I’ve been trying to figure out if I’m ready for SecondLife. That’s SecondLife, as in SecondLife.com - a virtual reality world that is reminiscent of The Sims. I’ve never been able to play any video games - from Pong to SuperMario to Microsoft Golf - but I’m about to log on and try again. Here we go.
I’m being told (yet again) that my business will prosper if I only decide to join SecondLife and hang out. I’m sure that selling stuff (or buying other people’s stuff) is really what it’s all about, but that’s not part of the original pitch.
Here’s the rub. I have to create a mythical person, which is not a problem for me. My little brother and I have created whole universes of fantasy baseball players and I can still name them and the positions they play. Van Wafer on the mound, Bludgeon Hametsock behind the plate, DL Balboa over at first,…
Which is why I’m stymied before I even get started on SecondLife because I can’t choose my own name. To be precise, I can choose my first name, but my last name has to be chosen from a short list that includes such gems as Barski, Frak, Gligacz and Untermann.
Now, I ask you, do I look like a Gligacz? Ubermensch, perhaps, but it was not on the list. I mean, what’s so unacceptable about Benidt? I’ve grown to like that name, thank you very much.
I did decide to try Frik Frak, but someone already had nabbed it. Likewise, Frak Frak and Fricken Frak were also unavailable. At which point SecondLife froze up and decided that I must be “funning” with them.
It was the second time the site had overloaded on a couple of name possibilities and I was not even logged in to their virtual world yet. This did not inspire confidence for my future virtual flight lessons, Iron Chef classes or Harvard Law School lectures.
In each case, I got a message that in SecondLife’s continuing attempts to make it an even better place to visit they were undergoing considerable construction.
They suggested I try back later.
Instead, I’ve written to one of the big-wigs at Second Life. Response from big-wigs is always a good indication of whether a company truly cares about its customers.
We’ll let you know what they have to say. In fact, we encourage them and others who have experiences with Second Life, to comment on this blog article.
After all, I’ve heard that people do business and make money on Second Life. If that’s the case, I’m kind of thinking I’d like to be Michael Benidt, owner of Golden Compass, Inc., not Michael FrickenFrak.
Am I being unreasonable?
2 comments ↓
Howdy friends. I too have second thoughts about second life. I tried it and found little value personal or professionally. Me I’m a PR/marketing guy.
However, if you were say an entertainment property, a hotel catering to younger, tech crowd, a consumer brand, then maybe there is something in second life for you.
But in terms of mainstream, it’s nearly off the end of the earth in terms of users and the communities in which they play.
All the best from Minnesota to you, Sheryl, and your readers.
Okay Michael Frik n Frak, I have to say that at first I was totally creeped out by the whole virtual world experience, but perhaps that is because I never played video games and I never had a universe of fantasy baseball players. My first two experiences in SL consisted of me running around bald, plowing into people and actually having them “LOL” as they ran away from me. On my second visit I encountered a big scary dude with Freddie Kruger claws, who came up and asked if I spoke Spanish! Okay I was a little freaked out. For some reason, I did persevere and I am glad I did. 5 months into this Second Life, we have built a training campus where we regularly meet with other trainers and managers looking for e-learning options. We are holding regular orientations as well as mini-training sessions. If you are “in-world” come and check out our non-creepy site. Type MSIT into the search box and fly in and say “Hi!”
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