appeal.

Perhaps another analogy might be to say it is like having a priceless painting locked in a closet. Putting the painting on display could damage it. Restoration could alter it. And yet, leaving it in the closet is not an option because its value is derived from viewing.

The exploitation of Second Life will alter it forever. However,not exploiting it will leave it unappreciated forever. Personally, I would go with the exploitation and see where it takes us.