Double Edged Myths II. What About the Hype of Second Life?

"It was that year that the rich showed up," wrote Hemingway in A Moveable Feast. For Second Life "the rich" showed up a year ago or so. They came, had fun, sent out press releases about that and then many of them left.

So. Whom are we really criticizing, when we talk about companies leaving Second Life? The virtual world itself or the hypers? Who is guilty that company PR in Second Life is not creating buzz anymore? Who is to blame that many houses are empty and the brands are not worshiped?

Really, whose problem it is that it is so much more interesting to visit the ones who have understood the logics of virtuality? Like spend some time at Regina Spektor listening loft and have a really good conversation? And who cares about this problem anyway :).

I have observed that these guys who come to Second Life for bubble, get exactly that - a bubble. Those who come for something else, may end up with finding exactly that as well. But yes, probably Linden Labs got carried away by the hype themselves at some point and may now face some justified hickups in publicity.

I believe though, that there are a lot of people and companies who learn to live in such an environment and create valuable content. It just takes more than just relying on your existing asymmetric marketing principles.



"Please...visit my island..."

(Picture: DON KEEFER reprising his Broadway role as Bernard in film version of DEATH OF A SALESMAN, with Fredric March as Willy Loman. Source: www.imdb.com)