Podcast: Delving into Dell's possible misdoings

There's a credit card commercial that has become part of our American culture. There are three things mentioned with two having a cost basis and the third being "priceless." Here Doug Bassett, one of Thomson NETg's Sr. Technical Instructors (video bio / class calendar), tells his journey in developing an island in Second Life. His suggestions might make your experience "priceless" too! Archive this as a podcast for future reference Download wherearethepeople.mp3

Here's a credit card-like commercial, but with a less than happy ending.

(Queue Announcer)

Terraforming Islands - $60,000, Big Opening Party - $50,000, Zero Traffic – Worthless!

Oops!

Companies like Sony, Toyota, Dell, Cisco and Sun have spent tons of money in the virtual reality world of Second Life and wished the ending was Priceless. But no one stays past the first big party. What's wrong?

I've created an island for my employer, Thomson NETg. We have more than 3,000 people come and spend an average of 30 minutes per visit each month. We don’t pay campers; in fact, we don’t pay people to come at all. What are we doing to drive traffic? I'm not going to bore you with what didn't work or take you through my learning curve, but will share what I've done that works and causes people to come back!

The big companies have spent a lot of time and effort to make amazing facilities. Dell has a giant computer that you can walk inside. Cisco has wonderful vistas all connected with bridges made of the corporate logo. Heck, some of the car companies give away free cars you can drive around in while on your quest to trick out your avatar with the latest in pixilated fashions. Some “GRAND OPENING” parties have included concerts with big-name artists. Many do simulcasts with huge corporate stars on the stage to a capacity, read 80 person, crowd. But time and time again, once the initial event is over and the last free virtual t-shirt has been handed out, no one comes back. Lovingly rendered shops are empty. Huge campuses with jaw-dropping features that took months to develop are like the ruins of the ancients, completely void of life. Why?

Let me give you just a touch of my journey in Second Life. I know, nothing as riveting as watching someone’s vacation videos, but I think it'll help as I attempt to unravel this dilemma and explain how Thomson NETg’s Island has become so popular.

I've been in Second Life for more than a year. I've spent some of that time doing the normal noob stuff like camping, buying junk and generally wandering around. At an innovation summit hosted by my employer, Thomson NETg, it finally clicked. We at Thomson teach over the web. How cool would it be to teach in a three-dimensional environment? Foaming at the mouth and with visions of what could be, I pitched the idea to my boss, and to my surprise, he told me to pilot the idea.

Hours and hours and days and days of near non-stop work later, I had put together a proof-of-concept video and showed it to my boss.

Here's the video. It is a 48 meg mov file and may take a bit to download.

http://media.knowledgenet.com/live/sl/netginslversion.9.html

As you can see, I put together a fairly pretty building and some interesting ideas. Nothing that was quite show stopping, but enough to pique some interest. My boss then asked, “How do we go to the next level?”

I proposed an entire island. "You get full control, extensive security and you don’t have to be next door to a strip club. They're a bit pricey, but you can’t accuse me of thinking small," I said. Again, to my surprise, he agreed.

So I took several months, taught myself Second Life design, building techniques, scripting, multi-media streaming and security. After several false starts, I created Thomson Island.

For the quick tour, less than a minute, check out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvH1wMXaFFk

For the in-depth tour, around 10 minutes, check out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HYiHOmaFyk

Big deal, you might say. You put together something that a lot of other companies have done, and done a bit better. But it is a big deal - because folks come back time and again! Sure, it's focused towards education, but how do I get people to come? We didn’t have a huge rollout. We didn’t spend tens of thousands in marketing, but we have more than 3,000 people come and spend around a half an hour EVERY MONTH. This volume has increased an average of 33% each month since we've been keeping track. Many times, the island is so full that Second Life refuses any additional people entrance for fear of a server meltdown!

How do we do it?

Secret #1 – Make it Safe

Our customers range from the individual looking to better their careers in Real Life to the Fortune 500. These folks are looking to have a location that's free from some of the seamier sides of Second Life. Nothing will kill a corporate presentation or disrupt a class like a naked man running around, shooting all your attendees. We've implemented a strict ban on weapons and non-PG actions. We've included the ability for all presenters and security personnel to permanently ban individuals that violate the code of conduct. We understand that some people are new to Second Life and don’t know how to be a good citizen. These folk are warned and the vast majority comply. Those that are still a bit rebellious are permanently removed from access.

You may ask, doesn’t that encourage griefers (someone who takes perverse pleasure in causing havoc)? As long as you don’t feed their need for seeing how annoyed you are, they usually go off for easier and more vocal prey. If they're gently told why they're removed and that there's a process for appeal, the ones that are truly sorry will make amends. The others, deprived of the fun of watching someone turn red in the face, go make trouble elsewhere. Strict adherence to a code of conduct for both staff and customers is key.

#2 Have a Customer Orientation

There's so much to see and do in Second Life. People won't waste much time on things that are just silly. They may come by once to see the great whiz-bang thing your creative team has developed, but if there's not an ongoing reason to keep coming back, they'll never return. You can cram a bunch of "things" on your land and it may take them time to go though it all. But most people, especially those immersed in the short attention world of the Internet, aren't prone to be very tolerant of wasting time with "things" that aren't useful for them. Remember, it doesn’t have to utilitarian. It can just be a nice place to sit and think or a cool place to bring a friend or a relaxing location to hold a quick meeting. Remember, they're not here to find things that appeal to you, but to them. You need to have a variety to match a diversity of tastes.

On Thomson NETg Island, we offer streaming audio and video podcasts in several different formats. Not the video content, per se, but where students sit to get the stream. We have an outdoor theater, several conventional classrooms, and simulated cubicles. For more variety we also have outdoor locations. They may choose to relax in a wicker chair under a nice canopy next to our huge fountain. Or, perhaps they would prefer to watch and listen at our aquarium bar, at a Japanese table, or in several comfy over-stuffed chairs and couches. The idea is to let the customer decide where they want to consume your offering. Your job is just to provide the choices. The cool thing is the behind-the-scenes plumbing is pretty much the same. With some interesting tricks, you can even have two people sitting on the same couch looking at the same video monitor while watching two different video and audio streams.

#3 Keep it Fresh

I love Disneyland. The rides, the food, the excitement, the food, the colors, the food and, of course the food. But with a 5-day pass, even the Magic Kingdom gets a bit old. How much more stale is content that can be accessed 7x24x365.25 and hasn’t been changed or updated in a meaningful way since the big rollout?

If you have videos, rotate them. If you do audio, mix it up a bit. It's okay to have a library that people can access, but have some things that are new and fresh and highlight different aspects. You want people to come back to see what's new.

On Thomson NETg Island, we offer a variety of live classes. We have presentations on everything from how to build things in Second Life, to scripting, to Women’s studies, to astrophysics. This is besides our normal offering of Microsoft, Cisco and business development skills classes. These offerings are constantly varied, based on demand and seasons. During Halloween, we offered free classes in spooky trees. Preceding Valentine’s Day, we taught them how to make animated cards. For Easter, we host huge Easter egg hunts. You need things to keep it relevant, interesting and useful. I am not saying to have a bunch of silliness and avoid your main business, but I am saying feel free to spice it up a bit. Second Life is a fun environment. You can have fun, but not lose an ounce of professionalism.

The biggest problem that businesses have in Second Life is they figure if they make a big splash, people will come. The problem is that, without a compelling reason, people will not return and all that money is wasted. Mix it up. Make it fun. Make it useful. That'll build loyalty by providing a needed service. Give people a reason to come back and they'll return often and bring friends!

- Doug Bassett

Do you have any tips, tricks or techniques in your quest to develop a project in Second Life? Please click on the Comments link below to share the brilliance!