NBC’s Very Virtual Christmas In Second Life. Communicators Prepare for a New Year

NBC held a virtual holiday tree-lighting ceremony last Wendesday for the opening of its new NBC Universal simulation in Second Life.  The event was timed to coincide with the televised real world Rockefeller Center tree-lighting celebration.  The SL “Very Virtual Christmas” event was produced by The Electric Sheep Company and according to a report over at 3pointD (sponsored by the ESC), the event was attended by about 1000 avatars.

To accomplish such a mass gathering – since most simulations can normally hold around 50 avatars at a time -  NBC and ESC used 19 mirrored simulations.  Linden Lab has recently acknowledged that they cannot fill the demand fast enough for new land (servers) within Second Life.  NBC turned to Anshe Chung to rent the space required for their event.  Coincidently, Chung announced this past week that the value of her holdings in Second Life have surpassed $1 million USD real world dollars. The combination of growth challenges for Linden Lab and Chung’s current holdings of 550 simulations will undoubted increase her value in other ways by companies who wish to be among the first to enter Second Life.

I cannot speak to NBC's virtual event because I wasn’t in the space at the time, but ESC had some event production challenges due to a Linden Lab upgrade that day.  The plan was to make SL a little more friendly for those not current residents by having a special Second Life registration at NBC’s event web site.  New NBC visitors would then have a special orientation to SL before going to an NBC sim for the event.  Unfortunately Linden Lab's third-party registration feature wasn’t ready in time for the event.  Electric Sheep did, however, staff the standard Orientation Island instead with assistance-avatars to help new comers get acclimated. This was a good move regardless of where the orientation happened and I hope more companies will take note of it.

Having visited the simulation several times post-event, I can say that the NBC build is one of the more beautifully executed simulations currently in Second Life.  For those of you that live near or have visited Rockerfeller Center in real life, you will likely have an immediate emotional connection with the virtual space.  The Peacock Room restaurant at the top of the NBC building is stunning and worth the virtual trip – fly up if you can’t locate the elevator - there doesn't seem to be a way to call it. NBC did well to hire Aimee Weber to design the space. It is brilliant work.  The attention to detail communicates volumes, both spacially and emotionally.  You can get free ice skates, hats, scarves and mittens by clicking the various gift boxes under the trees in the sim.

It strikes me that the NBC event and SL launch is following a pattern set by other RL companies coming into SL:  hire virtual world developer to create a sim; hold launch event with some minor PR; step back, take stock and wonder what SL means and where to go from here.

This isn’t a bad pattern, nor is that a criticism.  It is, in fact, the exact same adoption pattern I saw with launching web sites in the 1990’s.  Companies need to get in to learn how to adapt their media strategies – and/or business strategies – to virtual environments.  And, the only way to do that is to start, spend time and watch and listen.  Companies are feeling the pressure to understand the influence and impact of social networks from web-based media as well.  And Second Life is up there as one of the important social worlds to understand.  Residents, on the other hand, are anxious to see if brands can engage them beyond the launch event.

What is unfortunate, however, is that right now companies are relying on their developers to lead their charge into Second Life – much like they did when entering the Web.  It was what deeded their web presence to the IT department for many companies.   

Second Life, like a web site, is a communications tool – albeit technology enabled and dependant.  But it is a communications tool: communicating the brand/brand experience, or the product, the event, or the mission, and in a way far beyond the capabilities of a flat 2D web site.   

My fervent hope is that as companies enter their “where do we go from here” phase that they (or their developers) involve the communications function (and knowledable communicators)  – because simulations are the most immersive of communications tools available yet.

Developers are doing amazing things with the simulations they are building for brands.  But virtual world developers are suddenly being pressed (probably quite unexpectedly) into being event planners, production crews, marketing communicators, and media relations staff.  Now, these are extremely talented people.  But brands shouldn’t expect so much from their developers – let them focus on their core talents.  That means communicators, you need to get ready to take on virtual spaces strategies and implementation.  It will be a magical partnership.

December 2, 2006

Comments

[Simone Something]

I stumbled across the NBC Rockefeller build the other day, and as Linda suggests, I did indeed feel an amazing connection with the real-world Rockefeller Center. Another beautiful piece of work Aimee Weber!!
Nice report, thanks.
Simone Something

[Simone Something]

Ooh I just re-read the article and I'm not sure if Aimee Weber did all the work or just on the Peacock Room. Sorry! Both the ground level work, and the Peacock Room are brilliant btw.
Cheers

[Linda Zimmer]

Thanks, Simone.

Aimee did the entire build! But I must say the Peacock Room is especially beautiful!

[Prokofy Neva]

Jimmy Thomson of Bedazzled seems to have done a lot of this build, too.

Re: "But virtual world developers are suddenly being pressed (probably quite unexpectedly) into being event planners, production crews, marketing communicators, and media relations staff. Now, these are extremely talented people. But brands shouldn’t expect so much from their developers – let them focus on their core talents. That means communicators, you need to get ready to take on virtual spaces strategies and implementation. It will be a magical partnership."

Why unexpectedly? This build didn't take a day -- it took weeks most likely. And the event was in the schedule and a known deadline. Why all the last minute stuff?

I think I'd put this a different way. Builders and scripters and sim managers for these big hypervent projects should concede that they aren't good at doing the soft pieces of it -- human relations -- communications, marketing, customer service, MC'ing the event, floor-walking, site management -- everything that goes into the day of show. And they should either hire event management companies or just have staff who are a lot more tuned to talking to people, working groups, and *trouble-shooting*.

Each sim should have had an MC. That doesn't mean a Sheep goofing around with his pals and talking in IMs, it means somebody in -- dare I say? -- a Santa Claus or elf suit who actually keeps up the patter and trouble-shoots. The videos weren't working on a number of the islands, for example.

[Linda Zimmer]

Prokofy, thanks for mentioning Bedazzle and Jimmy Thomson. I definitely should have included them as developers of the project!

You are right about the "soft pieces" and I agree that having appropriate people for appropriate jobs would make the event a better one for everyone and would help to keep people engaged and informed - especially in the event of technical troubles. If this is about experience, we need to be thinking about the entire experience.

You made the point better than I did. :-)