Exploring Second Life

Betsy O’Leary Blake McelweeBen ChanSpencer DePhillipsBrian Harley

About Second Life

Second Life is a virtual world essentially created by users

Second life is used for social networking, commerce, entertainment and exchanging information

Every member creates an avatar, or a virtual representation of the user in the virtual world.

Being a Newcomer to Second Life

There are basic problems associated with being a new user in Second Life

– Initially the experience in Second life is tough because of a lack of knowledge

– A consensus amongst group members was that exploration and locating desired attractions and friends was difficult

– Correspondence at first is tough due to being unsure of common practice

The virtual world that is SL requires adjustment and learning, but after a short period of time, the program can certainly be useful or fun for some.

Learning and “Living” in Second Life

The Learning curve in SL is interesting in that it’s pretty much a free-for-all

There are tutorials on the website, Q&A sections, and even people willing to give tutorials through their avatars in the virtual world

The key component to navigating SL is the map: once one learns to use the map and teleport, the world is at the user’s fingertips

This is looking at the map before teleporting to Reuter’s Island

SL as an Online Community

SL is a perfect example of an online community, with thousands of users entering and exiting each day

One thing about SL that is attractive to users is the ability to represent oneself in the manner that the user so chooses

Whether it be through promiscuity- yes there is mature content- or humor, people can make their avatar look any way they want

Communication is extraordinarily prevalent in SL with users having the ability to chat or to send instant messages

The bottom line is that users can do pretty much whatever they please on SL because it is an adult community

Second Life’s Cultural Ties

Within Second Life, there is media, music, commerce, education, created communities, and even homes

People share information and music, which in turn builds relationships

It is only natural that there is a sense of culture in SL because there are thousands of users

One solid cultural in SL is the groups and communities that form

SL as a means of Commerce

Through the exchange of Linden Dollars, items in SL can be bought and sold.

The user must spend actual money to get Linden Dollars, so Second Life is a valid means of commerce

Users can:-buy and sell land-buy possessions such as paintings, guitars, clothes, cars,etc.-Use money to build homes or businesses

Working on a Cyber Team

Pros– Once we met together we

were able to efficiently get the assignment done

– Able to do something we had never done before

Cons– It was difficult to make a

time that worked for everyone.

– We had connection problems and Second Life was crashing. (we ended up talking a lot in AIM)

We tried meeting as a group in second life, but due to technical difficulties only two of

us were able to get on together.

What We Learned…

There is a quite large market for online interactive advertising and surveying

If you want to be someone else or change your identity you can pretty easily online

If you want to meet people you can, sl is a way for people to do what they want because they cant in the real world

We Were Surprised by…

By the presence of marketing and commerce

– how much “real” money actually flows through SL

The amount of users always on SL

– Currently online 40,513 users

– Logged in in the last 60 days 1,413,340 users

Here I observed at least 8 different people just doing there own thing on SL

Successes of Second Life

Marketing– people would earn linden by

answering surveys off the website. To buy t-shirts and land. Then if they need more they would spend actual money on it

Personalizing Experiences–  More appealing to lots of

different people Can buy clothes for avatar

(change hair and look) Many different places to

visit (depending on interests)

You can change your clothes and hair as many times as you’d like. Here I put on a

jacket and changed the colors

Reuter’s Island

Streaming News in the Reuter’s Lobby

At Reuters Island, you can sit down in the lobby and watch a streaming video of the latest news. This service is not only convenient for the user, but provides great exposure for Reuters as well. A user who enjoys his/her experience with Reuters in SL will likely be much more inclined to use Reuter’s other resources/products outside of Second Life.

Great form of Marketing by Acura; Reuters Islandwill likely attract demographic interested in purchasinghigh-end cars. Further, you can actually drive the car, creating a positive and fun experience with the brand.

Acura RDX on Reuters Island

You can also get daily Reuters news updates for free

Cool and different way to present what would otherwise a standard, potentially bland interview. Unique presentation may help to gain more views than if simply presented through video.

SL Interview with Desmond Tutu

Money Tree Island

   

Money Tree Island, owned by Money Tree Mills, has one of the highest payments in Second Life. It is a innovative and low cost way of reaching the public for marketing analysis.

Click on any money tree and fill out surveys.Each survey you complete will pay you from $40 to

$1,500 Linden.

Users can make some quick cash in Money Tree Island.