Holtz Communications + Technology

Virtual worlds such as Second Life are often dismissed as venues for business, but a recent study by Forrester—“Getting Real Work Done in Virtual Worlds”—paints a different picture. Instead of focusing on the marketing efforts that have occupied most media coverage of virtual worlds, the report delves into the role these three-dimensional environments can play in workplace collaboration, simulations, and other day-to-day business…

Marketers have been piling on Second Life, decrying its uselessness as a marketing channel. In general, they’re responding to their own efforts, or those of others that have generated some attention, usually characterized by the purchase of an island on which a building is constructed that nobody occupies and where nothing happens. When the investment fails to produce huge results, the…

Don’t you dare tell me that marketing cannot be effective in Second Life.

The American Cancer Society raised $115,000, which eclipsed the organization’s event goal of $75,000. The July 28-29 event attracted nearly 1,700 participants (that is, 1,700 avatars) who pledged money and walked a virtual track. According to a press release, volunteer organizers interacted with in-world residents and had already raised $90,000…

I’ve just gotten around to reading some of the many blog posts that gleefully point to Frank Rose’s Wired piece about real-world businesses failing in Second Life and proclaiming, “I told you so.”

A lot of what Rose writes is true; companies are, indeed, blowing it in Second Life. I have long maintained that the goal of getting into Second Life is to figure out how a…

IBM’s guidelines for employee bloggers are fairly well known among people who pay attention to such things. Now, IBM has become (as far as I know) the first company to establish a policy for employees who venture into Second Life and other virtual words.

According to an AP article, some critics are blasting the move, suggesting that avatars can’t be controlled by policies.…

Another organization finding success in Second Life—at least, enough success to repeat its fundraising events from last the last two years—is the American Cancer Society. I just received the press release announcing the third annual Virtual Relay for Life. The event will be held in-world on July 27-28. From the press release:

This year’s event, supported by the Society’s Futuring and Innovation Center, is expected to…