Solution Providers Update from Glenn Linden

Don't forget the "your entire build was just returned by the customer" merit badge.

Yes. This.

Linden Labs are too quickly becoming (or have already become) corporate shills--ready to accomodate the slightest whim of the biggest coporation bringing the biggest amount of virtual spacebux to the metaverse...and yet the common home-based user gets left out in the cold. In the Linden virtual-worldview, the most money-laden wheel gets the grease, and if you're not a corporation that can bring positive PR to Linden Labs and this lame-arse "Solution Partners" diversion technique, then you don't matter.

I used to think that Second Life was useless, and that its residents were all tools and the worst of subculture deviants. But then I started to look around and see the best of what the virtual world's simple people can do. Not Herman Miller, or Best Buy, or MTV or Coca-Cola or Nike or American Apparel or whatever--just smart, innovative people who want to build awesome things. I suggest you do the same, Linden Labs, and begin to offer the same support and attention to the people of the metaverse that you do to your businesses.

You've already seen how being a corporate shill doesn't work--look at the bad press you're getting all over the SL blogs. Maybe you should try something else now--actually listening to what the people want, and making the metaverse and its lands grow and thrive.

If we take the experience of Argent Stonecutter, and marry it to the vision of Casandra Zolnir, we get to almost a virtual Utopia. We all seem to forget the one driving force behind the growth of the platform, which is community.

Social websites recognise this need for persons to reach out to others and business realise that no venture for gain is worth the risk without the presents of the "customer" new or prospective.

The platform we call secondlife, is in a way the pioneer of the inevitable growth of Virtual presence in our lives, and as we bicker here about what is and what is not right instead of taking "our" platform forward, we stand to lose all the creativity good will, of clients we have fought so long to not only gain, but in some cases initiated into the concept of doing business in virtual worlds.

With news stories like this coming out " http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSTRE4AG0EQ20081117 2 which in affect would remove one section real-life input "content ",
I say let Lindon Labs do what they feel they should do, we on the other hand need to be aware, there looms on the horizon folks who have no alligencies to secondlife, but an understanding of the creature that virtual worlds "will" be, and as pragmatists we must be getting to them and gently suggesting our little place we have began to call home is the place to come set up home in.

Antonio Rocco in a way is right and recent history has proved the point that however much money you throw at a sim, without a healthy functioning community within it, it not going to work, or sustain itself.

Too few of the smaller, but talented, "solution providers" get exposure, because a few big names that manage to have got some 'big name' projects early on get most of the exposure now, and have grown so big they keep getting the big names - but rarely deliver a project any better than the smaller ones, it's just they can do it faster.

There appears to be very much a 'two tier' system where certain companies get all the space (remember the 'immersive workspaces' thing?) and everyone else gets ignored.

The distinction between 'full service' and 'consultants' is far too severe. Many of the smaller companies are perfectly capable of providing as good as, or better, services as the big few, but because of the way your system works, they are excluded from the maximum exposure they deserve. Why not let their past projects speak for themselves, instead of the fact they have 100 employees in all continents being a deciding factor?

You do also realise that the 'big' companies charge a lot more, which puts off a lot of the smaller organisations considering SL totally before they've even found, let alone asked, the smaller companies?

Oh, and adding to the fiasco of openspaces, LL's contempt for the community and all the other self made negative press, how many people here could truly recommend with a straight face to their rl employers that they consider an SL presence?

I know that Glenn has already read this thread and he will be replying to your questions as soon as he can -- you all bring up good points.

We do need to keep an open conversation with all segments of the community, there's no doubt about that. We have quite a bit of work ongoing that we hope will improve some of the things you're talking about.

I'll be back in the morning, and will reply more substantively if Glenn hasn't had a chance to post yet.

Several people have commented on anonymity as a barrier to working with RL business and I agree, but to a large extent it was forced on us by LL and still is.

In order to conduct business properly, and to hold meetings in SL, we need to be able to use our own RL names.

We also need easier tools to create avatars that look like the person it represents and the ability to make those accounts ahead of time. If a busy executive is called to do a SL presentation they should just be given a password. They enter their Real Name and password and automatically log in to the correct venue, looking as much like themselves as possible, without spending hours learning to walk, fly TP and adjust appearance.

If company's are to use SL in Place of Video Conferencing that capability will have to be extended to all employees, other wise more time would be spent learning how to use SL than would be saved by conducting meetings in it.

As it is I cant see myself promoting SL, to corporate clients for meetings, If that sexy avatar over the table called Farlie Tanglebottom, is actually Joan Smith from accounts who look nothing like the avatar.

Your Right Kwarne, I agree. My purpose with my vision was to show where it could go. Very much like RL. and I hope it doesn't....

No need for RL solution providers, If LL wants to boost SL economics then they should start focussing on in-world companies, brands, whatever .....

wildcat

How many of solution providers are really in second life? We found many who are listed, but left second life many months ago or going inactive. So we are a little bit unsteady, which advantage an sign in of solutions provider program have for our company.

Furthermore i think, some of this members in this program joined only for promote theirself but havent really the knowledge for offering solutions in secondlife. So its have a bitter aftertaste for being listed between "solution providers" which are delivering not a functional solution.

Perhaps it was changed last months, i have not the time to watching every day into this list. I think you should differ between companies who want to listed as "company in SL" and companies which really want to offer secondlife solutions.


No SL needs RL solution providers, for companies who want invest real money in this system, want an individual advice and guarantees that their contracts will be executed. And formaly with real world companies who are paying taxes, have an real world identity and adress. Do you think somebody would invest 500.000 US$ in an unknown avatar? I think not. Solution provider program is the right way but the execution is not optimal.

I think that this is exactly what LL is thinking. But it's wrong. There are ads out right now on TV pushing videoconferencing solutions as an alternative to traveling to a physical meeting...and those solutions are much more secure and elegant, and easier to implement, than Second Life. SL requires too much bandwidth, because of all its eye candy. The eye candy and the build tools and all that are what we Residents love and thrive on, but they are excess baggage for a corporate communication platform.

Second Life cannot compete with secure videoconferencing, and it's stupid of LL to try. SL is an entertainment platform. A hundred thousand consumers with ten bucks each will make just as much money for LL as a single corporation with a million bucks. Individuals are SL's true target market, and they should be focusing there.

World of Warcraft is. Have you seen their TV ads?

Look:

If you're a company and you want something in-world in SL, you want a directory of in-world consultants. And that's what the 'solution providers' list gives you. There's no down-side to this. Why do people complain that LL is trying too hard to give in-world consultantcy a chance? It makes no sense.

Just so you know, I had worked on a proposal for 8 months to bring sl to the big pharma company I work for, both as a way to do international meetings and for training. I was so pumped, my intial presentations and demos were well received, I had advocates in IS. HR and training. I even had created an excellent ROI proposal...but this whole open space issue has made me back off big time. Despite my plans to buy full sims for this project, the way LL handled the whole situation really upsets me. I'm reluctant to risk my reputation and career on a corporation that can change the rules mid stream.

Broccoli I agree about small more effective providers being overshadowed by the larger more prominent ones. That is exactly the problem in my mind. If you look at many of the builds from these large groups, they are visually creative and sometimes interesting, but largely ineffective as far as marketing and presence in SL. Their portfolio makes it appear as if they are successful when in fact, they are not.

They complain because they are worrying that LL is using it's resources to push the platform in a direction it may not be well suited for, to the detriment of what it is already good for.
(Check the /327/08/293251/1.html thread).
Now, I actually think it's a good idea to have "solution providers", and support them somehow. They are the ones who can invent new, useful ways to use the platform.
But there is a distinct feeling that LL wants to control that way and is using it's resources on catering to certain partners, and at the very least neglecting, if not actively trying to drive away, the "casual social" aspect of the platform.
LL seems to think that if they just feed the "solution providers", one of them will finally come up with Mitch Kapor's dream of 3D teleconferencing for businesses, and it will be the next big thing since sliced bread, whereas many residents currently feel that SL is an awesome version of social networks like Facebook, and are baffled that LL seems hellbent on getting rid of those pesky individuals who just lag their servers.

1 finish the projects going on (SLim ,the adfarm/microparcel thing and the cross grid project)

2 for 3 months add no new features just work on the stabilty of the main grid make it secure and stable

3 figure out how to reuse the standalone microgrid program from openlife and get some way to export and import to the main SL grid (make an item on your microgrid and then somehow import this to the main SL grid)

Thank you for your comments.
More promotion
Several of you mentioned you'd like to see more promotion of what's happening and what Solution Providers are doing. That's great to hear. We're looking at using both Event listings and Showcase to do this more effectively. There are also the Second Life Grid Success Stories (http://secondlife.com/solution_providers/success/listings.php) and the Directory listings themselves - if you click on View Full Listing, each Solution Provider is required to list at least 2 recent projects. You'll find the Directory at (http://secondlife.com/solution_providers/listings.php). To date, we've focused most of our work with Solution Providers on businesses and the Second Life Grid website, rather than residents.

Business Use of Second Life
Lindal provided a short list of issues businesses might have using Second Life. In fact, we are being told by many businesses that Second Life is a useful platform today. In many cases, businesses are still in the exploration phase, with a small group using Second Life and understanding how it might benefit their business. We recognize we have a number of improvements to make before we will be a mainstream business tool - and some of that will come from complete solutions developed by Solution Providers, such as Immersive WorkSpaces from Rivers Run Red.
But, in response to the complaint about not being able to get away from advertising, most business presence in Second Life today is focused on use for internal company purposes - meetings, training, etc. - not on advertising or marketing to Second Life residents. Our list is slanted towards those uses because they provide places you can visit in Second Life.

Content Providers
There was a request for a similar program for in-world Content Providers. In fact, the only real service that Solution Providers have that inworld content providers don't is the Directory; service is provided through Concierge (virtually all Solution Providers own some land), and most of the content is available either on SecondLifeGrid (http://secondlifegrid.net/), Linden Lab (http://lindenlab.com/) or Second Life Wiki (http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Main_Page) websites, or the Knowledge Base (http://secondlife.com/support/). As for the "secret meetings", we provide regular meetings for Solution Providers to provide input or be able to ask questions about policies, but the meetings about Open Spaces were held after the announcement to address issues such as contracts with clients.

Quality
To the question about quality of Solution Providers, the Directory is very clear that it is a listing service. We require listing recent projects, but other than a quick review, don't provide any quality control. As several of you noted, beautiful buildings aren't necessarily a good measure of their ability to create a successful presence for their client, so finding a reasonable way to evaluate success is tricky.

And how does one get in the showcase(If they are a smaller inworld content creator)?

This can already be done. Set up a private region on your own PC using the OpenLife simulator software. Make your item in complete privacy. copy it and transfer it to SL using the Second Inventory software.

Note: It only works with stuff you have full permissions for. You CANNOT transfer items you buy in SL with restricted permissions to another grid.

Question related to showcase for those who are not service providers. We at Etopia submitted the info to be in the showcase several months ago. We work to educate folks on preserving the planet with an integrated model of a sustainable community with real av's living, working and playing there. We have educational exhibits etc. And we have a thriving community for the last year and a half.

Can you tell me why we have not been included in showcase but places that make fashion described as costumes and gag gifts are included? Is there a set of criteria used that might help us fine tune our submission?

Thanks!

Perhaps Solution Providers and large Corporations could have their very own spin-off from SL, conducting whatever business they wish on an entirely separate grid? (i.e. "The Business District Grid" They can take with them, their own employees, freeing up the many Lindens who might prefer to deal with the creative individuals encompassing the entertainment value of SL. Maybe a dozen or so Lindens can transfer for management and moderation purposes.
Then in my eyes, the only biggest issue would be security, and then, stability. But with more businesses and not much bling etc lagging the sim, performance would be tolerable anyway, and no one would have to worry about seeing Joan as a sexy pixelated avatar. I would also suggest a portal to the main grid so when the meetings are over, they can head on over for some relaxation and fun! *shrugs*

Glenn, I have a comment about solution provider listings and categories. I'm the Executive Director of NCI/New Citizens Incorporated (www.nci-sl.org).

NCI is SL's largest resident-run, resident-financed help group. One of the ways we support ourselves is by running SL classes for and at the locations of corporate and non-profit clients. We've been doing this for about two years now, and our clients have included Electric Sheep Company/Showtime, Linxter, Semper International, and the Boomer Esiason Foundation.

It has been suggested to me several times that I list NCI in the Solutions Provider index. Each time I've looked (including today), I've run up against the problem that there is no checkbox for SL Education. I think that this is something you should consider adding to the system.

For those of you enquiring about the Showcase, the submission form is here: http://secondlife.com/showcase/faq.php. A team of people at Linden Lab evaluate submissions based on topic, timeliness and interest.

As for the Solution Provider Directory, we walk a fine line between, as Cinco put it, of "in-world consultants" and RL Solution Providers. In fact, we really do have both - in the Consultants section of the Directory (http://secondlife.com/solution_providers/listings.php?category=Consultant), we provide listings of people who focus on small projects or single areas of expertise. The Full-Service listing (http://secondlife.com/solution_providers/listings.php?category=FullService) provides a listing of companies who have completed at least 2 projects in Second Life. Many of these companies are RL companies who have invested a great deal in building their expertise in Second Life. Others have grown from a small group of residents who developed skills in Second Life. We see great projects - successful at meeting the business client goals - done by both kinds of companies. We also are aware that quality is an ongoing issue with any program with external companies and are taking several steps to address that. We update the Directory quarterly.

Carl, hopefully they will add an educational section or better yet an entirely seperate listing for educational providers because I think you'd lose a lot of respect and support if you ever submitted yourself in the same category as shady and less than reputable companies like RRR and ESC. I obviously can't speak for anyone else but you'd at least lose mine.

It is stupid for Linden to try, I worked in RL with a videoconferencing company, and it is a hell of alot more secure then SL and all its bling.. SL is entertainment. and they will make more with all of us little people and our (for get 10 bucks) How about hundreds. And Yes individuals are SL's true target. But there actions lately, makes it hard to even think about "solution Providers". Casandra shakes her head at Linden Labs.

You Hit it on the Nail, Way to go. Thats exactly what I was attempting to get across...