Socially|Mundane

I've been saying for a long time how the corporate world simply doesn't get it with regard to placing themselves into Second Life. The problem is that they have such a corporate... attitude.

Everything is about them. They cram their marketing into our faces everywhere we look. It gets to the point where people start to backlash. it happens in real life, too. I've read often where a large company intends to move into an area and a massive campaign ensues by the locals to prevent it.

I remember all the hoopla in 2006 where all the bloggers were simply chastising the very idea of corporate entities coming into Second Life. This was all about the time that American Apparel picked-up stakes and left. Everyone else proclaimed it a failure. Well, it was.

The fact of the matter is that Second Life will become commercialized. The question is when, not if. However, any entity looking to enter Second Life really needs to do their research. Spend a lot of time in SL. Learn the culture. Then integrate in a compelling way.

An interesting article about how half of all the 'social experiments' will fail explains this in pretty good perspective:

Analyst: Half of 'social media campaigns' will flop | The Social - CNET News: "For some companies, a Second Life campaign would be a good idea if you were distinctly trying to target that segment of the population, Sarner explained, and could use the 3D technology to actually come up with something innovative. He cited the example of electric cars. 'If Honda has a new car and it's going to be purely electric, you could've set a Second Life campaign up that's promotional in nature,' he said. 'The futurism angle of an electric car, it kind of fits the people in that segment.'"

All I can say is: beware the residents. Integrate cleanly and neatly or get thrown-out only to land on your ass looking like a fool.

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