File this post under “depends who is asking” and by that I mean, one’s perspective on something can be completely different depending on the source of the question. When B2B Magazine asked me for my perspective on the virtual world, Second Life, I offered the following:
“We have counseled our clients to stay away [from Second Life] for
the time being,” said Drew Neisser, president-CEO of Renegade, a New
York-based integrated marketing agency. “The quick-hit PR route is
now closed, so marketers need to carefully consider why they want to
be in Second Life and make sure they have a sincere commitment to
the betterment of Second Life.”
Neisser pointed to issues such as technical glitches, security
concerns (for example, hackers breaking into presidential candidate
John Edwards’ virtual campaign headquarters on Second Life) and
difficulties attracting a sizable audience.
“There are a lot of other ways to engage your targets online and
offline that may in fact be more cost-effective and more rewarding
than Second Life,” he said.
However, he added, “We are monitoring Second Life on a continuous
basis and will let [clients] know if and when the time is ripe for
their participation in Second Life.”
Shortly after this interview, I was surprised to see features on Second Life in two print publications focused on doing good. Good Magazine ran a very entertaining story on one gentleman’s adventures in Second Life. After wind surfing, smoking virtual weed which made him fall over every third toke, hearing a KISS cover band, finding American Apparel’s store padlocked and other retail shops like Dell and Reebok empty, he had “no choice” but to explore the seedy side of Second Life. Entering a bordello naked, he was asked “dude, where’s your dick?” discovering, much to his surprise, that unlike in the real world, genitalia was not free. At this point, my point-of-view on Second Life remained pretty much the same.
Then I read a story in a new magazine called Contribute New York which focuses on “the people and ideas of giving.” This story goes into detail about the good being done in Second Life noting that there are 32 charities set up in SL ranging from FightHunger.org to the Mariners Museum. Many of these have set up shop in SL’s new Nonprofit Commons that was established via the generosity of SL’s first millionaire and first philanthropist, Ailin Graef (her avatar’s name is Anshe Chung).
Turns out, real money is being raised in SL for non-profits. A virtual Relay for Life for the American Cancer Society raised $115,000 this year with 1700 avatars “walking.” And many including the MacArthur Foundation believe that lots more will be raised in the near future. The MacArthur Foundation has given the Center on Public Diplomacy at USC $550,000 to stage events in SL.
So, while I continue to caution most marketers from investing in Second Life at this point, non-profit organizations that want to *engage* “young intellectuals” may find some real goodness in this virtual world.