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Is it just ‘Summer’ Doldrums?

July 12, 2007 By Lowell Cremorne

Since the release of the June metrics, there’s been a general consensus that a peak has been reached. The only conjecture is when growth is likely to increase again. Or if it will at all. The northern hemisphere commentators are calling it summer doldrums but not ruling out a deeper change.

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Australian users are contradicting the trend, with a jump from 1.93% to 2.61% in active Australian users. That’s arguably because the Australiam media’s interest in Second Life is recent when compared to the USA and Europe. As media stories increase their focus on user growth, some will argue the media are spooking potential new users. That may be a risk, however any product lives or dies on its usability and Second Life is no different. Imminent enhancements like voice will determine in a large way that perception of improving usability.

Popularity: 11% [?]

Filed Under: Metrics, Op-ed Tagged With: ,

The Australian Women’s Weekly covers SL

June 30, 2007 By Lowell Cremorne

The Australian Women’s Weekly have run an article titled ‘Internet Communities Explained’ and SL gets a guernsey. RMIT’s Dr Lisa Dethridge is quoted extensively in relation to SL and one quote caught my attention in particular:

“avatars tend to keep the fantasy alive by refraining from chat about ‘RL’ [real life] and referring to this world as if it were the only world. Unlike regular chat rooms, where people discuss the details of their lives online, Second Life is a kind of hermetically sealed zone with laws unto itself”

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The intention of the statement is clear but it also clashes with my interactions with aussies in SL, particularly the newer users. It’s rare to not hear people asking each other where they’re from in RL. The wariness around disclosing extensive personal information definitely remains but it seems the boundaries between RL and SL aren’t as defined as they used to be. Do you find the same?

It’ll also be interesting to see the level of Australian sign-ups when Meta Linden releases the June stats – between 60 Minutes and the Australian Women’s Weekly, it’s been a mainstream media feast this month courtesy of PBL – perhaps a SL presence is looming including a virtual Crown Casino?

Popularity: 8% [?]

Filed Under: Australian News, Virtual worlds in the media Tagged With: ,

Some big guns take aim at SL’s usefulness for business

June 20, 2007 By Lowell Cremorne

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The SL Herald in their inimitable style discuss some criticism being leveled by big business at SL. Quoting a Forbes article titled ‘Sex, Pranks and Reality’, the SL Herald summarise the corporations shutting up shop or thinking about it. The prize quote from the Forbes article comes from Wells Fargo’s digital agency:

“Going into Second Life now is the equivalent of running a field marketing program in Iraq.”

Of course, I’m yet to understand why any corporation would go into SL with any perception other than it being an experiment. An experiment with potential for success, but one all the same.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Filed Under: Business, General News, Virtual worlds in the media Tagged With: , ,

The city sims – where’s Melbourne?

June 3, 2007 By Lowell Cremorne

Knightsbridge, Liverpool (recently relocated from a mainland sim to an island) and Amsterdam are just three cities that have their SL replicas, of varying accuracy and purpose.

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Other city areas replicated include Times Square in New York (currently in development) and Paris (circa 1900).

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They all have their appeal, but I’m wondering when someone will take on an Australian city. I personally believe Melbourne would be the pick – iconic parts of Sydney have been well and truly covered now (Sydney Opera House, Darling Harbour, Sydney Harbour Bridge) whereas Melbourne has a character that would make it sit nicely aside replicas like Liverpool. Amsterdam well and truly has the red-light district covered so not sure a virtual King’s Cross or St Kilda is required.

What are your thoughts on city sims – do they have a contribution to make in SL and if so, what contribution do you think an Australian city sim would make?

Popularity: 7% [?]

Filed Under: Landmarks of note Tagged With: ,

Business headcount – a different perspective

May 31, 2007 By Lowell Cremorne

Over at New World Notes, Hamlet Au discusses SL as the great equaliser for businesses of all sizes – that the relatively low traffic to large corporate sites (as a proportion of overall traffic) and the relative ease of content creation means that smaller operations including individuals can punch well above their weight on one of the more even playing fields.

It’s analogous to the general situation of Australians in Second Life – we’re out there making ourselves known, belying the small proportion of the overall SL population we are. I wouldn’t disagree with Au’s summation: “if these companies ever stand a chance of being relevant in SL, they will have to learn from the amateurs, and adjust their expectations and approach to their grassroots level”. It’s a lesson that’s started to have been taken on board locally.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Filed Under: Business, Op-ed Tagged With: ,

Criticism of Second Life – same old, same old

May 14, 2007 By Lowell Cremorne

Jokay Wollongong provides an interesting story on an education symposium she attended and she made one point around how online learning guru Stephen Downes reeled off the usual litany of criticisms of SL, ones we all experience: lag, lack of interoperability with other virtual worlds and the issue of boundaries/rules in a metaverse context. All totally legitimate criticisms and ones that need to keep being made by the broader community.

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However, the story does illustrate the huge growth in ‘experts’ proliferating in regards to virtual worlds. It’s not an unusual phenomenon, but a reasonable expectation of anyone claiming expertise is that they will provide constructive, considered thoughts on alternative approaches. Stephen Downes may certainly have done that but as SL grows, the number of people attempting to make a living off commentating on SL will also expand. Here’s hoping the chorus of commentary doesn’t turn into an ill-informed lynch mob – as always it’s about balance.

Popularity: 4% [?]

Filed Under: Op-ed Tagged With: ,

Loneliness rather than community in SL?

May 13, 2007 By Lowell Cremorne

Warren Ellis is featured on the Reuters site talking about the contradiction of a virtual world groaning under the weight of its popularity whilst that same world contains massive tracts of regularly uninhabited buildings.

If you avoid the casino / nightclub / sex club areas then odds are you aren’t going to see great crowds of avatars. It’s a result of the current challenges for SL with lag / concurrency and bandwidth. If you can only fit 50-100 avatars on a sim then you’re never going to see crowding unless it’s in a very confined space – like a nightclub. So although the main drawcards may be music, dancing, sex (or all three) in those areas, the fourth may be the enhanced feeling of being part of a group.

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One of the strengths of SL however is the communities of interest that develop – even on a geographical basis. There’s not a homogenous Australian community in SL but the relatively small number of active Aussies means that we do tend to meet together more often. Do you feel you’re part of a community in SL? If so, tell us all about it.

Popularity: 5% [?]

Filed Under: Op-ed Tagged With: ,
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