Two Sides of the Second-Life-for-Marketers Coin

Waves.  You know, they swell, hit the shore and then they recede.

The Second-Life-for-Marketers debate feels like that.  Waves of "second life is the new now thing" hit with the requisite response/undercurrent of "oh, it is SO not."

It's been fun, frequently amusing, sometimes irritating - and the vehemence is more than a little baffling. 

A month ago Horace Clutterbuck's real world persona wrote on the Churbuck.com blog 10 reasons why he didn't like Second Life for marketing.  It garnered its share of comments and blog responses.  But, with every ounce of me, I hope you read Giff Constable's blog post response to 9 of Horace's ten points (one was about Horace's dislike of being pitched - n.a.) 

I wish we could all calm down a bit about Second Life.  But the stridency of the pundits tells me there must be something to Second Life (which to me is a stand-in for "virtual worlds"), so calm is unlikely.  The jockeying for position tells me there is opportunity here, so those swells will get higher.

The trend I think I'm seeing: those on the "oh it is SO not" side are looking at "now" - as in today, in this exact moment, give-it-to-me.  Those on the "new now thing" side, they are taking a longer view of "now" - as in where-we-are-heading, progress, what-we-need-to-be-learning-about now.

Giff deftly points out - everyone is right.   

December 29, 2006

Comments

[Taran Rampersad]

The problem is that some people try to build their credibility by destroying the credibility of others - which is where the vehemence comes in.

Reasonable discussion - and there is reasonable discussion - is often ignored simply because Howard Stern isn't involved. :-)

[Linda Zimmer]

How true that is, unfortunately, Taran.

It does seem the reasonable discussion is largely ignored. In my wondering moments I ask if it is because it takes more of a time investment? It far more exciting, however (to me, at least). There you find the real thinkers of our day. Challenges to every way of thinking is also there, yet somehow it diminishes no one and enriches everyone.

By the way, Giff Constable is always found in those discussions.