Second Life shops empty, as lawsuit rages over sex toy
By John Pospisil
The biggest news in Linden Labs’ Second Life virtual online world at the moment is that one “resident” is suing another for copying and selling his sex bed. At the same time many corporations are rethinking their decisions to move into Second Life after finding that their investments have not been worthwhile.
Could it be that corporations are finding that Second Life is a waste of time because it’s turned into one big brothel?
Entrepreneur Kevin Alderman of adult company Eros LLC has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Second Life resident Volkov Catteneo for copying, and then selling, a design for sex bed. The sex bed allows Second Life residents to simulate 150 sex acts. Catteno has been selling the sex bed for about a third of the price of the original.
“We’re not going to sue him for a million dollars. I don’t want to crucify the guy. I’m trying to protect my income and my family,” Aklderman told Reuters.
Meanwhile, a visit into Second Life by Los Angeles Times journalist Alana Semuels found that many Second Life sites set up by corporations were empty.
“Best Buy’s Geek Squad Island was devoid of visitors and the virtual staff that was supposed to be online,” she wrote.
“The schedule of events on Sun Microsystems Inc’s site was blank, and the green landscape of Dell Island was deserted. Signs posted on the window of the empty American Apparel store said it had closed up shop.”
“There’s not a compelling reason to stay,” said Brian McGuinness of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide told Semuels.
Personally, I’ve always been surprised at how recklessly corporations climbed onto the Second Life bandwagon. Especially, since it appears that Second Life has becoming a home away from home for sexual deviants of every persuasion. Cyber sex is reportedly one of the most popular activities in Second Life, with the virtual world playing host to numerous sex clubs and bordellos. There’s even a shopping center where you can browse for available escorts.
To give you an idea of the mind set of some Second Life residents, a popular pastime for deviants is to set up naked male avatars, which they rub up against female avatars. The mind boggles. But some residents go even further, with authorities around the world investigating reports of child sex, rape, and stalking.
So why have companies been so ready to climb onto the Second Life bandwagon? Back in February when AMD launched its Second Life pavilion, I postulated that it was because they were sucked in by the hype, believing that they were showing how innovative and ground breaking they are.
At the time I pointed out a number of problems with corporate rush to get onto Second Life:
First, while Second Life likes to talk about 3 million registered accounts (now 7 million registered accounts), there are far fewer active residents (a Wikipedia article estimated around 100,000 active residents back in February, this estimate has since been removed). It has a churn rate of 85% (yes, you read right). In other words there is small group of hard core residents. Most people come, have a look, get bored, and don’t come back. I’d like to see how interested companies would be if Linden Labs touted the number of active users rather than the number of registered users.
Second, there are other virtual games out there. Companies supporting one game over another, send a negative message to developers who are members of other gaming communities.
Third, trying to do business in a virtual world is far more difficult and time consuming than doing business via a regular web site. To access Second Life, for example, you have download a viewer, set up an account, work out the controls, orientate yourself in the 3D world, and them clumsily try to locate and get to the company you’re interested in finding out about. Personally, I’d rather google the company name, and access its web site, and this is why I think having a Second Life presence is a gimmick more than anything else.
Also, for the same reason that most sensible companies would not want their brand associated with a brothel, companies should also think carefully about how wise it is for their their brand to be associated with Second Life.
Sure, Second Life might be somewhere to go for a virtual fling (if that’s your thing), but as time passes, it’s becoming clear that it’s not the place for sensible companies to go and (try) to do business.
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July 15th, 2007
Second Life just like the internet is an extension of your own self…if you are a weirdo in real life or on the internet chances are ya gonna end up as a weirdo in SL too…if you are a creative person, a photoshop guru, an architect, an artist, a photographer… you gonna develop your own products and make a few bucks while ya having fun.
Maybe…just maybe Mr. John Pospisil would have found something more interesting to say if he had the time to be in-world for a while and see what’s really going on…which he obviously didn’t.
Reading and mixing bits and pieces of articles wrote by other uniformed people only leads to yet another gossip column.
Corporations are failing just because they are entering Second Life with a real life approach instead of learning and adapt to the completely different enviroment. In other words they don’t know what the hell are doing! Give second life users a reason to come and stay to your sim and they will come and stay, but dont just hand them you brochure and knock on wood…DUH!
Great title too BTW.
July 16th, 2007
For the love of god, read http://gigaom.com/2007/07/12/debunking-5-business-myths-about-second-life/
July 16th, 2007
One thing that Second Life requires is a rather large investment of time and personnel resources. Companies like New Line Cinema, IBM, Sun, SAIC, MITRE, BMP’s Information Week and Dr Dobb’s Portal have all made major investments in Second Life and it has paid off with succesful training programs, packed seminars and increased business for them. Companies that go into Second Life need to realize that a lot of subscribers are in there because they are fleeing the gross commercialization of public entertainment. They don’t want ads in their fantasy lives, whatever those fantasies might be. Corporate sites in SL are best when they are there to provide flawless customer service, answer questions, entertain and educate customers.
July 17th, 2007
“Maybe…just maybe Mr. John Pospisil would have found something more interesting to say if he had the time to be in-world for a while and see what’s really going on…which he obviously didn’t.”
He’d probably find it boring. As I have.
July 17th, 2007
Amazing that SL is considered a brothel when those who have succeeded in supporting themselves full-time with their efforts do so by engaging in such elicit activities such as clothing creation, virtual real estate transactions, avatar creation, etc. Using the analogies provided by this blogger, one should assume the above highly esteemed morality-based retailers such as American Apparel would shun such RL locales such as Las Vegas or Atlantic City since some activities don’t meet the standards of Memorial Church on 1st Street.
The real reason Best Buy doesn’t make money in SL is because they haven’t figured it out yet. RL people are making RL money in SL — and so far, the difficulties of Wall Street succeeding in this virtual Wild West are because they have no real interest in it. They cannot win this game from the board room, and until they click on and sign up, they will continue to lose to the mom-and-pop shops that have already figured this market out.
July 26th, 2007
“Corporations are failing just because they are entering Second Life with a real life approach instead of learning and adapt to the completely different enviroment. In other words they don’t know what the hell are doing!
That about sums it up. I have seen RL marketing companies bring big clients into Second Life and do the most ineffective marketing I can imagine. The American Apparel land and store, honestly, it sucked. The design was small, the look was bland and MOST of all the clothing was designed by someone who no idea at all in any shape or form how to design clothing. Any new player could have made any of that clothing in the first 10 min of playing. They failed because no one took the time to do it right. It’s that simple, if you want to throw money at Second Life than throw it in the right direction because RL marketing companies have no idea what they are doing in the game.
February 28th, 2008
Another amazing development at SL.
Who would have thought about it becoming like a brothel? Actually, it is not a very fair statement.
The internet itself is one big virtual brothel!