Micro Persuasion

Community Glues Offline and Online, Real and Virtual

Community is the glue that unities us all, as humans. It has for thousands of years. We identify ourselves with the physical communities in which we live - local, national and global. Our family is a community. Our circle of friends and fellow alumni are communities. The workplace is a community. Even Starbucks - the third place - is a community for thousands of web workers and new moms.

More recently, thanks to Web 2.0, search and mobile devices, community is becoming an equally huge part of our online lives. Technology has given rise to thousands of micro global villages where people find each other, talk and collaborate around shared interests and/or goals.

This isn't a new idea, of course. I remember spending hours on GEnie's RoundTables as a teenager in the mid-1980s. When the web blossomed in the late 1990s, many of us hung out on community sites like GeoCities and the late great Six Degrees.

Today this is all much easier and natural because of broadband. It has changed the way we view the web and the time we spend online. It's important to note the role that community has always played in driving the Internet revolution and how that will continue.

The aforementioned communities were the prehistoric predecessors to the water coolers where we spend time today. This includes the blogosphere (a giant, distributed community), social networks like Facebook and MySpace and virtual worlds like There.com and Second Life.

Community, however, is no longer limited to just the specialist sites. It's becoming completely ubiquitous online, just as it is off.

You can find it everywhere, really, if you look. USAToday.com, MLB.com, Edelman.com and even Apple.com all are, at least in part, communities. In the near future, every corporate-owned site will either have community features, showcase content from communities in a picture-in-picture approach, or simply point people to where they can find them.

This is just the beginning, however. The most exciting moments will come when online communities are increasingly used to foster offline connections. That's the big idea behind Meetup.com, for example, and why it's thriving. It's also why eBay Live and Gnomedex (and soon Techcrunch 20) are very successful events.

During the Paley Center summit I attended earlier this month in Silicon Valley, Vint Cerf talked about this at length. He was referring specifically to the power of video inside virtual worlds. He echoed many of the themes he covered in this recent piece in Forbes. Video is a hybrid between offline and on.

The lesson here for media, entrepreneurs, marketers and PR pros is that even though we are spending tons of time online, it does not replace what happens offline. In fact, it amplifies it. Last night during an event I participated in at Wharton School of Business, Ed Keller discussed his research into this phenomenon. More here (PDF)

The secret to success is gluing together online with offline and real and virutal. Use the web to make the physical connections we have stronger. That's one big reason why the words public relations are really finally beginning to have a literal meaning.

Second Life's PR Punch Dims, But Potential Holds

Although I keep a balanced perspective, I believe that 3D virtual worlds are going to become a place where people will increasingly spend time and conduct business online. Therefore, making an investment or two in Second Life is a worthwhile experiment for certain kinds of brands. It's a bet on a bold new future.

Virtual worlds like Second Life are not right for everyone, of course. You need to know what you want to get out of it.

A recent Forrester Research report noted that the platform isn't quite scalable yet to accommodate huge audiences. It's also mostly made up of male alpha users. Finally, Forrester also correctly observes that the PR value you get by launching a presence in the virtual world has diminished - unless it's truly breakthrough.

The Nasdaq is a great example of a brand that would pack a lot of PR punch by entering Second Life. They remain interested in launching an exchange in the world, but for now are playing it coy. It's smart for them to hold off for a bit.

So why am I still enthusiastic? The reason is that avatars tap into the human need to fantasize and socialize - most likely not as ourselves. Lots of gamers, for example, spend hours playing games like Tiger Woods 2007 so they can win bling for their virtual golf bags. Yahoo Avatars is another site that appears to be thriving, judging by the custom icons I have seen popping up over on Yahoo Answers.

Second Life is like Geocities was in 1998 - a big idea, but a little ahead of its time. I suspect that within a year or two robust 3D virtual worlds will eventually get far easier to use and run completely in a browser. Then they will become more mainstream.

GMOOT and the Folly of Crowds

Several people have told me over the last few years: "Steve, you never met a technology you didn't like." That's fair. There have been a few. But for the most part, they're right. Nick Denton is one of those people. He makes fun of my wide-eyed enthusiasm for Second Life.

That said, I don't sit in the camp that every new gizmo is right for every client. We work hard to match the clients' needs up with the right solution. Sometimes they come in asking about a blog. We think about their situation and often show them another approach that is better suited for their goals and audience. That's the way marketing consultants work.

However, there is definitely a problem in this Web 2.0, enthusiastically charged time we live in. Scott Donaton at AdAge calls it GMOOT - short for "get me one of those." That's the cry that marketers often hear from their executives. They get wind that their competitors have viral videos so then they want one too. It's the opposite of the Wisdom of Crowds.

GMOOT was the first thing that popped into my head when I read this AP story about the gold rush to grab land in Second Life. Again, I love Second Life. Our company has an island in the metaverse for many months now. Nevertheless, I wonder just how many consultants are selling Second Life to marketers without thinking it all the way through. They simply are aiming to please. They're giving the customer what they asked for.

The facts are clear, however, who is on Second Life and who isn't. For example, it's common knowledge that you need a computer with a fair amount of horse power to run it. I don't think a lot of Moms are on it. I could be wrong, but that's my gut based on the data I have seen.

Eventually Second Life and other virtual worlds will run in a browser, thanks to technologies like Apollo, WPF, Ajax, etc. That's when it will really take off and reach a much broader audience than it does today.

Second Unofficial Apple Store Opens in Second Life

Remember the unofficial Apple Store that opened in Second Life? Well another one is coming that is modeled after the Fifth Avenue NYC Store. It looks even more realistic. Watch the video below (click through if you're viewing this in a feed reader).

Market Truths Wins Second Life Business Plan Contest

As I mentioned a few months ago, Edelman and Electric Sheep conducted a Second Life business plan contest. The idea here is to find and fund the most promising initiative.

Today Electric Sheep and Edelman revealed the winning plan. It's a cool startup called Market Truths. Ironically, they conduct research and analysis system to help "meatspace" companies figure out what works and what doesn't in the the virtual world.

For more on Market Truths, check out Giff Constable's blog.

Tags: Edelman, ElectricSheep, MarketTruths, SecondLife

Visit the Apple Store in Second Life

Quick. Go download the latest version of Second Life and then teleport to the Apple Store. No, not the real thing but close! Someone has created an unofficial virtual replica of Apple's famed retail stores. They come complete with vintage Think Different posters and a virtual Genius Bar. Visit it while you can. More images here. How long before it shuts down? I give it until the end of this week. You can find it by searching for Aapl$tore or hit this SLURL to instantly teleport.

Web 2.0 Indicators: Tracking Buzz, News and Jobs

Pretty much every few months since I started blogging three years ago I have needed to add another category or two to the site. The reason is simply because there are new innovations that are dotting the horizon. Many of them could have a significant impact on marketing communications. Usually, I add a category when the buzz has reached a point where I feel like I will be covering the subject often. For example, last year I added widgets.

Regulars here know I love data. I believe that if you really commit yourself to studying it, you can learn a lot. Two tools - Google Trends and Indeed Job Trends - are both invaluable, especially when you look at them together. You can get a feeling for if a technology is hype or they are really creating new kinds of jobs that didn't exist before. Let's take a closer look at the charts below.

The first comes from Google Trends. It compares a) searches and b) news volume on the following terms over three years: widgets, "Second Life" (as a phrase), blogs, podcasts and RSS feeds. What's interesting is in 2006 searches for Second Life skyrocketed and surpassed searches for the word "blogs." Also notable, news volume for these two terms touched in October, before Second Life sloped back downward.

OK, so clearly we see there's a lot of interest in Second Life and it's coming close to matching the buzz around blogs. So is all this interest in Second Life generating new jobs? Well, no - not yet. The most popular job category by far when you compare these terms on Indeed.com is blogs, followed by podcasts. Second Life hardly even registers.

So what's all mean? Well, the evidence is anecdotal but it appears as though blogs and podcasts, which skyrocketed to prominence in 2004 and 2005, are now mature. They are largely flat when it comes to hype but they are generating more jobs. So with Second Life hype climbing, will it start generating jobs? Stay tuned,

V-tail: Where Virtual Words Meet E-Commerce

 

Electronic commerce, for all of its ease and convenience, still doesn't offer the same feeling of browsing a physical store. That's all about to change, however. The gap is narrowing as retailers enter the Second Life virtual world. Get ready for V-tail.

IBM and Sears today revealed that they are bringing the 120 year-old retailer into Second Life virtual world in a big way. The presence will include an area where customers can import their own kitchen and remodel it with Sears products. Sears plans to bring the entire catalog into Second Life. It's unclear if you will be able to buy products in Second Life and have them shipped to you, but you have to imagine that's the plan. However, the CNET/Reuters piece makes it sound like it's about driving foot traffic.

Sears isn't the first retailer to launch in Second Life. Circuit City has a presence as does Dell. This is a great way to capture the hearts and minds of geeks in the community. However, if it's going to really take off Second Life needs to get easier to use and available through a Web browser or an IPTV rather than as a fairly complex download.

Tags: SecondLife, Sears

Gartner: Second Life Hype Near Peak

According to Gartner Group analyst Steve Prentice, Second Life may be near the peak of its hype. He's basing this on the firm's model for measuring the typical hype cycle advances in technology go through. In an interview with Reuters, Prentice says that a community backlash is coming, followed by a period of rejuvenation.

Technorati Tags: Second Life

Edelman, Electric Sheep Launch Machinima Vlog

A few weeks ago I wrote about Edelman's first foray into Second Life. The second, a machinima video blog, debuted today. The Grid Review's goal is to deliver the best Second Life news. It's anchored by moo Money and Nylon Pinkney. It's open to submissions from all Second Life residents.

Virtual News at Seven

As progress marches forward, lots of different industries have understandably feared disintermediation. Journalists, naturally, are one such bunch. However, they have adapted nicely to the rise of citizen journalism and bloggers. Witness, for example, Gannett's move to crowdsource. But what if news could somehow be automated and delivered in a compelling way?

That's the idea behind News at Seven, a project out of Northwestern University's Intelligent Information Laboratory. It's an automatic system that puts together a custom daily news show by pulling together images, videos, and blogs into a report delivered by a virtual news team. All of this takes place without human intervention.

News at Seven is completely customizable based on the user's preferences. The characters can be altered too. For example, you can elect to have sports stories presented by a player. The project will also buid custom avatars to present the news.

Virtual news reports are going to become popular, but we have a long way to go. The reports still look too much like Max Headroom. Once the 3D imaging becomes more fluid, they will take off. The key question that runs through my mind is this. If a virtual reporter can report the news in a compelling way and it's all all automated, what does that mean for PR professionals? Here's today's News at Seven report. If you're reading this in your RSS reader, click through to view the clip.

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.

Key Second Life Statistics

BusinessWeek's Inside Innovation quarterly has a good package on Corporate America entering Second Life virtual world: main story, tips for companies,  branded metaverse destinations, developers other virtual worlds worth exploring. The most important part, however, are these statistics - some of which come directly from Linden Labs. What's notable?

• Second Life citizenship grew 995% just this year.
• Commerce, a more important statistic, rose to $9M, up 287% this year
• The male/female split is close to even -57 to 43%
• Finally, more than 55% of citizens hail from outside the US.

Edelman to Fund a Second Life Business

We've been largely quiet on our Second Life plans, but my colleagues in the me2revolution team at Edelman have been hard at work at a couple of innovative initiatives. We're ready to lift the curtain on these. You'll notice a common thread that runs through both programs. They add value to the community by helping residents achieve their dreams - at least as best we can!

The first initiative is in conjunction with our friends at the Electric Sheep Company. They've designed some of the most outstanding SL programs to date. Together we're launching a competition searching for the best Second Life business plan. The prize - seed funding - will be awarded next year. The competition kicks off with a special panel event this Friday on, yes, our own island. Here's a shot of it...

That's not all, however. Coming soon is The Grid Review, a video blog that will come to you in machinima format. It will cover the entrepreneurial spirit inside Second Life. Electric Sheep and Edelman will co-create this not alone but with you - video citizen journalists. Submissions are welcome. The 3PointD blog - one of the best covering SL - will also serve as a key advisor. I too may even get to contribute.

Anyway, we're really excited about these programs. No doubt it's still the first inning in the metaverse. The audiences are not giant yet. But Second Life is all about co-creation. It's about using it as an environment to interact and create greater good together. Our hope is that these programs help. As always, we're eager to hear your feedback.

How the CDC Participates in Second Life

Nedra Weinreich has a fascinating post looking at how the Center for Disease Control in the US (a government organization) is participating in Second Life. The CDC is using blogs, podcasts and wikis internally too. I particularly like how they view Second Life as an extension of one's first life. The CDC feels people can merge good health practices in real life with the fun and play of Second Life.

 

Is Second Life Converting Visitors into Residents?

Hitwise has published some interesting data that reveals that share of US Internet searches for Second Life are up 73%. Visits to the SL site are rising too. On a year-over-year basis, visits to SecondLife.com were up 219% from the week ending 10/22/05 compared to the week ending 10/21/06. Hitwise also notes that the virtual world skews under 45.

But dig into the numbers a little more and it becomes clear that Second Life is a late bloomer. Traffic began to really rise only with all of the recent press coverage. And it's unclear if they are converting visitors into actual residents who participate.

I am a believer in Second Life. It is certainly a phenomenon that will grow and a great place to test out marketing campaigns - if the fit is right. However, I remain skeptical that Second Life will grow at the same pace that podcasting, blogs and other forms of social media did because of the hurdles involved. Not only are there download and processing requirements. But there is also a cost if you want to do more than just explore. This  may keep SL from growing more.

Second Life Registrants Top 1M

Second Life Insider reports that there are now over a million Second Life registrants. They added 70,000 new accounts in just the last few days.

Tags: secondlife

Second Life Real Names to Cost More than 10 Domains

Second Life is reportedly getting ready to start charging if you want to personalize your name. Individuals who want to use their real last name will incur a $100 setup fee and a $50-a-year maintenance fee. Meanwhile for companies, the ante goes up to a $1,000 setup fee and $500 a year for maintenance. That's a lot more expensive than domain names.

Tags: secondlife

CNET Launches Second Life Presence

CNET has expanded its presence online with a new virtual outpost inside Second Life. The space includes a building that looks like CNET's offices in San Francisco offices. It has an amphitheater where CNet reporters will conduct interviews and host events. According to 3PointD, other tech media brands will soon follow into Second Life. As this occurs watch for the PR media tour to become a fixture for certain clients inside the metaverse.

Social Media eBook Published

Spannerworks, a search engine marketing company, has published a handy dandy guide to social media (PDF). The ebook covers the basics of blogs, podcasts, social networks, tagging, communities and Second Life. Thanks to Anthony Mayfield for sending me this link via del.icio.us.