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here's what e-consultancy has to say about second life:

# Do longer term projects on Second Life as its not the environment where you get rapid spikes of traffic unless...

# ....you get God to turn up as Random House did when marketing Richard Dawkins 'The God Delusion' in Second Life. A great book and a great piece of marketing.

the red and black

we were in our college's newspaper, the red & black today.

they wouldn't have covered it, except Second Life is becoming such a buzz word i think they felt like they had to.

"I encourage students to take the class because this is a medium that is evolving and I think that students enjoy learning about things as they happen - being a pioneer."

the full article

the pursuit of happiness

This is not a passing fad. There are a number of other online services and virtual worlds that are growing in popularity. There are indications that Google and Microsoft may also be releasing their own virtual worlds to rival Second Life. And it is reported that $1 billion has been spent on the development of 35 different virtual worlds in just the past year. Additionally, $15 million has been spent on advertising within these programs in 2006, with this figure projected to be $150 million by 2012.

The author of this article talks about why people are motivated to spend hours behind a computer screen-- and it really just comes down to the fact that the computer screen offers an instant "comfort zone". It's also a way for people to essentially run away from their problems, albeit temporary.

People are literally leaving reality behind and living in a fantasy world.

Via RealTruth.Org

CSI: NY

CSI: NY did an episode about a killing that was being investigated through both Second Life and real life. It was kinda interesting-- The worst (best?) part was they left the ending up to viewers and you were supposed to log onto SL and figure out the mystery/investigate in the virtual world.

i'm wondering if SL had to pay for that.

the genius part about the set-up was that the essentially eliminated Orientation Island and gave you a quick and easy way to get in world.

a random local paper covering the story

pedophile playground

Every lifestyle group has its own place in the virtual world "Second Life" — including, apparently, pedophiles.

from Fox News

Second Life PSA

We all know Second Life jumped the shark long ago but when an Ad Council campaign pokes fun at something you know it's really over. This PSA for obesity prevention has fun with Second Life oddities while urging people to wait 15 minutes before having seconds because, as most people don't know, it takes the brain longer to realize the stomach's full than the stomach itself. The ad points to a site, launched Thursday, called Small Step which, among other things, educates people on portion control.

Other elements of the campaign kick off next week.


from AdRants

Tween SL

YPulse: Why Whyville Ain't Just Fun; It's Useful
whyville.png

After YPulse on Friday, we're a little crazy about the idea of Whyville.

Whyville's yet another post-Second Life virtual world, except it's for tweens. Its citizens are mainly female, with girls comprising over 60 percent of the populace.

To explain why Whyville is so cool, we'll use the Scion example. Whyville erected the first virtual dealership for the boxy vehicle, which ended up yielding more test-drives for it than any physical place in the world.

Now, Kids can buy Whyville Scions for 15,000 clams - and if they're a little short, they can hit the Toyota lending agency to finance it.

Each Whyville inhabitant has a credit score. Certain activities can help scores improve: Getting jobs, earning raises, buying a house, all kinds of things. And if they don't meet their monthly payments, that coveted 15,000-clam Scion gets repossessed.

Founder Jim Bower observed that parents often call in to complain when their their kids' virtual plaything gets claimed by the repo man. "Would you rather they be upset over losing a virtual car over virtual money, or would you rather wait until they're 19 with a credit card that you're responsible for?" he asks.

Clever.

These days on Whyville, kids can engineer their own Toyotas. And it's not a paper-doll kind of thing - they actually learn things about real cars, and use that knowledge in the creative process.

When asked why the site's demo is largely female, Bower called Whyville a place where girls are "expected to be smart."

"Users are encouraged to generate, not consume, in the community," he said.

There's a good way to hit the tween set.