http://blogs.computerworld.com/16905/second_life

same rhetoric but actions will speak louder than words . . .

for some reason, when i read this, it makes me less confident in any recovery and new growth =\

you judge

i have blogged a few times oh the “value” of Linden Lab in SharesPost but what does that number mean? this is not like trading a public company’s stock

so how can you tell what it means?

first off, since there are several companies listed, you can use those as barometers. it’s interesting to see that LL is a significantly smaller player than the others just in their overall value

we all know facebook is growing and SharesPost’s evaluation reflects that. CNET said that SharesPost’s information “is valuable and interesting data, and gives a pretty good insight into the realistic value of many private tech companies.”

TechCrunch looked at Facebook and LinkedIn and compared what they thought with what SharesPost indicated. they found that the valuation for Facebook was pretty close but were not sure how solid the number was for LinkedIn

SharesPost has nothing to gain by portraying the value of companies as better or worse than they really are. they don’t even collect any sort of commission on sales made based on their data

the only people that can buy these shares have to be accredited under the Securities and Exchange Commission’s regulation D. these are not just regular investors. shares do get a commissions of $2,500 on both the buyer and the seller collected by US Bank. i would imagine this means that the buyers are pretty savvy

so what does it mean that Linden Lab, as Wizard put it, has lost 35% of its value since March? i don’t know but it could help explain some of LL’s actions this year

i blogged about SharesPost back on July 19th and LL was valued at $345 million in the first week of July. then i checked in on that value in mid-August and they had dropped to $271 million

now they are valued at $248 million, oof, that’s gotta hurt!

wanna be a smartie pants? or maybe need some virtual world research info you won’t find in Google?

try Google Scholar!

it searches published articles like you would see coming from universities and also legal opinions. some stuff is free, some you pay to access, but there are tons of things on Second Life and OpenSim - stuff like:

• Coming of age in Second Life: An anthropologist explores the virtually human (it’s an entire free book in Google Books)
• Multidisciplinary experiential education in Second Life: A global approach
• Building an interactive science museum in Second Life
• Development and evaluation of a virtual campus on Second Life: The case of SecondDMI
• How to Compete in the Metaverse: The Business Models in Second Life
• Using Second Life to enhance classroom management practice in teacher education
• Licensing Considerations for OpenSim-Based Virtual Worlds (journal of Virtual Worlds Research)
• Collaborative Learning in OpenSim by Utilizing SLoodle
• Learning with Web Tools, Simulations, and Other Technologies in Science Classrooms
• Serious playground: using Second Life to engage high school students in urban planning
• Marc Bragg v. Linden Lab and Philip Rosedale
• Just Age Playing Around? How Second Life Aids and Abets Child Pornography
• EBay’s Second Life: When Should Virtual Earnings Bear Real Taxes? (Yale Law Journal)
• Help-My Intellectual Property is Trapped: Second Life, Conflicting Ownership Claims and the Problem of Access

and one “must read”:
Networked Collaborative Group Cheerleading Technology: Virtual Cheerleader Experience

yay team =p

someone asked how the breakdown was on Second Life sims. using the numbers from Grid Survey for september 4th you get the chart below

Tyche Shepherd goes even further with server type and percentage by largest estate owners here with 1,594 regions owned by Anshe!

this pushed me over the edge – the new vp of marketing post

i love the “marketing aspect” of online stuff but not when it’s money, money, money!

the new marketing person says: “an X  Factor that helped people get into the game and helped them discover all  the rest of the possibilities there”

well derr, i think those residents that have not yet been chased off kinda have an idea of the possibilities, that’s why they hang in there. Second Life is wildly creative and all you need to do is listen to the 1000s of online voices yelling every day at you. they are all yelling about being creative! the possibilities are already well known, just listen to the customers that love you!!! sheesh

“I’m excited about the prospect of helping to build a product that  really empowers people to express what they’re about, and that can make a real difference in their lives.”

she already does not get it! people have felt empowered (i did) and it did make a very positive difference in my life. so get out of the way, listen to residents that give a sh!t. ugh, makes my blood boil . . .

“I think we’ve only just started to see  what can be done here”

is she from frigging Mars? get in-world and you will see some of the most creative people in the world and the amazing and beautiful things that have been made.  more beauty and creativity has come and gone in Second Life than she will ever see first hand . . .

and she does online learning, give me a break! my subQuark has spoken at more conferences about the use of SL as an eLearning tool than the number of times she has been in-world so far . . .

and her bent is gaming focused, too bad Second Life is not a game, seems a poor employment match (unless . . . )

i think what set me off is that it seems that Linden Lab has been going on and on about becoming more profitable or about money (the teen grid doesn’t make enough, shut it down – fire them all, we need to be more solid)

i love what marketing can do (share a message) but not what its focus typically is (make more money) and just sharing a message effectively (marketing) will make more money if your message is true (Guy Kawasaki did that for Apple and made them incredibly profitable, but they never went on and on about making more money, they made a product that people think is cool and works well!)

maybe i am overly sensitive to it, but i get enough of the profitability crap in my day job, i don’t need my creative joy and escape to be so outwardly focused on making money all the time

i need a shower . . .  =\

i know people think i bash on Second Life (maybe because i express the way i feel about them *shakes fist about cancelling account*). but for years i praised them to high heaven

for those looking for hope, here is an anonymous Linden Lab review from august 29th on Glassdoor.com

“There is hope.”
Pros
Even with all the recent turmoil, Linden Lab still has some of the best people to work with, and one of the most interesting and challenging projects as an engineer.
Cons
Still way too much chaos. If you’re not highly self-directed you’ll find it difficult. Some of the senior management was terrible, but it looks like many of them are leaving now.
Advice to Senior Management
Really focus on the transparency, and make sure that you give middle management the room to actually shape direction.

there is no doubt that Linden Lab has some really sharp people. nothing else can touch second life for how well it works at the moment. if this is an honest review, then the bit about chaos certainly is seen externally by some of the decisions lately (seriously, display names as a project?)

i have no ill will against Second Life – i won’t ever go back to Second Life (i can’t since my account is gone), it’s just not right for me anymore

but it is “right” for many people. maybe if the right people (the wrong ones) do leave as this person says, things will turn around

Second Life is 99% there! it just needs that last one percent

fully free to use in any way you see fit =) click for originals in flickr

a day late and a dollar short?

Linden Lab Second Life Enterprise Software Licenses & Hardware

looks like the US Navy wants one Enterprise setup – maybe they can help Linden Lab chart a safe course

sculpty anchors away! =)

i can haz a sailor outfit!