Talk To The Avatar - The Rise of Second Life

I was speaking to someone in the publishing industry who said they recently had to sack one of their staff. The problem was that the individual concerned (a woman) appeared to have lost contact with reality. She weighed 350 pounds, had become unproductive and had begun to insist that her colleagues referred to her by her Second Life avatar’s name rather than her real name. The primary reason for her being “let go” was she spent too much work time in Second Life. In that company, it was a problem, but nowadays, spending time in Second Life is becoming part of some people’s jobs.

In the last week or two, Second Life has been knocking on my door. Second Life has a population somewhere north of 1 million. Reuters recently assigned a reporter to second Life. His name is Adam Pasick (known within Second Life as Adam Reuters, because in Second Life companies can buy surnames for employees that they enable). Reuters has also opened its first all-digital bureau, in a building in Second Life. Yes you can buy property and construct buildings in Second Life—in case you were unaware.

Second life has an economy. Roughly $500,000 changes hands every day in Second Life. Recently, news hit the wire that Crayon, the first company to do so, was launching itself in Second Life, Crayon claims to be a virtual consulting firm, enabling “conversation and transformation above communication. Our value proposition is designed to activate passions, enthusiasm, organic dialogue and no-strings-attached referrals and recommendations.” Maybe it’s just a PR stunt—in which case, it worked on me.

I read the press release just after I read a Second Life story in The New York Times which mentioned a list of companies that are actively using Second Life in one way or another. It included Sun Microsystems, IBM, Sony, Nissan, Toyota, Starwood Hotels and others. Later that day, someone I know who works for Avaya mentioned that the company was thinking of holding meetings in Second Life. There was nothing for it but to open the door to Second Life and find out what was inside…

I now have my own Avatar (my Second Life form and identity). It looks taller than me, younger than me and it’s a lot more handsome than me. It has already made a friend or two in this brave new world—shapely chicks, all of them (I’m talking about their avatars, of course). I met them in the region of Blogger Island, which is where my avatar hangs out.

If you’d like to comment on this posting, you can do so here below. But hey, now there’s another option. Go into Second Life and head for Blogger Island. When you get there, seek out a character named Audacious Carbuncle. Don’t talk to me, talk to the avatar.