How Second Life works

    One of the biggest online marvels to capture the imagination of the traditional media is Second Life. It’s an online computer game, but is perhaps better understood as an online virtual world. By registering and downloading the software, you can enter the game world and create an ‘avatar’ – an in-game representation of yourself.

     Since Second Life encourages community and social interaction, some consider it to be a form of social media, although like so much in the new forms of online media it could very well be considered as a category of its own.

     More than 10 million Second Life user accounts have been created, and around 1.5 million residents log in to the virtual world every month. Over 1 million US dollars are spent in Second Life each day.

     That last figure, perhaps the most surprising to those unfamiliar with Second Life,is down to the functioning economy that exists in the virtual world. This is made possible by the ability to own private property within the game and by setting an exchange rate between the game’s currency and the US dollar (approximately 270 “Linden dollars” to the US dollar). In fact, Second Life created its first millionaire in November 2006, when Anshe Chung amassed virtual assets worth one million US dollars.

     Marketers are beginning to experiment with the game world too. Toyota has launched in-game models to promote its ‘Scion’ range, while Peugeot has invited gamers to try a recent model on a virtual racetrack, built to coincide with the Frankfurt Motor Show.

     During its 2006 Big Weekend festival, BBC Radio 1 had a stage in Second Life with avatars of presenters and bands performing – anyone visiting the concert received a virtual digital radio that they could listen to Radio 1 on in the virtual world.

     Doubtless a large part of the marketing benefit from these in-game presences really comes from the publicity in the non-virtual world that these generate, but these are intriguing precedents for marketers.

     Source: What is Social Media? (Antony Mayfield, iCrossing) e-book