Ah, Clay Shirky's relentless exposure of the hype around Second Life, in these pages, seems finally to be shaking the clueless confidence that corporate marketers have had in the virtual world. David Berger, manager of strategic communications for IBM, has been one of the biggest boosters of Linden Labs' online game, boasting of the computer giant's 12 new islands in Second Life. But, after Shirky yesterday debunked the Benchmark-backed company's contention it has 2m residents, Berger acknowledged the "icy effectiveness" of his arguments. And doesn't this look like a wobble? The original title of Berger's post, before he toned it down: Some serious questions the Second Life team should address.

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