Comments on: Marketers Live in Alternate Realities, erm, Second Life

By: LV Realty

LV Realty — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 02:31:31 +0000

I’ve heard that a lot of companies have invested time and money establishing a presence in second life. Most have claimed that it was a waste of time and money. On the other hand, there are inviduals that make their living off of Second Life, investing in virtual real estate, selling virtual products, etc. I think it you have the time and money, it may be worth looking into.

By: Social SEO

Social SEO — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 15:30:08 +0000

As with most emerging applications the monetization scheme is not clear. But similar things were said about regular websites or blogs years ago.

One angry parent telling off his kid for wasting a gazilion hours on Myspace and the kid ended up paying for his dad mortgage.

On occasions not minding strict ROI metrics pays off. It’s kind of what happens with Research & Development activities.

By: Qui Diaz

Qui Diaz — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 02:01:48 +0000

Aaron, hush yo’mouth. You’re a great marketer.

As for 2nd Life, I think that it’s good if you’re trying to reach a particular demo. We PR/social media “gurus” (tee hee) can get so wrapped up in our web 2.0 universe that we forget that it’s predominantly comprised of X,Y, and Z types of people with certain levels of education, income and of course, the currency of the social butterfly. That’s kind of a narrow niche. Second Life is cool for the escapists. I don’t play there. I’ve never played The Sims. I do, however, read the Superficial, so I’m not saying I’m above anyone. And I do think http://www.getafirstlife.com is really freaking hilarious.

By: Carol

Carol — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 19:24:43 +0000

Aaron, I have to agree with Geoff. You’re effective because you’re genuine and real. You don’t talk down to people or use fancy (ahem…meaningless…) buzzwords. That kind of marketing is rare, especially in the social media world — and it’s a shame, because the success of social media ultimately relies on genuine human connection, despite what some marketing “gurus” might say.

As for SL, I’ve never used it and never will. My “first life” is busy enough, and the real people in it deserve my undivided attention. ;-)

By: Jayson Gibson

Jayson Gibson — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 08:41:30 +0000

Aaron,

I’ve never heard of second life and will look into it. Thanks for the info. I’d imagine you’d have to know what these people in second life do in reality for the marketing to be effective. Unless… is it branding?

By: Aaron Brazell

Aaron Brazell — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 15:52:42 +0000

Geoff, I sooo love giving you a hard time about that. :-)

By: Geoff Livingston

Geoff Livingston — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 15:47:37 +0000

Groan! I’ll never live that down. You have the best marketing voice because you are authentic. That means more in this realm than anything else.

I agree Second Life is to close to no life at this point to be a real play. That being said, I will monitor Second Life to see how the world evolves. If the interface becomes easier and more natural, if the interaction becomes more natural, I can see it taking off.