In the late 1980's a personal computer appeared called the Amiga which was known for cool features and a small but savagely loyal customer base. Few people today would remember this name as it has drifted into the mists of computer history. However, it serves as warning. Having a technologically sophisticated product is not sufficient for success.
Another good example is a collection of computer companies in the 1960's and 1970's called the BUNCH (Burroughs, UNIVAC, NCR, Control Data Corporation, and Honeywell) that competed unsuccessfully with IBM. IBM was never known for technological superiority. And yet it managed to beat out all the other companies that were.
What do these two examples have in common and what does it have to do with Second Life? Second Life is the most impressive technology to come along in a long time. And yet it is failing to capture the market, even though it is really the only competitor in the market. It is on wobbly financial ground. And it shows no prospects for living up to the hype it generated in late 2006. Why is this?
Having a technologically superior product and no business plan is a formula for failure. I have complained many times in this blog about how LL does not seem to have any idea what it is doing and events are beginning to bear that out. I think that Second Life is likely to go the way of the Amiga. It will have some cool features but no plan for business applications. It will have a small but savagely loyal customer base. It will continue to pursue the "fantasy world created by its users" strategy despite the fact that this has proven to be a faulty strategy. And it will fade into the mists of computer history. It is sad but I am having a hard time trying to justify wasting any more time on it. So, I am closing this blog with the following quote:
“For all sad words of tongue and pen, The saddest are these, 'It might have been'.”
John Greenleaf Whittier
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
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