What is it about Second Life...?

While the bloom is off the rose with Second Life, it is far from gone. In order to understand the power of Second Life, you need to see my 15-year-old son. He spends hours on Second Life, talking live with friends. They prowl through this virtual world and meet people from all over the country…and the world. And, most importantly, they collaborate and learn from one another. They build castles and buildings and vehicles. They have fun making each others’ avatars dance and do other crazy things. They learn as a group, continuously honing their 3D modeling and scripting skills. I see a major trend here in collaborative creativity and collaborative learning. Creative and training professionals would be well advised to keep a close watch on SL and other emerging virtual worlds.

What is it about Second Life?

Second Life is getting a lot of press. Marketers are experimenting in Second Life. With its relatively small population, why are companies putting so much time, effort and money into Second Life? Many industry pundits are beginning to ask this question.

In order to really understand the power of Second Life, you need to see my 14-year-old son. He spends hours on Second Life, talking to friends. They chat live with one another using Xfire and spend hours roaming Second Life. They build staffs, wings, tip jars. And throw fireballs and cast spells. They cause each others’ avatars to dance and do other crazy things. They prowl through this virtual world and meet people from all over the country…and the world. They talk, they interact and they socialize.

So, why is it that the industry sees the power in My Space, yet seems mystified by Second Life? It’s the ultimate in social networking. William Gibson fans see it as the first iteration of his famous online world. So, get with it. Get in there. Get a Second Life. And if you can figure out how to make my avatar stop dancing, please let me know.