Another Revealing Article

I came across another revealing article about Linden Labs from which I would like to emphasize two points.

First, it says, "Linden Lab's plans for Second Life are as visionary as ever -- 'to enhance and improve the human condition.' " The inner quote is presumably from Linden Labs, and, I believe I have encountered it elsewhere although I don't have the link. Nonetheless, this is not a business strategy. It is not a business plan. It is not even a legitimate philosophy of life. It is, at best, silliness. What is the 'human condition'? How can it be improved? How can it be enhanced? Being guided by such nonsense, it is no wonder they have had the struggles they have. How can you make a business decision if you first must determine how it affects the 'human condition'. Is it better to provide free accounts or charge for them? Well, which one improves the human condition? Is it better to maintain intellectual property rights over in world content or relinquish them to the creator? The answer is simple. Just choose the option that enhances the human condition.

Second, it says:

"'I'll settle for a million active users by the end of the year,' said Tom Hale, chief product officer for Linden Lab, which develops and operates Second Life. The service now has about 700,000 active users, who spend more than an hour per month logged in, up from 680,000 active users in February."

Back in 2006 they were boasting some 13 million accounts. Now they are admitting that less than a million of those accounts spend more than one hour a month in Second Life. My guess would be that there are more like 100,000 regular users; that is people who log in everyday, spend a few hours, and participate regularly in the Second Life economy.

The problem with this is that a lot of people made investment decisions believing that Second Life was a much bigger, more popular, more robust economy. I know I am one of those people. While my financial investments have been somewhat limited, my investments of time learning the application have been enormous. A lot of people who were similarly duped feel betrayed.

I still maintain two key points that I have maintained all along. First, Second Life is the most amazing technology that has come along in a long time and the future potential impact of this technology is enormous. Second, having this technology in the hands of Linden Labs is a lot like turning over national security to a group of summer camp councilors.