Seven tips for real world business in Second Life
I discovered this blog yesterday, and it has an interesting post with seven tips for real world business in Second Life.
Some excerpts, here and there, and my comments between ( and ):
Interestingly, despite last year’s rampant over-hyping of SL and the recent negative downturn, at least a few of the avatars that visit us for coffee With crayon say that there are still lots of marketers who are first discovering Second Life and other virtual worlds, and thinking about what opportunities and challenges they present
(In fact, it was an HYPE, and journalists and bloggers perfectly know what a HYPE is… they do it all the time!!)
Get to know the cultural landscape
“Educate yourself about community norms and important milestones in Second Life history… Design content around the needs of residents rather than focusing solely on the aspirations of your marketing department.”
(yes, but… it takes time. Why don’t you hire a social expert for a few hours, and skip the pain?)
Improve, don’t invade
“Second Life is a collaborative experience, and leaving residents out of decision making is a serious error… Be prepared to engage with residents, instead of creating a build, walking away and working why no one visits.”
(completely, totally agree)
Involve and engage
“People are more interesting than things and the social aspect of Second Life is more important in the long term stuff than ‘the stuff’.”
(exactly: Second Life is essentially a social web app. Objects are not important right now… yet)
Prioritize usability
“Make your virtual spaces easy to maneuver and remember that fancy stuff is a waste of time if it causes bad lag.”
(exactly. Try to make road for fast access, and dedicate time and effort to usability (Nielsen, where are you?))
Leave your parachute at home
“Abandoned building and poorly publicized events will not establish brand loyalty… Live representatives as a branded site are generally far more persuasive than any number of ads or freebies.”
(Hmm… the “cathedral in the desert” problem is still there… But it’s not your fault: problem is that Linden Lab continues to push numbers, while the real numbers about Second Life are much smaller… real and frequent users are below a million!)
Understand technical limitations
“Newcomers should be prepared for a buggy environment. Users will forgive organizations for technical problems byond their control, but they are less understanding if a technical mistake stems from a problem that has been well documented.”
(buggy? Naah… this is a downturn. Just don’t expect NORMAL people to stick with Second Life quite soon)
Work with in-world businesses
“As a way of demonstrating respect for Second Life’s cultures, real-world businesses are encouraged to work with in-world businesses, be a good member of the community, and most importantly, makes sure not to eliminate the little guy.”
(exactly: treat Second Life as another business, not as a virtual world)
I would add another tip: create communities, create experiences, create hype for your product or service.
You will stand up on the hill.
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