Transcript of Adam Reuters Business Communicators of SL Meeting - November 1

After getting us all settled on the rooftop park in the Reuters' sim, we had the opportunity to pepper Adam Reuters with questions about Reuters in Second Life.  We had a pretty full sim, but I think everyone got in at least one question - and they were great questions. Adam has replaced the standard "typing motion" animation that appears when someone is entering text into their chat with a "writing in his notebook" animation.  Very appropriate for a journalist.

The transcript of the meeting follows.  I have edited out only the all-around hellos and goodbyes.

[9:33]  Adam Reuters: is that everyone?
[9:33]  Dagmar Kojishi: Thanks!
[9:33]  Adam Reuters: it may be a bit laggy, i've never had so many people up here before
[9:34]  Altyn Zeddmore: no problem - most of us are used to lag...
[9:34]  Adam Reuters: so, for those of you i haven't met, i'm adam reuters, the reuters bureau chief in second life.
[9:34]  Pebbles Hannya: Hi Adam.
[9:34]  Adam Reuters: i've been on the job about 2 weeks, and in SL about 2 months, so you all probably know a lot more than i do!
[9:34]  G24khamr Goodfellow: we're teleporting a few more folks over
[9:34]  Adam Reuters: but i'm happy to answer any questions you have. and i hope you all have a reuters news HUD -- if you don't, IM me and i'll give you one.

[9:35]  G24khamr Goodfellow: Adam, how did you get this assignment? Did you volunteer?
[9:36]  Adam Reuters: g24, i didn't volunteer -- they came to me!
[9:36]  You: Like the notebook Adam
[9:36]  Adam Reuters: thanks znet

[9:37]  Nachema Nagorski: How does the HUD work?
[9:37]  Blue Vale: wear it
[9:37]  Adam Reuters: it's basically an RSS feed reader from reuters.com and secondlife.reuters.com

[9:37]  Aidan Albion: Hi Adam, I'm a reporter for SL Network News. Wondering what specifically prompted Reuter's decision to establish a bureau here and what were your qualifications that they offered the job to you?
[9:38]  Adam Reuters: well the qualifications part is easy to answer -- i don't really have any :) but i am a tech and media reporter, and for reuters a bit of a geek. so i guess that was enough.

[9:38]  You: Do you consider SL a "beat" -- and if so, how are you going about cultivating your in-world sources?
[9:38]  Adam Reuters: as for why we're here, there are a couple of answers. briefly: to reach a new audience in SL, to learn about 3d virtual worlds, and to provide financial news and data to the SL business community
[9:39]  Adam Reuters: it is a beat, znet -- i've been talking to as many people as i can to learn about SL and find interesting stories. there are plenty to go around!
[9:39]  Aidan Albion: Thanks.
[9:39]  Adam Reuters: can we do questions one at a time?

[9:39]  G24khamr Goodfellow: Do you find then that you are less a tech reporter/business, and more of a GA (general assignment)?
[9:40]  Adam Reuters: it's probably best to describe it as a mixture of tech, media, and business news g24

[9:40]  edvarcl Kakapo: hi adam, how does work flow in SL differ from RL. what's the typpical turnaround time for a story?
[9:41]  Blue Vale: hi
[9:41]  Adam Reuters: it's not that different edvarcl -- we're a wire service so we tend to write pretty quickly when news breaks. a longer feature, interview or investigative piece might take anythign from days to weeks

[9:41]  Dagmar Kojishi: Do you keep track of how many HUDs you've handed out?
[9:41]  Adam Reuters: yes, i was just checking on that. i know it's well into the thousands, but i need to have our tech guy query the server to find out exactly how many

[9:42]  Altyn Zeddmore: Is there a plan for coordinating SL news with RL? Do you expect news spillover into RL?
[9:42]  Adam Reuters: yes, for the most part i'm writing for the SL residents, but occaisionally some of my stories may cross over. one example is the story about the u.s. congressional investigation into virtual world economies.

[9:43]  Dagmar Kojishi: What have you found different about covering news in SL? For instance, verification of information?
[9:44]  Adam Reuters: i've been surprised to find out that the job of reporting in SL is not that different from RL. but we've had to adapt our editoral guidelines a bit for things like verification. our rule is that we ask for RL identies.

[9:45]  Pebbles Hannya: That must sometimes meet resistance here?
[9:45]  Adam Reuters: some people won't give them, which is their right, but we weigh that in assessing what they say. we also consider how long someone has been in SL and their reputation in the commnity

[9:45]  Loydin Tripp: How do you rate the standing in the community?
[9:46]  Adam Reuters: there's no exact formula, just like in the real world

[9:47]  You: Why is Reuters cover SL so closely?
[9:47]  Adam Reuters: well, see the answer i gave earlier about why we're here. but from my point of view, it's because there is a really interesting story to cover. we go where the news is.

[9:48]  Altyn Zeddmore: As we grow, do you expect additional reporters to be assigned here?
[9:48]  edvarcl Kakapo: adam i am curious, differnet grps log on at differnt times due to gepgraphical differences. how do you manage coverage on a 24 hours basis? or do you focus on just one time zone?
[9:48]  Adam Reuters: it's possible. we're just getting started though. for now, it's just me
[9:48]  edvarcl Kakapo: sorry altyn. you 1st ;>
[9:48]  Altyn Zeddmore: np
[9:48]  Adam Reuters: edvarcl, it just means a lot of long hours, especially since i'm in london and so much takes place on pacific time. i try to remember to sleep occasionally

[9:49]  You: I heard Reuters is thinking of creating an SL consumer index. Do you know anything about this and what Reuters' plan are?
[9:50]  Adam Reuters: we would love to do that, but it's probably a longer term goal. i personally have no idea what's specificlaly involved in creating a basket of goods and measuring the price over time. but i think that information would be very useful.

[9:50]  Dagmar Kojishi: How much time do you spend inworld? More or less than you have to spend on other beats?
[9:50]  Pebbles Hannya: Actually, we're doing something like that Adam. I can tell you about it after the meeting if you're interested.
[9:50]  Adam Reuters: dagmar, since we've been working on this project i have been putting in very long hours. but i would estimate i'm actually in world about 3, maybe 4 hours a day
[9:50]  Adam Reuters: i'd like to hear more pebbles -- let's take it up offline

[9:51]  You: How do you get your leads?
[9:51]  Loydin Tripp: Will you cover Second Life in perspective of other worlds, virtual worlds that might compete or how well Second Life is doing?
[9:52]  Adam Reuters: much the same way as in real life -- i talk to as many people as i can, business owners, Linden officials, inventors, etc, and then i chase up the interesting things they tell me. oh yeah, and i read about 50 sl blogs and other publications

[9:52]  G24khamr Goodfellow: How do your peers view what you are doing? Are other RL journalists intrigued or do they not take this (SL) seriously?
[9:52]  Adam Reuters: one at a time pls...
[9:52]  Adam Reuters: loydin, for now i'm concentrating on SL. but we may broaden our focus in the future.
[9:53]  Adam Reuters: g24 -- some of my peers, friends, and family have been dubious. but once i sit them down, show them SL and explain what we're doing most people think it's worthwhile. including my mom and my wife :)

[9:53]  Pebbles Hannya: I'm interested in how Reuters is reporting (and verifying) the number of people participating in SL. Obviously there was a lot of PR about going over a million residents, but there are a lot of comments in forums saying there are really only about...
[9:53]  Dagmar Kojishi: Can you explain it to MY wife? :)
[9:54]  Pebbles Hannya: ... 100,000 who are really active and the rest are alts or no longer active.
[9:54]  G24khamr Goodfellow: you're lucky, when I was a reporter my mom still wanted me to be a doctor ;-)
[9:54]  Adam Reuters: i think you can slice and dice the numbers in many ways. from a business/economy perspective, i don't think the number of reg users matters nearly as much as some of the economic stats on spending, real estate, etc

[9:54]  Nobody Fugazi: Adam: Do you think that the presence of Reuters will affect the professionalism of reporting from pre-existing inworld media in a positive way? And do you think some of these outlets have the potential to cross over to RL journalism?
[9:55]  Adam Reuters: good question nobody. i think there were and are a lot of talented journalists in SL long before i arrived, and i'm sure more RL journos will be here before long. speaking broadly, i think competitoin is a good thing. as for the 2nd part of your (cont)
[9:55]  Adam Reuters: question, we'll have to wait and see.

[9:56]  edvarcl Kakapo: yes, as an add ono to loydin's question, is SL simply a testbed for reuters to optimise its editorial operations in world b4 seeding it in other virtual worlds?
[9:57]  Adam Reuters: it is a testbed, but not quite in the way you mean. we're here to learn, and it is a bit of an experiment, but one that we're carrying out by providing hte best news and data we can. i've got a lot invested and i badly want us to succeed.

[9:57]  Aidan Albion: Now that Reuters has a virtual presence will SL be used, like IBM is utilizing it, as a way to hold "virtual meetings
[9:57]  Aidan Albion: " and as a setting for "virtual training" to save on travel costs.
[9:57]  Adam Reuters: we're working on "phase 2" as we speak -- we've got a lot of things planned, but i can't talk about them quite yet. we are consdering both of hte things you mentioned though.

[9:58]  Dagmar Kojishi: What will success look like?
[9:58]  You: Are you collaborating with or doing any stories on in world pubs?
[9:58]  edvarcl Kakapo: speaking of success, what would be the benchmark for reuters for success>
[9:58]  Adam Reuters: oi! that's 3 questions :)
[9:58]  edvarcl Kakapo: sorry adam. mine last
[9:58]  Dagmar Kojishi: Well, two, sorta. Sorry. :)
[9:59]  Dagmar Kojishi: Mine and edvarcl are essentially the same.
[9:59]  Adam Reuters: dagmar, i think we'll guage that based on the quality of my stories, and the take-up w/ in the SL community
[9:59]  Adam Reuters: re: collaboration, there is nothing currently underway, but i certainly wouldn't rule it out

[9:59]  You: How have residents taken to you?
[10:00]  Adam Reuters: the reaction has been very positive, both in-world and out. i hope it's seen that we're bringing something to the party and not just looking for a PR boost.
[10:00]  Adam Reuters: i've got time for maybe 3 more
[10:00]  Howie Lament: judging from the crowds, adam is a veritable pop idol :D
[10:01]  Adam Reuters: aw shucks howie :)

[10:01]  MSGiro Grosso: Adam have you gotten the necessary clearance to troll over and see what is going on with SL Teen?
[10:01]  Adam Reuters: nope, i haven't -- that's on the long term wishlist, i'd be very interested to see what's going on there from a business standpoint

[10:01]  Blue Vale: How was the decision taken by reuters to enter SL? As in what level of management commitment is there?
[10:02]  Adam Reuters: the decision came out of a meeting between our ceo tom glocer and p. rosedale at the sun valley conference. so i guess you could say it came right from the top :)
[10:02]  You: Thanks so much, Adam. We really appreciate your time. These have been great questions.
[10:02]  Howie Lament: wow

[10:02]  You: Is there one last one?
[10:02]  Adam Reuters: yep
[10:03]  Adam Reuters: anyone? anyone?
[10:03]  You: I'll be posting the transcript for everyone to reference.
[10:03]  edvarcl Kakapo: what about take up in RL? Do you see your stories impacting ur RL readers?
[10:03]  Loydin Tripp: Adam, how would we contact you?
[10:04]  Adam Reuters: my focus is on SL readers. if RL picks up on my stories, great, but that's incidental.
[10:04]  Adam Reuters: great talking to everyone. please drop me a line anytime, and by all means keep those story ideas coming! adamreuters@gmail.com
[10:04]  G24khamr Goodfellow: Thank you Adam for this opportunity. All the best!
[10:04]  Latok Neumann: ty so much Adam!
[10:04]  You: Thanks, Adam!!
[10:04]  Blue Vale: thx
[10:04]  Adam Reuters: very fun talking with you. now i'm going to rest my wrists in a giant bucket of ice.
[10:04]  Loydin Tripp: Adam welcome to Second Life, thank god for real journalism!
[10:04]  Altyn Zeddmore: Thanks Adam, best of luck in the new assignment!
[10:04]  Pebbles Hannya: Thanks Adam.
[10:04]  Dagmar Kojishi: Thank you, Adam, and thank you Znetlady for organizing this.
[10:04]  edvarcl Kakapo: thanks ;P
[10:04]  Nobody Fugazi: You're a pretty froody mammal reporter, Adam. Thanks. :-)
[10:04]  Adam Reuters is Online
[10:05]  Altyn Zeddmore: Thanks Isbell
[10:05]  Pebbles Hannya: :)
[10:05]  You: Thanks, everyone!
[10:05]  Adam Reuters: adios amoebas
[10:05]  Nachema Nagorski: Thanks. This was very interesting.
[10:05]  Blue Vale: yep thx Z for organizing
[10:05]  You: Stay tuned - and if you have other things you are burning to do, let me know and I'll set it up.
[10:05]  DW Blackthorne: yesThankjs.
[10:05]  You: I'm planning next month's now - more interesting things to come.
[10:06]  You: IM me anytime.
[10:06]  Blue Vale: k
[10:06]  Aidan Albion: Thanks everyone!
[10:06]  You: Thanks for coming!

Comments

[Taran Rampersad (aka Nobody Fugazi)]

Cool, been waiting for this. Linking shortly...

[Kami Huyse]

Thanks, since I couldn't be there this is a great service.

[Bureau Chief]

Thanks for posting this! I'd been looking for a way to get a reading on how Adam was approaching his beat, but was too new to SL to approach him. This was very helpful.