Sex, Pranks and Reality

Frankly I can do 100% without ANY 'Big buisness" in SL. This is a place for the little person to do something big. Not yet another place for big buisness to stifle competition.

That being said, 99% of the "Big Buisness" I've encountered in SL is just really lame. They have no idea what they are doing here, the only decent builds I've seen have been done by SL veterens that were hired to make a build, but even then the entire reason for the presense is weak or non-existant.

So on the one hand it kind of sickens me to see them here at all, but n the other, they really are very poor at making any kind of purpose out of being here so far. It's almost laughable Rueters may be the only one that has really done anything noticable.

People forget that the various forms of News Media are Businesses also, and like every other business they Also are aware that Sex Sells, that is why that angle gets played up so much in just about any news story.
Corporate America is Well aware of the Slant the media will put on things in order to sell thier product, being no stranger to it's use themselves. I really think, if they are serious about investigating business opportunities ANYWHERE they are going to research it a little more deeply, and not base thier decisions on a few News Articles.

Angel.

I'd rather see your name on a neon sign, and Chip's, and Colette's, and Ceera's. I don't deny that the idea isn't a viable one. Doesn't mean I have to like it or want to see it. It's inevitable I suppose. When comes that time, I will go elsewhere for my entertainment.

Awww Brenda...

Have a Coke (TM) and a smile! Just do it! Because you're worth it!

then...

Reach out and touch someone! Let your fingers do the walking! Have it your way! It's mmm-mmm good! Finger lickin' good!

Can you hear me now?



I can't believe I just made advertising slogans sound dirty. Oh wait, yes I can...

Beef. It's what's for dinner!

Me too Brenda.

Though it is true that I tend to think that any co that's here is cooler somehow..

The birth of one handed typing??????

I think Sling had the right answer tho. Adapt or die.

I am one of those who wish the big corporations would die. But, suppose they do... who's going to fund SL then?

The people paying tier? It really does add up to a lot of money coming in every single month.

I wonder how much corporate sponsorship actually contributes at this point. Are they actively investing, or is it just owning an island and paying some third party "SL marketing company" to develop it?

I know I am. I came for the prims but stayed for the abuse from strange newbies.

<b>Yumi Murakami</b>

<i>You can't make amusement parks in SL. Several people have tried to make them, and they have gotten some praise for their great builds, but every one that I know of has suffered serious lack of traffic because without the human angle many virtual interactions don't mean very much. "Getting laid" is one example but there are others too, that's probably just the most popular in a lowest-denominator kind of way.</i>

Just as an aside to the discussion...

Spitoonie Island, which was nothing but a huge island sim turned into an amusement park, never lacked for traffic. Right up till the end we had a ton of traffic. Several factors contributed to SI not being among us any longer, but lack of traffic (and interest) was not one of them.

That I didn't know. But I *do* know that Four Seasons, another theme park type sim, had to be closed down due to lack of traffic.

Saying that Second Life will replace the web is, I think, not correct. Things like the Ben and Jerry's sim show the reason why - a set of static information pages and general things to learn about and "surf" through would be fine for a website, but it's just too much effort and trouble to set up and install Second Life in order to do those things. For a brand to flourish in Second Life, it has to do Second Life things, and those are far more about the _people_ than about the graphics.

Haha. It's about griefers. The article is about griefers messing around with corporate sims.

I just can't workout how companies like Nissan & Ford, would be remotely interested im a world where automobile usage in minimal, there are few roads and fewer planned, cars crash every time you cross a sim boundry and drive badly anywhere else.
Secondlife, best looking and most customisable vehicles in cyberspace, just don't try use one. All show, no go.

STOP STOP PLEASE DONT STOP

ROFL!

Mandy C

passes you the entire internet

Be warned the tubes are a bit cloged.

Brenda is right in a very broad sense (pardon the pun Brenda)

I think most people view online virtual reality worlds such as SL and WoW as a remote and divorced place, separate from every day life.

If you take the number of people in SL who actively dislike corporate sites, and add that number to the people within SL who would never usually disclose their real life ID to another avatar or organisation within SL (with the possible partial exception of Linden Labs clients payment details such as Visa or Pay Pal) I suspect that would constitute a significant majority of SL users.

When I first came into SL I thought it might evolve into a type of 3D EBay, with perhaps some adult activities such as the sex and gaming business on the side, together with a degree of homesteading.

That has not happened in a way that really benefits first life marketing because of many folks desire to keep SL and FL separate. It is a big barrier to entry trying to sell FL goods and services when a majority of users resent your presence and don’t want to tell you who they are.

I currently admit to enjoying WoW and will maintain an interest in SL. But it’s not now relevant to my commercial FL

Finally I believe there are two commercial sites within SL that might possibly buck this trend.

The first site is Reuters for news, especially if that news has a bias towards virtual worlds. I think that might be something that would interest even those who have strong feelings against any commercial activity within SL. However only a major PLC could financially justify a service that produces no profit at all (currently) within SL. A similar possible exception is the BBC (a UK non commercial news source)

The second site is Dell the computer people. It makes perfect sense to me to design a computer within a VR environment, taking feedback from other people doing the same. You cannot do that on a standard web site, and when I am in the market for a new machine I may well visit it.

Has anybody else any suggestions or pointers towards existing SL commercial first life sites that they feel are directly relevant to their own FL commercial needs

True for most SL'ers, Brenda. Good point.

John's examples are good ones I guess, and there probably are a few more. But like someone said previously I just don't see the use for an automaker for example to be here. their product won't work very well in world, and most of us are inundated by their marketing in all forms of RL media. Who are they targeting? The hardcore VR/gamer who is on his computer 24/7 and doesn't see these advertisements? No point , as he probably won't come out of The Basement to drive a car, let alone actually be able to afford to buy one?

True, as a company I'd first look around to see what ppl are doing here. Then focus my attention on the group that would benefit from my products. Basic marketing, it's so easy. Or, if I only want my logo displayed like Coca Cola has done, rent or buy billboards.

Mandy C

SL might find itself splitting into different roles one day.

There is the traditional fantasy / escapist world we all think of - sometimes mirroring RL, sometimes not.

Then there is the world that is an extension of RL, where people come in with known RL identities to do things that connect with RL - maybe people who know each other in RL ( I posted my suggestion for a 'First Life Plus' package to cater for these people) who use SL to meet up.

Finally, there is the SL as a virtual business directory, with ad lots promoting RL products and services, and virtual showrooms promoting RL products.

At present these three SL's exist alongside each other, sometimes uneasily, on the same grid. All three are popular usages and maybe SL will find itself tailoring its 'product' separately for each eventually.

Maybe open sourcing will bring that about. The Linden mainland can be a central PG family oriented corporate land, and all the other stuff would be on private sims. This way you know exactly where evreything is and you can avoid what you don't want to see.

At this point, there is no corporate sponsorship. Philip isn't signing secret back room deals with other corporate CEOs. The companies who are in-world today receive the same treatment and pay the same price as everyone else.

Some other thoughts:

Starwood Hotels
Opened the Aloft Island to showcase and prototype a new RL development they're working on, the Aloft Hotel, scheduled to open some time in 2008. Brought Ben Folds in-world to perform and entertain Second Life Residents. Solicited feedback from Residents on how to improve on the design, and many of the submissions they received will be incorporated into the RL hotel design when it opens next year. Now that the project is complete, apparently Starwood is -donating- the island back to the community.

Seems to me to be a textbook example of how the platform can be leveraged today by RL corporate entities to engage positively with the Second Life community, get some serious RL business done, and in the end, the community benefits through Starwood's donation of the island to some yet to be determined cause/entity. Admittedly, I'm fuzzy on those details, as it seems they haven't released any details yet as to who will receive it, but the concept is nonetheless intriguing.

Question for the "I came to Second Life to escape Corporate First Life" crowd: Was your Second Life experience negatively affected by this? If so, how?

Ahh, but they are very clever. Nissan has designers making much more than cars for SL. My fellow sim dwellers and I have been having a blast with their catapault this last week. Guess whose name is on the side and a constant reminder? Nissan. I'd say that's damned clever. Big corps making cool toys for free in SL to spread their name around? Definitely clever. Does it affect me, personally? No -- regular marketing and advertising just doesn't work on me, but it does on most people, even if it's subliminal.

And you can use their cars if you own a few neighbouring sims or are part of a group of sims where there's minimal lag, prims available, etc.

Hmmm

Short Interview with Wolfgang Balogh,
CEO of Clever Marketing Second Life Promotions:

Question:
Mr Balogh do you think its worthwhile spending money on advertising in this bizarre world called Real Life?

Answer:
I am not sure, actually. Most avatars in real live spend their time with trying to look good, smell good and be dressed well in the hope for some romance and let me put it bluntly: to have SEX. They actually spend 8 hours almost every day camping in offices and other commercial premises in order to get the cash for these products. So if you promote something related to sex or related to looking better Real Life is a good market.

Question:
Are you aware of any niche markets in real life?

Answer:
Most definitely, Avatar building must be very much in demand, as there is a huge number of outright ugly avatars. The strange thing is that even those have been said to have sex. A script for teleporting would make you rich - imagine it doesn't exist yet.

Question:
Do you think advertising in real life could negatively effect a companies image?

Answer :
Of course, who wants to be associated with a world where every single SIM is full of campers, sexual activity and non of them rated save. The amount of shooting going on even in residential areas is enormous. Plus there is no way to reboot your avatar after you got shot - you’re banned from real live for ever. Also PG areas do not exist; they screw wherever they feel like.

Question:
What’s your advice?

Answer:
Stick to Second Life it’s more fun.

Regards

Wolfgang Brand

It hasn't effected me positively or negatively at this point that I am aware of. As long as it stays that way I'm fine. Your example is fine, the "Feel Good story of the Summer". That company came in, acheived their business objective, and did some nice community service in the process. And did it without being in everyone's face. That's fine. it happens that way sometimes in RL as well. but usually it doesn't.