Can we help SL grow?

We have lots of cheap land, cheap L$, clubs to go to, crowded events calendar. Linden Lab just got 8 mio US$ funding. But sofar this has not translated to big boom in growth of Second Life. There is new people coming, more than leaving, but it seems SL world itself has been growing faster than population recently.

There also isn't a lot of advertising by Lindens. So I wonder: what can WE do to help Second Life population grow faster? What do you think the community could add to the world of SL to make it more attractive to more people? How do you think we as community could communicate this to other people? What do you think might make SL attractive to people you know outside SL?

buy my land in Atis

Umm..Advertise in Playboy? LOL!

This is an excellent topic and one that I am constantly thinking about personally.

I think that Real Life is pretty much what you make of it, but SecondLife is the complete embodiment of that theory.

There is no physical reality or gravity or anything to hold you down. Your imagination truly is your only limit. That kind of unbridled potential seems very much worth all of our while to grow and nuture.

So how to make SecondLife grow? Make it compelling.


What's compelling that SecondLife might be able to address?

- Entertainment (sex and games)
- Education
- Predictive Modelling
- AI

Entertainment

Philip, sadly enough, thinking Entertainment is the killer app and that's why I listed it here. When he said that in a town hall I felt a very deep sense of sadness and stopped logging onto SecondLife for about a week after that. If that is his inspiring vision, I really don't want to have much to do with it.


Education

I still believe Education is the killer app.

I have personally developed a platform for teaching in SecondLife. It basically lets me automate lectures and testing, all the while letting students socialize in a friendly environment. I've used it to teach scripted lectures on how to make clothes and avatar textures.

The classes were well populated however there wasn't a lot of donations going on, so I felt I'd wait until there was more people in SecondLife before I continued.

Social, Immersive, automated classes in SecondLife could be a huge boon to society. The cost of education could plummet world-wide if this is implemented correctly. Education is a trillion dollar industry and is the fuel to everything great that is ever done.

Other types of educational classes, might be training scenarios such as for the military. I think setting up a Sim which is a duplicate of Baghdad or something might be cool. Or maybe for a Sim which can help teach security guards how to protect a nuclear reactor. Lots of interesting ideas.


Predictive Modelling

The last bit is a segue into my thoughts on modelling. These aren't quite flushed out, but I believe that with the right set of scripts and tools we could use SecondLife to help model real life scenarios.

For example, economically speaking, I've developed some very interesting insights into market manipulation and real estate market speculation.

I am currently working on something architects might use to simulate / prototype their ideas in city planning and architecture. Hopefully someday we'll have avatars we can intelligently script and I'll be able to even more effectively model my worlds, but in the meantime I can probably make do with prims that look like people.

Artificial Intelligence

This was philip's idea. At least he's thinking about something other than quake and prim-dildos. It's a bit out there, but it's an interesting idea I guess. Perhaps it belongs under predictive modelling, I dunno. Bit beyond my ability.


That's my list right now. I'm working on a couple of these. I'd be interested what other people think might be compelling and what they're doing to make them a reality.

I think clubs are a big opportunity for SL. I don't mean discos; I mean fan clubs, book clubs, study groups, etc. The most compelling feature of SL is that it is a shared space. It is fundamentally social. Most of what you can do in SL you could do better with different applications, but you wouldn't be doing it in a space with other people. Clubs are groups of people who want to socialize with each other. So I think SL could grow through clubs that are currently relying on web sites, web forums, chat rooms, and e-mail. Surely a Star Trek club would rather meet on the bridge of the Enterprise in uniform than through vBulletin? Clubs are groups of people who are already spending money to meet and collaborate over the internet. They seem like a natural target for transitioning to a 3D meeting space.

Its up to Linden Lab to make SL grow. Otherwise, adapt your creaky business model if its starting to squeak.

Or Tier to Zero extra land fees like me, and enjoy it all for pennies a day!

they got the funding like a week ago right? Anshe can you point me to more info and the numbers and such you used? i haven't seen any articles about Linden advertising policy and growth statistics and i want to know more.

Cadroe that's an awesome idea. a lil bit geeky but awesome.

A publicity stunt to catch the mainstream eye would be nice. Start brainstorming!

I know SL has been mentioned in the media, but usually that's been back in the game or tech section, as oppossed to a general interest story. I think it'd make a fascinating article- maybe profiling some of the most fantastic and diverse builds and avitars, maybe with a sidebar comparing the avitars to their RL selves.

And bring on moreT-shirts, coffee mugs and merchandise. Okay, it's tacky, but if I'm in public with an intriging shirt SL shirt, pin, or hat, people may ask me what it's about and I can tell them.

Anshe, you can help by leaving SL, that should help our economy skyrocket.

Cadro - completely agree.

I think SL should get some famous people to log on and do avatar q&a with their fans. Probably cheap and easy to do!

Ryen - that was completely uncalled for, given the point of this thread.

It's that kind of revolting negativity which will be the destruction of SecondLife.

here take a look at my proposal here:

/120/b9/26506/1.html

Arti

Eductaion won't pay the bills... Entertainment will. Education is something important that SL needs and should continue to foster, and there are many out there doing it (Jade, Hank, and Lumiere to name a few).

This is a good thread Ansche.

I think one of the things we as a community can do is help the new members. We need some sort of detailed guide that helps them understand what they can do. One of the things I hear alot from new members is: what's the goal?

Oh, I don't know. Linden Labs may simply have been trying to make sure that the cost for land stays below a certain level. Certain enterprising individuals have gone out of their way to stand betwene Linden and SecondLife users, sorta akin to holding the land "hostage" if you will. I guess there's a name for that, something like, oh, extortion. So, I welcome any excess in land. Frankly, I think we need more sims. Bring 'em on!

As for users and user growth, that's fine, but it needs to be gradual growth. We need to make sure that the influx of users doesn't outstrip our world's ability to educate them in terms of proper behavior and building manners. I think a review of the last six months will show that many of the users who have joined have really contibuted or been good neighbors. Sure, some of them are probably just 'bad apples,' but part of this is due to them getting the wrong idea about our creative culture of cooperative artisans and coders.

My feeling is the single most important thing we can do to help SL grow is to be civil to each other, tolerant of our differences, and know our world is now bigger than the sum of it's parts.

SL continues to be about community - increasingly diverse - there are now residents that do things others don't like. And as in RL, we learn to to focus on our pursuits that we value and don't bother to engage every person who does things we don't like.

Spread the joy of your SL - ignore the rest.

I would start off with an ad campaign. First, go out and buy all excess inventory and advertising properties that exist. Don't drop creative or start the campaign though until the rest of the world's media buyers go out of business. After they go out of business, you should then buy up all of their pending inventory at a reduced rate. Create a totally arbitrary percentage to charge for your new media-buying / agency services, give LL a call, and they will have no choice but to start an ad campaign through you.

a posting from yesterday in /120/8a/26304/1.html

SL needs a balance of all things. It is not just about economy.

Why build somthing nice if noone will come see it cause Club X,Y,Z is having 3 events that day with 2K prizes.

Shopping, Land Sales, Clubs are the mainstay of SL but there is so much more to it just hardly anyone wants to bother anymore ...some do but for the most part its been all about the mighty $ either L$ or RL$ mostly RL$.



Way to fix SL is to balance all the parts of what SL can be used for not just a small percentage.

I agree 100% there Chromal. And if a low valuation on the $L is the price to pay - I'm not gonna shed a single tear.

SL has grown and will continue to grow at it's own pace - and I for one don't beleive for a split second this thread was created out of altruism or with the good of SL in mind - more to fix someones failing buisness model.

I think by promoting the positive aspects of Second Life - people come. I came for the freedom and ease of creation.. And that's what keeps me here. I came before the whole $US - $L trading came into the picture, and I'll remain if it ever leaves.

Siggy.

Well I had an idea in another thread which would certainly lead to growth in SL:

/120/26/26483/1.html#post257209

L8r,
UU

Thats a great idea too!!!! Would tie in well with my Contest idea too... see this thread:

/120/b9/26506/1.html#post257074/120/b9/26506/1.html#post257074

if not an actual TV commercial, then at least some awesome demo videos!

Arti

I'd hand place these in my neck of the woods Upshaw - call LL and ask directly.

(1) Bravo. A necessary perspective.

(2) If you want to market SL, identify a group that might be interested but hasn't been targeted before. And shape the campaign to their needs.

(1) Bravo. A necessary perspective for SL sanity.

(2) If you want to market SL, identify a group that might be interested but hasn't been targeted before. And shape the campaign to their needs.

Senior Citizens - people retired, 65ish and older - is a huge resource, a huge market - more and more involved with the net.

Go for it! I'd like to have their perspectives around here.

And no, I'm not a senior citizen.