5 Business Myths About Second Life

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As a huge advocate for virtual worlds as a business tool, I’ve discussed the merits of adding a Second Life component to the communications plan with many marketing and public relations executives. While several are enthusiastic about the inherent opportunities, there’s still some reluctance by others to get involved. Here are the top five excuses I hear from those that are hesitant to invest in SL:

1. Second Life is empty: The land mass of Second Life is equal to that of Greater Boston with more than 1.7 million residents as of this writing, but there may be less than 20,000 users logged in at any given time. Nights and weekends usually see more traffic than weekdays, as most users log in during their free time. Wednesday night, more than 1,000 avatars gathered across 18 sims to witness the virtual tree lighting in Rockefeller Center.  Well-publicized events draw crowds for many reasons: sometimes it’s the content, but often it’s because people want to connect with other people in world around a fun activity. If you can create a dynamic environment, people will stick around. But let’s remember: it’s not just about the quantity of visitors, but the quality as well. The residents of Second Life are early adopters with an interest in new technologies. They are enthusiastic about the immersive nature of SL and the experiences they’ve had. If you provide something for these users to do, they will share their opinions with friends as well as discuss it in the blogosphere. If you continue to give people a reason to visit your SL location, they will do so.
2. Residents don’t want RL businesses entering SL: While there are some residents who fear RL companies will transform the SL environment, the majority of residents understand that there is room for everyone. I think it makes more sense to say that residents don’t want RL companies to simply buy land, put up a building, and declare that they are the “first” in their industry to do so, only to walk away touting that accomplishment. If your business objective is to generate traffic for your virtual office, you can do so by hosting participatory activities or creating opportunities for people to meet, which is the whole point of SL to many. Make sure that your activities resonate with the community. However, if that’s not your business objective, then you’re not obligated to host events for the public. You can use your location strictly for internal purposes and still reap value for your company with SL. Another excellent way to use this space is for a promotion or event that spans both RL and SL. The key is to avoid making promises that you can’t deliver on.
3. It’s too hard to join SL: Users often cite the laborious sign-up process as the biggest obstacle for more widespread adoption of the platform. Once you fill out the web form and choose an avatar name, you have to wait for the confirmation email, download and install the client, then go through the orientation process after you’ve logged in for the first time. Also, many companies have firewalls that prevent employees from downloading the software to their desktop. Yes there are glitches, as there are with any emerging technology. However, passionate users simply don’t care. Look at all the amazing architecture, clothing, vehicles and other content that has already been created in Second Life and you’ll see that it is enthusiasm that is driving the platform forward. The experience of participating in  virtual world environment makes the effort of learning the controls well worth it.
4. SL is really just a primitive video game: SL residents take offense to this comparison, and for good reason. The only similarity between Second Life and a video game is the graphical interface. In reality, the two are nothing alike. Second Life is not about winning or losing. It’s not about saving the princess, defeating the enemy or completing the level. If anything, SL more closely resembles a social network like (gulp!) MySpace or Facebook in that the focus is on building communities of interest. Many people believe that Second Life represents the next major shift in the way users will access the Internet. The platform offers the opportunity for individuals all over the world to interact in a more immersive way than any other medium we know. Each release of a client update brings another level of sophistication to the software. It will continue to evolve and improve thanks to the dedicated team at Linden Lab as well as the enthusiastic user base intent on enriching the SL user experience.
5. There are no statistics to gauge ROI: In fact, there are several resources available for tracking statistics and other user information in Second Life. This includes stats updated in real time on the Second Life homepage and the economic statistics page provided by Linden Lab. There are also many user created scripts that allow you to learn more about the traffic to your sim. And with the abundance of talent in Second Life, it shouldn’t be difficult to find a scripter who can help you track whatever information you’re looking for.

Second Life isn’t a sure bet, and I wouldn’t counsel otherwise. However, there is this cool window of opportunity to engage both the new publics of SL and the existing brand loyalists in ways that were never before possible. Drop by Text 100 Island to learn more.

- Aaron Uhrmacher