Reputation Management in a World Without Edges: Avatar Guidelines

Conducting business in Second Life can feel a little like Halloween at the office – except that at the office you know who the people are under those silly costumes.  Even then, it feels roundly disconcerting to be facing Charlie Chaplin across the conference table while trying to discuss that big pitch coming up the next day…

In Second Life, however you can’t be sure who the person is behind the avatar.  And privacy in Second Life is the most highly valued asset.  It is fiercely protected by residents.  In fact, the standard Linden Lab terms of service prohibits disclosing another person’s real identity within SL and is cause for disciplinary action by the “gods.”

This presents a challenge to businesses which rely heavily on reputation.  Reputation is a short cut to credibility.  By knowing a person’s real life association, or credit history or past awards, we make a quick determination of “who” that person is.  But these kinds of reputation systems are non-existent in Second Life. Currently there isn’t even the benefit of a collaborative reputation system like eBay’s or those on web-based social networks. And people purposely don’t carry into SL their real world reputations.

As a way to help businesses address branding and identity issues, Linden Lab will be selling the Second Life equivalent of domain names, allowing individuals and businesses to purchase a custom last name.  People operating in-world may now carry their real world organization’s name over their head – literally. 

That’s the good news – and the bad news. 

The good news is if you purchase the privilege, you can identify your employees or representatives with a branded Second Life last name.  This makes it easy for everyone to identify your group’s avatars.  It establishes a credibility – an assumed reputation.

The bad news is it makes it easy for everyone to identify your group’s avatars.

Unlike in the real world office, when avatars leave your island or simulation and venture out into the greater Second Life metaverse, there are no boundaries.  In a “persistent” virtual environment like Second Life avatars carry their “reputations” with them everywhere.

What this means is if your real world brand is doing business in Second Life, you need avatar guidelines for your employee avatars. Creating guidelines helps you and your employee avatars to operate under your banner in comfort and with confidence.   

Here are a few areas to consider for your company’s “branded avatar” policy:

Avatar Profile.  Provide guidelines for your avatar employees’ profiles. Address inclusion of images, descriptions, and your policy about revealing “first life” information or personally identifiable information.  Profiles may include a web page, notes and location picks as well.  Consider what information may be sensitive and advise your avatar employees about what a positive profile should include when operating in Second Life under your brand name. 

Second Life locations.  Identify within which simulations your company’s avatars are allowed.  The variety of activities in Second Life is robust, and some of them may be inconsistent with your brand identity.

Code of avatar conduct.  The veil of an avatar may give people the feeling they are less accountable for their actions – or forget they are carrying your name over their head. Griefing, weapons, copyright infractions, spamming, flaming, community standards are just a few areas your avatar code of conduct might address.  The Linden Lab TOS is a great place to start for code of conduct ideas.

Group affiliation.  Groups are the closet thing to a reputation system in Second Life.  They serve to communicate an avatar’s persona and they are the basis of the social structure of Second Life.  They also pretty much define “who” you are.  You may need to provide guidelines on which groups are consistent with your brand.

It is extremely important that employees who will be operating in Second Life mingle, learn the SL culture, participate with and contribute to the community, and enjoy the unique activities and benefits of this virtual world. Encourage them to do so.  And remind them that in a world without boundaries there is plenty of room for both a professional and a personal avatar.

Photo credit:  Anya Ixchel -
Check out her recent presentation "The Avatar as Communication"

October 24, 2006

Comments

[Moopf Murray]

That's a great primer on the possible benefits and pitfalls of having a company surname in Second Life. It's good to see people talking about these issues and how possible problems could be mitigated. I can certainly see plenty of situations where, either knowingly or not, an avatar with a company surname may do something, or even just be somewhere, that reflects badly on the organisation.

Thank you for posting this.

[Linda]

Thanks, Moopf. Reputation and identity is the first issue most business people have about operating in SL. I hope this can get some discussion going on practical ways companies can manage their issues while giving people the confidence to operate in a world where freedom to create and collaboration is paramount.

We definitely don't want to carry old thinking into a "world without boundaries," but businesses have very practical considerations to address - and by getting past those we can open thinking to the real potential that exist in virtual environments.

More to come and I sincerely value your thoughts on this.

[Celebrity Trollop]

This is a good post for companies that are buying branded last names.

But something I would like to discuss more fully is that Second Life isn't *completely* anonymous; it's pseudo-anonymous. Like an author who uses a nom de plume to publish books which are afield from her normal body of work, avatar names serve a similar purpose in my mind.

Once an avatar has a given name it's difficult to get it changed -- and that means behavior and reputation can be accounted against a name which isn't likely going to change.

People may not necessarily know the RL name of my avatar's driver, but I don't understand why my avatar's name can't be used as a reasonable proxy for reputational purposes.

[Linda]

Celebrity, avatars often are "pseudo-anonymous" in practice - many people reveal their real names - but the culture and standard is one of privacy. The fact that we have the choice in SL breaks down the "trust factor" that someone is who they say they are.

Your avatar does indeed carry its own "reputation" and in the context of SL, it is your reputation. In fact that is my point. Reputations are contextual.

However, RL businesses operating in SL have to consider how SL and RL intersect - and that's where the rub for them comes in.

[Drew Stein]

Thanks for the great think piece Linda. After reading it I think I am going to, if you don't mind, include it in all of the info packs we at IVM give out to our clients once they decide to come in world. I think it will will give our clients something to think about and to begin to create policy around.

[Linda]

Drew, I'm delighted this resonated with you. Feel free to add it to your info pack. Please just attribute it to me and include a link or the url.

[Juno888]

Once an avatar has a given name it's difficult to get it changed -- and that means behavior and reputation can be accounted against a name which isn't likely going to change.