The Second Life Takes Over
By Christian Hall
You’re running between buildings, traveling to different regions, buying merchandise, selling stuff, watching a movie, attending a seminar and listening to a speech. And you don’t do more than lift a finger. While this may be some of the things you do in real life, it’s actually the virtual simulation world Second Life, which allows users to create their own realities and live their own alternative “lives” on the Internet.
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In the last decade, the Internet has managed to break free of time and space barriers between its common users. It has done this by hosting online gaming, such as Xbox Live, and social networking sites, such as MySpace and Facebook. With the demand visible in the number of users, Philip Rosendale, a technology entrepreneur, saw an opportunity.
In late 2003, the San Francisco-based Linden Lab company released Second Life, a virtual simulation website which allows users to create “avatars” to represent themselves as humans in an alter-reality. The content of the world in Second Life is created entirely by its users, unlike programs such as the Sims Online. Linden allows users to roam through Second Life for free but users can purchase currency in the game (Linden Dollars) in order to own land or buy and sell commodities, just like in real life.
You can find almost anything in Second Life, from nude bars to virtual classrooms from major universities such as Harvard and New York University. Students and teachers are setting up classroom meetings in Second Life where important information is shared. Some virtual couples have gotten married, and other users cause events such as terrorist bombings (although no one can “die” in Second Life). There are businesses and individuals who rely on Second Life as their primary income, as they spend time buying and selling services to other avatars, such as a book signing or a movie screening.
It’s almost unbelievable to think that four million registered users since 2003 have created an entire economy and lifestyle in a simulation site. Instead of spending time playing videogames, users are expanding a reality that connects them with avatars from all over the country.
Because of the large user base, businesses that had no prior desire to advertise their products extensively online found a reason to do so. With Second Life, as with the world we live in today, exposure is everything. Coca-Cola, Pontiac, the NBA, Adidas, IBM and over fifty major companies spent millions advertising their products in different ways in Second Life, such as creating company “headquarters” that inform avatars about their products. Celebrities sometimes host events or promote films to draw in the Second Life user base.
There is doubt in the online market for Second Life. Michael Donnelly, the worldwide head of interactive marketing at Coca-Cola, oversaw the investments Coke put into marketing in Second Life, such as a “Virtual Thirst” pavilion. But there was a problem: Donnelly didn’t see anyone around. “It had a lot to do with hype,” he said. “A lot of places you go [in Second Life], there’s still nobody there. But my job is to invest in things that have never been done before. So Second Life was an obvious decision.”
Because of the enormous amount of real estate in Second Life, avatars are spread all over the virtual map. And while there may be seven million avatars, users are allowed to create more than one avatar. According to figures from Linden Lab, of the four million users, only about one million had logged in 30 days (in June). Less than a third of that figure logged in the week after that. That’s a little over 100,000 Americans per week that are subject to marketers.
For businesses looking to invest in Second Life, it’s more about curiosity than profit-seeking. It is also curiosity that drives the average Internet user to create an account with Second Life, and not just plain boredom. The market for online networking (MySpace) and communication (Skype) has grown significantly over the past five years. At the surface, virtual worlds may not seem like a new favorite pastime, but it sure will strike at your curiosity.
Got any experience playing Second Life? Tell us about it at outloud@outloud.com