Media Enter Second Life But Its Potential Still Untapped

Perhaps fearful of missing the next big thing, brand marketers haven't missed a beat on the rising popularity of the Second Life virtual world. They're erecting huge pavilions to serve the community. Starwood Hotels has opened a hotel that doesn't even exist right now in real life. Retailers like American Apparel are testing Second Life as an emerging channel for selling both virtual and physical jeans. And if you visit Dell's island you can sit down at a console, build a custom PC and order it. They're adding value to the experience, but there's more.

Commerce, or at least the potential for it, is also a key motivator. According to Second Life creator Linden Labs, residents spent $9 million this year - much of it with each other. Business is growing in the 3D community at a 12% monthly clip and is up 287% year-over-year. Small as it is, it shows promise.

The media, to its credit, is also in the house. Reuters has created a News Center where it presents world and business news in text, video and audio. It also has a reporter inside the world to field stories. CNET and Wired have - or will - have virtual offices. These are used for hosting events. And CBS said last week they are launching a virtual version of Big Brother, pitting three Second Life residents against each other. None of these initiatives yet are supported by advertising.

The media has an opportunity to create community in Second Life by taking offline experiences and bringing them online in a powerful way. In the process they will attract new citizens.

For example, every TV network should have an island where they host viewing parties. Here residents would be able to view live broadcasts, including the ads. This would replicate the kind of weekly communing that already exists online in living rooms around the country.

Newspapers and magazines, none of which has a significant presence in Second Life, have an even bigger opportunity. They can recreate the tangible newsstand browsing experience that so many of us love by building a virtual one. Residents would be able to browse and purchase electronic single copies as well as real-world subscriptions.

All of the efforts so far are just experiments. And it's great to see marketers in place. Now we need more of our media partners joining us to complete the circle, perhaps giving rise to an advertising economy that is analogous to what lives offline.

Comments

[Linda Zimmer]

Steve, I would hope, like you, that more media start experimenting with virtual worlds. But you are encouraging them to bring 2D models into a 3D world!

We need to be encouraging them to be thinking differently about content - as 360-degree content. TV & advertising as the same old model? Why for heaven's sake? When both content providers and advertisers can create immersive experiences far far beyond viewing advertising.

Virtual worlds aren't terribly print/text friendly, so first-world browsing isn't realistic or satisfying.

Media need to explore content well beyond the models you suggest. Second Life and other virtual worlds are experiential. New content categories are needed for such worlds - and such audiences.

[Jesse Ciccone]

As a PR guy that is an advocate for the (smart) use of social media by/for my clients, I realize this may come back to bite me at some point, but...I just don't get Second Life! I've tried it on a limited basis and have read about it fairly regularly and, frankly, it all seems a bit pathetic. I admit that it could become a requirement for companies to have presence b/c 'everybody is doing it' but wouldn't that be sad?

I mean...viewing parties for TV shows? TV is already a way for people to escape reality...now we're going to not even physically get together to do it? (I suppose it will at least save me some money on food and drinks for my weekly Monday Night Football get together with my buddies!)

I guess my fear is SL becoming a surrogate for, ya know, having a life.

[Mike]

Why exactly did Starwood build a hotel in a world in which no one sleeps?

And Jesse, I'm sorta with you, man. It's a game, and it's kind of cool, and it's great that a couple of people are making enough money to quit their regular jobs, but really? Edelman has an island? Don't you have better things to do? (http://www.womma.org/pages/2006/11/edelman_members.htm)

[Steve Rubel]

Mike, we're a big global firm with lots of resources. We're capable of doing a few things at once and there's plenty more to come. :-)

[Taran Rampersad]

I've been around to a lot of the places within SecondLife, and I'm not a marketer. However, I'm part of the audience these things are supposed to be trapping. And it ain't happening.

Nothing is engaging me. I don't see the value of logging into SecondLife to buy a Dell. I honestly don't. It's too much of a learning curve for new people too - real world journalists are a prime example of this.

There *is* potential out there, but I don't see the products. Forgive me for being somewhat direct about this, but - I see the marketing and I *don't* see the products. At some point within the smoke and mirrors, it might be a good idea to actually have something *there* which will engage people.

Getting people to go somewhere is marketing. Having a product or service is business. Selling the product or service is sales. Right now it seems disproportionate, which I will not complain about too loudly - it benefits inworld commerce: http://www.knowprose.com/node/16720

Using a metaphor I'm familiar with - overevving is gonna burn the clutch.

[Gideon Television]

Well, I am a marketer, and a confirmed SL fan, spending probably 8-10 hrs a week in there, both for pleasure, and exploring it's possibilities for large companies.

Why did Starwood build a hotel for somewhere that people never sleep? What a shortsighted comment. That's kind of like saying Coke shouldn't have a website because you can't buy a can there. The point is not to sleep in it, the point is to go look at it, walk around in it, see if it's the kind of place you'd like to stay, so that when one is finally built, you'll book a room. It functions exactly like a website with pictures of the rooms, or a brochure but with an added immersive element. And a feedback loop so you can tell them what you do or don't like about the concept, so that they may improve it before rolling it out.

Although I have to agree that showing TV shows or replicating print materials in the space is just about the least interesting applications of the environment I could possibly imagine.

[Jason Peck]

Brands need to think bigger when getting into virtual worlds such as Second Life. They should definitely not bring their old, tired products with them. Why simply create a magazine newsstand when you can create a whole media island with completely new ways to consume/find media, such as hanging upside down from a tree or chilling up in the clouds. Think big, and let people have fun.