Sensible Sue

Second Life, the virtual world phenomenon with over two million new members in less than a year, has started replacing television viewing as we know it.

Marketers, take notice. The power shift is happening. Second Life is now transitioning into mainstream.

In mid-August, 2006, I joined the nearly half million members in the virtual world by logging in to secondlife.com and created an avatar all my own. Six months later, membership has more than quadrupled (a debatable figure, though).  At any given time, anywhere from 10 to 22 thousand 'residents' are active.  On average, a resident will be logged in for 2-3 hours a day (often more than that), usually in the evening, during television's prime time.

 

So, what are two million people doing in Second Life?  They are enjoying live concerts, shopping, visiting interesting art galleries and museums, shopping, taking classes, learning new languages, shopping, playing games, shopping, dancing  to great music, shopping, socializing, acquiring virtual real estate, building, designing and exploring this vast new world from the comfort of their computers. Did I clearly mention the ability to go shopping?

 

Many see Second Life as a model of what the internet will become in a few short years (or sooner). This 3D virtual environment would be left to gamers as mere entertainment, if it weren't for boundless opportunity and the in-world currency, called 'Lindens' (named after the founding company, Linden Labs of San Francisco, CA).

 

Lindens ($L) convert into real international currency (USD for me) and behaves much like the stock market. The current rate of exchange is around forty USD for ten thousand Lindens.  You can exchange USD for $L but you also have the opportunity to earn $Lindens.Entrepreneurs are establishing businesses, hiring, creating and selling goods. At the time I am writing this, for instance, over $1.1 million USD have been spent in a 24 hour period.

 

This has the wide-eyed attention of several reputable companies (IBM, Sears, Circuit City, American Outfitters, MTV, Coca-Cola, for instance) as well as Universities and Business Schools (Wharton, Harvard, Stanford). This raises Second Life far above any other interactive virtual experience currently available.

 

Enterprising, interesting and creative people of all skill levels (teens through baby boomers and beyond) have been putting down their television remote controls and tapping their keyboards into the bold new direction of digital media.  Advertisers and marketing strategists have taken notice.

 

In October, 2006, Wired magazine posted a story of the history of Second Life, which began in 2003.  They correlate it to American history; Colonization,Tax Revolt, Declaration of Independence, Manifest Destiny and the Gilded Age.  They mention the economy, gold rush and carpetbaggers.  This is an interesting synopsis as many residents feel they are part of history in the making.

 

Perhaps this is history repeating itself and we are at the dawn of the golden age of Second Life, like television was in the 1950's.  In terms of evolution, Second Life has evolved channel surfing network television viewers into an entertainment and tech savvy audience.  Now, the 'viewer' has become the 'user'. Films, known as machinima, are being made entirely in-world. Artists and educators are grouping. Corporate meetings are being held, making companies efficient with time and money.  Broadcast Networks would benefit greatly from learning more about establishing their presence, as quickly as possible.

 

Speaking from experience, avatars find themselves in situations with other avatars that is the basis for situational comedy. Comedy writers would find a plethora of inspiration from Second Life. There is no lack of comedy, wit, humor, drama, romance, adventure, education or inspiration in Second Life.  It is what you make it.

Yes, there is much room for improvement to Second Life, but that presents opportunity to many visionaries.  After all, television itself started out small, in black and white, reaching a privileged audience with limited channels and we all know how that turned out.

 

Since I started SL in August, 2006, I can't tell you what the hottest prime time television shows are.  I find my prime time entertainment has shifted to my custom made world.  I suspect that is going to be the trend as Second Life is nearly ready for prime time.