Virtual Worlds…virtually a waste of time?

Social Media Bible, Chapter 16: Virtual Worlds–Real Impact

UPDATE: The blog below was originally written with quite a bit of frustration about trying to understand the whole virtual world thing, but I just got off the phone with Lon Safko, who gave me a personal tour of his Social Media Bible “island” in Second Life. The link has changed from what was in the textbook…here’s the correct SLURL… http://slurl.com/secondlife/Pinastri/215/8/21.

I think maybe I understand this better now, but unfortunately, that means I’ll probably want to spend more time visiting Second Life! Just what I need! I’ve also talked to a couple of friends about virtual gaming, but I’ll save those remarks for the next chapter.

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Here’s the original post:

For this chapter to make sense to me, I decided I needed to experience first hand the ‘mother of all virtual worlds,’ Second Life. So, this blog will review my venture into this world…stay tuned…

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OK, I’m back. Wow, was that a waste of time! In the textbook, author Lon Safko says:

“in addition to being a fun, entertaining way to pass the time, virtual worlds give you the opportunity to browse new and unexplored domains, visualize and participate in imaginary communites, and do business in a virtual marketplace with real customers and colleagues.”

Sorry, I don’t get it. I’ve spent almost a half hour trying to understand who I was, where I was, where I was going, why I was going there, the meaning of life in Second Life…and so on. Maybe I didn’t give it enough time, but if it takes me longer than that to understand something, I’m not sure I want to be a part of it, either as a participant (avatar) or as a company.

To be fair, I’m going to ask some acquaintances why they enjoy playing Halo 3…there must be something that attracts people to these worlds. Once again, please stand by…

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still working on it…I’ve even sent a message to author Safko asking about his section of Second Life…which doesn’t appear to still exist…

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While I’m waiting to hear back on my query about virtual worlds in general, let me say that I’m fascinated by the huge list of companies in the textbook that are apparently participating to some extent in Second Life, especially the idea that some of them have a paid staffer responsible 24/7/365 for representing the company in Second Life!

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Still waiting….

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So, Mark Kingdon, CEO of the company that created Second Life, says he spends anywhere from one to four hours a day in Second Life. (p. 316) What?!!!!

I’ll come back and update this blog when (IF) I get some more info…when (IF) somebody can explain it all to me…