A Whole New World

Second Life (www.secondlife.com) is not a game.

It has been categorized with MMORPGs or massively multi-player online roleplaying games, but it is not one. It is massive, it is multi-player, it is online. But it is not necessarily roleplaying, although it has that. And it is not itself a game, although it contains many games.

SL is, technically speaking, a virtual reality environment. Instead of calling it a game, some people have referred to it as a platform, a tool, a virtual space, a parallel universe. Someone even jokingly referred to it as a country.

But conceptually, what SL is depends what a person brings in-world and expects to get out of it. And the range of those skills and expectations are as diverse as the people in it.

This blog is a study of the world inside Second Life, specifically the business world and what I learn about it. It is a study of the industries that are coming into SL from the real world, and the industries that are emerging exclusively inside SL. At the same time, this blog is also a study of the people who inhabit Second Life, who they are as consumers and as providers.

One thing is certain, however: Second Life is a phenomenon. This virtual business world has the potential to dramatically change the real business world.

It's only a matter of time.