[geeks] Second Life is not a game?

[Jon Gilbert]

On Jul 31, 2007, at 5:04 AM, Lionel Peterson wrote:

> I fail to see this as anything other than a passing fad,and the  
> corp. involvement is simply some marketing wonks too hopped-up on  
> over-priced coffies and Web Marketing "magic" convincing otherwise  
> sane bosses that I really want to send an Avatar to a pretend car  
> show and evaluate their products. This is better than a web cast  
> how - I can interact with the (literal) marketing droid? Puh-leeze.
>
> (IMHO)It allows folks who have problems interacting in "meatspace"  
> a chance to do things to lead what appears to them to be a normal  
> life (maybe they even think they are special because they "get  
> it"). For some with profound disabilities (or is it "different"  
> abilities now?) that is a great thing, but for many it is a  
> consuming diversion from reality.

Whether or not the marketing involvement is due to a drug-induced  
euphoria, as you suggest, or actually has some benefit (Die Hard 4  
had an entire sim devoted to it), is besides the point. The point is  
it *is* being used that way, whether you scoff at it or not.

Of course in your opinion, it is just for people who are below  
yourself in social skills or whatever. Yeah, we've all heard the  
"video gamers don't get laid" stuff before, it gets kind of old.

Look, SL is what you make of it. It's a blank canvas. If you want to  
use it for something constructive, educational, business-related, or  
whatever, then you can. Whether or not those uses are "legitimate" in  
your eyes, that does not change the fact that many people are using  
SL for completely non-entertainment-related purposes.

Someone can actually have a virtual store with a real staff who can  
interact with customers almost as if it they were walking into a real  
store in "meatspace," as opposed to just a webpage where all you see  
are the products but neither other customers nor employees. That's  
better than a "webcast" because someone can ask for and receive help  
from a real human as opposed to "emailing support" or whatever. To  
me, that's a huge leap, and in a decade or two, it will be the de  
facto standard of how business is conducted online.

You do realize of course that all the people for whom it is "a  
consuming diversion from reality" are paying money to other people  
who are the land barons and product designers that supply them this  
diversion? The suppliers are those for whom SL is not as much a  
diversion and more a job.

Sure, there are a lot of people who log into Second Life and go  
straight to the RPG sims, casinos, brothels, etc. But that does not  
define Second Life or limit it to being just "a game," since many of  
us are the ones who operate government embassies, telecom companies'  
sims, buy and sell land for profit, etc.

-
Jon Gilbert
PGP fingerprint: 7FA9 B168 73CA A698 DD9E  2DF2 EE1A 3E73 3119 741F