There is nothing revolutionary about Second Life. The technology to build such a system has existed for a while now, the concept of an online market place for fake goods has existed since the early days of 2000 and the people who would frequent these places has always existed. Gaia Online is a perfect example of such a phenomena.
Communities like Second Life are unique in the sense that they are far from private. The users of Second Life are not embarrassed or quiet about the fact that they participate in a fake online world. What has changed and can this mean that online communities can have a legitimate use for business?
There was an article a while back asking if World of Warcraft was the new golf (aka a place for businessmen to interact and strike deals) for web startups. And so we have the same situation here with Second Life. Is it a viable business solution? The people in charge of web/technology startups are the mostly likely to participate in these communities so I would have to say yes.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Second Life: The Legitimization of Online Activity
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3 comments:
In regards to that is wow the new golf article you mentioned...
As a WoW'er myself I'd have to say no. While there are many very nice, intelligent, and mature people who play the game for every one of them there are 5 12 year old boys and 3 Chinese Farmers playing with us.
The only deals that are being struck in-game are the selling of its virtual commodities... sorry no multi-million dollar mergers here!
Well, the new thing about SL is that 9 million people are on it. It has a different reputation compared to that of World of Warcraft's. It doesn't have a nerdy connotation. SL is primarily used for businesses so there is another major difference. My only problem is that it mixes in too much with personal lives. There is no divide, and maybe that is a good thing, but it doesn't seem to have "one" purpose.
sarah: i dunno, the valley's a pretty quirky place where tons of people spend time online, so why not start up a new business venture while sipping tea/chatting on SL/IRC? and successful people don't always have to be "mature", in fact they can be hilarious
joe: from what I hear, SL is full of nerds, they just give off a more normal perception. even then, some people dress in really interesting outfits...
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