Brilliancy (or Experiment on Orientation Island)

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I think it goes without saying that places will also be evaluated based on how many people choose to STAY.

Considering there already is one venue that focuses their efforts specifically on helping new residents, I'm somewhat surprised that the Edge was chosen as one of the four.

Nothing against the Edge, but if I'm not mistaken, their primary mission isn't focused on helping out new residents. (Although doing so may be included in many other things that they do).

I'll just assume that choice was made on traffic figures alone, and follow Robin's suggestion to send her an email if other places would like to be considered.

I made a conscious choice not to concern myself about Traffic numbers about 6 months ago. I sure hope I made the right decision - some days I feel like most folks don't even know who we are, or what we're all about - even though we've been open a year.

(Yes, I'm intentionally not mentioning my venue's name.)

I think it's brilliant. It'll take much less time for a Linden to spot check and approve resident built egress locations than it does for them to support several welcome centers. Can I have Dore? Luna? How 'bout Plum?

You mean the Shelter? *grin, duck, run*

Actually, I mention it to pretty much everyone I met when the topic of clubs comes up. "I don't go to clubs, except the Shelter and sometimes the Elbow Room."

The beauty is that this will be very very difficult to game, at least over a medium / long term.

Short term, possibly, but I suspect not just anyone will be able to enter into the queue.

Wow! Very exciting idea, well done!

It has all the elements:

- very hard to game
- leveraging user built content
- optimising exposure to the best content to new users
- a real measurable meritocracy rather than one based on relationships
- motivates entry point owners to improve retention figures by supporting new users and convincing them to stay. After all.. you want to stay in rotation!


Now, will it pan out? Also, how much classic FIC will be able to make it into full time rotation? The rubber is hitting the road!

Yes blaze, it does go without saying.

Because Robin said it.

Yeah, I know I did see that. Perhaps I should have phrased it: 'I guess it doesn't require repeating, then'

Far be it from me to hold back a contrarian opinion, but I think they are seriously underestimating the learning curve of simply walking around in SL. One of the merits of the WA is that there isn't much one *can* do there but there are plenty of pointers.

I mean this as no slight to Cubey in the least (quite the contrary, he's made some of the most player friendly experiences out there), but the idea of strapping on a TerraChute and taking a skydive or buying, rezzing, and flying a plane after 15 minutes on orientation island where you a) can't buy anything b) can't rez anything c) don't do anything with inventory, strikes me as a way to drive newbies away in droves.

Similarly, if I'd been dropped in a Club upon entry, I would have left.

Try to think back to your initial bewilderment; maybe I'm uncommonly dense, but those first days were not easy and we didn't even have prims back then (okay, slight exaggeration).

But malachi, the beauty of this is that if Abbots doesn't convert users, it falls out of rotation.

If you don't convert better than WA or something, then they're just going to use WA.

Abbots doesn't have a guaranteed place. It just has a shot at having a place.

I feel sorry for the new residents that end up in some laggy nightclub as their first taste of SL. The options should come with disclaimers. 'Choosing this option, while very representative of SL, will lag you out so badly that you'll have to relog, which will take you to the Welcome Area anyway. You'll spend the first 15 minutes wondering why you can't move as you try to walk into the unrezzed wall in front of you, while people around you show off their penis attachments. Welcome to SL"

Those vying for a spot in the rotation would almost no soubt be setting asside areas for the new user to land - areas that would be set up to guide new users through the how-to of it all.

Still, it IS a good point that it can still be overwhelming. Orientation island has already dumped significant info on the fresh starter, just how much more can the average interested peron take before it turns them away is the hot question.

My guess here is venues that will do well will be the ones that focus on the social aspect, since the skills nessesary to partake of that aspect of SL will already be in place, both as natural to the human and, on the technical side, having been basically what orientation island taught them.

So, Travis, sign up! This is ready made for you and the Shelter.

Yes, if I too had been dropped in a night club like the Edge (I like the edge now, nothing agenst them) or any night club for that matter I wouldn’t have stayed past my free period.
Also landing at the Aerodrome, even though while it's a fun place to be, wouldn’t quite have had the same feeling. I think a place where one could have learned the basics (like the WA, or one of the various newbie "collages" out there may have been a better choice.) Though it all depends on how they present these options to new customers. If it's clear and easy to determine which one they would most like (one key is to make it clear what their experience will be like with each location)

Guess the only way to know the outcome is to experiment.

- Sam

I suspect that entry points will be given pretty juicy machines. It's a way for the edge to get a better simulator.

Being an entry point would probably make you golden.

Also, there will probably be a bunch of pictures like "Pick where you want to start!"

"Abbots airfield, planes and space ships"

"Welcome area for new people"

"Cool hot nightclub"

etc.

People will pick what they want to see.

Yeah.. I fully agree with this. I think this will convert the most people.

Hopefully LL will let us advertise SL in different ways though, and we can feed people into certain entry points automatically.

Like, for example, "Christian Virtual World" could go to a christian simulator.

The Edge for after orientation? Lord forbid there would a more worthwhile option LMAO

That's the funniest thing I've heard today. Thanks for the laugh.

Well, that's the great thing about this. We shall soon find out if it is.

I'd agree with Plum, old style WA for teh win!

I think it should have a short description of what the things are you are selecting... such as:

"Welcome Area - Linden Lab's own spot for new people to start out, enjoy a nice open setting with a handfull of tips and information around!"

"Sandbox - A building area where you can test your skills and build on your own, experiencing the creative tools of Second Life."

"Abbotts Aerodrome - A resident built structure set in the sky where one can buy the latest flight craft, enjoy a tour of the world on a baloon or plan, and other fun activities!"

"The Edge - Become one of the party-life of Second Life in this resident maintaned club! Sociolize and dance the night away at this popular hang out."


I think that'd be alot more helpfull than just a name. Short descriptions telling the user just what they're going to be sent into.

I'd love to see actual user created WA's with their own staff. It could also open up new jobs for people, or to be in a comfortable setting that you have some controll over.

There are both short descriptions and photos shown for each location, so new Residents can learn a bit more about where they're about to go.

Just a suggestion...you might want to add into your description of The Edge that it is a Mature club with possible adult content. This covers you for when a newbie arrives and the first thing they see is a naked escort showing off his new prim penis.....

That is a good suggestion, and what I would also like to add, which I already put in Robin's thread, is that the most important thing are signs with WORDS on them that say, "What To Do If You Can't Move," that tell clearly (a) how to set your settings at the lowest levels, and, secondarily, (b) other things you can do and avoid in order to move around better.

coco

I may be going out on a limb by myself here but I feel that using any mature spot (not just a region which is marked as mature but an actual place/venue designed for mature play) for a welcoming area/starting point is a bad move. You only have to take one step inside The Edge to see nakedness and depravity. Now I am not some prude who doesn't enjoy those places, quite the opposite infact but I don't think it is a great place to start "for everyone".

I also have issues with Linden Labs using private businesses for starting points, it only promotes the "rich get richer" mentality that is already very mcuh present in the SL economy. This is not to say that Jenna hasn't done a remarkable job with The Edge; again, on the contrary.. it is a great nightclub.. but it is a commercial venture.

I would much prefer to see people who are dedicated to building and managing a welcoming area, rather than just picking a popular place (which already gets plenty of in-game promotion), getting on the rotations.

If so then I would say that 7 days is way too short for statistical inferrence regarding conversions. I've newb helped a substantial number of players with rez-dates 4+ weeks prior who haven't been in-game at all in the intervening period. With the cost of a iTunes music store album getting you a lifelong basic account, there are a lot of people who do not rush in nor concern themselves with the free trial time.

Also, what coco and Jonq said.

I just hope the new destinations don't require a lot of work from the targets as I fear that even if "Joe's Place of Good Stuff" was actually better at conversions than the WA, one week will not show it. Unfortunately, I expect "Joe" will be working his tail off.

New users are a huge source of money, anyone WOULD work their tail off.

They all come in world with 750 L$. Who wouldn't work their tail off!

Are you sure about that number? I thought the number Robin mentioned yesterday was L$250. I could have misread, though.

Regardless, the responsibility of someone who owns a landing point should be to provide a positive experience as their first impression of SL. Fun and free things to do should be foremost, I think.

New residents start with $250L for their trial week. If they sign up for a basic account they get an additional $500L on sign up, a premium sign up nets them and additional $1000L.