Thursday, December 14, 2006

A Night at the (virtual) Roxbury

Tonight I attended a conference in Second Life. It was the Second Life’s first CaseCamp and was hosted by Crayonville, a new marketing company whose office presides in Second Life. At this casecamp, 4 marketers presented their First Life marketing case studies for an audience literally from around the world. Our avatars sat at an amphitheater as if we were physically at a conference location, all without leaving the comforts of our home or office. Both voice streaming by the presenters and their powerpoint presentations came across almost perfectly too. This could be the beginning of something special.

Second Life has now over 2M residents, of which over 800K had logged in the last 60 days (stats from home page). Since it’s founding in 2003, buzz about SL only started to grow exponentially in 2006. Of course, the extra press about Second Life first millionaire didn’t hurt either.

What’s remarkable now is that large media companies are starting to experience with SL as an alternative distribution outlet. Given its early life cycle, SL is a good bet (especially by those with enough betting resources) to gain residency in. If it takes off beyond the niche early adopter stage, those experimenters would have a head start over their competitors. However, Many are unconvinced that Second Life would hit critical mass. Though I agree with them that SL is not ready for consumer prime time (it is still a steep learning curve to learn how to navigate your avatar in SL), SL has the potential to be the next generation 3D internet browser, where your avatar can visit places in SL just like we started surfing the web a decade ago.

What can make it tip is good quality and compelling content. Media companies are exploring that option. NBC’s iVillage Girls’ Night Out programmed a SL tour tonight. A good way for them to dip their toes in the waters. Instead of building an island, let’s explore the world instead! Moreover, Sundance will launch a virtual screening room in SL, with interactive events with filmmakers. Maybe we don’t need to wait in line in the freezing cold in Park City after all! Access to otherwise inaccessible content will bring in more than curiosity seekers. Of course, the insiders won’t be so special after all. It would be wise for them to use this opportunity to convert this new audience somehow. UPDATED: Oops, wrong Sundance, the channel not the film festival

UPDATED (12/15): Circuit City announced an SL store opening that it's developing with IBM. IBM's own SL presence was set up for employees. Circuit will join GM, Nisssan, Toyota, Addidas, Reebok, American Apparel and Starwood as brands in SL.

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