Virtual Worlds: Second Life

Virtual Worlds: The Second Life Example Ibrahim Shafi Semantic Contexts, LLC [email_address]

Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOG)
In the video game genre
Played online
Supports thousands of players simultaneously
Variety of gameplay types (role-playing, first-person shooter, real-time strategy)
Virtual currency
Unlike SL, most don’t trade into real currency
Run by graphical, physical, and network engines
Most charge a bimonthly fee
Few have client-side AI like SL does
Issues: server overload, hacking, internet delays

STRONG STRONG STRONG

Traditionally physical goods
Islands, buildings, clothing, food, nature
Social, entertainment, and cultural experience
Avatar interaction, music concerts, clubs, create and view art
Consumer experience
Shopping outlets
Marketplace
Information goods sold in Linden Dollars (250 L$ = 1 US $)
Corporate functions
Conferences, product testing, business ventures, promotion
Education
Holding courses, debates, conducting social experiments

Subsidize Content Creators
Make platform code open source
Encourage development of tools, creations, extensions
Example: Creating a themed island in SL
One island could potentially attract thousands of users
Increases users’ willingness to pay subscription fee

L'Oreal in Greenies: popular Second Life site with 100K+ visitors

Long-term activity is a prerequisite for community; coolness is the gold standard.

Pictured: Kowloon, recreation of PlayStation game by Japanese studio

Pictured: Steampunk harbor in New Babbage

Pictured: Midian City, dynamic interactive cyberpunk novel with thousands of players/storytellers

Strength of Network Effect
Very strong across the board
Multi-homing costs
Low to moderate for both sides
Demand for differentiated features
High – limitless possibilities
Platform enables customization
Not a Winner-Take-All Market

Sole Sponsor: Linden Labs
Controls who can participate in SL
Develops rules
Multiple Providers
Many content creators
Plays by the rules
Compete for the market

Weak Substitutes
Other MMOG’s
Add SL-like features to existing games, e.g. World of Warcraft
HiPiHi – Chinese SL
MetaPlace, Multiverse, etc.
Weak Complements
E-commerce transactions
Vulnerable to intermodal attacks

Find a Big Brother/Build alliances
Linden Labs is partnering with IBM
SL Land auctions on eBay
Bundling
Hardware accessories to use with SL
Merchandising
Become the common platform for virtual world collaboration
Education
Meetings/speeches
Showcasing Design

"Molotov Alva”, Coming Soon to HBO:
Machinima as filmmaker's platform

Palomar West, Cisco's interactive demo of future hospital

IBM's 3D Data Center, for more effective server management.

Wikitecture, 3D wiki, four dozen people create Nepal health center design

Questions?

Online virtual world and social network
People represented by “Avatars”
Communication via chat/instant messaging
Currently, attracting attention of retailers, film companies, music groups, hotel chains, and colleges/universities
From an advertising perspective, offers:
Product placement
Market research potential (trendwatching)
Product testing/Consumer feedback

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Virtual Worlds: Second Life

by Ibrahim Shafi on Nov 22, 2009

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Virtual Worlds: Second Life — Presentation Transcript