Now that Linden have opened up the client, it is possible for third parties to provide new ways into Second Life. One such way has been developed by Paul Clement a.k.a. Delta Kzukor with SLeek . To quote the Sleek download site...
"SLeek is a mini-client that connects to the Second Life main grid. It’s useful for situations where you want to be in-world, but don’t want to have the huge overhead of the graphics engine"
The software works a treat! I have been able to connect to SL from my laptop (which does not have anything like the graphics capability to support SL client) and engage in IM and chat.
The only problem is that I am now "blind". I have an idea where I am "in world" because the client tells my my coordinates. I know who is stood nearby - because the chat list lets me know who is there, and I can hear them chatting. But I have no idea what my avatar is up to.... is it standing, sitting, dancing, flying ????
Am I stood on a table; up to my waist in water; sat on top of someone????
I'm going to have to learn a new set of communication skills to take account of my loss of "virual sight". As a start, I think I am going to have to find a nice quiet "home" location - so that when I arrive in-world via SLeek I know that I will be reasonably "safe" and not likely to make a fool of myself!
Having extolled the virtues of SL as a communications medium elsewhere in this blog, and commented on how communication is so much better because of the immersive 3D experience, I now find myself getting excited about a simple, no-graphics interface! How bizarre! But then it is a case of "horses for courses"..... the reason I am in raptures about SLeek is that I now have the capability of "low-tech" connectivity to SL. I just don't have the compute-power to carry around with me for connection to SL.
I guess this raises a further point about the viability of 3D immersive interfaces - you just can't hack it with low-power low-cost IT resources. But this has been the case for years..... as computing power increases, so the demands on the user interface grow to soak up the extra power. Going back over 35 years to when DEC first produced their VAX systems (late 1970's - sadly, I can go back that far!) we had a situation of 3 models of VAX - a 730 that supported about 4-5 users; a 750 that supported about 12 users and a 780 that supported about 20 users. A few years later, a new range of VAXes was introduced.... the 8600 and some other models which I can't remember just now... But either way, there were 3 models... all with about 4-5 or more times the compute power of the old 7xx range. And guess what - the rule of thumb was that the bottom of the range would support about 5 users, the middle box about 12 and the top of the range about 20-30. All because the Office software had bloated itself to be far more friendly and functional.... and soak up all that extra power!
So what has this got to do with SL and 3D interfaces? Well, I can see the same sort of thing happening here. We currently have a pretty neat 3D user interface that needs powerful graphics to make it work. So old laptops like the one I have at work just won't support it. But currently the users of SL are pioneers - working out how best to use the environment. In 2-3 years time, most of the world will have gone through a "technology refresh" & the more powerful graphics will be the norm (even in business desktops) so the power to run a 3D interface will be ubiquitous.
In the meantime, current SL users should think themselves lucky that they are in the forefront of technology, with the capacity to explore strange new worlds. To seek out new life and civilizations.... to boldly go....
Gaaaahhhhh where's the Teleport!
Sunday, 4 March 2007
Saturday, 3 March 2007
Myspace or MSN for execs
There's been a lot of talk about how SL has balooned recently, with the massive influx of new users & the huge numbers of major RL organisations setting up islands etc. For myself, it has been interesting to observe how the expectation of SL, and it's use has moved on in the last 5 months or so.
When I first arrived in SL around September last year, the expectation was all around collaborative working; meeting rooms; 3D representations and the like. I was keen to find the new "killer app" and "wow factor" of this new 3D environment.
On exporing SL a bit more, I found myself chatting to librarians and teachers; still searching for wasy to exploit the environment in a commercial sense.
Taking a critical look at commercial builds within SL has revealed that the marketeer's approach to SL has matured, in that it is now recognised that simply putting up a building in SL with static posters advertising the latest widgets is not actually very impressive, and in fact, reveals an ignorance of the techniques needed to fully exploit SL as a marketing meduim.
As a communications medium,. however, SL has continued to impress. I've already discussed how having a 3D world and an avatar lead to easier communications than simple instant messaging or chat rooms. Now that more major organisations are creating active presences in SL, the benefit of being able to speak directly to decision makers and influencers is becoming apparent. Perhaps it is because of the novelty of SL that it is attracting interest from senior figures within organisations. Or, perhaps it is just that the influencers are the ones pushing for a SL presence, and so are going in world to check on their investment. Either way, it is now commonplace to find oneself chatting to key figures from organisations within SL. This level of contact is not normally possible in RL - thanks to the protective ranks of PAs and secretaries which surround people of power and influence. The communication is down at the level ofsimple chat (for introductions) followed, perhaps, by instant messages (once an initial contact has been made) i.e. nothing complicated or exotic!
So, in fact, one key benefit from SL is that it has become a sort of "my space" or "MSN Chatroom" for establishing communications with senior executives and decision makers!
But then again, as noted above, there is something more in the way that communications work within SL. The benefits and issues are disucssed rather well in this article from the Busines Communicators of Second Life blog.
When I first arrived in SL around September last year, the expectation was all around collaborative working; meeting rooms; 3D representations and the like. I was keen to find the new "killer app" and "wow factor" of this new 3D environment.
On exporing SL a bit more, I found myself chatting to librarians and teachers; still searching for wasy to exploit the environment in a commercial sense.
Taking a critical look at commercial builds within SL has revealed that the marketeer's approach to SL has matured, in that it is now recognised that simply putting up a building in SL with static posters advertising the latest widgets is not actually very impressive, and in fact, reveals an ignorance of the techniques needed to fully exploit SL as a marketing meduim.
As a communications medium,. however, SL has continued to impress. I've already discussed how having a 3D world and an avatar lead to easier communications than simple instant messaging or chat rooms. Now that more major organisations are creating active presences in SL, the benefit of being able to speak directly to decision makers and influencers is becoming apparent. Perhaps it is because of the novelty of SL that it is attracting interest from senior figures within organisations. Or, perhaps it is just that the influencers are the ones pushing for a SL presence, and so are going in world to check on their investment. Either way, it is now commonplace to find oneself chatting to key figures from organisations within SL. This level of contact is not normally possible in RL - thanks to the protective ranks of PAs and secretaries which surround people of power and influence. The communication is down at the level ofsimple chat (for introductions) followed, perhaps, by instant messages (once an initial contact has been made) i.e. nothing complicated or exotic!
So, in fact, one key benefit from SL is that it has become a sort of "my space" or "MSN Chatroom" for establishing communications with senior executives and decision makers!
But then again, as noted above, there is something more in the way that communications work within SL. The benefits and issues are disucssed rather well in this article from the Busines Communicators of Second Life blog.
Friday, 23 February 2007
The "Virtual Economy" - not for real?
I was looking at an article recently in The Register bemoaning the fact that the statistics on SL were being over-hyped by Linden Labs, and that the "virtual economy" was actually a small niche market. The article was effectively poo pooing SL as a marketing medium, concluding that
"this economy has a population about the size of Ilkeston, Derbyshire, or Troutdale, Oregon. And each business has the prospect of a market of no more than 100 people in one place - a number easily accommodated by a church hall"
The article's maths were based on the number of concurrent users, and the incidence of people actually doing trade in SL (premium accounts, buying $L etc.)
This raises an issue about the validity of the SL "Virtual Economy" as a force to be reconed with. When you look at the numbers (as in The Register) you find that there aren't actually a huge number of people dealing in $L. In fact, $L dealing is all about land, the craft industries of making artefacts or scripts, sex and gambling. OK, there have been attemtps to move into modelling RL financial institutions with things like the "World Stock Exchange", but this has proven to be a pretty amateurish undertaking which has exposed great holes in the financial governance of SL.
This got me thinking about the "paying" residents, and the state of the "virtual economy". I believe that the “virtual econonmy” really refers to the “hobbyist” SL users (who are also the same ones who were made up by LL’s suggestion that freeloaders should be blocked at times of high traffic).
Meanwhile the “commercial” or “educational” users of SL are more likely to be the ones outside of the “SL Virtual Economy” (i.e. not actually “trading”, but will be renting land or islands from LL). I think the argument goes that “commercial” users of SL (i.e. the IBMs and BMW’s of this world) will be happy to pay LL for the privilege of using their servers (i.e. rent for a private island) but won’t want to get involved in dodgy dealing of $L (as demonstrated by the the World Stock Exchange in SL) particularly as there are no controls or policing of transactions.
This extends further into how businesses permit employees to use SL... again, would you like to sign off my expenses if I were to put in for e.g. “£50 to cover purchase of $L” when I then can’t show how the $L were spent (is a really good hairstyle for my avatar a good use of business expenses????... or can you prove that I’ve not been purchasing dodgy animations from virtual Stringfellows??!)
"this economy has a population about the size of Ilkeston, Derbyshire, or Troutdale, Oregon. And each business has the prospect of a market of no more than 100 people in one place - a number easily accommodated by a church hall"
The article's maths were based on the number of concurrent users, and the incidence of people actually doing trade in SL (premium accounts, buying $L etc.)
This raises an issue about the validity of the SL "Virtual Economy" as a force to be reconed with. When you look at the numbers (as in The Register) you find that there aren't actually a huge number of people dealing in $L. In fact, $L dealing is all about land, the craft industries of making artefacts or scripts, sex and gambling. OK, there have been attemtps to move into modelling RL financial institutions with things like the "World Stock Exchange", but this has proven to be a pretty amateurish undertaking which has exposed great holes in the financial governance of SL.
This got me thinking about the "paying" residents, and the state of the "virtual economy". I believe that the “virtual econonmy” really refers to the “hobbyist” SL users (who are also the same ones who were made up by LL’s suggestion that freeloaders should be blocked at times of high traffic).
Meanwhile the “commercial” or “educational” users of SL are more likely to be the ones outside of the “SL Virtual Economy” (i.e. not actually “trading”, but will be renting land or islands from LL). I think the argument goes that “commercial” users of SL (i.e. the IBMs and BMW’s of this world) will be happy to pay LL for the privilege of using their servers (i.e. rent for a private island) but won’t want to get involved in dodgy dealing of $L (as demonstrated by the the World Stock Exchange in SL) particularly as there are no controls or policing of transactions.
This extends further into how businesses permit employees to use SL... again, would you like to sign off my expenses if I were to put in for e.g. “£50 to cover purchase of $L” when I then can’t show how the $L were spent (is a really good hairstyle for my avatar a good use of business expenses????... or can you prove that I’ve not been purchasing dodgy animations from virtual Stringfellows??!)
Sunday, 18 February 2007
SL feeling the strain?
I've just come across a rather worrying post in the 3pointD blog which tells how Linden Labs may start restricting access to SecondLife when the servers are feeling the strain of too many users (e.g. at busy weekends). Apparently SL is just getting too popular! The official Linden announcemnet can be found here.
Being money orientated (c'mon, you didn't think Linden created SL just for fun did you??) the criterion for who gets locked out is based on whether or not your account is verified, and have you purchased anything from Linden (e.g. Linden Dollars, Land etc.)
So for a Yorkshireman like me (for the un-initiated, a Yorkshireman is described as "a Scotsman stripped of his generosity") who has done all his ambling in Second Life on the cheap (i.e. for nothing) then the chances are that I soon won't be wandering around SL at weekends!
Then again, we've already had pointers from Linden Labs that they are looking at opening up the servers so that others can host their own bits of SL.... but the indications were that this would not be happening for a while.
The question then arises as to how much this will affect the viablity of SL as a marketing medium - after all, the selling point for SL to advertisers is that there is an audience of about 3Million users... but if access is restricted, this becomes less attractive. Then again, if we follow the IBM approach to SL - i.e. that it is just a proving ground for 3D Metaverse activity, then are the restrictions a problem???? Perhaps.... after all, would you want to invest your R&D activities in a service which could run out of capacity?
** Footnote:
I've just been to the Linden blog to read the original announcement. There are about 380 responses from SL residents.... on a quick straw poll, the majority seem to be in favour of the move.
Not surprising really - if you have a financial investment in SL you will want to keep the environment running smoothly - preferably at the expense of freeloaders. But this also highlights a change in demographic over recent months; in which the influx of users has led to a significant number of unverified accounts compared with premium accounts.
I guess I'll just have to go and buy a few $L to keep my account active!
Being money orientated (c'mon, you didn't think Linden created SL just for fun did you??) the criterion for who gets locked out is based on whether or not your account is verified, and have you purchased anything from Linden (e.g. Linden Dollars, Land etc.)
So for a Yorkshireman like me (for the un-initiated, a Yorkshireman is described as "a Scotsman stripped of his generosity") who has done all his ambling in Second Life on the cheap (i.e. for nothing) then the chances are that I soon won't be wandering around SL at weekends!
Then again, we've already had pointers from Linden Labs that they are looking at opening up the servers so that others can host their own bits of SL.... but the indications were that this would not be happening for a while.
The question then arises as to how much this will affect the viablity of SL as a marketing medium - after all, the selling point for SL to advertisers is that there is an audience of about 3Million users... but if access is restricted, this becomes less attractive. Then again, if we follow the IBM approach to SL - i.e. that it is just a proving ground for 3D Metaverse activity, then are the restrictions a problem???? Perhaps.... after all, would you want to invest your R&D activities in a service which could run out of capacity?
** Footnote:
I've just been to the Linden blog to read the original announcement. There are about 380 responses from SL residents.... on a quick straw poll, the majority seem to be in favour of the move.
Not surprising really - if you have a financial investment in SL you will want to keep the environment running smoothly - preferably at the expense of freeloaders. But this also highlights a change in demographic over recent months; in which the influx of users has led to a significant number of unverified accounts compared with premium accounts.
I guess I'll just have to go and buy a few $L to keep my account active!
Wednesday, 14 February 2007
Advertising like the olden days
I've just been reading an article in the Huffington Post about advertising and Second Life. I get the impression that Huffington readers aren't really into SL. The author of the article can't quite believe that advertisers are taking Second Life seriously as a platform.
But the article then went on to highlight a quote from Philip Rosedale, the CEO of Linden Labs on the topic of advertising....
Second Life is different than the real world because of the marginal cost of making [advertising] bigger. If you buy billboard space (in the real world), there's an ability to impose online advertising on people that is pretty leveraged. That amount of leverage does not exist in Second Life because people are in control of their own attention. You don't have to sit and listen to beer ads. On the flip side is that what many advertisers are doing in Second Life are way more interesting than what they're doing in reality. They'll consume happily because of the sheer novelty.
Huffington's take on this is that SL is a good place to buy advertising because the residents of SL are more receptive because they are given a choice of whether or not to view the ad.
Actually, it demonstrates why Advertisers in SL have to be more creative than they are currently in RL. Putting your message in front of consumers has become too easy with modern media - it is simple to create popup adverts on web pages, or put commercials in the middle of TV programmes. In SL, the user is able to choose whether or not to go and view an advertiser's site.... a bit like in the olden days when the only medium available to an advertiser was a poster or billboard.
Think back a hundred years or less, and shopkeepers had to make their stores attractive enough to draw in the customer (note: Customer and not "consumer"), and then offer a level of service that would retain their attention. Now compare this with the modern world where "consumers" have "messages" rammed down their throats at every turn.
So, paradoxically, the latest modern media (3d Metaverses) are taking us back to the good old days when adverts had to be novel and creative, and shopkeepers had to offer good service!
But the article then went on to highlight a quote from Philip Rosedale, the CEO of Linden Labs on the topic of advertising....
Second Life is different than the real world because of the marginal cost of making [advertising] bigger. If you buy billboard space (in the real world), there's an ability to impose online advertising on people that is pretty leveraged. That amount of leverage does not exist in Second Life because people are in control of their own attention. You don't have to sit and listen to beer ads. On the flip side is that what many advertisers are doing in Second Life are way more interesting than what they're doing in reality. They'll consume happily because of the sheer novelty.
Huffington's take on this is that SL is a good place to buy advertising because the residents of SL are more receptive because they are given a choice of whether or not to view the ad.
Actually, it demonstrates why Advertisers in SL have to be more creative than they are currently in RL. Putting your message in front of consumers has become too easy with modern media - it is simple to create popup adverts on web pages, or put commercials in the middle of TV programmes. In SL, the user is able to choose whether or not to go and view an advertiser's site.... a bit like in the olden days when the only medium available to an advertiser was a poster or billboard.
Think back a hundred years or less, and shopkeepers had to make their stores attractive enough to draw in the customer (note: Customer and not "consumer"), and then offer a level of service that would retain their attention. Now compare this with the modern world where "consumers" have "messages" rammed down their throats at every turn.
So, paradoxically, the latest modern media (3d Metaverses) are taking us back to the good old days when adverts had to be novel and creative, and shopkeepers had to offer good service!
Wednesday, 7 February 2007
Fashion for furries
A very short entry, once again thinking around the topic of Avatars.
I've already said how odd it is to have a conversation with a giant rabbit, or a wolf in a suit.... and mused on the motivation behind users selecting particular styles of avtar. Chosing the "right" avatar (getting the appearance, sex, size, species! right) can take ages ( as I discovered!). Of course, there is the myriad of clothes shops producing clothes, hair, even complete avatars to suit all needs.
Appearing in SL as a "Furry" however, can have it's problems (apart from not being taken seriously) as I discovered when reading about the recent SL Fashion Week event in SLNN.COM: A Fashionable Night Out
Photo courtesy of SLNN.COM.
What amused me was the paragraph...
"caLLie cLine..... said she spends about 7 hours a week designing new clothes for her line. When asked about how to manage tails with prim skirts, cLine indicated she would be doing some clothes for furries in the future."
The concept of having to design clothes specifically to accommodate tails on furries seems bizarre... but, I suppose, is a real problem if you have a tail.... it's just that we don't normally HAVE tails in RL..... so yet another concept to get our brains around in SL!
I've already said how odd it is to have a conversation with a giant rabbit, or a wolf in a suit.... and mused on the motivation behind users selecting particular styles of avtar. Chosing the "right" avatar (getting the appearance, sex, size, species! right) can take ages ( as I discovered!). Of course, there is the myriad of clothes shops producing clothes, hair, even complete avatars to suit all needs.
Appearing in SL as a "Furry" however, can have it's problems (apart from not being taken seriously) as I discovered when reading about the recent SL Fashion Week event in SLNN.COM: A Fashionable Night Out
Photo courtesy of SLNN.COM.What amused me was the paragraph...
"caLLie cLine..... said she spends about 7 hours a week designing new clothes for her line. When asked about how to manage tails with prim skirts, cLine indicated she would be doing some clothes for furries in the future."
The concept of having to design clothes specifically to accommodate tails on furries seems bizarre... but, I suppose, is a real problem if you have a tail.... it's just that we don't normally HAVE tails in RL..... so yet another concept to get our brains around in SL!
Friday, 2 February 2007
Stocks and shares
I have been calling into the World Stock Exchange (WSE) in SL recently... I'd been there earlier in the week to find out a bit about SL share dealing. The exchange was due to start trading a couple of days ago, but when I got there it was still closed... all marble halls, a few posters on the wall, and a message floating in the air to say the exchange would be closed until 1st Feb.
When I got there today, the exchange was STILL closed, but this time there were a few SL inhabitants (some in suits) coming to look at the exchange. Apparently something has gone wrong with the scripts, and the coders are all in bed getting some sleep (must have been a late night!)
This to me is something of a schoolboy error. It looks like the scripts for the exchnage have not been properly tested..... it can't have taken too much effort to set up a dummy exchange in a nice quiet spot and get some friends over to make test transactions. I think it goes to show that an IT professional is needed to do the implementation - someone who knows about test and release strategies!
The problem is that trading stocks and shares is all about trust - I trust the dealer to use my money to buy the shares I asked for. I trust the compnaies offering shares to be above board and honest. But when the company taking my money can't get their computer system running properly, then I wonder if I can trust them.
There was also a lot of speculation over the value of the current tranche of IPOs in SL. A number of the traders had the view that a few too many shares were being offered. My naive view is that they'd have been better offering just a few shares, and letting the first investors earn a packet. THEN go for volume once the market has been kick-started.
I think it will be interesting to see if the exchange does actually kick off & do some trading in the next few days.... or will it disappear into oblivion? There is, of course, the chance that an RL bankiing entrant into Sl will come along and snap up the SL exchange! Then again, with teething troubles fixed, it could be that the exchange goes live and makes a killing!
When I got there today, the exchange was STILL closed, but this time there were a few SL inhabitants (some in suits) coming to look at the exchange. Apparently something has gone wrong with the scripts, and the coders are all in bed getting some sleep (must have been a late night!)
This to me is something of a schoolboy error. It looks like the scripts for the exchnage have not been properly tested..... it can't have taken too much effort to set up a dummy exchange in a nice quiet spot and get some friends over to make test transactions. I think it goes to show that an IT professional is needed to do the implementation - someone who knows about test and release strategies!
The problem is that trading stocks and shares is all about trust - I trust the dealer to use my money to buy the shares I asked for. I trust the compnaies offering shares to be above board and honest. But when the company taking my money can't get their computer system running properly, then I wonder if I can trust them.
There was also a lot of speculation over the value of the current tranche of IPOs in SL. A number of the traders had the view that a few too many shares were being offered. My naive view is that they'd have been better offering just a few shares, and letting the first investors earn a packet. THEN go for volume once the market has been kick-started.
I think it will be interesting to see if the exchange does actually kick off & do some trading in the next few days.... or will it disappear into oblivion? There is, of course, the chance that an RL bankiing entrant into Sl will come along and snap up the SL exchange! Then again, with teething troubles fixed, it could be that the exchange goes live and makes a killing!
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