Second Life: Tips for Business

An article I wrote a month ago or so for Optimize Magazine will be hitting the newstands on January 1.  Some of the verbiage that went under the editor's knife was a side piece with a few tips for businesses who are moving into Second Life, or are considering some of the other "outside world" opportunities the interest in virtual worlds is fueling.

So, here are those tips:

Invest time before money.  Appoint a 3D liaison to inhabit and learn about virtual worlds for your potential applications. 

Purchase your name.  Not all worlds offer them, but Second Life is offering custom last names which can serve to identify your team or employee avatars.

Create avatar guidelines.  You have a blogging policy, right?   Okay, well get one of those too.  Create guidelines for your group or employees while operating in world under your organization’s name.  The breadth of activities available within Second Life is rather robust.  Some may not be consistent with your brand image.

Find and leverage the social and information structures.  Social virtual worlds are social – incorporate social activities and the existing social structures into your strategies – and  go ahead and create new ones.

Don’t replicate 2D experiences in a 3D world.  Three-dimensional spaces offer expanded opportunities for engagement with all types of content, but not everything is better in 3D.  PowerPoint bullets are just as boring to an avatar – how about walking your audience through the issue as a 3D model?

Embrace the “Game Babies.”  Develop for them and win. Hire them – and listen.  There are real generational differences that can both challenge and enlighten your teams.  Remember that the true “gaming generation” is just beginning to enter the work force and their interactive and social expectations are high, and are a rich source of innovation for your organization.

December 22, 2006