Gawker
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deathwatch
The End of Second Life
Those who can't do, teach. Second Life, the most overhyped virtual world, has been abandoned even by its most fervent journalistic promoters, like Reuters and Wired. It's now pitching itself as an online schoolhouse.
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By Owen ThomasComment by SidAndFinancy: I have to agree that "getting into random conversations with strangers from around the world" is "boring or creepy." Am... 8 Responses | Other threads
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virtual worlds
Second Life's death knell
Google has shut down Lively, a service where people log on to chat and explore 3D virtual spaces, after a few short months. The MBAs of Silicon Valley have a pat phrase for the arrival of a competitor on the scene: They say it "validates their space." What does it say, then, that Lively is gone? It means that Second Life, the best known of these unreal universes, is doomed, too. More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by That-Username-is-Already-Taken: If Google shut down Knol, Would Wikipedia need to worry? What about their social network (whose name I can't even remember)... 6 Responses | Other threads
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confirmed
After firing, Second Life maker insists they're hiring
A boilerplate statement from Linden Lab confirms yesterday's rumor: "We've had to make some hard decisions about resources and as a result we eliminated four positions out of our headcount of nearly 300." That's not as bad as the "9 or 10" we'd been told were cut. In a statement sent to Silicon Alley Insider, Linden says they're still hiring. There are 45 job listings on the company's employment page. Are they all still open? Huh, maybe Second Life really is an alternate reality. What temperature does water boil at in SL? -
rumormonger
Second Life maker swings layoff ax
A tipster reports that Linden Lab, the maker of virtual world Second Life, is laying off its business-development department, which had cultivated ties with software makers. The move affects "9 or 10" employees," he says. A wise move, if tardy: Don't you need to have a business worth developing before hiring someone in business development? -
Sophie Vandebroek
Xerox tech boss's virtual math
CAMBRIDGE, MASS. — Does Xerox CTO Sophie Vandebroek have trouble with basic numberwork? At MIT's EmTech conference, she asked the audience how many people had "avatars" — digital characters for virtual worlds like Linden Lab's Second Life. From what I saw, half a dozen people out of some 300 attendees raised their hands. "Perhaps 25 percent!" she said, as she played a video showing off Xerox's presence in Second Life. I am not sure what is more disturbing: Vandebroek's miscounting, which one might blame on the bright stage lights, or her inability to calculate the lack of a return on investment in Second Life, which has no such excuse. Here's a clip of Vandebroek talking in Second Life: More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by Owen Thomas: Fascinating: Twitter user poinky, apparently a Xerox employee, claims I somehow found "nonpublic screenshots." Right: Nonpublic screenshots. On Google Images... more » | Other threads
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virtual worlds
The reinvention of Second Life
Virtual worlds are endlessly mutable. As are the wildly implausible schemes their boosters concoct for making money off them. The latest idea Linden Lab has for Second Life: Profit, in some vague, unspecified way, from the world's free 3D design tools. The perpetually gullible BusinessWeek bought this story, pointing to examples of toy designers and architects building digital models and showing them off to customers in Second Life. There's a certain beauty to it: An entrepreneur's fantasy, used to peddle other entrepreneurs' fantasies. Not that there's much of a business here, since Linden Lab gives away its design software. More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by glu: SecondLife has been one of the most pleasing failures of the past several years. more » | Other threads
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mark kirk
Congressman gets in on Second Life's "rape rooms"
Taking a page from Nebraska's Internet cops, U.S. Representative Mark Kirk (R.-Ill.) has created a fake teen of his own in order to protect real ones. While promoting a bill to restrict access to social networking sites in public schools and libraries, Kirk and Illinois law enforcement detailed the solicitations received by the imaginary 15-year-old female they played in Second Life — to enter "rape rooms," among others. Acknowledging that there were no known cases of sexual assault on underage users at Second Life, Rep. Kirk still called the site an "emerging danger." Now with the addition of his fictional sex-seeking teenage avatar, of course. (Photo by Daily Herald)
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Comment by raincoaster: @tootingbec: Obviously you need to work on your dexterity, my friend. more » | Other threads
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hires
Second Life maker finds second CEO in adland
Linden Lab, which operates the Second Life virtual world, has found a new CEO: Mark Kingdon, the longtime chief of Organic, an online ad agency. A bizarre move for Linden, and seemingly for Kingdon. Sophisticated marketers, having toyed with Second Life, agree that it's a nonstarter as an advertising medium. Linden Lab makes its money from serving as a virtual central bank and a taxing authority. IBM is interested in it largely as a substitute for teleconferencing. Philip Rosedale, the founder and outgoing CEO, is a dreamy technologist, but replacing him with an adman makes no sense. An enterprise-software salesman would have made more sense. More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by Eric Rice: @Rachel probably the same losers who run around saving fantastical worlds (and earth, too!) from forces of darkness, making that... more » | Other threads
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politics
Jon Stewart mocks Congress for discussing Second Life
Pictured is a screen capture of the avatars assembled in Second Life foryesterday'slast week's congressional hearing about virtual worlds. Why is congress giving Linden Lab the time of day? Terrorists, silly! According to Jane Harman, D-California, "Islamic militants are suspected of using Second Life, the Internet virtual world, to hunt for recruits and mimic real life terrorism." That's quite the bait to dangle in front of congress for free publicity, Linden Lab PR team! Full clip from the Daily Show after the jump. More »
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By Jackson WestComment by patrickbkelly: You thought Congress could not top the waste of time grilling Roger Clemens. When will you stop underestimating... more » | Other threads
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caption contest
One more reason not to wear your avatar outfit in First Life
At right, Everett Harper, Stanford MBA and director of community initiatives for Second Life operator Linden Lab, models his Carnaval-winning dance outfit. Harper was crowned King Everett this weekend. Suggest a caption in the comments. (Photo by CM C.)
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By Owen ThomasComment by princesscrap: soooo glad these are not my coworkers more » | Other threads
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virtual worlds
Are Second Life users on drugs?
As a business, Second Life is a bust. As a technology, the virtual world is a joke. Using snake-oil metaphors to describe it would seem an injustice against toxic cure-alls — were that not Second Life's new marketing peg. The autistic and near-autistic with Asperger's syndrome are flocking to Second Life to learn how to interact with other human beings, CNN reports. This follows Newsweek's discovery last July of Second Life as therapy for the housebound. A suggestion for Benchmark Capital and the other VCs who sank money into this boondoggle: Why not market it as the next Prozac, and sell it to Eli Lilly? That seem easier. -
second life
The 5 real blunders of Philip Rosedale's virtual career
Despite a silver-tongued PR team capable of spinning any irrelevant Second Life happening into a New York Times story, former Linden Lab CEO Philip Rosedale couldn't save himself from the downside of the virtual hype cycle. His "life's work" has become a punchline. Here are the five mistakes that added up to cost Rosedale his job. More »
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Comment by EnerHax: and so arrogance negates his passion? 1 in 1,000 make 5 figures, that sounds better that World of Warcraft,... more » | Other threads
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second life
Linden Lab CEO stepping down
Linden Lab CEO Philip Rosedale is stepping down as CEO. The Benchmark Capital-backed company is looking for a new chief with more operational and management experience. "This is my life's work. I'm not going anywhere, and I'm still full-time on this, probably for the rest of my life," says Rosedale, shown here as his Second Life alter ego. The story was broken by the Reuters Second Life news center within Second Life. This is likely the only news ever broken by the bureau that you'll care about.
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Comment by Davion: Attention Benchmark Capital: former Facebook COO Owen Van Natta is looking for a CEO position! Perfect fit! more » | Other threads
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quotable
"Second Life is slowing down and taking investors with it." — Blogger Adrian Crook during his "Free to Play" panel at the Game Developer's Conference. He says businesses in the virtual world are being forced to shut down because there isn't the population to support them.
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Comment by BobDope: I have it on good authority that investing works out in your favor less than 100% of the time. more » | Other threads
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second life
IBM ad mocks IBM strategy
A new IBM TV ad mocks the make-a-wish economics of virtual-world purveyors like Linden Lab. Perhaps Big Blue's ad agency didn't get the memo: In India, IBM is expanding its ranks of Second Life salespeople.
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By Owen ThomasComment by seanpercival: New? Playing for weeks if not months now. Owen when are you joining? The avatars have a nice slider for... more » | Other threads
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valleywag calendar
Polish your resume
Tonight's events are great for networkers and job-seeking developers: The San Francisco Business Times is hosting a reception for their 2008 Book of Lists, while Linden Lab (of Second Life fame) is holding a recruiting event at their new Mountain View digs. The Lists party at the Four Seasons in San Francisco is sold out (crash it!), but RSVPs are still available for the Linden Lab event. More » -
virtual economy
Second Life's pending crash
Shame on you, Wall Street Journal, for running a front page exposé on the Second Life bank run. Fair enough to report that its banks are collapsing. But mostly, the article will serve to remind Journal readers that second Life is still a going concern. More »
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Comment by Gwyneth Llewelyn: See, Second Life is able to overcome any economy bubbles that burst... After all, even after the huge dot-com failure, we... more » | Other threads
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i hate it here
San Francisco is just like Second Life
Gavin Newsom, San Francisco's freshly reelected god-mayor, descended into the bowels of Second Life for a quaint fireside chat with Philip Rosedale, CEO of Linden Lab. What lofty matters could a city mayor and the chieftain of a seamy virtual world possibly have to discuss? Why, the parallels between the "two famously diverse and tech-savvy communities with global profiles," of course. As Newsom said during their discourse, "We're all geeks." But the comparisons don't stop there. San Francisco is exactly like Second Life. More » -
linden lab
Is Philip Rosedale a media vampire?
How else to explain the Linden Lab CEO's waxy complexion? He's the unending leader of an unholy company which laughs at death, and sustains itself through artificial means — PR, that is. To maintain that unhealthy glow, he's preying on unsuspecting technology journalists, sucking out all common sense and journalistic curiosity and turning them into willing propaganda puppets. His silver tongue already scored a succulent piece in the BBC, and now David Kirkpatrick of Fortune has fallen under Rosedale's sway. More »
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Comment by Randolf: The architecture of SecondLife is shameful. The fact that Rosedale et. al. refer to their data bloat as a... more » | Other threads
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linden lab
Philip Rosedale, master of damage control
Just when things turn bleak for Second Life maker Linden Lab — CTO Cory Ondrejka recently "left" the company — CEO Philip Rosedale manages to pull a fluff piece out of the BBC. He's previously denied he has anything to do with timing these media wet kisses, but we're skeptical. Perhaps it's his boyish charm and ability to spin numbers — or the fact that these media outlets are easily impressed by the whizzes and bangs of virtual worlds. More »
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Comment by ram.perpe: Sadly this seems to be the last nail in the second life adventure coffin, As much as I grumbled on... more » | Other threads
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second life
Linden Lab fires chief technology officer
Looks like all those problems in the big empty known as Second Life — the virtual world's confounding user interface, poor graphics, and high attrition rate — aren't going to get fixed anytime soon. Word comes via tipster that Linden Lab chief technology officer Cory Ondrejka, the dude who ostensibly runs the virtual world's tech, has left over "differences in opinion." The official line from founder and CEO Philip Rosedale states that Ondrejka is leaving at the end of this year "in order to pursue new professional challenges." As Rosedale poetically put it, their paths lie in different directions. Ah, the road not taken — like a path to a meaningful business. Anyone have more deets?
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Comment by Trackback: Some links to kick off your Wednesday: * Cerberus reportedly has followed J.C. Flowers out of the running for Northern... more » | Other threads
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clips
Second Life flaw allows virtual pickpockets
Second Life is already a bottomless vortex for time and money, right? Now, thanks to a security flaw, residents' virtual coinage won't be wasted on clothing and other unreal bric-a-brac. Hackers Charles Miller and Dino Dai Zovi have found a QuickTime exploit which allows them to "pickpocket" unsuspecting avatars. When a resident walks by an infected piece of streaming media, it triggers a website which takes control of the avatar and cleans out its Second Life cash and property accounts.
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Comment by gildorn: I'd like to nominate this for "Best Exploitation of a QuickTime Vulnerability". more » | Other threads
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nerdspotting
The Lobby's leisurely entrepreneurs
While other startup founders have to stay home and, you know, work, these guys have the time and the spare $3,000 to spend hanging out at a zero-agenda conference in Hawaii. (For the record, we're jealous.) Spotted in Yahoo executive Bradley Horowitz's Flickr stream: Benchmark entrepreneur-in-waiting Nirav Tolia; "stepped-up" LinkedIn chairman Reid Hoffman; FeedBurner founder Dick Costolo, who's rolling in Googlebucks; Linden Lab CEO Philip Rosedale; Evan Williams from Twitter; Mashery's Oren Michels; and More »
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Comment by World of Warcraft Map Guy: Looks like all the photos are now marked private. more » | Other threads
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Comment by samcal: Hopefully this doesn't result in the spinoff of CSI:SL...Which is completely plausible considering its a well documented scientific fact that... more » | Other threads
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virtual worlds
The Library of Congress, busying itself with a videogame archive, faces a conundrum in preserving Second Life, because Linden Lab doesn't track user conversations. An archived copy would just be "bunch of very beautiful buildings with nobody in them." Not much different from the real thing, in other words. The good news: If the librarians are searching for ways to preserve it, that means they're aware of Second Life's impending doom. [Kotaku] -
crime
The British government may dirty its hands with regulation of Second Life, as it sees issues like child pornography, identity fraud, money laundering, and copyright infringement as "causes for concern." Linden Lab's hands-off approach to policing its virtual world is only fueling inevitable government involvement. The only problem? As other, less boring metaverses steal Second Life's buzz and users, the bobbies may find that they're working the wrong virtual beat. [Times Online] -
data junkie
Second Life continues to suck ... the media's attention
Second Life's charm offensive is reaching epic proportions. Back in January, Valleywag emeritus Nick Denton noticed a rather disturbing trend: mounting Second Life hype. For three years after the virtual world's launch in June 2003, it remained, thankfully, widely ignored. But a BusinessWeek cover story on the first virtual millionaire, with the help of a workhorse PR agency, spurred a record 700 mentions, including press releases, as tracked in the Lexis-Nexis news database. Coverage has failed to abate, despite highly questionable user numbers and failed marketing campaigns. Why? More » -
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Comment by thelifter: I for one am glad the original concept behind Tron is coming back into the cultural mainstream. But, everyone... more » | Other threads
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second life
After four years of running a virtual world, Linden Lab is finally committing to a long overdue upgrade to its physics engine. Havok 4 should, in theory, make Second Life a little less clunky by reducing crashes, minimizing lag, and improving collision detection (physical interaction between objects) and the world's actual physics. Of course, this engine is already a year old, Havok announced the newest iteration last month. [Worlds In Motion] -
virtual worlds
Are Second Life's users brain-damaged?
CAMBRIDGE, MASS. — John Lester, Boston operations director for Linden Lab, the maker of Second Life, is giving the standard sales pitch for the virtual world. His claim: "It's full of people." We wonder if Lester (pictured) would so readily say that to Second Life's corporate-marketer customers, who have found their 3-D Second Life "islands" to be virtual ghost towns. Or to Second Life's disgruntled users, who are stymied by the service's struggle to increase its population capacity. "Our brains crave it," Lester claims. His former job? Creating online communities for patients with neurological disorders. That speaks volumes about Second Life's user base, doesn't it?
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By Owen ThomasComment by billybastion: i cant believe im having a discussion with THE wagner james au. i mean, i've used your research and ... more » | Other threads
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virtual worlds
Google Earth to take on Second Life
Here we go again. Google is, apparently, terraforming Google Earth, its 3-D flythrough of the planet, into a virtual world. Rumored for more than a year, particularly since the acquisition of 3-D modeler Sketchup, confirmation of Google's new "My World" comes in the form of a beta-testing questionnaire circulated among Arizona State University students asking, on behalf of a major Internet company, whether they were into games and social networking, and already had an avatar and a Gmail account. If anyone can pull off a virtual world that's actually interesting, it's Google. But this is like prospecting in the old West. Everyone from Sony to Linden Lab on down is attempting to cash in on the hot new "virtual world" frontier. Eventually, they'll figure out that it's dry, dusty, and mined out. It's just a question of how long that will take.
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Comment by amalik49: The problem with virtual worlds isn't that they're inherently boring. It's just the people that are drawn to them are. more » | Other threads
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virtual economies
Second Life land bubble
For all of Second Life's apparent freedoms, it certainly mimics the first. Linden Lab's virtual world is experiencing a bit of a land crisis — there's far too much readily available. In August, Linden Lab announced it was limiting new land creation due to falling prices. Now Linden is halting production while it implements a new auction system in the hopes that the recess will clear out caches. Second Lifers are none too happy. With the ban on gambling and flooded land market devaluing holdings, the economy is taking a nose dive. It looks like Lindens have realized they're buying little more than Florida swamp land.
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Comment by Randolf: When worlds collide. Two areas I've covered heavily the past couple years have been the real real estate bubble... more » | Other threads
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your privacy is an illusion
Second Life anonymity be damned
Second Life, the virtual world we love to hate, announced it's rolling out the beta of its Identity Verification system today. Sick of the constant name-calling afforded by the virtual world's anonymity, Linden Lab is taking steps to police its surreal estate through a voluntary registration program. VP of marketing Robin Harper revealed that the identification system will "independently verify certain aspects of their identity (their name, age, location and sex)" and "establish trust by removing a layer of anonymity." The move, of course, essentially destroys that which is valued in Second Life — freedom to do anything (except gamble). Linden Lab's hope is that landowners will put age gates on their islands, and this system will prevent minors from entering sex dungeons. Of course, minors looking to enter sex dungeons will be too smart to volunteer that information.
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Comment by sample032: So by second, they now mean alternate representation of real? SL is actually getting lamer. more » | Other threads
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party report
Second Life's Masquerade
So, did you attend the 800-person strong Second Life Community Convention in Chicago this weekend? No? Neither did we, but CNET reporter Caroline McCarthy (no relation) braved the hot air and hype at Chicago's Hilton hotel to bring a first-person account of the Second Life gathering. She also took some lovely pictures at the conference's Masquerade Ball. Prominent Second Life advertisers like Cisco and IBM might want to take a look at the gallery — seeing the players in real life, as opposed to avatar form, might help them to better tailor their "islands" — Second Life creator Linden Lab's word for private areas in Second Life — to potential customers. More »
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Comment by Randolf: I was there and had more fun and better conversation than I've ever had at a valley party. Sean doesn't get... more » | Other threads
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virtual economies
Regulating Second Life
The recent run on Second Life's Ginko bank, one of the virtual world's financial institutions, has prompted many residents to ponder whether their magical playland might not need some regulations after all. Their fears aren't fueled by lewd acts or incessant griefer attacks. Rather, they're about the one thing that truly matters: money. CFO magazine recently looked into the bank's failure as evidence that some form of outside oversight is needed to guard against fraud, money laundering, tax evasion, and incidents like Ginko and the recent theft from the World Stock Exchange. An excellent suggestion. But the article fails to deliver on its promise. More »
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Comment by Randolf: @seanpercival: to meet 1000 other people who don't care about sl at the slcc conf. More people that that show up... more » | Other threads
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virtual worlds
Second Life now features virtual temps
The reason why companies like Coca-Cola or H&R Block failed in Second Life isn't because it's a bad investment, it's because they didn't personalize the experience. At least that's what Antony van Zyl, cofounder of Chicago-based Second Life marketing firm Simuality, would have you believe. "When you walk into this virtual reality there should be a person who greets you and directs you where you need to go," he said. "It's absolutely vital that there is human interaction." Van Zyl's company, which offers a hodgepodge of Second Life services, is starting its own staffing service. Small companies that don't have a large enough staff to deploy them in Second Life can now order virtual receptionists to act as their Second Life presence. A bit counterintuitive — most people join Second Life to escape human interaction. And an empty front desk would fit the ghost-town theme. More »
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Comment by gamolistic: 1) 8.9+ million avatars in Second Life ...and growing every day. 100+ countries are present in SL. Distance education is... more » | Other threads
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media relations
Second Life gets a well-deserved drubbing in Time
Linden Lab CEO Philip Rosedale is learning, the hard way, how a charm offensive can turn, well, offensive. The man behind virtual world Second Life may have staged BusinessWeek's glowing visions of the future and Newsweek's virtual wet kiss, but now comes the backlash. Following Wired's recent expose on fleeting marketers, Time's Kristina Dell takes a crack at taking out Second Life. More »
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Comment by seanpercival: Yes AA should should stick to the semi porn ads you find here at VW. Nothing gets me ready for... more » | Other threads
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virtual worlds
Honey, pick up a new blazer if you're going to Second Life
When you can visit Second Life, why ever leave your home? Dynamedia, the marketing company that made it possible to order fresh pizzas from the confines of Second Life, wants to ease the virtual world's toll on your wardrobe. It's currently searching out companies for its VirtuReal project. Coming soon to a virtual mall near you, the ability to purchase real-world items. Just what we need. Shopping from the comfort of your pajamas? The Web spawned Amazon.com for a reason, and that reason didn't involve avatars flying around with shopping bags.
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Comment by Owen Thomas: @kraptek: Don't worry, fakesteve's been given the boot after his latest comment bender. more » | Other threads
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virtual worlds
The new and improved Internet, now with motion sickness
Why can't virtual worlds just die a quiet, dignified death? Because Businessweek Online has proclaimed them the future of the Internet, that's why. Google, IBM and Second Life creator Linden Lab are currently plotting to turn the entire World Wide Web into a virtual world. God help us all. Picture this: You go on a virtual shopping trip with virtual representations of your virtual friends to virtually try on jeans that you can buy on the virtual spot. After your avatar finishes her modeling spree, you can — *gasp* — brave the sunlight to purchase the exact same pair in a brick-and-mortar store. Never mind that your avatar is 10 sizes smaller than the real you. Details. More »
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Comment by seanpercival: Mary Jane? Shit you be high girl. Also at what point will you get the only ghost towns are the boring... more » | Other threads
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virtual worlds
Advertisers aren't the only ones suckered into Second Life. Columbia Journalism Review chronicles the migration of gullibly neophilic reporters to Second Life. The first journalist, Wagner James Au, was recruited and paid for by Linden Lab CEO Philip Rosedale. [GameSetWatch]
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Mon Jul 6
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