Our industry is so buzz driven. We see something shiny. We all immediately run toward it with twinkling eyes and breathless anticipation. Surely this shiny bauble will be THE THING that will transform our digital world and make it all hunky dory.
Six months later, the thing is revealed to be just another thing -- perhaps a cool thing, sometimes an effective thing, but a human-created thing, not a splendiferous genie's creation.
And then we run, we sprint, fleeing the not quite so new thing as if it were a form of airborne botulism. Ptewwy! How could have been so deceived by the evildoers that created it. Why, it's almost as bad as AOL dialup! Eek! Run for your lives!
And then sometimes, after a discreet interval, we see that some of the once wide-eyed former consorts, people who later ran away in disgust, quietly return with realistic expectations, and checkbooks.
Such is the story of Second Life. As I sit typing I am simultaneously reading a Fast Company article entitled The Second Life of Second Life. In it, writer Arianne Cohen reminds us of this quote from the creators of SL, Linden Labs. They made this back when the lemming were fleeing.
Our focus has been to build technology that enables users and then stand back and watch what people do, instead of supporting a particular use of Second Life.
-Glenn Fisher, Director of Business Programs, Linden Labs
The point of the article is that marketers used SL incorrectly -- that the correct use is to foster one on one communication. The article quotes Joni West, an SF based designer who was the brainchild behind some of the most effective efforts in the environment. And her philosophy is summed up in this awesome quotation:
I describe the mistake companies made like this: Imagine you've never been to Manhattan. You cross the George Washington Bridge, and someone hands you a guidebook. The first place you're going is not the Reebok store.
Go here immediately and read this excellent article.
Thanks for reading, and don't forget to write.
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