Noted in the Wall Street Journal, and linked to in an article by Hamlet Au of New World Notes, Second Life seems to be getting a new (corporate) lease on life. Companies like Coca-Cola et al. have bugged out at one point or another. But replacing them are companies that are using the concept of the virtual world in a more practical manner.
The reason — and I can tell you this without resorting to the articles — all those old companies were trying to exploit SL as another advertising platform. After being bombarded every day by commercials and advertisements on television, radio, newspapers, the mail, walls, billboards, the sidewalks, and even the sky in some places. WHY, do you think, would we be interested in even more advertising??? Virtual worlds have far more power in facilitating meetings, reducing budgets and energy consumption, serving as a place for demos and training. Businesses with more flexible mindsets are showing this now, and this is why RL business is coming back in world.
We’ve kept telling the naysayers that SL wasn’t dead yet. Well, maybe one day, we’ll be believed….
